Dear Franz,
Why no word from you? — I am still as constantly on the move as I have been since October, but I fear this movement is slowly becoming hollow. You really shouldn't leave me entirely to my fate, but rather take a little care of my soul, which is growing coarsened by politics. — It sounds impressive, for instance, that the English envoy came to tea with me this Monday; yet the experience amounts to nothing more than a certain superficial novelty, and even that fails to sink deep enough into me. The impact of political successes is almost invariably disappointing; everything simply drags on without coming to a decisive conclusion. My sole yearning in this regard, to establish clear and stable conditions for the Jewish people, seems destined to go unfulfilled — for even partial successes such as those highlighted in the latest issue of Selbstwehr do nothing to alter the general apathy. Thus, it is solely my fear for the fate of our people that drives me onward. Today, for example, I dreamt that I was in a school where Eastern Jewish children, both girls and boys, were being taught by monks. In an open courtyard, they were erecting a sukkah. Then, one by one, much like during an examination, they sang Yiddish folk songs. A young girl showed me a neat, thick exercise book filled with bookkeeping exercises. I thanked the clerics (inwardly) and rejoiced that the children were being trained for practical life while simultaneously preserving their cultural heritage. Then I asked a dark-haired lad: "And how are you getting on with your religious studies?" At first, he replied that they were not studying religion at all — but then he produced a black book with a gold-embossed cross on its cover. Every single child there had been baptized, every one of them. I threw myself to the ground and wept so violently that I woke myself up. —
Incidentally: your sister’s marriage is constantly on my mind. — And other worries, too: In Vienna, the Poale Zion are casting their votes along German-Socialist lines, voting against the National Council of which they themselves are members. The Bundists, meanwhile, are voting against Palestine. The situation regarding Palestine remains entirely unclear. The Orthodox community is holding its own congress in Switzerland to take a stand against the Zionists. — The Prague National Council is the only one in which a conflict between the Zionists, the Orthodox, and the Poale Zion has so far been averted. I may say that this is to my credit. — But what an effort!
Now, I have more to tell than I have time for. But what about you? Surely you have time. Am I to believe that your long silence is due to some physical or mental indisposition????
Yours, Max
Do you read Selbstwehr??
in the latest "Selbstwehr"] The Selbstwehr of January 31, 1919, reported in detail on expressions of sympathy by Masaryk and other ministers for Zionism and National Judaism.
Your sister's marriage] Ottla Kafka intended to marry Dr. Josef David (1891–1962), a nationally minded Czech of the Catholic faith—a step that Brod (as, incidentally, did her parents) considered ill-advised. Cf. O 65. The marriage did not take place until July 15, 1920.
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