21st Century Bogatyr: Tamar and the Klezmorim of Planet Birobidzhan

by Zvi Baranoff

The troupe of klezmorim that Tamar had joined was one of the oldest, largest and best organized on Planet Birobidzhan. They toured planet-wide, year round. They were well received everywhere they went.

Like most employment opportunities, the entry-level positions open to the very young on Planet Birobidzhan are unpaid apprenticeship roles. However, unlike other trades, there is greater flexibility among the klezmorim. A transition of roles within the troupe is far more fluid than among the bakers, shoemakers, bookbinders or other such trades where an apprentice is bound by a contract and stuck in a subservient position for years.

Tamar, like all the other chaverim of this troupe, started out mostly as a general roustabout. She built stages, hung posters, cared for the goats, tuned other people's instruments, cooked meals, washed pots, sang in the chorus and played her fiddle in the back row.

The klezmorim headed east when they left First Landing. They diverted from the highway as they proceeded eastward to set up their big tent in the many shtetls that lie scattered between First Landing and New Jerusalem.

Along the way, Tamar was quickly recognized as a virtuoso. In spite of being so very young, her musical talents propelled her into starring roles. She, in turn, achieved more comfortable accommodations than most. She rapidly graduated from a pup tent to a private caravan as the troupe moved about.

In spite of Tamar's status as a headliner and a top earner, she would always lend a hand with setting up and breaking down the big tent that served as a mobile theater and the stage on which the troupe performed.

Tamar was quite willing to assist in the loading and unloading of heavy gear. She would feed and water the goats that pulled the carts of gear. She was a wizard at troubleshooting the electronics of the sound system and lighting.

Tamar's unmatched skills with an array of instruments awed everyone. The songs that she sang invoked an otherworldliness. Tamar earned the respect and affection of the entire crew.

When they arrived in New Jerusalem, a record company brought her into the studio, where she recorded a solo album. The album garnered a significant amount of success. It sold well and the songs were played often on Planet-wide radio stations for many years. The royalties were deposited into a bank account that Tamar set up for that purpose.

The troupe, after an extended stay in New Jerusalem, meandered north and then westward, visiting the remote shtetls of those regions until they made it to the west coast. Then, of course, they followed the coastline south, entertaining the fishing villages nestled wherever a suitable cove offered enough comfortable dockage to encourage fishing.

Nearly two years had passed before they arrived in the vicinity of New New York. The troupe encamped on a plateau. In the valley below, the city of New New York was wrapped in a mist.

After settling in, and with no performance planned for that evening, Tamar went for a long walk. This was when she heard the Mushrooms of Planet Birobidzhan once again calling her.

Tamar came upon a fresh bloom of mushrooms. She ate some of the fleshy fungus and sat alone as the sky darkened and the stars filled the night sky. Soon, the plateau, the nearby troupe of klezmorim, the mist, and the stars all faded for Tamar.

Tamar sat transfixed. She was oblivious to her immediate surroundings. What she saw, as if in broad daylight, was the city which was below her in the cloudy mists and blanketed by the darkness of the night sky.

New New York was a place that she had never even seen pictures of. In her vision she was shown that city in great detail.

Initially the perspective was an overview of the metropolis from above, transpiring with a rather dizzying effect. Then, the pace slowed as she was moving about through the unfamiliar streets.

In a neighborhood bordering the coastline the pace of the motion became a gentle floating.

Here, she saw a large Yeshiva and crowds of black-clad students milling about. Two rabbinic students momentarily came into focus. She saw their faces with utmost clarity. They seemed to be in sincere debate as they walked together down the street, their hands moved about gesticulating for emphasis and their payos swayed as they walked.

She was shown a prominent herbal apothecary with a glass display window and down the street a very inviting bakery. Adjacent to the bakery there was a door with a sign on it, although the writing on this sign was far too small for Tamar to read.

At this point the perspective spun outward until the city was completely obscured by a thick fog and the Mushrooms of Planet Birobidzhan directed Tamar's attention elsewhere.

Tamar watched New Landing and then Planet Birobidzhan regress in the distance from a portal as the craft she occupied was propelled upwards. She was shown unfamiliar constellations and planets.

Then, in what appeared to be a shipboard clinic, Tamar saw a rounded abdomen and raised knees and the encouraging faces of midwives. One baby and then another appeared in the secure hands of the midwives. In the mushroom-induced vision, two baby boys were eased onto her breasts and then the vision faded.

Tamar was still sitting in the same position, on the ground among the Mushrooms of Planet Birobidzhan, when sunrise brought light to the klezmorim encampment. She smelled food cooking from the mobile kitchen and heard the young roustabouts packing and loading equipment. The troupe was preparing to descend into New New York. Tamar went through the breakfast line and then joined in with the work at hand.

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 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