- there are 70 faces to 
Post by alon on Dec 18, 2014 22:52:56 GMT -8
OY, those Talmudists!
A Talmudic teacher from Odessa received permission to visit Moscow. He got on the train and found his seat. At the next stop a young man got on and sat next to him. The Talmudic scholar looked at him and thought, “This fellow doesn’t look like a peasant … ." If he isn't a peasant he probably comes from this district. He must be Jewish since after all this is a Jewish district. So if he’s a Jew where could he be going? I’m the only one in our district who has permission to go to Moscow; wait, just outside of Moscow is a little village called Samvet. And you don’t need special permission to go there. But why would he be going to Samvet? Oh he’s probably going to visit one of the Jewish families there. But how many Jewish families are there in Samvet? There’s only 2, the Bernsteins and the Steinbergs.
The Bernsteins, oy what a terrible family they are. He must be going to see the Steinbergs. But why is he going? The Steinbergs only have girls… unless he’s married to one of them. So which daughter did he marry? Sarah married a lawyer from Budapest and Esther married a businessman from Zhadomir. So it must be Sarah's husband which means his name is Alexander Cohen if I’m not mistaken. But if he comes from Budapest, with all the anti-Semitism there he must've changed his name. What’s the Hungarian equivalent of Cohen? It’s Kovac! But if he changed his name he must have some kind of special status, probably a doctorate from a university.” At this point the Talmudist turned to the young man and said, "How do you do Dr. Kovac?” The startled man said “I’m fine thank you, but how do you know my name?
The Talmudist said, “Oh, it’s obvious”.
A Talmudic teacher from Odessa received permission to visit Moscow. He got on the train and found his seat. At the next stop a young man got on and sat next to him. The Talmudic scholar looked at him and thought, “This fellow doesn’t look like a peasant … ." If he isn't a peasant he probably comes from this district. He must be Jewish since after all this is a Jewish district. So if he’s a Jew where could he be going? I’m the only one in our district who has permission to go to Moscow; wait, just outside of Moscow is a little village called Samvet. And you don’t need special permission to go there. But why would he be going to Samvet? Oh he’s probably going to visit one of the Jewish families there. But how many Jewish families are there in Samvet? There’s only 2, the Bernsteins and the Steinbergs.
The Bernsteins, oy what a terrible family they are. He must be going to see the Steinbergs. But why is he going? The Steinbergs only have girls… unless he’s married to one of them. So which daughter did he marry? Sarah married a lawyer from Budapest and Esther married a businessman from Zhadomir. So it must be Sarah's husband which means his name is Alexander Cohen if I’m not mistaken. But if he comes from Budapest, with all the anti-Semitism there he must've changed his name. What’s the Hungarian equivalent of Cohen? It’s Kovac! But if he changed his name he must have some kind of special status, probably a doctorate from a university.” At this point the Talmudist turned to the young man and said, "How do you do Dr. Kovac?” The startled man said “I’m fine thank you, but how do you know my name?
The Talmudist said, “Oh, it’s obvious”.
