Halovnah, a former teacher of infants, used to go before the Ark during morning prayer on the high holidays. He was granted a "severity" over the three prayers.Being a strict Jew he never considered giving up this right for someone else's sake. There were many others who waited for their turn to go before the ark, and they waited for an opportunity to achieve their goal. There was no doubt that no one will dare take the prayer from him. First of all because they all knew what "severity" is; second, Halovnah himself was sure that the congregation was pleased with his prayer, and indeed he excelled in the liturgy with a warm and pleasant melody. The version never changed. Every one knew it well. They used to pray along with him, and sometimes they preceded and sang before he did so. When he read "the king" the walls of the synagogue trembled. No one ever found fault with his prayer. His prayer book was marked with instructions where to start, where to end, where to read and where to sing. He acted as a usual Baal Tefilah (leader of prayer) with knowledge and experience. In his prayer he resembled a commander who is leading his army to the battlefield with a map.
Some jokers once laid their hands on his book, although he kept a close eye and took it everywhere he went. They discovered that there were additional marks related to the arrangement- where to chant "trili", "la la la" etc. Halovnah claimed that a Baal Tefilah could learn from him the ways of the prayer.
When he used to travel to his customers, farmers he used to exchange products with, he used to rehearse the order of prayers for the high holidays. He sang with full volume all the way. The farmers already knew that Halovnah was traveling. They used to call him "dawn". Thanks to his singing he gained more business than others did from the farmers.
But as Ball Tefilah he also had competition. Yoseph Peretz had a great desire to do the prayer on Shabbat or a holiday, or at least saying "Selikhot", (Reference to the prayers for forgiveness and the special service of penitence held at midnight on the Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah).
Semikah, he felt that he was as good as Halovnah. There was one occasion in which he could not stop himself and decided to precede Halovnah and take one Morning Prayer from him.
Halovnah found out about Yoseph Peretz's plan. He was shaken by it and he felt a great unrest. During the days of the Selikhot he was worried. To prevent Yoseph Peretz from fulfilling his plan meant calling "Hamelekh" (the king) before his rival calls that word that opens the prayer.
Halovnah planned his strategy. Before the end of the first chapter of prayer he rose from his seat and went toward the pole. When the Baal Hatefilah was saying the last words he loudly began "Hamelekh" but Yoseph Peretz broke in screaming. The place was troubled and noisy. People were banging on the tables and shouting, "quiet!"
Suddenly something unexpected happened. A Jew by the name of Moshe Nahum, a former teacher of the Torah, was very angry with the two rivals who disturbed the prayer. Since he was sitting near the pole of the prayer he went straight there and continued the prayer while the congregation accompanies him with a festive mood. And so the prayer continued. In his appearance Moshe Nahum rebuked both rivals"…not you and not you…there is no room for kidnapping the pole and the prayer. You don't buy the right to be a Baal Tefilah with a drink or food."
His failure caused Halovnah a depression. Grief filled his heart. In addition to all this, when his clients the farmers found out about it they ridiculed him. Their words pierced his heart and on the same year Halovnah separated from his few belongings in this world and from the old "severity" over the Morning Prayer and went to a world of only good. The town's jokers said that the prayer's affair made his life end.
I should mention that at the time of Halovnah's death we opened a new beit olam (home of eternity- cemetery). He was the first to be buried there. By his grave two barrels were buried, full of "names". He was buried with much honor. The entire town came to his funeral, the Rabbie carried a moving lamentation and the crowd was crying bitterly.
Back to table of Contents Web: 2003 Tilford Bartman
