21st Century Bogatyr: The Launch Was Imminent

by Zvi Baranoff

Tamar left her rucksack and violin in the foyer and started towards the kitchen with her father.

Suddenly, Tamar clamped her hands over her ears. "Just stop!" she yelled. "Don't you two ever stop bickering?" she cried out in exasperation. Her face grimaced and she was taking short and grasping breaths.

Dovid gazed alarmingly at his daughter. Tamar was evidently distraught and in pain. He stepped closer and reached out towards her. She flailed her arms about until he stepped back.

After a while, calm returned to Tamar's countenance. Her breathing once again became more relaxed and regular. She pushed back tears. The quivering stopped and the visible tension and pain receded. Tamar stroked her extended abdomen before she began speaking.

"They are always fighting, always arguing. These two, they are just like their fathers."

Dovid looked at his daughter quizzically but refrained from voicing an actual question. They resumed walking towards the kitchen.

The house was a jumbled balagan. There were piles of everything, everywhere. There were boxes stacked. There were overflowing trashcans. A sorting process going on.

The retrofit and design work on the Hatikvah was finished. Fuel had been loaded. All the mechanisms had been thoroughly tested. The hydroponic gardens were already up and running. The pens for the chickens, goats and sheep were ready for the livestock that would feed the passengers and be bred to feed their descendants. The launch was imminent.

The loading of personal items had already begun. Only some of the family belongings were destined for the stars. The rest would remain on Planet Birobidzhan. Some heirlooms and precious items were destined for delivery to family and friends. Much would be simply abandoned.

Similar calculations and evaluations were taking place in several hundred households in First Landing and the surrounding region.

When the Hatikvah lifted towards the stars, around eight hundred Yidden would be leaving Planet Birobidzhan behind. Each of the eight hundred were also leaving behind parents and children, friends and loved ones, and much of their personal possessions.

There were difficult decisions to be made. Tensions and discordant emotions were at play in each of these households. Some relationships were strained to the breaking point. It is not easy to leave one's world behind. Even the most committed to the expedition felt stressful as the liftoff time approached.

.For Dovid, Rifka Leeba, and Hannah Leah, no less than anyone else, these were difficult times. Although they each knew that they planned to leave Planet Birobidzhan behind for a very long time, they still had much physical and emotional baggage to process.

Most of the family's children were past the Bar Mitzvah age and were now living elsewhere. They had families of their own. The kinder were busy raising their own kinder. None chose to join the expedition. There were only a handful of younger children still at home that were too young to make their own decisions.

In the kitchen, Rifka Leeba was cooking. A kettle was whistling. Hannah Leah was nursing the most recent addition to the brood.

Tamar and Dovid sat at the table in the next room, schmoozing. They ate breakfast as they talked. Their conversation spanned the globe, the universe and galaxies.

Tamar told Dovid about her pleasant apartment above the bakery, in Seaside Mea Shearim, New New York. She spoke of her dear friends, Baruch and Shmuli and the close bond the three have. Tamar most emphatically believed that she was carrying twin boys and that each was fathered by one of these nice yeshiva bochers.

Tamar spoke in run-on superlatives about the beauty of the Tropics of Birobidzhan. The beaches were spectacular beyond comparison. The people of the region were friendly, open and welcoming. The food eaten there was flavorful, filled with exotic spices.

To anyone listening, it would have been abundantly clear that Tamar found the people that she loved and a region of Planet Birobidzhan that filled her heart and touched her soul.

Dovid was deeply relieved that Tamar had come home before the departure of the Hatikvah. She was, after all, his favorite daughter. He did not want to leave this world without saying goodbye.

However, neither father nor daughter were really ready for goodbyes. They were finishing eating and Dovid was preparing to resume the work at hand.

Tamar was speaking to her unborn children, begging them for a little tranquility, while she helped to clear the table.

With no transition whatsoever, Tamar turned to address her father. She patted her abdomen once more. "I know that I am not much use these days with physical projects but if you give me a work crew, tomorrow morning I will oversee the transfer of the Mushrooms of Birobidzhan to their new growing facilities aboard the Hatikvah.

Dovid was surprised and relieved by Tamar's offer. No one else on Planet Birobidzhan thoroughly understood the cultivation of the Mushrooms of Birobidzhan better than Tamar. After all, the Mushrooms had chosen her.

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