21st Century Bogatyr: August 2022

Saturday, August 27, 2022

Abi Guzunt

by Zvi Baranoff

Although it may have felt at times to be worlds apart, the measurable distance between Der Profesor's cottage at the First Landing airport and Dovid's family home in the outlying shtetl was negligible. It is a comfortable walk along a goat path.

Dovid began making the walk to the airport nearly daily when he was a small child. He often traipsed in the other direction since he began living at the airport when he was only ten.

The physical distance was not what kept Dovid from bringing his new wife home to meet his family.

His job demanded his attention six days a week. It seemed that matrimonial responsibilities absorbed eight days a week. His loyalty and commitment to Der Profesor continued, filling the rest of his calendar. As a newly married man, Dovid was very busy.

The printed invitation to the party was delivered by a messenger. It could not be ignored or declined. Dovid's fourteenth birthday was the rationale for the gathering. The whole gantze mishpacha would be at his mother's house.

Rifka Leeba looked forward to the party. She was relishing the opportunity to introduce Hannah Leah, Dovid's second wife, with the obvious baby bump, to her mother-in-law.

The whole week before the party, Rifka Leeba imagined and reimagined ways to maximize the emotional impact on the older woman. Dovid's mother knew nothing of the second marriage or the progeny on the way. In Rifka Leeba's imagination, her mother-in-law collapsed in shock.

Rifka Leeba's expectations were far from fulfilled. Her mother-in-law showed neither surprise nor anger when the three of them walked into the house. Not even a ripple of disturbance could be observed on the face or in the physique of the matriarch.

Dovid's mother calmly served babka and tea. She offered an extra piece to Hannah Leah for the "little one" with an affectionate pat and what certainly passed for a smile. No emotional outbursts disturbed the family gathering, much to Rifka Leeba's disappointment.

Rifka Leeba had stayed true to the letter but not the spirit of the agreement she had made to the older woman. She had promised not to bear Dovid any children before his sixteenth birthday. She had made no such promise for her friends.

Hannah Leah gave birth to three sets of twins before Dovid's sixteenth birthday. Rifka Leeba gave birth to her first child the week after her husband turned sixteen.

It was true that Rifka Leeba hated her mother-in-law. It was a simmering, passionate hatred. It was the sort of hatred that grew deeper over time.

Rifka Leeba sat in her chair by the window, breastfeeding her youngest and watching over Dovid and Hannah Leah as they slept. She loved her husband and her dear friend Hannah Leah and all of their children. This was her family.

"Abi guzunt. That's the main thing," Rifka Leeba said, to no one in particular.

This is not a Jewish story. It is, however, a story about Jews. One does not need to be Jewish to read this tale any more than one needs to be a Hobbit or an Elf to read Lord of the Rings.

This story is a work of fiction. The setting for this tale is in the distant future, on the far away Planet Birobidzhan. This planet was settled by Jewish exiles from Planet Earth.

The population of Planet Birobidzhan has been cut off from the Home Planet for a long time. They have developed their own unique culture, traditions and linguistics.

The language spoken on Planet Birobidzhan is primarily Yiddish. I have sprinkled a significant number of Yiddish words and phrases throughout the telling of the tale. I also refer to various Jewish religious and cultural touchstones.

To make this story more accessible, I have included a glossary of words and phrases in Yiddish and Hebrew that are used as well as some explanations of religious terms and holidays.

I hope that readers find this to be useful.

The link to the Glossary is here:

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2023/01/a-useful-guide-glossary-to-planet.html?m=1

פּלאַנעט ביראָבידזשאַן

Do you want to read more about Planet Birobidzhan? Here are all the posted installments so far, in the order that they were posted. Just click your way through the story!

1 On A Planet Safe for Yidden

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/02/on-planet-safe-for-yidden.html

2 Yenne Velt: A History of Planet Birobidzhan

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/02/yenne-velt-history-of-planet-birobidzhan.html

3 Another Globe, Perhaps?

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/02/another-globe-perhaps.html

4 Bereshis: The Transport & Transformation of the Founders

http://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/03/bereshis-transport-transformation-of.html

5 The Town of First Landing

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-town-of-first-landing.html

6 A Personal History of an Early Settler on Planet Birobidzhan

http://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/05/a-personal-history-of-early-settler-on.html

7 Chickens, Jews Harps & Cronyism

http://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/07/cronyism.html

8 Dovid's Neshumeh

http://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/07/dovids-neshumeh.html

9 The Octogenarian and the Youngster

http://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-octogenarian-and-youngster.html

10 An Otherworldly Havdalah

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/08/an-otherworldly-havdalah.html

11 The Courtship & Marriage of Bathseba

http://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-courtship-marriage-of-bathseba.html

12 A Job, an Apartment & Two Honeymoons

http://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/08/a-job-apartment-two-honeymoons.html

13 The Pathway Into the Stars

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-pathway-into-stars.html

14 Abi Guzunt

http://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/08/abi-guzunt.html

15 A Dozen or So…

http://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/10/a-dozen-or-so.html

16 Tamar's Sketchbook

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/11/tamars-sketchbook.html?m=1

17 An Apologetic Interlude in the Galactic Tale

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/11/an-apologetic-interlude-in-galactic-tale.html?m=1

18 Tamar's Mushrooms

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/11/tamars-mushrooms.html?m=1

19 Intergalactic Travel Can Not Be Done on the Cheap

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/12/intergalactic-travel-can-not-be-done-on.html?m=1

20 Unauthorized Fire on Planet Birobidzhan

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/12/unauthorized-fire-on-planet-birobidzhan.html?m=1

21 Tamar and the Klezmorim of Planet Birobidzhan

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/12/tamar-and-klezmorim-of-planet.html

22 Heresy, Flimflam and Death

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/12/heresy-flimflam-and-death.html?m=1

23 On a Distant Planet, An Apartment in the City by the Sea

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2023/01/on-distant-planet-apartment-in-city-by.html?m=1

24 The Girl with a Fiddle on Planet Birobidzhan

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2023/01/the-girl-with-fiddle-on-planet.html

25 Tamar and the Scholars of Planet Birobidzhan

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2023/01/tamar-and-scholars-of-planet-birobidzhan.html

26 The Tropics of Planet Birobidzhan

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2023/01/the-tropics-of-planet-birobidzhan.html

27 The Beaches and Coastal Shtetls of Planet Birobidzhan

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2023/01/the-beaches-and-coastal-shtetls-of.html

28 A Pre-launch Reunion

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2023/01/a-pre-launch-reunion.html

29 The Launch Was Imminent

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2023/01/the-launch-was-imminent.html

30 Liftoff Into the Unknown

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2023/01/liftoff-into-unknown.html

31 Across the Void, Down a Wormhole & Into the Snow

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2023/01/across-void-down-wormhole-into-snow.html

32 Flourishing on Planet Shney

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2023/01/flourishing-on-planet-shney.html

Wednesday, August 24, 2022

The Pathway Into the Stars

by Zvi Baranoff

Dovid was reluctant to speak with anyone about his experiences resulting from consuming the mushrooms of Planet Birobidzhan. He eventually confided in Der Profesor. Der Profesor listened intently without interruption, interpretation or comment.

Dovid recounted how he encountered blooms of mushrooms and how they called out to him, urging him to eat their fleshy tops. Dovid enumerated what he had learned from them so far. The pathway into the stars seemed to be unfolding with a map and an instruction booklet from the unpredictable chance encounters with the fungi.

Der Profesor accepted Dovid's analysis of his experiences. He had no reason to doubt Dovid's perception. Dovid was becoming more monofocused, intellectually committed to space travel. Der Profesor was committed to assisting his youthful protégé.

Putting together such a feat as intergalactic travel would be a monumental task. A complicated assortment of pieces would need to be woven together. It was then that Der Profesor decided to pull some strings to get the young man a position at Moshe & Mendel's Jew Harp, Tsatske aun Muzik Krom, perceiving that a job in research for such a large firm would serve that purpose.

The mushroom-induced visionary lessons that Dovid continued to receive over the next few years led him to hidden mineral deposits. They taught him simplified methods of extraction. He also learned new processes leading to lighter and stronger materials, better conductivity, reduced friction and other sorts of industrial advantages.

The establishment of the Yidden on Planet Birobidzhan was probably unlike any other historical settlement project. Certainly, it was unlike any that took place on the Home Planet.

It is true that our ancestors came here as volunteers as well as refugees. In this sense, parallels can be found to some historical Earth settlements. However, very much unlike the history of the overall colonization of the Home Planet, our ancestors did not represent an expanding empire, were not of a unified ideology and did not come into conflict with any indigenous people.

It may seem to be an anomaly but, although derived from an advanced society, the culture that developed on Planet Birobidzhan was relatively low tech. This was not the result of philosophy, ideology or religious beliefs. After all, the early settlers were not Luddites, the Amish or hippie Back-to-Landers.

The Home Planet, although in a state of crisis, was an advanced technological society when our ancestors emigrated. It was a buzzing place full of gadgetry and easily accessible energy. Our ancestors were well used to the advantages and comforts that a technological society provides.

The volunteers held no inherent oppositional perspectives concerning the use of technology and were certainly dependent on it for the transit and settlement.

There was a presumption that the material support from the Home Planet would continue for decades. The abrupt interruption of our connection to the Home Planet combined with physical limitations and the demographics of the settlers and that determined the stunted technological development.

The initial group on the Hatikvah were chosen for the particular skills needed to establish the settlement. They were few in numbers and of somewhat advanced age. Subsequent transit loads of mostly much younger people were theoretically chosen for social cohesion and their potential usefulness for the settlement project.

One needn't be totally cynical to believe that the determination of the later passages was largely based on fertility. The settlement of this new planet began with elderly rabbis and farmers. They were followed by unsupervised youths with no particular skills and a propensity for breeding.

In the early days of settlement, the scavenging of the transit ships provided most of the metals and solar panels that were needed. Wood resources were - and continued to be - plentiful and fairly easily accessible. Cotton, jute and hemp crops were quickly developed and widely available. Wool and leather became widely available as well.

Planet Birobidzhan has an abundance of potentially useful but largely undeveloped mineral deposits. Mining and manufacturing are still incredibly limited. The largest deposits are in remote areas that are difficult to access. The mining and metallurgy is largely controlled by a guild and is viewed by many almost as if it were alchemy.

On the Home Planet those mineral resources would not have been ignored. Either the driving compulsion of economic competition or the competing national interests of antagonistic states would have necessitated the extraction.

When mining could not be effectively developed within the normal exchange of commerce, governments on Earth had the capacity to elicit force to assure sufficient labor. Military draft and convict labor are just two of the policy options that are open to the governments of every country of the Home Planet.

Planet Birobidzhan, of course, lacks any form of governance similar to that of the Home Planet.

The people of Planet Birobidzhan did not build power plants or string cables and wires across the horizon. They did not have satellites or cell towers. Electricity was generally available in homes and stores, supplied by solar panels cannibalized from the transit ships. Storage capacity was extremely limited and there was certainly no abundance for maintaining gadgets.

The computer databases on Planet Birobidzhan contain virtually the entire intellectual knowledge from the Home Planet up to the time of our predecessors initial landings. Abstractly, we have always been able to accomplish anything that had been done on Planet Earth. However, having the encyclopedic synopsis is not the same as having the practiced skills and the specialized tools and equipment.

In most aspects of life on Planet Birobidzhan, low technology approaches that were not dependent on electricity, fuels, metals or minerals were adopted.

This was the natural course for development on a planet that lacks the compulsion or incentive for dangerous work under difficult conditions in remote places.

This was all the more true for toys and musical instruments. Toys here have always been simple things. In the very early days they were mostly homemade, consisting of ragdolls and simple wooden wagons.

As a market for toys developed, the playthings did not become incredibly more sophisticated. Toys in the stores had a little more paint on the wood and glass eyes for the dolls. Later, some metal for springs, gears and such were incorporated. All told, the toys available were about on par with those that were available on Earth two centuries before Planet Birobidzhan was discovered.

Six days a week Dovid ostensibly worked at developing toys. That certainly was how he earned a living. In a very real sense, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, his primary focus was somewhere else.

With Dovid's hand at the helm for development, the toys sold by Moshe & Mendel's Jew Harp, Tsatske aun Muzik Krom rolled faster, traveled farther, spun longer, jumped or bounced higher and balanced better than before. The musical instruments that they sold had improved tone, clearer sound and smoother action.

He certainly brought improvement, innovation, creativity and changes to the toy and musical markets of Planet Birobidzhan. However, while tinkering with this work, his mind was always in the clouds or, more accurately, in the stars above.

There was nearly always a synchronicity between the tweaks that Dovid brought about in a simple wind-up toy or a harmonica and a significant advancement on a totally different trajectory.

Dovid was perfecting rocketry as well as various supportive technologies. He was building the networks to facilitate intergalactic travel. Some of what he was learning also made for better toys or musical instruments. The usefulness for toys and instruments created the economic incentive to develop the resources needed for space travel.

Of course, there is an element of Aun Vas? in every transaction that takes place on Planet Birobidzhan. So much so that we hardly notice it most of the time. No one would think of drinking a glass of tea in a coffee house without leaving a tip for the waiter any more than having a chicken slaughtered without giving the sochet a wing or a leg in addition to his fee.

We take these things for granted. Mostly it is just a social norm, a form of politeness. However, when practiced skillfully, Aun Vas? can be a way to build a personal fortune.

Through his job Dovid negotiated, traded and facilitated in ways that profited Moshe & Mendel's Jew Harp, Tsatske aun Muzik Krom, leaving his employer no room to complain.

The settlement of Planet Birobidzhan was financed through a vast effort of millions of people on a planet with an advanced industrial infrastructure.

Any space programs that could be developed on Planet Birobidzhan, essentially from scratch, would also be incredibly expensive. However, the social and financial infrastructure that the Home Planet had simply did not exist on Planet Birobidzhan. The method of financing would inherently need to take a different course.

The imperative necessitated a new perspective on money for the two men. Hitherto, their relationship had been built on a common interest in abstract knowledge without an economic incentive.

In truth, Der Profesor had spent his life avoiding the complications of financial entanglement. Now, the creation of whole new industries required the consolidated resources that would need to be directly controlled by Dovid and Der Profesor.

In the few short years of wheeling and dealing, Dovid simultaneously built a privately controlled fortune for himself and Der Profesor and rekindled a sense of choice for the Yidden of Planet Birobidzhan.

The sky was clear when the first launched satellite joined the two natural moons in circling Planet Birobidzhan. This satellite, the development essentially financed by Moshe & Mendel's Jew Harp, Tsatske aun Muzik Krom, was owned, free and clear by the partnership of Dovid and Der Profesor.

The satellite made possible planetary broadcasting of radio and television as well as other aspects of improved communication. It also proved the technical capacity for more extensive travel beyond the planetary surface.

Worlds beyond Planet Birobidzhan exist. Another life, beyond the meager existence offered by Planet Birobidzhan could now be brought about by the hand of man.