Discipline and Dessert

The first words I heard weren’t, “Gut Shabbos,” but “Only the Kohanim in the Beis Hamikdash were allowed to be barefoot!”

Standing in the entranceway was a pale-skinned, blue-eyed, gray-hatted gentleman with a Roman nose and a spare frame. I blinked, puzzled. He pointed at my feet, his expression stern. Yes, they were unshod, but they always were when indoors, as were Ma’s, usually.

I meekly padded off to rustle up some slippers, and from then on never dared to be without some form of footwear when he knocked, which was frequently for the next two decades or so.

Dr. Schonfeld was born in Austria, and was sent to Britain on the Kindertransport during World War II. After living in various countries around the world — England, Canada, America — he finally settled in Israel, in the Old City. He spoke with a refined English accent; he carried himself with European comportment.