Monday, March 23, 2009

Studium, Studii

I almost lost the Latin card I was using as a bookmark for The Promise. Luckily, it was still in the study, on top of a phone book and under miscellaneous papers. It said this:

studium, i

study, student, studious, studio
And on the back the definition:

enthusiasm, zeal, learning.

Apropos. The books was about that.

A quote from chapter 15, when Reuven is going in for his ordination exam, "Rev. Gershenson smiled behind his gray beard and in a soft voice asked me a question having to do with a point of law found in the Yoeh Deah, which is a medieval work on Jewish law and which I was required to know together with the Talmud tractate Chullin and any other tractate of my choice. I was also required to know the various important commentaries on these works. I was required to know it all by heart. No other kind of knowing was recognized."
Impressive. Most impressive.

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