ABSTRACT
Cry out for joy and gladness, my wife! They have chosen me to be the President of the Great Synagogue.” These were the words that Peretz Rokin exclaimed to his wife, Hannah, one evening when, his face bright with joy, he came home from the synagogue. Overcome by emotion, he tried to hug her, as men are prone to hug each other when they are seized with sudden fits of happiness. But Hannah, instead of sharing his jubilation, made an angry face and, to his dismay, said in fury, “I would like to know the reason for all this delight. What good will this do you? What good is all the honor you will get in the synagogue in times like these when it is hard to earn a crust of bread?”
