There was no way of knowing exactly when RABBI SHABBETAI HANANIAH HADDAYA died or for how long Avraham Mani had been talking to a corpse. Nor was it clear how avoidable the death was. True, a local Greek physician, who had been brought for a consultation soon after Rabbi Haddaya’s arrival at the inn in Athens in the autumn of 1848, told Doña Flora that he personally knew several aphasic victims of strokes in the Pallaka quarter near the Acropolis who had lived to a ripe old age, but this was in all likelihood an overly optimistic prognosis. At the same time, it was not inconceivable that the rabbi’s death was hastened by the excitement of Avraham Mani’s sudden appearance. Was he still alive when his old pupil, the “little pisgado,” asked his final question? Did he attempt to rack his failing brain for a rabbinical ruling on the permissibility of suicide in such a case? And again: was his death foreordained, or could it have been prevented? There can be no definite answer to any of these questions. Certainly, Rabbi Haddaya was greatly frightened when Doña Flora left the room and Avraham Mani locked the door behind her and launched into a long harangue, in the course of which he took off the rabbi’s clothes and removed his diapers. It was hardly surprising, therefore, that the Jews who broke down the locked door and found Mr. Mani dancing and singing before a naked corpse that he was trying to revive were extremely angry at him, even though they never doubted he meant well.
The Manis
ELIYAHU MANI (1740–1807)
YOSEF MANI (1776–1820)
AVRAHAM MANI (1799–1861)
YOSEF MANI (1826–1847)
MOSHE MANI (1848–1899)
YOSEF MANI (1887–1941)
EFRAYIM MANI (1914–1944)
GAVRIEL MANI (1938– )
EFRAYIM MANI (1958– )
RONI MANI (1983– )
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About the Author
A. B. YEHOSHUA is one of Israel’s preeminent writers. His novels include Journey to the End of the Millenium, The Liberated Bride, and A Woman in Jerusalem, which was awarded the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in 2007. He lives in Haifa.
Mr. Mani Page 42