Folktales of the Jews, Volume 2: Tales from Eastern Europe

42. Reb Zusha the Shoemaker (IFA 19949)

42 Reb Zusha the Shoemaker T O L D B Y A Z R I E L Z U R I E L T O A B R A H A M K E R E N In those days, they didn’t make new shoes. Most people mended their old shoes. My grandfather, the late Reb* Berish, told me that for thirty years he had been mending his boots. InYiddish they called it untergeboyt, that is, resoling. So most of this cobbler’s [Reb Zusha’s] work was to sew patch on top of patch on top of patch; and from this, of course, he did not make much of a living. The fact is that he had help. His wife baked bread for the wives of the rich men. His two daughters also helped. They were seamstresses. But even with three trades, poverty reigned in every corner. A. K.: My friend Azriel told me how even such a destitute man could help others. “Listen, friend Avrum,” he said, “Reb Zusha the shoemaker knew who was ill in the city, he knew the old people and the widows—all those who had nothing, who had no way to prepare the Sabbath meals. Reb Zusha took it upon himself to make sure that those unfortunates would not have to celebrate their Sabbath with weekday fare. This was his mission, the holy mission that brought a little bit of light to those unfortunate people and also filled him with the breath of life. “Every Thursday afternoon, he would put aside his work and begin his sacred labors, going from door to door. The local women knew that Reb Zusha Shuster** was coming, and they had to get something ready. This one offered a hallah, that one had some cholent,§ and another a piece of gefilte fish or chicken soup for a sick person. In this way, he ran around on Thursday and Friday until the afternoon. “But this arrangement came to an end. Reb Zusha had a brother in NewYork who managed to make some money. He knew how desperately poor his brother Zusha was. The brother sent him a stream of letters, urg313 • Rabbi or Mr. •• Shoemaker.§ A slow-cooked stew for the Sabbath among Ashkenazic Jews.  314  Folktales of the Jews: Volume 2 ing him to come alone to America and save a little money, and then he could bring over his wife and two daughters. ‘You have a good trade and you’ll be able to escape poverty and destitution. I will send you a steamer ticket. Come to America and change your lot for something better.’ “At long last Reb Zusha agreed. I remember—I was a lad when we accompanied Reb Zusha to the train. We were very sad. Especially sad were all of the sick people and old people. In their distress, they were crying, ‘Who will take care of us and give us a tiny bit of the joy of the Sabbath?’ “You probably think that Reb Zusha stayed in America and brought over his wife and his daughters. Why not? “That’s what his wife and daughters thought, too. That’s what all the Jews in our town expected. But that wasn’t what Reb Zusha Shuster thought. “One fine day, a year or so later, Reb Zusha came back from America, the land where you could sweep up gold in the streets (at least so people thought). When they asked him, ‘Why did you come back from America?’ his answer was, ‘Dort’n hab ikh nisht gehot vos tsu tun.* That is, my poverty, want, having to do without, not making a living—none of that counts. As I see it, I wasn’t really doing anything there. Really doing something means helping the needy and the sick.’ ” AK: This story left an unforgettable impression on me. May this story be a monument to his memory. * I didn’t have anything to do there. COMMENTARY FOR TALE 42 (IFA 19949) Recorded by Abraham Keren from Azriel Zuriel of Poland in 1993 in Jerusalem. Cultural, Historical, and Literary Background Jewish Values Told as a personal memory, the narrator recalls Reb Zusha the shoemaker, who in his way of life made an indelible impression on him. His own destitution notwithstanding , Zusha the shoemaker followed two basic values of the Jewish tradition: charity and the observance of the Sabbath. For discussions of the...