he had about twelve hours until his journey, he began to fear he was late, and if he wasn’t late yet, he surely would be late. He drew in his limbs and hunched up his shoulders and stooped over and threaded his way through the crowd with his belongings until he emerged into the open. He came upon a clock and saw that he still had the same twelve hours until his trip, and he pondered, If that is the case, I shall go and see the city. He deposited his belongings in the checkroom and was all on his own.
Isaac was all on his own and considered where he would go. Would he go to Leopoldstadt with its splendid synagogues whose beauty is unsurpassed throughout the world, or to the Prater, the joy of the whole city, or to the big house called Bunch of Grapes, or to their church that has a clock where every single one of its numbers is more than two feet high, or to the library where the Book of Psalms is written in gold letters on red parchment, or to the Emperor’s palace, or to the Museum. Many were the things here that we heard about and now we can see them. And now we stand at the entrance of Vienna and we don’t know where we shall go or where we shall turn. Isaac stood a while, his mind flitting from place to place but his feet aren’t moving, for with so many things, his head is heavy and his feet are heavier than his head. So he waved his hand in resignation, and entertained the idea that a person who is going to the Land of Israel can forgo the whole world. Yet Vienna is Vienna and can’t be dismissed with a wave of the hand. His feet moved by themselves, and he was dragged along with his feet. But there are so many things and you don’t know what to look at first, either at her towers or parks, or at her statues or at the abundance of Gentiles. There are so many things here, and since there are so many, he sees and doesn’t see. And a vague thought comes to him, Maybe here in this place where I’m standing now Herzl stood. And Isaac recalled something that not everybody remembers, that if it hadn’t been for Herzl, we would have lived out our days in Exile and would not have ascended to the Land of Israel. Suddenly a voice that sounded like chanting pierced the air, and at the peaks of the towers, clocks began drowning each other out with their sounds. And hour after hour comes rolling in, and you listen, and how do you know whether it’s for good or for bad. And the sounds rolled down from the peaks of the towers, and the expanses of the world tremble at their sound, and passersby stand still and set their watches, some with satisfaction and some with dejection. And Isaac prayed for himself, May the hours pass quickly and may I get to my place. But since the hours went on slowly, he had time. So he opened his mouth and asked where the Emperor’s palace was. They told him the way. He came to the Emperor’s palace and saw the tall gendarmes guarding the palace, and he saw the gatekeepers garbed in red and wreathed in loops and stripes, with many buttons sparkling on their clothes. And Fortune smiled on Isaac and he saw the Emperor’s band playing the anthem. And if he had stayed there longer, he might have seen the Emperor himself, for sometimes the Emperor gets up off his throne and goes to the window for a little while. But we didn’t wait, for we were in a hurry to travel.
After departing the Emperor’s palace, he went to the Prater, the joy of the whole city. We don’t know if he went there on purpose or not. According to the natural order of time, nighttime had arrived. But this night is not a night. Countless street lamps turn night into day. And water fountains entwined with all kinds of fire make all kinds of shapes of water. And a kind of melody is played, as if the trees in the parks were singing and playing. And the folks are also playing and singing. Even if you had a thousand eyes you still couldn’t see it
all. But at every single thing he saw, his pleasure was not complete, like a person who
Isaac was all on his own and considered where he would go. Would he go to Leopoldstadt with its splendid synagogues whose beauty is unsurpassed throughout the world, or to the Prater, the joy of the whole city, or to the big house called Bunch of Grapes, or to their church that has a clock where every single one of its numbers is more than two feet high, or to the library where the Book of Psalms is written in gold letters on red parchment, or to the Emperor’s palace, or to the Museum. Many were the things here that we heard about and now we can see them. And now we stand at the entrance of Vienna and we don’t know where we shall go or where we shall turn. Isaac stood a while, his mind flitting from place to place but his feet aren’t moving, for with so many things, his head is heavy and his feet are heavier than his head. So he waved his hand in resignation, and entertained the idea that a person who is going to the Land of Israel can forgo the whole world. Yet Vienna is Vienna and can’t be dismissed with a wave of the hand. His feet moved by themselves, and he was dragged along with his feet. But there are so many things and you don’t know what to look at first, either at her towers or parks, or at her statues or at the abundance of Gentiles. There are so many things here, and since there are so many, he sees and doesn’t see. And a vague thought comes to him, Maybe here in this place where I’m standing now Herzl stood. And Isaac recalled something that not everybody remembers, that if it hadn’t been for Herzl, we would have lived out our days in Exile and would not have ascended to the Land of Israel. Suddenly a voice that sounded like chanting pierced the air, and at the peaks of the towers, clocks began drowning each other out with their sounds. And hour after hour comes rolling in, and you listen, and how do you know whether it’s for good or for bad. And the sounds rolled down from the peaks of the towers, and the expanses of the world tremble at their sound, and passersby stand still and set their watches, some with satisfaction and some with dejection. And Isaac prayed for himself, May the hours pass quickly and may I get to my place. But since the hours went on slowly, he had time. So he opened his mouth and asked where the Emperor’s palace was. They told him the way. He came to the Emperor’s palace and saw the tall gendarmes guarding the palace, and he saw the gatekeepers garbed in red and wreathed in loops and stripes, with many buttons sparkling on their clothes. And Fortune smiled on Isaac and he saw the Emperor’s band playing the anthem. And if he had stayed there longer, he might have seen the Emperor himself, for sometimes the Emperor gets up off his throne and goes to the window for a little while. But we didn’t wait, for we were in a hurry to travel.
After departing the Emperor’s palace, he went to the Prater, the joy of the whole city. We don’t know if he went there on purpose or not. According to the natural order of time, nighttime had arrived. But this night is not a night. Countless street lamps turn night into day. And water fountains entwined with all kinds of fire make all kinds of shapes of water. And a kind of melody is played, as if the trees in the parks were singing and playing. And the folks are also playing and singing. Even if you had a thousand eyes you still couldn’t see it
all. But at every single thing he saw, his pleasure was not complete, like a person who
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