March 18 , 1999 Editor, Roy Lisker

#1...

Ferment

vol.XIII#1

March 18 , 1999 Editor, Roy Lisker

8 Liberty Street #306

Middletown, CT. 06457

The Governments of Chelm

Note: In the Yiddish folklore of Eastern Europe, the Polish town of Chelm is the traditional village of fools. Some perspective on the relationship of this literary convention to the history of the real Chelm ( city and province), is provided at the end of this fable through entries from the Encyclopedia Britannica, 1986

1.

Introduction

Legendary Chelm is a shtedl located somewhere between the Russian Pale of Settlement and the north-eastern provinces of Poland. To image a shtedl think of Fiddler on the Roof , or the stories of Sholem Aleichem on which the musical is based : part market-town, part peasant village. Apart from a small number of successful businessmen, living on the outskirts and more concerned with their affairs in Lublin, Moscow or Warsaw than with life in this dilapidated hamlet , everyone is desperately poor. Indeed, Chelm is so poor that most of its inhabitants make a living by “ clawing their way up the walls “ .

Although the rest of the world, Jews and non-Jews alike, laugh at their folly , Chelm’s inhabitants are proud of their great tradition of wisdom, embodied in the persons of the dozen or so rabbis , of distinguished genealogy and credentials, who form the Council of the Wise Elders. This Council meets irregularly though frequently , at times of major political or economic crises, to put their stamp of authority on resolutions of religious controversies , to debate thorny legal matters, or to sit around telling each other stories.

Owing to its peculiar status as a legendary shtedl , Chelm is always able to produce on demand at least one representative of every stock figure of Ashkenazic life: rabbis ; shadchans (match-makers) ; chazzans (cantors) ;moels ( circumcisers ) ;melameds ( wandering tutors ) ; maggids ( revivalist preachers ) ; shochets ( kosher butchers ) ; yentas

( female busybodies ) ; schnorrers ( beggars) ; goniffs (thieves) ; schlemiels ( clumsy fools ); schlemazls ( luckless fools ) ; and so on. Several of these appear in the pages of this story. There are even some scientists in Chelm, the evidence for which is given by this classic account:

“ It had been assumed for so many centuries that a dropped slice of toast always lands butter-side-down , that this conclusion had come to be taken for granted. During the Enlightenment everything was called into question, and this was no exception. From his studies at the University of Cracow a student had learned about Galileo’s experiment, when the great physicist dropped objects of various weights from the Leaning Tower of Pisa to demonstrate that all things travel at the same speed in free fall. The student suggested to the Council that the buttered toast theory be tested in a similar fashion.

Witnesses to the experiment included two rabbis, one a skeptic, the other a believer. The student buttered a slice of toast, lifted it off the table and released it. Sure enough, when it collided with the floor, the buttered side was down.

‘ I rest my case’ , said the rabbi who had never doubted the wisdom of the old saying.

‘ Aha!’ , retorted the sceptic : ‘He buttered the wrong side! ‘“

2.

The Council of the Wise Elders

On a morning around the turn of the century - the exact century being immaterial - the wise elders of Chelm met in the assembly rooms above the Talmud Torah to determine the form of government most suitable for Chelm. Chelm, if one can imagine it, didn’t even have a mayor ; without a mayor, Chelm wasn’t a city, wasn’t a town, wasn’t a village : it wasn’t even Chelm! And, since one couldn’t expect the mayor to come from elsewhere, he had to be a resident, didn’t he? Accordingly when a local well-to-do businessman, one Chiam the cattle merchant , offered himself for the post, he was as good as inducted on the spot.

Just before the vote was taken that would have confirmed him , an objection occurred to Rabbi Lefkowitz:

“ If Chiam is a citizen of Chelm , and at the same time it’s mayor , to my mind there’s a conflict of interests. Others he obliges to obey his laws; but if he doesn’t want to obey his own law? Nu ; so he changes it !

A room filled with such learned sages can easily understand that it is no more possible for a citizen to be his own ruler than it is for a servant to be his own master. Let’s not get lost in abstractions: although Chiam the mayor can punish Moishe the nebish for stealing blintzes , who punishes Chiam for watering milk?”

Nobody spoke for quite some time. Then Rabbi Yonkel said, “ I have a solution. Chelm needs two mayors, someone who also rules Chiam . I propose that we appoint another rich man, Yitzhak, owner of the shoe factory.”

“But Reb Yonkel, how can a master of erudition like yourself propose such a thing ? Who rules Yitzhak?”

“ Chiam! Who else?

The decision to appoint Chiam as mayor was therefore postponed until the next meeting, when the proposal to appoint Yitzhak as well could be properly debated.

3.

A Question of Logic

At the next convening of the Council , Rabbi Sobel arose to announce that he had discovered a fallacy in Rabbi Yonkel’s logic:

“ That’s all very well and good”, he observed, “ but if one of our ordinary citizens has a complaint, to whom does he go: Chiam or Yitzhak?”

The wise elders gave the matter their serious consideration. Eventually they decided that people with complaints would go to Chiam.

“And what if someone wants to complain against Chiam?”

He should go to Yitzhak.

“That’s all very well and good”, countered Rabbi Sobel, who was always using that expression, “ but suppose Yitzhak himself has a complaint. To whom does he go? Answer me that one! ”

“That’s such a simple question”, retorted Rabbi Yonkel, “ that I marvel at the ignorance of someone who would raise it. Look: if somebody has a complaint which doesn’t involve Chiam , he goes to Chiam. If he wants to complain about Chiam, he goes to Yitzhak. And if Yitzhak himself has a complaint , well ... well ... well: he comes to us!!”

4.

The Cowherd’s Complaint

At the next Council meeting , a citizen who wasn’t Chiam, and wasn’t Yitzhak either , a landless peasant and cowherd , showed up with a grievance:

“ Learned rabbis ”, he said, “ I got a complaint against both Yitzhak and Chiam! ”

He was given the floor and allowed to speak.

“ Here in Chelm - what can I say? Chiam? So, it’s common knowledge, Chiam is the mayor. He’s mayor, not somebody else? Not me, not you? Good! Why is he the mayor? Well - it’s because he’s gotta big cattle business and owns a dozen farms up in the hills. Nu ? So; Chiam’s mayor: good. If it’s God’s will, even a broom can shoot.

Yitzhak? Well; he’s mayor, too! This is Chelm, and because it’s Chelm, we do things differently from everywhere else in the universe. So we got two mayors ! Why is that? You say , somebody’s got to be Chiam’s mayor. But I say , it’s because he’s a rich shoe manufacturer, what has a factory with maybe 30 employees that slave for him like the Israelites under Pharoah from dawn to dusk and can’t take so much as a prayer break . About some other fool, every fool’s an expert.

Now, you say there ain’t no conflict of interest. Yet in fact, Chiam and Yitzhak are , both of them, traders in cow flesh: Chiam’s cows graze on all the surrounding meadows, and some of them become shoe leather for Yitzhak .

Let’s deal with Chiam first: what’s he do the minute he gets into office? He raises the price of beef ! Give a chair to a dog , he’ll want to get on the table. Between you and me and the Almighty ( Praise the Lord!), he would have succeeded , too, if he was the only mayor. I gotta hand it to you; you wise men outsmarted him ! You made Yitzhak his mayor , so he don’t get away with it ! I’d take my hat off to you, but this is a holy place. Mazel Tov .

Next: Yitzhak raises the cost of a pair of shoes! In my own family even , we ain’t got four shoes between the five of us. All the same, he does it and thinks he can get away with it, because he’s mayor. But! Praises be to the God of Abraham , Isaac and Jacob for giving us such a Council of eminent rabbis! Chiam sees to it that this didn’t happen.

What more is there to say? What won’t a Jew do for a living? These two goniffs put their heads together, and when they ’re finished talking, they issue a joint decree lowering wages for many categories of workers , starting with nebishes like myself, cowherds that take care of the cattle from which they make all their money, may it rot in their pockets before they get to spend a groschen of it !

Already my family has to dig the ground for roots after the harvest is over . Who is it does all their dirty work and never receives more than a kick in the ass for his pains? (Begging your pardon, eminent sirs!)

Der oisher hat nit kein yoisher ! The rich have no sense of justice. Give us a bit of justice, and there’ll be peace.”

The vigorous debate that followed threatened to turn into an uproar. Rabbi Lefkowitz stood up and requested silence. He had a notion:

“ Since cows seems to be the common interest of our two mayors, our system of government cannot function unless they also have a mayor!”

Accordingly Horowitz, a well-to-do landlord, was invited to serve as mayor for the cows of Chelm. He was contacted in due time, raised no objections to the proposal, and was sworn into office .

“ Now everything is perfect!” commented Rabbi Silverstein : “Say someone has a complaint about Chiam, Yitzhak, or cows: send him to Horowitz!”

5.

The Tenant’s Complaint

A villager presented himself at the next Council meeting:

“Gentlemen!” he said , “ I want to lodge a complaint against Horowitz.”

“ Nu? Out with it!”

“ It’s like this : suppose Horowitz gets it in his head to do something he knows neither Chiam nor Yitzhak are going agree to , like what he did last month when he doubled the rent on all his tenants. Well, Horowitz goes to Yitzhak and says:

“ You don’t want that dog, Chiam, to raise the price of shoe leather , do you?”

“ I should say not!”

“ I’ll see to it that Chiam keeps down the price of cattle .”

Then Horowitz goes to Chiam and says,

“ Do you want to stop Yitzhak from raising the price of shoes ?”

“Of course!”

“ I’ll stand by you in making sure that shoes stay cheap.”

Then Horowitz again leaves. Well, you see it’s this way: Horowitz knows that Chiam is always trying to raise the price of cattle. He also knows that Yitzhak won’t stop trying to find a way to raise the price of a pair of shoes . Therefore it must be his duty to get them to stop trying to cheat the good people of Chelm. By some kind of schmegegy logic, he concludes that this gives him the right to raise the rents!

And by the time he gets through explaining his reasoning to Chiam and Yitzhak, they’re so confused they don’t know what to think.”

Angry voices broke out all around the room:

“Fire Horowitz!” someone cried.

“ But what about peasant discontent? What about the cattle market?”

“ Then fire Chiam and Yitzhak!”

“ So! We should keep Horowitz then ? ”

“ Is a thief honest just because he can’t steal? Fire them all !”

“ What do you want? Anarchy?”

It was a problem which called for much deep thinking and study of the Talmud. After dissolving the civil administration they had put together with such pains, the Council adjourned for two weeks.

At their next meeting, Rabbi Yonkel was the first to arise. He had brought with him a proposal for an amendment to the town constitution:

“ The Talmud never wearies in reminding us that the study of the Law is higher than all other pursuits and occupations. Did not the Rabbi Yochanan state that a schnorrer with education is superior to a wealthy rabbi who also happens to be a nincompoop ?

Esteemed sages, far be if for me to vaunt my own learning to you, knowing full well as I do the words of the great Rabbi Hillel who said:

He who wears the crown of learning for personal gain shall surely perish.

And, this is , indeed, what we see coming to pass: all of the failures in our institutions of government to date have come about through the greed of those who would place their own mercantile self-interest above the word of God.

Yitzhak and Chiam are like the fox and the snake in the story of the - of the - well; I don’t remember the story. And Horowitz! : Whoever lies down to sleep with a dog gets up with fleas ! Truly it was with such a person in mind that Solomon states that He who seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him .

Rabbi Yonkel removed his spectacles , looked around the assembly room, and commented : “ It’s because of people like him that we’ve had to place the synagogue’s donation box so close to the ceiling that nobody can reach it. “

He coughed, adjusted his spectacles and once again consulted his notes: “ To my mind there is only one way out of this dilemma. To avoid a conflict of interest, we must require that a mayor of Chelm be without any occupation whatsoever.”

“ But Reb Yonkel”, cried Rabbi Sobel, “ That is all very well and good, but whom are we going to find without an occupation? Do you expect Chiam and Yitzhak to go out of business? Will Horowitz rent rooms for nothing? ”

“Reb Sobel, you are an idiot - a Chelmer chochem ! ” snapped Rabbi Yonkel, “ and I wonder sometimes why you are allowed to remain on the Council. I have no intention of asking Chiam or Yitzhak or Horowitz to give up their thriving concerns. From this time forth, the mayor of Chelm will be the town schnorrer ! “

And it was entered into the records that the town beggar would be required to serve as mayor in Chelm.

6.

The Schnoorer’s Tale

For several months there was a gratifying smoothness to the spinning of the wheels of government. People with proposals, grievances about the government, or conflicts requiring mediation went to Bogow, the lazy disreputable beggar of Chelm , a derelict to whom it appeared not to make the slightest difference whether he were mayor or not. If somebody wanted to lodge a complain against Bogow he could, in theory, put in a word at meetings of the learned Council. Yet for two months the elders heard no news of any further disturbances of the public order. Pleased with this lull in the affairs of Chelm, and as a reward to itself for its’ own cleverness, the Council voted itself a month’s vacation.

Upon its’ resumption a citizen came with a grievance to be presented to the assembly of the wise. It was Bogow.

“Gen’lmen”, he said, making a determined effort to behave in a dignified manner: “Zis vitz , zis joik hez got to shtop. I’m no more cut out to be ze mayor zen zis louse.” He held up the one he’d extracted from behind an ear and crushed it to death between thumb and forefinger.

“ It is your civic obligation !” Rabbi Lefkowitz barked at him, “ Let me remind you, Mr. Bogow, that the Torah makes no distinction between civil and religious duties! “

“ Duties! Schmooties!” Bogow retorted, “ Ferst - vat ken I tell you? It’s a disgrace to haf somevon like me as mayor; a no-goodnik, a Trombenik ! You ken’t fill a seck mit hoils . In all my life I ain’t earned so much as von bent kopek! I ain’t got kadoches ! But - let it go. Your disease don’t gif me no fever. Ze Talmud says? ... the Talmud says....Vat I know about ze Talmud?...

I’m lyink under a tree - sleepink - shlof ist a goniff - I gotta empty stomach vat makes a noise like a oild chazzan . Vy does poverty vistle? ... Beggink your pardons, learned rebbes , I’m mindink my own business ..... when zese two schlemiels ! , Hyman Rebinovitz unt Lev Goldshtein, people vat in ze real voirld vouldn’t gif me ze time of day, come runnink up to me - because - like you say - I’m supposed to be some kind mayor - eskink me for - vat else? : zey vant justice!

Let me tell you frenkly, vize rebbes , I ain’t got ze least idea vat is justice : “Who judges ze judge?” It’s in ze Talmud . But - I’m ze mayor? .. I’m ze mayor. Unt, because I’m ze mayor I promise at least to listen . Keep your mouth shut, and people vill call you chochem - a vise man. Of course: zey won’t get nothin’ vrom me widout they pay me - and vell, too! Zen I esk Rebinovitz:

‘ You got tsuris ?’ Oy Gevolt ! Learned rebbes ! - Right avay it’s skreamink ! Und yellink! A groisse tummel ! Mit shakink ze fists, right in my face, mind you! Threats! Curses! A ruckus like I ain’t never hert in oil my days! So I shout:

“ Hak mir nit kein chineck- don’t bang ze tea kettle ! ” Zen I say to Rebinovitz:

“ You ferst, nudnik ! ” So he spins me a long, ridikilous yarn , a gantze bubba meysha , not von verd - belief me - is true:

“Reverend mayor” , he begins. I vant go kochsen mit zis ‘reverend mayor’ meshegass , “ Reverend mayor, I own a business.”