I don’t know why, but I thought about that Jewish joke: Moishe is lying on his bed kvetching, tossing and turning like a devil in a baptismal font. It’s after midnight and he has promised to pay back the money he owes his friend Jacob by noon. Moishe hasn’t got any money. He imagines himself disgraced, thrown out of the merchants’ association, vilified by the rabbi. His tossing and turning wakes his wife and she asks, ‘Moishe, what is it?’ ‘I owe Jacob 20 roubles,’ he tells her, ‘but I have no money. What shall I do?’ ‘Is that all?’ his wife says, then gets up and bangs on the wall and shouts for all the neighbours to hear: ‘Jacob! My Moishe still owes you 20 roubles? Well, he isn’t giving them back!’ then climbs back into bed and says to her flabbergasted husband, ‘Now go to sleep, let Jacob stay awake!’

The rest of the journey passed without incident. I picked up the newspaper and caught up on what was happening in the world: everywhere, with giant steps, war was gaining ground.

Malrich’s Diary - 31 October 1996

Malrich’s Diary

31 October 1996