Jacob wanted to hug the wall when he saw his face, but he made himself stand erect. The skin of the old man’s face was so thin that veins running under it gave it a blue cast; his eyes were blue, like Isaac Luria’s, but sunk into gray holes in his face, and his beard was yellow-­white and thin and blew in wisps around his face. Strands of what was left of the hair on his head hung down from under his yarmulke, and only the black hair that stuck out of his ears in tufts seemed to have any life to it. He raised his hand and motioned Levy to come in; the fingers were still straight and long, and the skin on the back of his hands looked fresh, as if the old man’s hands and the hair in his ears had stayed young while the rest of him dried up. Levy crossed the three-­walled room and the old man gestured to him to sit on the floor across from him, next to the hearth. Levy did; his father stayed at a distance. The old man leaned toward Levy, and Levy had to keep himself from pulling back. The old man smiled; his teeth were still young too.

“You got a match?” the old man asked, which was so different from what he expected him to say that Levy almost laughed in the old man’s face. He found his one box of matches and gave it to the old man. They were precious. He was afraid the old man would keep them and he’d be too embarrassed to ask for them back. But the old man used two to light the fire, then returned the box to Levy and sat for a long time looking at Levy, then at the fire without saying anything. The fireplace was so well engineered it heated the whole section of the room they sat in even though the wind kept blowing. When Levy felt so warm he thought of taking off his coat, the old man said quietly, “The Germans will be in Warsaw before long.”

Levy said, “The Poles will fight . . .”

“They ain’t such fighters,” the old man said, “and the Germans will be in Warsaw,” he repeated. Levy didn’t interrupt him again.

“Now,” said the old man, “sit back in the warmth of the fire . . . lean on the pillow there.” Levy did as the old man said. “Relax and let thoughts come to you and you will know as well as I do what the Germans will do.” Then he said to Levy’s father, “Go into the house, Aaron. Make tea for yourself. We’ll be a little while.” His father left and after a while the old man said, “Nu?”