on the matter, having their own work to do, even if the old crones around the fire spoke some nights that the rabbi is older than anyone in the village, and than the village outright, and than the wood that made the fire and who knows, maybe even the rocks holding the fire in the fireplace and perhaps the fire itself.... that he had been married before, other than to Rahela, with another woman, just as old and dry as now, with who he had other children that also went to their houses and places, and the woman dried out and bent over and in due time went to the choir, but the rabbi changed not as much as a hair in his beard, but stayed the sameas the very first day.

And before that one had another wife, and before that one yet another, and another, and another... The old women would say he had read the Haskalah papers, also old, also dry, with eyes still shining a devilish light and he had said to the young and fiery rabbis that indeed, they're right... broadly speaking, that he had read the Shulchan Aruch in draft and shook his head, explaining to the Saphedim what to take out and what to cut, and they in their stupid minds left what was to be taken and took what was to be left, eh, that's how people are, but Nehorai was not people, and in fact Nehorai wasn't even his real name, but many were waiting for him