Mr. Monday and other tales of Jewish Amsterdam

172 Air. Monday and Other Tales of Jewish Amsterdam

that Levi, told his children last night? 'Those of you who go to sleep without food and do not cry will get a cent for reward.' Can you beat that? Those little kids went to bed without food and without crying, and their father gave each of them one cent, the last few cents he had. But this morning he said 'If you give me back that cent of last night, I will buy bread with it, and then we can all eat."

Said Grandma "That Levi should have his head knocked against the wall, that is no mensch, that is a monster. And the same applies to his stupid wife."

But she added immediately, "I hope you told her to send the children to us."

From that day on, it was a matter of course that the neighbours of the first floor ate from our kitchen whenever they wanted. When the large pan with soup for our two families stood on the gas, Grandma sometimes grumbled "Look at the size of that pan, we should rent a hangar for it." Or she would say mockingly to Mother "You'd better call the doctor. We've got parasites."

In the months and years that followed, I believe Sol ate more in our home than at his mother's. He was ridden by an insatiable hunger. Just like his mother, there had not been much brain bestowed on him, but his unending desire for food, and more food, had developed in his character a sort of animal cunning. As far as I know, he did not suffer from any physical handicap but his movements were jerky, he walked with little shocks. There was no grace about him. You got the impression that somewhere deep down in his body there were wires that connected his limbs with his head, and that those wires were twisted and tangled. His