Trafika Europe 13 - Russian Ballet

Judeophile

slave girl market: I wanted to fondle each one of them, to leaf through their pages and read from the most attractive ones. At the same time, I had not forgotten the purpose of my visit. Finally, an unshaven and unkempt Judean advised me to seek out a “collector of Judaica” whom he had seen at the market earlier in the day, and the Hebrew proceeded to briefly describe this “collector” and the location where he had seen him. And I indeed found in that spot the little man who fit this description: slight in height, about sixty-five years old, dressed neatly, without a hat, with a short gray crew cut. He was holding several books underarm, pressing down on them with his forearm (I reconstructed the conversation that followed and the other details from an old journal.) “Please forgive me, but I was told that you collect Judaica...” “Are you looking for books on Jewish history? I have Graetz, Dubnov, Renan...” My heart jumped, but all these things were exorbitantly priced and out of my reach. “Actually, I am looking for a bible.” “I only have a missionary bible (pocket format, with the tiniest of fonts, the one that cost a fifty,) standard price. But I don’t have it with me, it’s at home. You wouldn’t happen to be in the market for one in Hebrew?” He

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