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From: R. Kovacs
Subject: Token minimum
Date: 12 Av 5781
Nu, this reminds me of something my grandfather told me about the post office in Munkács.
The post office had rules about what you could send. Size, weight, contents. These were imperial regulations, the same across Hungary. But the postmaster, Reb Fishel (not Jewish, but everyone called him Reb anyway), had his own standards. He would not accept packages wrapped in newspaper. He would not accept letters without return addresses. He would not accept postcards with political slogans.
Someone complained to Budapest. The inspector came. He reviewed the regulations and found nothing about newspaper or return addresses or political slogans. "These are not the rules," he told Reb Fishel.
Reb Fishel said: "Those are your rules. These are mine. You deliver the mail. I accept it."
The inspector went back to Budapest. Nothing changed. Reb Fishel continued refusing packages wrapped in newspaper.
—Shlomo Dov Kovacs
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