Free Two Scholars Who Were in Our Town and Other Novellas by S. Y. Agnon Page A

to get close to him, the more he would keep him at a distance. He started griping about the rabbi, and once he started griping about the rabbi, he discovered other gripers like himself.
    There was an elderly money-lender in the town, scholarly and observant of the commandments, named Reb Asher. Reb Asher had authored a book and named it “His Bread Shall be Fat” so named for the verse “Out of Asher his bread shall be fat.” The old man began pestering the rabbi, seeking an endorsement of his book. One time when the old man was harassing the rabbi, the rabbi said to him, “And who’s going to endorse your other book, your book of usurious loans?” The old man stormed out fuming and began griping about the rabbi. And once he started griping, he discovered other gripers like himself.
    In the town there was a “Clothing of the Naked” welfare society. One time, the treasurer used money from the society’s funds to buy tefillin for a young pauper, relying on the verse, “It is the only covering for his skin,” which had been interpreted by an important mystical text to mean that tefillin are to be regarded as clothing. The rabbi heard about this and required the treasurer to pay for it out of own pocket. He started griping about the rabbi. And once he started griping about the rabbi, he found other gripers like himself.
    The grandson of a Hassidic Rebbe had lived in the town. When he passed on, the Hassidim sought to immerse his body in the ritual bath. The Rabbi would not permit it. They began to bad-mouth the rabbi. And once they began to bad-mouth the rabbi, they discovered many other gripers like themselves.
    There was an old judge in Reb Shlomo’s religious court, whose son-in-law, Reb Fischel Toen, was a certified instructor, and used to counsel litigants and issue legal rulings in his neighborhood. When the old judge passed on, Reb Fischel sought to be appointed in place of his father-in-law. The rabbi knew him to be a quarrel monger and schemer who, when he saw that the law was leaning in favor of the deserving party, would counsel the culpable party on how to prevail. The rabbi said to him, “Refrain from pursuing this matter; I will not consent to your appointment as a judge.” Reb Fischel left disappointed and began to gripe about the rabbi. And once he began to gripe about the rabbi, he discovered other gripers like himself.
    All the gripers banded together as one, each one for a different reason, and composed a slanderous letter to the town’s officials accusing the rabbi of being a fanatic, an unenlightened zealot. The town officials and government bureaucrats, who knew the Rabbi, tore up the letter and rebuked the rabble-rousers. How did they react? The Hassidim amongst them said, “Because he studies the languages of the Gentiles, they side with him.” The Enlightenment followers among them said, “Because the Gentiles like him, he hastens to be strict even when there is room for leniency, in order to capture the hearts of the most religious.”
    And yet the dispute had not progressed beyond being just an ordinary dispute, until Reb Fischel was widowed and remarried a woman from the Feivush family. This is the same Feivush family that was named after its leader Reb Uri Veibush the Provider, who used to rule the town with an iron fist, and the fruit of his loins had emulated his qualities and maintained a firm grip on the town. The head of the community, Reb Feivush the Great, was a member of the Feivush family. The congregational scribe, Feivush the Lesser, was his sister’s son. Reb Feivushel the Elder was the treasurer of the holy burial society. Feivush the Hoarse, the religious supervisor of the slaughterhouse, was from the family of Feivush. The Feivush who was nicknamed Fabius was in charge of the registry of births and deaths. Fabius, whom everyone called Feivki, and Feivki who called himself Febus, together controlled the tobacco market and its branches. The distillery was leased to the