The Southern Israelite. (Augusta, Ga.) 1925-1986, April 15, 1929, Image 18
Page 18
The Southern Israelite
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From the Frying Pan into the Fire
(Continued from page 4)
“What!” Reb Benzion jumped from
his place as if bitten by a serpent.
“Sigmund Reifman is the party you
propose for my daughter?
“Wisdom” understood that the time
had come to make use of the little
hack door.
“At any rate,” he said meekly, “be
fore getting excited you must listen
to what I have to say. I asked you
whether you know this Reifman, be
cause I heard that some match-makers
are trying to persuade you to take
him for a son-in-law. But how can
you think of such a thing? This is
what I ask. As a true friend I came
to warn you of this match. It is not
for you. Your sons-in-law must be
of an entirely different sort. They
must be of the old fashioned style.
You understand what I mean.”
“In that case”, Reb Benzion breath
ed as if a weight had been lifted
from his chest, “it is well to talk to
you a while.”
“With whom else could you talk,
if not with me? The party I want
to speak about is the same I under
stand someone is trying to persuade
you to accept.”
“So you know about it?” asked Reb
Benzion in wonder. “You know that
someone is trying to make a match?”
The eyes of the “Red One” sparkled
like those of a cat when she is on
the scent of a mouse hole.
“Of course I know,” he said, drag
ging his words, “that Bengamin Hook
er proposed you a party. But what
does that matter. As you know, he
is not among my friends, but I give
the Devil his due. I like to see the
good even in my enemies. The party
proposed to you by Hooker is indeed
the best.”
Reb Benzion remained thoughtful
for a moment. It occurred to him
that it were best to put both “Wis
dom" and “Piety” into his service in
order to keep them both from doing
him mischief.
“Yes,” he said a moment later,
"I, too, am of the opinion that Mendle
Rebhuhn’s son is the best husband
for my daughter Esterka, and I would
like to have you help along in this
matter, that you and Reb Bengamin
work together arranging this match.”
The eyes of the “Red One” sparkled
more brightly. He had now learned
the name of the proposed party, and
what was more important was that
he was certain now that Bengamin
Hoeker was trying to make a match.
“First of all,” Reb Benzion remind
ed him, “it is strictly necessary that
this affair shall be a secret for a
while. Neither my wife nor my Es
terka must know anything about
it, for the heads of these women are
filled with that fellow Reifman.
Should they find out something about
our secret it may he that they would
cross our plan. So it means keeping
our mouths shut. A man like you
needs hardly to be reminded of such
a thing. You know best when speech
and when silence is necessary.”
Oh, no! He needed no one to teach
him the uses of speech or silence.
He, therefore, rushed up the back
steps into the living rooms of Reb
Benzion, where he lost no time inform
ing Esterka and her mother that Ben
gamin Hoeker was proposing a match
for Esterka, and he intimated that
if they did not take necessary pre .
cautions Esterka would get for a hus-
band, instead of Sigmund Reifman
whom she wanted, the greenish little
son of Reb Mendle Rebhuhn.
His words had the desired effect
They struck the women folk like light
ening.
We shall leave mother and daughter
now and get acquainted with Sigmund
Reifman.
His parents were neighbors of Reb
Benzion. Sigmund and Esterka were
playmates. They were so attached
to each other when they were children
that they became proverbial in their
little town. Immediately after his
father’s death, Sigmund, who, even
from his earliest days, excelled in
school, had to leave his home. His
uncle in Berlin undertook to give him
the necessary education for a business
career. Thanks to his ability and his
earnest endeavors, he gained the con-
fidence of his employer, and was ad
vanced rapidly until he became man
ager of the firm in a few years. In
this position he had the opportunity
to he in constant correspondence with
Esterka. The firm, whose manager
he was, did a great deal of business
with Reb Benzion, and letters were
exchanged frequently. The letters
which Esterka wrote in the name of
her father, and Sigmund for his firm,
limited themselves merely to business
matters, hut it goes without saying
that from time to time there was a
certain warmth in these messages,
which only Esterka and Sigmund un
derstood. Later on Sigmund found
opportunities to spend hours near Es
terka. On his visits to his mother he
would find pretexts to remain for
hours in Reb Benzion’s store. Reb
Benzion being very much interested
in the financial aspect of these visits,
never gave a thought to the fact that
Sigmund was talking business merely
to breathe the same air which Esterka
inhaled. In this way the inclination
for each other, which was so strong
in childhood, was fanned into a flame,
and they knew without either of them
saying it aloud that they belonged
to each other for life.
Esterka found a true confidante in
her mother, who desired from the
depths of her heart a union between
Sigmund and her daughter. She trie
repeatedly to win over her husban
to her way of thinking, but each time
he informed her in his rather rough,
summary manner, not to mix into hi?
affairs. Why Reb Benzion was jn
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