Dichroic Reflections

lucky

This is an expansion of something I posted earlier to a discussion list.

"And I'd discuss the holy books With the learned men, seven hours every day. That would be the sweetest thing of all...."

I may be in error in believing that Fiddler on the Roof shows a more or less accurate picture of how my ancestors lived, if you ignore the bursting into song (which would be believable, as I am given into bursting into song myself, except for the supposedly extemporaneous but none the less perfectly scanning and meaningful lyrics), and the conversion of grinding poverty into Colorful Ethnic Charm*. However, given that Fiddler is based on a story by Sholem Aleichem, who knew that world, I don't think it's all that far off.

*It's less prettified in the book. There's another story in the same collection about a man who celebrated every fastday he could find or justify - because there wasn't enough food and if he didn't eat, someone else in the family could have a little more. He dies of starvation.

I was listening to shuffled songs on the iPod on my way to work this morning and when "If I Were a Rich Man" came on and got to the lines quoted above, I
got a little teary eyed ... because it struck me that that is *exactly* what I get to do, and what my ancestors could only dream of.

I complain about a lack of free time, but I don't have to work every second from the time I wake up to early to the time I go to bed too late just to earn enough to keep me alive. The things that keep me over-busy are rowing and flying - Tevye never saw an airplane (not until he migrated to America, the Goldeneh Medineh!) and he and his daughters did not need anything so artificial as exercise. Hard work and insufficient food don't let you look buff, but they to tend to prevent much worrying about fat. I have time to read.

I have books to read. If Tevye was lucky, he owned a Bible and a Siddur (prayerbook). I have so many books that I haven't finished cataloging them in a desultory two years. A telling way to look at it is that I can buy a paperback at current prices and my current pay rate with about 10 minutes' work. (Double that after taxes and other deductions.

I also have a luxury that Tevye yearned for, that I mostly didn't have until the advent of the Internet: I have learned people with whom to discuss the boos I love. Granted most of the books I discuss are not exactly holy, but they are important to me. If I wanted to discuss anything from the Torah to the Mishnah to even the Kabbalah, there are communities for that. (Though I might have to do a lot of weeding to sort out the weirdos and the faddish mystics, if I wanted to discuss the Kabbalah. I can read and even comment on Baraita and Velveteen Rabbi's blogs for thoughtful discussion, look up a Hebrew Bible online or shop for one at Artscroll, or pose a question at WeirdJews to get a variety of viewpoints. Or I can choose to study secular matters, and the resources are limitless.

In the days in which _Fiddler_ is set, only the richest men had books and time to read and discuss their readings, beyond a bare minimum. Most women had no
time to do so at all, because of all the innumerable household demands. And yet here I am, and I can not only read, but find people to engage in learned discussion of any book I choose. Aren't I lucky? Aren't we?

Posted by dichroic at May 27, 2005 02:49 PM