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BOOK II ENTER SATAN CHAPTER I THE Talmudic seminary,
or yeshivah, in which my mother placed me was a celebrated old
institution, attracting students from many provinces. Like most
yeshivahs, it was sustained by donations, and instruction in it was
free. Moreover, out-of-town students found shelter under its roof,
sleeping on the benches or floors of the same rooms in which the
lectures were delivered and studied during the day. Also, they
were supplied with a pound of rye bread each for breakfast. As to
the other meals, they were furnished by the various households of
the orthodox community. I understand that some school-teachers
in certain villages of New England get their board on the rotation
plan, dining each day in the week with another family. This is
exactly the way a poor Talmud student gets his sustenance in
Russia, the system being called "eating days."
One hour a day was devoted to penmanship and a sorry smattering
of Russian, the cost of tuition and writing-materials being paid by
a "modern" philanthropist
I was admitted to that seminary at the age of thirteen.
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