21st Century Bogatyr

Wednesday, August 10, 2022

A Job, an Apartment & Two Honeymoons

by Zvi Baranoff

Those last few months before Dovid turned thirteen were tumultuous and disruptive for him on several fronts. Coming of age necessitated changes in his relationship with Der Profesor. His engagement to Rifka Leeba necessitated his taking conscious steps towards economic security.

Dovid's apprenticeship agreement with Der Profesor was, to begin with, somewhat out of the norm in several ways.

Generally speaking, these sorts of arrangements are intended for training a young man in a useful trade. An apprentice to a baker, for instance, learned to bake bread and cakes. Almost always, the apprentice is past his bar mitzvah and of an age eligible to enter into a binding contract. The normal period of apprenticeship runs two or three years, although some highly specialized training positions can run five years or so.

The apprentice usually receives a small stipend, but no pay. Sometimes other considerations, such as housing and meals are provided. To be perfectly clear, the contract and the relationship between an apprentice and an employer is almost exclusively a financial matter.

Dovid's contract was signed by his mother when he was only ten. The contract expired with the boy's thirteenth birthday.

What Dovid gained from Der Profesor was a diverse intellectual education with no obvious commercial value. Dovid had unlimited access to the library, access to tools, regular mentally stimulating conversations, and a serious training in abstract thinking and academic research.

There was also the Aun Vas? as we say. Dovid had an apartment (if we use that term loosely) in Der Profesor's cottage at the airport, a modest line of credit covered at the airport restaurant and some very little pocket money.

It needs to be understood that the relationship was not a financial one in any sort of typical way. Rather, it was primarily a very personal agreement. Dovid relished the opportunity to simply be at this font of wisdom. In exchange, he would help Der Profesor on a daily basis with whatever was needed.

But for Dovid's intentions to marry, renewing the contract might have been fairly straightforward and mutually satisfying continuation of the status quo. A single man can scrape by on very little gelt. A married man, however, needs to macht a leben.

Often employers would discourage an apprentice from marrying. Sometimes, that discouragement was written into the contract.

In this case, however, Der Profesor was very supportive of Dovid's betrothal with Rifka Leeba. Der Profesor was as convinced as the boy that the youthful relationship was determined by a mazel and a force beyond our reach, a bashert that should not be resisted or ignored.

Der Profesor was not able to actually pay Dovid to continue in his position. On the other hand, he really liked and appreciated the boy and wanted to keep him around.

So, Der Profesor and Dovid entered into extended discussion on how best to continue their close association and Dovid's somewhat esoteric education.

For starters, Der Profesor told Dovid that he and his family could remain in the apartment, at no cost, for as long as they pleased.

Der Profesor suggested some remodeling to make the place more comfortable for a family. For instance, the kitchenette was expanded to a full kitchen.

Rifka Leeba arranged for a claw foot bathtub to be installed in the kitchen. She did so with the help of kibbutznik connections. When that work was done, Rifka Leeba discreetly moved into the apartment and oversaw the rest of the renovations while awaiting their wedding.

Der Profesor provided Dovid with a letter of introduction and a glowing recommendation. A nod from Der Profesor carried a lot of weight on Planet Birobidzhan. Dovid landed a job doing research and development for Moshe & Mendel's Jew Harp, Tsatske aun Muzik Krom.

Moshe and Mendel were young settlers who put together a nest egg out of scraps in the early days of the settlement when Planet Birobidzhan was awash in currency and lacking in entertaining distractions.

The brothers began by selling the tiny twangy instrument known as the Jews Harp while sitting in a park or on a sidewalk. After a while, they had a pushcart and eventually a storefront in First Landing.

Over the years, the brothers added an assortment of musical instruments to their inventory as well as a wide variety of simple toys. By the time they were ready to retire and hand the business to their children, they had a large store in First Landing, another large store in New Jerusalem and two substantial places in New New York.

The name of the company is now truly an understatement. Moshe & Mendel's Jew Harp, Tsatske aun Muzik Krom is now one of the largest independent employers, worldwide. Besides the large stores in the biggest cities, they have shops in shtetls around the globe and a wholesale operation that supplies businesses that operate in venues that the company considers to be too small to bother with.

Dovid's contract gave him a salary as well as a commission on any products that he developed. The position more so suited him for the Aun Vas? (and what?) opportunities. Of course, there were the deeply discounted or free toys and musical instruments for his expanding family.

Also, there were the unspoken but understood advantages that included the global network of suppliers and manufacturers that he had access to. While working full time and getting paid for it, Dovid was able to continue to work on what he thought of as his real work, rocketry…and, some day, space travel.

So, at the budding age of maturity, Dovid had secured a place to live, a decent income and had a friend and lover that was soon to be his bride and lifelong companion.

Rifka Leeba had made a commitment to her future mother-in-law. She promised to not bear Dovid any children before his sixteenth birthday.

Rifka Leeba intended to strictly fulfill the letter of the agreement. Following the wedding, she solemnly swore to herself that she would make her mother-in-law regret the promise elicited.

Rifka Leeba consumed the emmenagogue/abortifacient tea that her mother-in-law had given her exactly as prescribed. There was absolutely no possibility of a fetus forming within her with such a regimen.

She kept that secret from her husband. She kept that secret from the world, with the one exception of her friend, confidant and co-conspirator, Hannah Leah.

What Rifka Leeba told Dovid, even before they stood together under the Chuppah, was that she was trying to become pregnant and that having his children would be a great honor. More importantly, it would bring nachas to his mother. The pleasure of grandchildren for her mother-in-law was a dominant theme in how Rifka Leeba framed the idea of possible pregnancy.

As the weeks and months passed with no pregnancy, Rifka Leeba began to drop hints to Dovid that she might suffer from a condition of sterility. Nonetheless, she would urge him to keep trying, suggesting that different positions might help or making love at different times of the day might result in the desired pregnancy.

The young couple made love every day, sometimes several times a day, particularly on Shabbos when there was no work to do and making love is a mitzvah.

During the third month of their marriage, Rifka Leeba subtly began suggesting that Dovid needed a second wife to bear children for him and that her lifetime friend Hannah Leah was the ideal choice for a second wife. Rifka Leeba suggested that they could, perhaps, give this arrangement a trial period to see how it works out.

Hannah Leah was a few months older than Rifka Leeba. They grew up together on the kibbutz. They were almost like sisters. They shared everything.

Rifka Leeba's friend began to spend more time in the apartment. Sometimes Hannah Leah would be there all day, helping Rifka Leeba or just hanging out.

When out in public, both of the women would dress conservatively. Hannah Leah would wear her "Town Clothing". Rifka Leeba began to dress like Dovid's mother, in a long skirt, a blouse with sleeves to the wrists and buttons to the neck. Rifka Leeba's hair was always carefully covered with a scarf when she left the apartment.

They were both beautiful young women with similar enough bodies to wear each other's clothes. Hannah Leah had a bit more curves, slightly lighter hair and was a few inches shorter.

In the apartment the young women would make themselves comfortable and dress as they would on the kibbutz. They wore skirts above their knees. Their arms were bare. The top buttons of their blouses were often undone.

One Friday, Hannah Leah came for dinner and stayed the night. Rifka Leeba demurely lit the candles and Dovid said the blessings over the wine. The three friends drank the Shabbos wine together which was just a bit sweeter and a touch stronger than usual.

The evening passed in friendly conversation and they each drank a little more wine than they were usually inclined to. Hannah Leah stretched out on the sofa and Rifka Leeba took her husband to bed.

After making love, Rifka Leeba whispered in Dovid's ear of her desire for children and her fears that she may be barren. She told Dovid that her dear friend Hannah Leah would willingly bear children for her. Then she emphasized the spiritual necessity of making love on the Shabbos and the unfairness to Hannah Leah to be denied such a mitzvah.

Dovid was dozing when Rifka Leeba climbed from the bed. He was sleeping in the darkened bedroom when he was awakened and aroused. When he woke in the morning, Hannah Leah was sleeping in his arms. Rifka Leeba was humming to herself and preparing breakfast in the kitchen.

Any thoughts of a trial aspect to this arrangement were quickly put aside. The family bonds between these three were unbreakable. By any standard, the three were married. The marriage was formalized a few weeks later with a rabbi officiating and a few close friends, including Der Profesor, attending the small informal wedding.

It seemed that every time Dovid entered his apartment, one of the women was in the large claw foot bathtub in the kitchen. They would ask him to bring them a sponge or a brush or for help washing the back or rubbing feet.

This sort of thing inevitably led to lovemaking. Making love with one of his wives inevitably led to making love to the other because neither wanted to miss out.

Hannah Leah, of course, became pregnant almost immediately. The two wives, however, kept that knowledge to themselves and they continued to pressure Dovid to do his part to provide them with children.

Soon, however, hiding Hannah Leah's pregnancy became impossible. The expanded belly gave away the secret, at least when she was naked. Soon, even through her most conservative clothing, the pregnancy was obvious.

Rifka Leeba was ecstatic with this state of affairs. She insisted that they all go visit Dovid's mother to introduce his new wife and tell her the good news of a child on the way. If her mother-in-law had a heart attack or a stroke when hearing the news, thought Rifka Leeba, that would be icing on the cake.

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

Friday, August 5, 2022

The Courtship & Marriage of Bathseba

by Zvi Baranoff

Previously, he had only been to this cafe occasionally in the afternoon and only with Der Profesor. At those times, the cafe was always sparsely occupied, a quiet place for them to drink tea and talk.

Dovid entered the cafe and found it that evening to be quite crowded. Klezmorim were playing upbeat music. Waiters were bustling about and shouting orders to the kitchen staff. The tables were full of customers, laughing and talking loudly to each other.

Dovid maneuvered his way towards the back room, through the tightly placed tables filled with customers. While looking for a place to sit, he was simultaneously second guessing his decision to go downtown on his own on a Saturday night.

Though intelligent and wise beyond his years, Dovid was, after all, still a somewhat awkward twelve year old. A bar mitzvah and adulthood was still a few months away.

He actually almost turned to leave when he saw her sitting along the back wall, surrounded by friends in animated conversation.

There, in the cafe, was the young woman that he saw from a distance that afternoon. And then again within the mushroom vision. This was the beauty that he thought of as Bathsheba.

He approached and then stopped. He stood there, staring, with his mouth slightly agape. How could he tell her, without sounding ridiculous or worse yet, creepy, that this meeting was a matter of bashert, destiny, fate?

The cultural barriers must have seemed enormous to him. The woman of his vision was surrounded by her peers. They were kibbutznik youth, with all the swagger and bravado that entails, from the way they dressed to the way they spoke.

Additionally, they were all past the bar mitzvah point, the age of emancipation. As a twelve year old, he was seen by the world to be to be a child. The thirteen and fourteen year olds that he faced were adults.

Dovid bit his lip and focused his mind on making a good impression. The more he thought about that, the more of an impossibility that seemed.

His clothes were ill-fitting hand me downs. Their clothing was all well fitting and stylish. His hair was disheveled and his payos hung at odd angles, flopping about with every move of his head. They all had sharp haircuts and no side curls. His tzitzis fluttered with each step, while their fringes were unseen and possibly not even worn. Needless to say, he looked and felt provincial.

The kibbutzniks were all wearing what they call their "town clothes". In order to maintain minimum standards of the social norms, kibbutzniks generally adapt their dress when they leave the kibbutz. However, by striving for minimum standards, their acquiescence to social norms come off almost as flagrant disregard.

The young men were all clean-shaven. Their heads wore yarmulkes of little consequence and with an attitude of disregard. The women wore skirts that barely came to their knees and the sleeves of their tops ended somewhat around their elbows. The conformity felt artificial, which it certainly was. All told, they presented an image of modernity.

He reminded himself that he had flown in airplanes and that he knew more about liquid fuels and explosives than anyone on Planet Birobidzhan. Somehow, those things didn't make a difference concerning a first impression. He looked and felt like a country bumpkin. To top it off, he was just standing there, staring.

"It looks like you have an admirer," one of the fellows said to her with a bit of a snicker. Dovid felt as if the entire room had turned in his direction but he was only concerned about one person. She looked in his general direction and smiled.

"He's kinda cute, in a way," she responded to her friend's gibe while continuing to smile abstractly although seemingly taking little notice of Dovid.

Dovid threw caution to the wind and took another couple of steps closer to the table. "The cafe is crowded tonight and I am here by myself. Would it be alright if I join you and sit here?"

The young woman looked him up and down. "Please," she said, indicating the seat next to her. "My name is Rifka Leeba, but everyone calls me Bat."

Without missing a beat, Dovid said "Ich bin Dovid und du bist mayn Bat-Sheba."

Dovid ordered a glass of tea. He drank it shtetl style, with a sugar cube between his teeth. The kibbutzniks were all drinking fancy concoctions with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles and such.

The kibbutzniks looked at him sideways and then went on with their frivolities, mostly ignoring the boy. Dovid quietly drank his tea. Rifka Leeba, however, drew the youngster into conversation and somehow the two of them found common ground.

When her chaverim decided to head out, Rifka Leeba stayed behind. She and Dovid sat in the cafe, conversing until closing time. Then, they walked together through what remained of the night and together watched the sun rise, before they each returned to their homes.

Over the next few weeks, coincidence, serendipity and plan brought the two young people together often. They shared secrets. They spoke of their dreams and aspirations.

Rifka Leeba took Dovid to the bend in the creek where they swam naked. Dovid took Rifka Leeba to the woods above the creek where he first caught sight of her. This was where they first made love.

The young woman was just a bit more than a year older than Dovid. At some point, that sort of age difference would be irrelevant. In just a few months, the boy would reach the age of emancipation. But, for the time being, he teetered on the edge of adulthood and was in awe of the older woman that had accepted him as an equal.

It may have been presumptuous of him to ask for her hand before he was old enough to stand under the chuppah but she readily said yes, even knowing that meant waiting until after his bar mitzvah.

Dovid brought his Bat-Sheba to the shtetl to meet his family. The shtetl where Dovid's family lived was not as primitive as Rifka Leeba imagined from his description of his early childhood. Many of the streets were paved. There were stores and parks.

The family home was small, but well maintained. Rifka Leeba was a bit nervous as they walked towards the house. She fidgeted with her clothing, trying not to look too much like an outsider. She didn't know what sort of a reception she would receive from Dovid's family, particularly his momma.

The family home felt a bit empty. Dovid's momma was there alone when they arrived. Her husband was away, perhaps working. All of the older siblings had moved out and were already raising families of their own. Dovid had mostly been living in his apartment at the airport library and was only home on occasion.

Dovid's mother served tea, with sugar cubes and biscuits. Rifka Leeba attempted to drink the strongly brewed tea through a sugar cube held between her teeth before giving up and drinking her tea unsweetened.

A tension hung over the room. It came to a head when Dovid's mother turned to him and said, with no preamble or forewarning, "Go outside and play. I need to speak with this woman."

Dovid opened his mouth, the beginning of a protest forming on his lips. He looked from his mother to his fiancee and back at his mother. Then, he stood up and walked out the door.

Dovid's mother, for all appearances, was culturally conservative and reserved. The family home was in a conservative neighborhood and projected an essence of tradition.

Rifka Leeba held many broad presumptions about shtetl life and nothing that she had seen or heard so far would have much altered her presumptions. Rifka Leeba's presumptions left her ill prepared for the conversation that was about to unfold.

The older woman grilled Rifka Leeba about sexuality. The questions were explicit and exacting, without mincing words or relying on euphemisms. Nothing conceivable was left out. Dovid's mother relentlessly asked intimate details about desires, fetishes, positioning, past experiences, menstrual cycles, orgasms, masturbation, family history and more.

Rifka Leeba was shocked and shaken to her core. She broke down crying. Dovid's mother showed no sympathy or compassion for the young woman. With no wavering or uncertainty, the older woman made it clear that she thought that Rifka Leeba was an unfit match for her son and that the marriage was a terrible idea.

Rifka Leeba was shocked by the questioning and disturbed by the unwavering opposition to their youthful aspirations that was expressed. Most certainly, she was mentally unprepared for what occurred next.

Dovid's mother elicited two commitments from Rifka Leeba. She insisted that the wedding would not occur until six months after Dovid's bar mitzvah and she insisted that Rifka Leeba would refrain from bearing children before Dovid turned sixteen.

Then, the older woman gave Dovid's fiancee a packet of herbal tea and explicit directions on how to use the concoction to regulate menstruation and prevent pregnancy.

Rifka Leeba was wiping away her tears when Dovid reentered the house. Neither of the women spoke to the lad about what had been discussed between them. The walk from the shtetl to First Landing was awkwardly quiet.

Turning thirteen brought major changes to Dovid as he transitioned from boy to man. The contract that his mother had signed with Der Profesor expired and was up to potential renegotiation. Dovid became fully emancipated. He became fully responsible for his own finances and personal decisions.

Dovid spent the week at the family home in the shtetl. Dovid's birthday fell on a Tuesday that year. The day passed with little fanfare.

That evening, Dovid's mother insisted that her husband take the young man to the neighborhood brothel. She hoped that the kurvahs would help cure him of the nonsense of his ill-conceived love for Rifka Leeba and their engagement.

The following Thursday morning, Dovid attended the minyan at the small shul near the family home. He donned tefillin and received an aliyah when the Torah was read. His mother and his fiancee sat side by side, upstairs in the women's section of the shul. A party for friends and family was held that evening.

Six months later, the young couple stood under the chuppah, surrounded by family and friends.