h unfortunate people. Everyone
of them must be talked to, and have the thing explained to him. Then,
the other party must be spoken to as well, I mean the poor people, so
that they shall be willing to take their share of the misfortune. That's
not such an easy matter as giving a thing away and getting rid of it."

"Of course, of course...." agreed Reb Nochumtzi.

"Look here, Rav of Pumpian, I will undertake the more difficult
part--let us work together! You shall persuade the rich to give away
their misfortune, and I will persuade the poor to take it! Your share of
the work will be the easier, because, after all, everybody wants to be
rid of his misfortune. Do your part, and as soon as you have finished
with the rich, I will arrange for you to be met half-way by the
poor...."

* * * * *

History does not tell how far the Rav of Pumpian succeeded in Wilna.
Only this much is certain, the president never saw him again.

JEHALEL

Pen name of Judah Loeb Lewin; born, 1845, in Minsk (Lithuania), White
Russia; tutor; treasurer to the Brodski flour mills and their sugar
refinery, at Tomaschpol, Podolia, later in Kieff; began to write in
1860; translator of Beaconsfield's Tancred into Hebrew; Talmudist;
mystic; first Socialist writer in Hebrew; writer, chiefly in Hebrew, of
prose and poetry; contributor to Sholom-Alechem's Juedische
Volksbibliothek, Ha-Shahar, Ha-Meliz, Ha-Zeflrah, and other
periodicals.

EARTH OF PALESTINE

As my readers know, I wanted to do a little stroke of business--to sell
the world-to-come. I must tell you that I came out of it very badly, and
might have fallen into some misfortune, if I had had the ware in stock.
It fell on this wise: Nowadays everyone is squeezed and stifled;
Parnosseh is gone to wrack and ruin, and there is no business--I mean,
there _is_ business, only not for us Jews. In such bitter times people
snatch the bread out of each other's mouths; if it is known that someone
has made a find, and started a business, they quickly imitate him; if
that one opens a shop, a second does likewise, and a third, and a
fourth; if this one makes a contract, the other runs and will do it for
less--"Even if I earn nothing, no more will you!"

When I gave out that I had the world-to-come to sell, lots of people
gave a start, "Aha! a business!" and before they knew what sort of ware
it was, and where it was to be had, they began thinking about a
shop--