Mr. Monday and other tales of Jewish Amsterdam

BACKGROUNDS t61

to become. So if in their jokes they make fun of the Jews who have recently arrived from Russia and Poland, they really poke fun at themselves.

Here's an example of such a story.

On board an ocean steamer on the way to America, one Polish Jew wakes up another in the middle of the night.

"Wake up, wake up, the ship is sinking!"

Says the other sleepily "Do you have to wake me up for that? Is it my ship?"

And then this one:

A man says to his neighbour "I hear that you have let yourselt be baptised. That I do not understand. Your brother had himself baptised a year ago. Okay, that I understand, he always wanted to be assimilated. But you? Why have you decided to become a Christian?" Says the other "To tell you the truth, I did it for my brother. He did not have any Christian friends."

However, their life does not merelv consist of uncertain" j

ties. Comparatively secure they feel themselves within their domestic circle. There is a firm bond between the members. They are also buttressed by the certainty that no Jew will let another down if things are at their worst.

A continuous appeal is made to those who are well off, and they give readily and liberally. Whatever you give to the poor, you will never lack yourself. He who helps his brother in distress finds grace in the eyes of G-d.They like to use the word rachmones, which means more than pity. It expresses being one with the sufferer, supporting him like