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In the first
volume of "Pages From My Life," Ab. Cahan tells the
following about Joseph Rumshinsky's uncle, the wild
city preacher. This is how Cahan portrays him:
"In Zavel's
school there was the active Chaim Rumshesker.
He used to
"say" it in school itself. But once a week he used
to study with a group of artisans and other
"ordinary people," and in the next room, where they
used to pray during the middle of the week.
"Chaim
Rumshesker was the most interesting figure among all
the preachers that I have ever heard. Unfortunately,
I only began to understand and appreciate him years
later, when I could no longer hear or see him. He
was a person of the people, and I believe that he
would have been able to develop into a talented
poet, because he had imagination and also humor. His
parables were very realistic images, and his
statements and explanations -- often very heated --
contained many words and expressions, which had more
to do with possible life than with dead books.
Everything was with him in the form of scenes, which
he took from the surrounding world. I remember, for
example, how he gave an example of a boss and a
servant, a rough fellow. The servant makes an
unpleasant noise, and the noble boss can not stand
it. At the same time, he painted such a vivid
picture that I saw them both, as if before my eyes.
"He went around
with his big, dirty boots. Clop! Clop! Clop!" -- he
imagined -- "This 'Clop! Clop! Clop!' " He said this
slowly, loudly and theatrically. It resounded
throughout the school, and at the same time he
pointed with his hands and with his eyes and with a
special sharpness in his pronunciation, as the
servant paced with his dirty boots.
"The parable
had a bit of humor in it, and the audience laughed
out loud. Unfortunately, I do not remember what the
fun consisted of.
"Chaim
Rumshesker had big, protruding eyes. When he used to
portray something, he used to expose them in such a
way that they used to give a tremendous force into
the scene.
"He was very
popular with the masses. Scholars, however, have
looked down on him from above. "Badkhan" they
used to call him. Nevertheless, they used to listen
to his sermons.
"At one time he
used to allow himself to be an outspoken figure, or
even a whole parable, which his critics used to
consider obscene. I remember, for example, how he
explained the distinction between a concubine and a
lawful wife, and how my father then talked about it
with disgust.
"He was tall,
and in the tall men's hat he always wore, he looked
like a giant in my eyes. He had a big name, but not
like other famous preachers. He was a special
personality, and his fame had a special character."
Comrade Cahan
believes that in Rumshinsky's writings there
is felt the power of imagination that he inherited
from his uncle, Chaim Rumshesker. |
