Thursday the Rabbi Walked Out by Harry Kemelman Read Free Book Online Page B

delectable, but we will not eat them because there is a commandment forbidding it. Do you get the idea? Now, women are exempt from the positive commandments that have to be done at a particular time, so they are exempt from attending the minyan for the morning and evening prayers.”
    “But why are they exempt from those commandments. Rabbi?” asked Mrs. Froelich.
    “Because observing them would interfere with their more important work of managing the home and the family.”
    “Naturally,” said Molly Mandell sarcastically, “the idea is to get as much work out of them as possible.”
    “No.” The rabbi shook his head. “No. Mrs. Mandell. It’s because with us, the synagogue, or as we call it, the temple, is not the center of our religion, with us, it’s the home. It is there that the Sabbath is celebrated, there that the Feast of Passover, the most important liturgical ceremony in our religion, is held, there that the Succah is built. On the practical side. Mrs. Mandell. I can imagine a case in which a husband, overzealous in reciting the Kaddish for a dead parent, might insist on his wife accompanying him to the minyan to insure that there are the necessary ten, even if it means neglecting to prepare breakfast for the children.”
    Mrs. Froelich nodded vigorously. “When his father died. Harvey went to say Kaddish every single day, morning and evening, for a year. Before that he never went to the daily minyan, and he hasn’t gone since. But he certainly was Old Faithful that year, and you know, he wasn’t even close to his father, they never really got along.”
    “Sure, he had guilt feelings,” Mrs. Allen offered.
    “To hear you tell it. Rabbi.” Molly Mandell said, “the whole Jewish religion is practically dedicated to making things easier for women. It sounds nice, but it’s a crock, and I can prove it. Because in those daily prayers you say every morning, you start by thanking God for having been born a man.”
    The others were taken aback by her vehemence and looked at the rabbi to see his reaction, he had colored but he managed a smile. “I don’t see how you can object to that particular blessing, since it is in such complete agreement with the thinking of your movement.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Well, your Women’s Lib movement maintains that life is easier for the man than it is for the woman, doesn’t it?” he asked.
    “Well sure, but –”
    “So why shouldn’t men thank God for it? And is it wrong for them to try to equalize the differences a little by according women special privileges?”

ChapterEight
    Laura Maltzman was not a pretty woman; in fact, she was plain, she was tall and angular with square shoulders, she had a long face with a square chin, which seemed a little off center, as though she had just been struck a blow, or was on the point of turning her head. But her eyes were large and kindly and understanding, as her husband, rubbing his hands in satisfaction, came into the living room from the hallway, where he had been on the phone, she looked up inquiringly.
    “Just got word,” he said, “that the loan is going through, pretty sure anyway.”
    “Oh? Who called?”
    “Molly Mandell, she spoke to Gore about it, and she thinks he’ll go along, she thought I’d like to know.” He strode up and down the room and then stopped in front of her. “Look, this dinner you’re having, how about calling the Mandells and inviting them?”
    “But they’re so much younger than the others,” she objected.
    “So what? I want her – them – to know that I’m appreciative –”
    “You appointed Herb Mandell to the board last week.”
    “Yeah, but he’s active in the Brotherhood, so she might think it was for that. I want her to know I’m appreciative. See? She’s got a lot of influence in the bank, and she’s been friendly to me, like this phone call tonight, that can be pretty important, having someone you can count on right there in the bank. So I want her to know