21st Century Bogatyr: 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