be friendly.”
“You heard what I said. No more gifts. We’re going to give back the things they gave us . . . except the bread, of course. I hope eating it hasn’t polluted our insides.”
•
A few days later Josef was turning into Jews’ Alley for his pre-dawn study session with Mosche. Through the twilight he saw his friend running toward him. Out of breath and visibly excited, Mosche panted, “The Parshandata has arrived!”
“The what?”
“Parshandata. It means ‘interpreter of the Law’.” Mosche leaned over and took several deep breaths. “You know, . . . Rabbi Scholomo from Troyes. He’s here. He came in last night.”
“Oh! When can we meet him?”
“It’s not that easy. Everybody wants to talk to him. There’s a long list of people who’ve requested judgment on hard questions, even some Christians, I think. Another thing—we can’t use the schoolroom any more while he’s here. It’s reserved for him to use.”
“That means we can’t read any new texts. I guess we can talk about the ones we already read.”
“Something better than that,” said Mosche. “Rabbi Scholomo is going to teach classes every day, and he’s going to give the Sabbath sermon tomorrow afternoon. That’ll give us plenty to talk about.”
“I’m supposed to have my lesson with Father Albert tomorrow. How can I get away?” Josef pressed his lips together. “I’ll figure out something. Will you meet me here and let me go with you to the sermon?”
“Okay. I have to go back home now. There won’t be any deliveries for awhile. We don’t have enough cheeses, even for the wedding guests, so I’m going to help my father make some more. See you tomorrow.”
The next afternoon, Josef went to St. Paul’s Church for his weekly lesson with Father Albert. It crossed his mind that he might skip this meeting entirely and go straight to the Jewish quarter to wait for Mosche. But that might get him in trouble. Besides, he liked Father Albert and didn’t want to disappoint him in any way. What could he say to cut short their lesson? He wouldn’t lie to Father Albert, but he couldn’t tell him the whole truth either.
Josef went to the garden and sat down to think. Soon Father Albert was at his side. Josef looked into his wrinkled face. “Father, I have to leave early today.”
“Really?” The old man raised his eyebrows, creating more wrinkles.
“Yes, it’s very important.”
“Can you tell me where you’re going?”
“Not exactly.”
“Can you tell me approximately what you’ll be doing? Maybe a little hint?”
Josef thought a moment. “Learning something.”
Father Albert smiled. “Ah. Learning is good. But learning can occur in many different ways, some of them dangerous to body and soul. You’re not going to climb a steeple, are you?”
“No, Father.”
“Step on hot coals?”
“No.”
“Handle snakes?”
Josef laughed. “No, Father, none of those things.”
“All right then. You know the ten commandments and the seven deadly sins. If you promise to keep the first and refrain from the second, you may go with my blessing.” He touched the boy’s head.
“I promise. Thank you, Father.” Josef jumped up and ran out of the garden.
Mosche was waiting for him when he arrived at Jews’ Alley. “I’m glad you got here early. People are already going in. Let’s find a seat before it gets too crowded.”
The boys entered the school building and settled into a corner behind a large group of noisy men. It would be nearly an hour before the rabbi spoke, so Josef focused his attention on the conversations swirling around him. He heard words and vocal sounds that were completely foreign to him, in languages that were unrecognizable. He couldn’t even imagine where these people came from. Maybe Mosche would tell him later. There was too much clamor to ask about it now. The noise had a hypnotizing effect that might have put the boys to sleep in other circumstances. Today, however, there was too much excitement in the air, and they were infected by it. After a time, the side door of the schoolhouse opened. Through the door came eight or nine men, some of whom Josef recognized from the synagogue service he had attended. Others were strangers. Which one was Rabbi Scholomo? Maybe it was the tall one with silver hair. There was another man whose beard hung nearly to his waist. Was it him?
The tall man with silver hair raised his hand as the others took seats behind him. The room suddenly became silent. The man announced that Rabbi Scholomo ben Itzhak would be giving the sermon, and that in order to be understood by as many as possible, he would speak in Hebrew. A murmur of approval went up from the crowd. The men near Josef and Mosche whispered to each other and nodded. The tall man recited a brief prayer and turned to face the men behind him. One of them rose. He was a slight man of thin build and less than medium height. His head was nearly bald and his beard neatly trimmed about six inches below his chin. Could this be Rabbi Scholomo? Josef looked questioningly at Mosche, who nodded eagerly. The rabbi came forward. He was assisted by the tall man in stepping onto a platform on which a stone chair had been placed. It was a beautiful piece of stonework, carved with geometric patterns on the back and arms.
The rabbi first addressed the crowd in the local dialect, saying he was grateful for the warm hospitality he had received. It was good to be back in Worms, he said, where the Lord had inspired him and provided the means for him to begin his interpretations of Scripture. He would speak today about those interpretations and about the commentaries he was compiling, not in order to glorify himself, but to show how the Law might be set before the people like a table of good food fully prepared for them to eat. With their indulgence, the rabbi said, he would sit while he delivered his sermon. He had walked a long way from Troyes and his feet were sore.
Once seated in the stone chair, the rabbi looked around at the eager faces before him, smiled, and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he began his oration. At this point it was more difficult for Josef to follow what he said because many of the Hebrew words he used were unfamiliar. Besides that, Josef missed words on account of coughing and other inevitable crowd noises. The rabbi’s voice was strong and confident but not overly loud.
He began by saying that Torah is a portable homeland for the Jews who have been scattered around the world. It serves as sustenance when they are deprived, shelter when exposed, and armor when attacked. Therefore study of Torah should be of utmost concern to every Jew.
Josef understood this much fairly easily. As the discourse became more technical, he strained to hear and interpret the words he did not recognize. The general sense of the sermon was that Scripture could be interpreted in different ways. The two most important were peshat and derush. The rabbi himself preferred peshat, or plain meaning of the text. If a passage was simple and clear in its historical context, then there was no need to twist the words to find new meaning. On the other hand, if a passage was confusing, it might be necessary to introduce less literal interpretations. The rabbi spoke of midrash and aggadah, but Josef was not sure what these words meant. Sometimes it was useful, said the
