Jews: The Most Orthodox Orthodox

Just before sundown every Friday, a bearded Jew with a ram's horn blats a warning through the crowded, ghettolike section of Jerusalem known as Mea She'arim. The Sabbath approaches. Until sundown Saturday, no one may work, smoke, cook a meal, answer a telephone, or carry money on his person. Yellow signs outside the quarter warn that on the Sabbath only emergency vehicles, such as fire trucks and ambulances, will be allowed on its narrow, cobbled streets. Generally, not a car is moving and quiet reigns.

It was into this reverent hush, two...

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