Аннотация: Для справки: в царской России существовал свод особых правил, регулирующих порядок проживания и передвижения лиц еврейской национальности
After months of negotiation, a Jewish scholar from Odessa was granted permission to visit Moscow. He boarded the train and found an empty seat.
At the next stop, a young man got on and sat next to him. The scholar looked at the young man and thought:
"This fellow doesn't look like a peasant, and if he isn't a peasant he probably comes from this district. If he comes from this district, he must be Jewish because this is, after all, the Jewish district. On the other hand, if he is a Jew, where could he be going? I'm the only one in our district who has permission to travel to Moscow.
"Wait - just outside Moscow there is a little village called Samvet, and you don't need special permission to go there. But why would he be goingto Samvet? He's probably going to visit one the Jewish families there.
"But how many Jewish families are there in Samvet? Only two -- the Bernsteins and the Steinbergs. The Bernsteins are a terrible family, so he must be visiting the Steinbergs. But why is he going? The Steinbergs have only girls, so maybe he's their son- in-law. But if he is, then which daughter did he marry? Sarah married that nice lawyer from Budapest and Esther married a businessman from Zhadoir, so it must be Sarah's husband. Which means that his name is Alexander Cohen, if I'm not mistaken? ...But if he comes from Budapest, with all the anti-Semitism they have there, he must have changed his name. What's the Hungarian equivalent of Cohen? ...Kovacs. But if he changed his name, he must have some special status. What could it be? Ah! A doctorate from the university."
At this point, the scholar turned to the young man and said, "How do you do, Dr. Kovacs?"
"Very well, thank you, sir" answered the startled passenger. "But how did you know my name?"