From the right: Mina Kern, Anna Faust, Zypora Spaisman and Bronia Newman.
Courtesy of YIVO.

Theatre still from "Father Holds Court"
Courtesy of the "Lexicon of the Yiddish Theatre," Volume 3.

Scene 1.

It is Saturday evening. The teller of the story presents his home, the "Beth-Din" chamber, (a local Jewish court-house) on Crochmalne Street in Warsaw. He introduces his father, the "Moreh Horoeh," (a designated neighborhood authority on Jewish law), his mother, the frequent visitors to the home, and himself, still a child at the time. Mirele comes to inform the neighborhood's opposition to the divorced that the old Man Zishele and his wife Rivka had applied for. Father sends for the couple. Mother joins Father in talking them out of the divorce. They leave disappointed.

Scene 2.

The older brother is a reader of worldly literature and has a sophisticated view of life.

It is obvious that the father and the older son have entirely divergent views of life which often results in conflict between them.

Mendele, a bridegroom, comes in to apply for a release from his engagement with Raitche. The Moreh Horoeh proposes a peace settlement between the bride and the groom.

Scene 3.

Moshe the Tinsmith is leaving for the Holy Land. The neighbors gather to wish him a proper farewell. Moshe departs for the land "where up-to-date young people build colonies while they speak loshn-kodesh (the holy tongue)," even on weekdays.

Scene 4.

A Saturday evening on the Crochmalne Street is disrupted by tragedy -- a shoemaker's apprentice poisons himself. The unfortunate mother comes to the Moreh Horoeh to beg him not to allow the kehilla (the Jewish community body) to bury her son in disgrace.

Later that night our young story teller is deeply disturbed by the cries of the bereaved mother ringing in his ears. He wants to know what God will do to the suicide in the other world. "Wouldn't He forgive him even for such a sin as taking his own life?"

Scene 5.

An unhappy letter arrives from the sister who lives with her husband in Belgium. Her husband is not working and she can hardly feed her child. Father comes in with latest street gossip;  -- a new group is being organized; anarchists, who want to abolish money and forthwith  make people happy. Mother breaks into tears over the distress of her daughter and shows the letter to father who seems only to be occupied with foolish dreams and the world beyond.

Scene 6.

Three purveyors of some illegal goods have come in to ask father to pass judgment on something among them. Father doesn't even know what they are talking about. From the street there is heard a noise and excitement. It seems that a Crown Prince has been assassinated somewhere and war is about to break out. Mother and father lift their heads in prayer to God to spare the world from bloodletting and destruction.

Scene 7.

The older son is away at war and Mother prays for him nightly. Father pleads with her to take food and try to sleep. At night she is haunted by a vision of her son running through fire and devastation and returning to her. Shortly after her vision becomes a reality.

Scene 8.

It is Friday evening. Mother is getting ready for a visit to her father in Bilgorray. But she fears that he may no longer be alive. Mirele, the baker's daughter, has brought a challah so that the Moreh Horoeh will have something over which to say the Sabbath prayer. Mattes cannot go home because he has no challah over which to say the prayer. Mother gives him the challah. Raitche hurries in with some wine for the kiddush. Father make kiddush and the Holy Sabbath enters into the home-court. It enters in a spirit of hope and faith, in justice and peace.