a *Khanike-lempl

es iz dokh *Khanike, vil ikh aykh dertseyln, vi azoy a yid, a *yoyred, *loy aleykhem, hot zikh amol geratevet durkh a *Khanike-lempl...
un meynt ir, a goldns? khotsh a zilberns? *davke a meshns un a *shivre-keyle. epes an alte *yerushe fun *dor-doyres, oysgekrimt, oysgedreyt un a halb rerl opgebrokhn...
der yid iz frier geven a balebos...
plutsling iz er *nisasher gevorn.
vi azoy? dos geher nisht tsu der zakh.
men zogt, a zelner hot getrogn in gas a shtabe ayzn tsu farkoyfn. hot er gekoyft untern *mekekh. aheymgefirt... er git a shlayf - gold!
*gelakkhnt geven fun der bank!
ober az a yid vert raykh, iz "*yoshn mipney khodesh", kert er iber di shtub. toysht er di *malbushim, vert er a daytsh, zi - a frantsumerke; varft avek dos sheytl. tsvey *bonim gehat - fun *kheyder aroys in gimnazyum arayn! men heybt on *meshane-ponim tsu zayn di shtub... a *sforim-shank geven, ver darf *sforim? geshikt in *bes-hamedresh arayn; a *matone. di shank - an alte, tsehakt, in kikh arayn oyf kindlekh geshikt... di *ployneste shtelt oyf dem ort a tremo. zi hot zikh mit a mol lib bakumen, zi vil zikh zen fun oybn biz arop... men ruft arayn a "handl", men farkoyft dos alte mebl *bekhotse-khinem un men koyft "Ludvik dem fertsntn" - kleyn, *kheynevdik, nor gebet; oysgekrimte fislekh, ober mit brondz. oyf redlekh, a *mekhaye. men hot zikh *moyre tsu zetsn.
a bisl alt zilber geven: *esreg-pushkelekh, *bsomim-shtekelekh, - farkoyft oyf brukh, tseshenkt *droshe-geshank far *kroyvim; gekoyft gloz, krishtol... blumentep, vazn, *keminheg-hooylem - modern!
iz dokh *galgl-khoyzer - in a tsayt arum heybt on geyn kapoyer, mit der puter arop. di zin zenen shoyn in oysland, men hot zey nisht tsu shikn... koym men prolongirt di vekselekh... fun der hant a *gmiles-khesed krigt men nisht...
es vert erger. men kukt zikh um, nishto epes tsu farzetsn? der "Ludvik der fertsnter" iz tsefaln... gloz un kristol - oysgehakt, tsebrokhn... a por *keylim geblibn - mit gips tsuzamengeklepte...
lebt men in *dakhkes...
az men lebt in *dakhkes, dermont men zikh a bisl on yidishkayt...
di *ployneste borgt bay'n a *shkheyne a mol a "*tsene-rene" un leyent. der pan Solomon, vos heyst shoyn tsurik *Shloyme-Zalmen, shtelt zikh a mol davenen in *tales-utfilin. un az es kumt *Khanike, glust zikh tsu bentshn *Khanike-likht...
likhtlekh hot men ergets oysgekashpert; men loyft in kikh arayn nokh a shaytl holts, nishto! farfelt *afile a kindl!
dermont zikh *Shloyme-Zalmen, az *beshas khadvose hot er gekhapt an alt *Khanike-lempl un gevorfn oyf an oyvn.
- *Shloyme-Zalmen, bet zikh di *ployneste, - nem es arop...
geyt men oyf *mesires-nefesh, shtelt men aroyf a benkl oyf a tish, rukt men tsu tsum oyvn, es tantst, es skripet. Ludvik der fertsnter krekhtst, di *ployneste halt unter - aropgenumen...
farshtoybt, koym opgevisht - men bentsht...
dem ershtn, dem tsveytn tog, azoy bizn akhtn tog - nor leygn vet men zikh on vetshere, iz umetik. zitst *Shloyme-Zalmen bay eyn zayt tish, di *ployneste - bay der tsveyter un men trakht - a fal far hunger oystsugeyn!
klingt ver, shpringen beyde oyf. efnt men. kumt arayn a bakanter yungerman, a mekler fun *kolerley.
vos iz?
er halt zikh koym ayn far lakhn. keyn Varshe iz a *meshugener englender gekumen. a glat-gegolter, oder *efsher a *nekeyve a farshtelte... koyft alte *shivre-keylim. vart in hoyz.
- zol er arayngeyn? *min-hastam vet zikh epes gefinen... azan alter balebos.
dos alte porfolk kukt zikh iber. vos hobn zey far alte *keylim? der englender kumt dervayl arayn; nisht gekont zikh dervartn; di tir iz ofn geshtanen. er kumt arayn, nemt arop di *koyve, derzet dos *Khanike-lempl, falt tsu vi "tsun a heysn poplinik", khapt es in di hent arayn, di hent tsitern, di oygn blitsn...
- gezogt *meshuge! - makht der mekler.
- vifl? vifl? - fregt der englender oyf a tsebrikhn daytsh.
kurts un *bekitser, men hot dos *Khanike-lempl farkoyft. farlozt zikh oyfn *meshugenem englenders *yoysher un genumen vifl er hot gegebn.
englender un mekler - op; dos porfolk blaybt.
- take *meshuge! - makht *Shloyme-Zalmen.
- un *efsher - zogt di *ployneste nisht dreyst - *Eliyohu hanovi? in *zkhus fun *Khanike-likht-bentshn?...
say-vi-say: geven oyf vetshere, geven oyf onbaysn, geven oykh mit vos tsu geyn in gas arayn...
un dos gelt iz epes *mazldik geven... dos redl heybt zikh on tsuriktsudreyen. aroyf!...
*Shloyme-Zalmen vert tsurik pan Solomon...
un az es geyt, geyt mit alem... bakumt men briv mit *nakhes fun kinder in oysland. aleyn zikh oysgearbet. eyner in London, an inzhenyer! groys! *khasene gehat! farbet tsu zikh. zoln tate-mame kenen di shnur...
fort men...
freyt men zikh op a tsayt in der heym, dernokh geyt men bakukn London... hayzer, fabrikn. dernokh teater, kontserthayzer, oysshtelungen.
firt men zey eyn mol in a kunsthoyz arayn - in a muzeum...
un shtelt aykh for, vi farblift dos alte porfolk iz gevorn, az zey hobn zikh, in a zal, unter a gloz, getrofn oyg-on-oyg mitn altn *Khanike-lempl... derkent di alte, lakhndike leybn... di beymlekh mitn foygl... dos oysgedreyte fisl, dos halb-opgebrokhene rerl.
- nisht *meshuge geven! - klert, in England shoyn - mister Solomon...
- un nisht *Eliyohu hanovi! - di mistres.
hoykh redn, *bifrat fregn, past nisht far der yunger shnur.
fartrakhtn zey zikh...
*efsher vet ir aykh oykh fartrakhtn?