looks they turned on Meir were
severe and almost angry.

"Sabbath! Sabbath!" shouted the melamed, jumping in his chair and
gesticulating with his hands; "You, Meir, during the holy evening of
Sabbath, instead of reciting Kiddish and filling your spirit with
great joy and giving it into the hands of the angel Matatron, who
defends Jacob's tribes before God, that he may give them into the
hands of Sar-ha-Olama, who is the angel over angels and the prince of
the world, that Sar-ha-Olama may give them to the ten serafits who
are so strong in force that they crushed the whole world, in order
that through the ten serafits your spirit may reach the great throne,
on which is seated En-Sof himself, and join with him in a kiss of
love--you, Meir, instead of doing all that, went to defend people
from some attack--to watch their house and their life. Meir! Meir!
You have violated the Sabbath! You must go to the school and accuse
yourself before the people of having committed a great sin and
scandal."

This speech made an immense impression on the whole assembly. Saul
and his sons looked threatening. The women were surprised and
frightened. The dark eyes of Lija--she who had first betrayed her
cousin's secret--shone with tears. Only Saul's son-in-law, blue-eyed
Ber, looked at the accused boy with sad sympathy, and several young
men, Meir's playmates, gazed into his face with curiosity and
friendly uneasiness.

Meir answered in a trembling voice:

"In our holy books, Reb Moshe, neither in the Torah nor in the Mishma
is there any mention of Sefirots and En-Sof. But there it is stated
plainly that Jehovah, although he has commanded us to keep the
Sabbath, permitted twenty people to violate the Sabbath in order to
save one man."

Such a thing as any one daring to answer the melamed--the perfect
pious and Rabbi Todros's right hand--was unheard of and astonishing;
it was more, because in the answer there was a negation of his
judgment. Therefore the melamed's convex eyes nearly sprang from
their sockets. They opened widely and covered Meir's pale face with
deep hatred.

"Karaims!" he shouted, tossing himself in his chair, and tearing his
beard and his hair--"You went to rescue the Karaims, heretics,
infidels, accursed! Why should one rescue them? Why do they not light
candles on Sabbath--why do they sit in darkness? Why do they not kill
birds and animals as we do? Why do they not know Mishma, Gemara and
Zahor?"

He choked wit