The Chosen

Another murmur of approval went through the crowd. Reb Saunders was very good at gematriya, I thought. I was really enjoying myself now.

'And now listen to me further. In gematriya, the letter of the word "traklin", hall, the hall that refers to the world-to-come comes out three hundred ninety-nine, and "prozdor", the vestibule, the vestibule that is this world, comes out five hundred thirteen. Take "prozdor" from "traklin", and we have one Aundred fourteen. Now listen to me. A righteous man, we said, is two hundred four. A righteous man lives by Torah. Torah is mayim, water; the great and holy rabbis always compare Torah to water. The word "mayim" in gematriya is ninety. Take "mayim" from" tzaddik" and we also have one hundred fourteen. From this we learn that the righteous man who removes himself from Torah also removes himself from the world-to-come! '

The whisper of delight was loud this time, and men nodded their heads and smiled. Some of them were even poking each other with their elbows to indicate their pleasure. That one had really been clever. I started to go over it again in my mind.

'We see that without Torah there is only half a life. We see that without Torah we are dust. We see that without Torah we are abominations.' He was saying this quietly, almost as if it were a litany. His eyes were still open, and he was looking directly at Da

A chorus of loud and scattered amens answered.

I sat in my seat and saw Reb Saunders looking at Da

I thought that the meal was ended now and we would start the Evening Service, and I almost began to get out of my seat when I realized that another silence had settled upon the men at the tables. I sat still and looked around. They seemed all to be staring at Da

Reb Saunders sat back in his leather chair and folded his arms across his chest. The little' boy was poking at the tomato again and glancing at Da

Reb Saunders sighed loudly and nodded at Da

I Saw Da

'Nu, what is it?'

'It is written in the name of Rabbi Yaakov, not Rabbi Meir;' Da

A whisper of approval came from the crowd. I glanced around quickly. Everyone sat staring at Da

Reb Saunders almost smiled. He nodded, and the long black beard went back and forth against his chest. Then I saw the thick black eyebrows arch upward and the lids go about halfway down across the eyes. He leaned forward slightly, his arms still folded across his chest.

'And nothing more?' he asked very quietly.

Da

'So Reb Saunders said, sitting back in the leather chair, 'there is nothing more.'

I looked at the two of them, wondering what was happening.

What was this about Rabbi Yaakov and Rabbi Melr?

'The words were said by Rabbi Yaakov, not by Rabbi Melr,' Da

'Good,' Reb Saunders brokein quietly. 'The words were said by Ray Yaakov. Good. You saw it. Very good. And where is it found?'

'In Pil'ltei Avos,' Da

'Nu,' Reb Saunders said, smiling, 'how should you not know that? Of course. Good. Very good. Now, tell me-'

As I sat there listening to what then took place between Da

This went on and on, until I lost track of the thread that held it all together and sat and listened in amazement to the feat of memory I was witnessing. Both Da