Chapter 6
University of Sydney 1902
Four Weeks in Autumn
Commencing Sunday, 2nd March at 8:30am.
Isaac Roverstein wanted to belong. Like most young people in their salad days, when life is full of hope and green with promise, he longed to feel comfortable within himself. Apart from his excessive quoting at some inappropriate moments, he was indeed more popular than he realised. The efforts he made to appear simpatico with his fellow Paulines and how he juggled his personal commitments to his parents, his faith, his college and his university studies was scinerely admired by most.
He attended obligatory chapel service where he usually sat between Arthur and Harry on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. He knew all the stories, parables and passages from both the Old and New Testaments and, like the lines from Shakespeare, he was almost as expert with quoting times, dates, places and characters of the religious texts. However, his Jewish faith had been something, about which, he had never felt completely comfortable around others in his college. His one true friend had been Arthur McCrae who accepted him for who was, challenged him with his opinions and always let him know when enough was enough.
When Isaac returned to St Paul's College on the morning of Sunday, 2nd March, 1902, to find no one around, he realised where they would all be. He straightened his tie, donned his academic gown and made his way with haste to the Chapel. It was his first day back at the college since arriving home to Australia from an extended holiday with his parents to see relatives in the United States of America. He had made the return journey by himself as his father needed to remain on business and his mother wanted to spend time with her sister who had just delivered her ninth child.
Service had already commenced and the droning sounds from the baroque organ were accompanied by the baritone voices of the collegians singing his favourite hymn written by Neander in 1680. They were into its final verse... 'Let the Amen sound from His people again... Gladly for aye we adore Him.'
