21st Century Bogatyr

Monday, January 23, 2023

Across the Void, Down a Wormhole & Into the Snow

by Zvi Baranoff

A few weeks after the Hatikvah left the Planet Birobidzhan behind, Tamar gave birth to twin boys. They emerged, each crying voluminously, healthy and strong. She named her sons Perez and Zerah.

From their first breathing day, Perez and Zerah competed for Tamar's emotional attention, as well as the nutritional sustenance that flowed through her when they suckled. Tamar continued to speak with the twins as she had when they were in her womb.

Tamar told Perez that his father is a yeshiva bocher named Baruch. She told Zerah that his father's name is Shmuli. She would tell her newborns that their fathers were busy with their studies but would no doubt seek them out, anywhere in the universe, when they finished their education.

Tamar was the first to use the birthing room of the Hatikvah clinic. Over the next few years, there were quite a few births in the ship's clinic, keeping the Hatikvah's team of midwives fairly busy.

On the Home Planet and on Planet Birobidzhan, children would run and play in the fields, forests, playgrounds and streets. For several hours of every day, even in inclement weather, on Planet Birobidzhan, and probably still on Planet Earth, most children are outdoors.

On an intergalactic ship traveling through the void, there is no outdoor play for children. The Hatikvah had designated play areas for the ever increasing hoards of kinder but the children didn't confine themselves to the spielplat. The sounds of children crying, laughing, running and sometimes fighting filled the ship.

Long before Perez and Zerah learned to walk or talk, the brothers were already fighting over everything and nothing. When together, they would pull each other's hair, bite and scratch. When separated, they would cry and each would seek out the other. They were inseparable and irreconcilable. Tamar would say that they are just like their fathers.

Perez and Zerah, being the first of the kinder born on the ship, were the de facto leaders of the pack of vilde khius that were the children of the Hatikvah. Under the influence of these two, the younger children picked up tendencies that are disturbing to most adults and potentially harmful to other children. This was before any of these kinder born to the Hatikvah were even old enough for cheder.

Of course, being the first children born on the Hatikvah, Perez and Zerah were the first of the transit born to enter cheder. It did not take long for the two to test the patience of the melamed and push his tolerance beyond capacity.

The twins required two classrooms separated by the length of the ship and each their own teacher. Individually, each of the yingelas wore a teacher out.

Dovid and Hannah Leah doted over their grandsons. They showered them with affection and care. The boys showed love and even Derekh Eretz under the watchful eyes of the grandparents. Perez and Zerah would calm for an hour or two at a time when with their Bubbie and Zeida.

Hannah Leah would bake kikhlekh and sometimes sing songs. Dovid would tell the boys long winding and totally unbelievable stories about Moishe Pipik, a little boy that builds a spaceship from junk he finds. Often, the boys spent the night with Hannah Leah and Dovid. Around the time that the boys began their schooling, they began living with their grandparents full time.

Tamar rarely slept through the night. She would eat majoun and play soulful music on her violin late into the night. Then, through the void, she would engage in extensive conversations with Baruch and Shmuli. Of course, she had left the yeshiva bochers behind in Seaside Mea Shearim, New New York, on Planet Birobidzhan. The conversations, however, were very real for Tamar.

The Hatikvah proceeded, unencumbered on a set trajectory through the void. The people on board lived their lives and grew older.

Years transpired before the Hatikvah came within range of the wormhole. Everyone was aware that going into a wormhole would likely be a horrendous experience.

The emigrants also were aware that traveling through this wormhole was an unavoidable necessity.

A fold in space/time opens up totally new vistas and presents unknown constellations. The actual search for habitable planets could only begin in earnest after transpiring through the wormhole.

There was much warranted anxiety before the drop. The emigrants aboard the Hatikvah prepared themselves as they each saw fit. Some prayed and fasted. Others took a more proactive approach to warding off the discomfort that they reasonably expected. There was an awful lot of schnapps consumed in the days leading up to the drop into the wormhole.

Nothing anyone did made the transition through the fold of space/time any easier. There was a lot of physical discomfort, much puking and several spontaneous abortions.

Emerging from the wormhole left the mentshn aboard the Hatikvah discomforted for days. A melancholy overtook the ship and it was hard to shake. Like a period of bad weather, a cloud hung over the Hatikvah. And, like the weather, the cloud that hung over the emigrants eventually lifted and spirits improved.

Several months after emerging from the wormhole, the first planet that showed potential for supporting life was detected by the Hatikvah's computer. The technicians named that planet Rishon, Hebrew for first. After a closer examination, they had determined that it was not worthy of settlement.

When the ship's sensor alerted the technicians of a second possibly livable world, they all tried to temper their optimism. They named this second planet Shneya, meaning second.

As the Hatikvah came closer within range of Shneya, all of the computer analysis continued to be positive. It certainly seemed that the emigrants from Planet Birobidzhan had found themselves a world to live on.

The planet has breathable air with a slightly richer oxygen mixture than Planet Birobidzhan. It is a bit larger resulting in stronger gravity pull, making everything seem slightly heavier. There is plenty of potable water. It rains heavily in the spring and summer.

Snow falls frequently beginning in early autumn and throughout the winter. There are deep and wide rivers that run year round except when they freeze over.

The average temperatures on this planet are significantly lower than on Planet Birobidzhan. The higher mountains have snow all the time.

Summers are cooler than the spring or autumn on Planet Birobidzhan. Occasionally snow or hail will occur even in the summer.

The sheep thrive on this planet. Their wool grows thicker and they are meatier than any sheep that are raised on Planet Birobidzhan.

The emigrants found adapting to the cold difficult, although wool clothing certainly helped. The children born in transit, however, made a fairly smooth transition.

The parents, born and raised on Planet Birobidzhan, wore multiple layers of clothing and never seemed quite comfortable. The children run barefoot even in winter and readily shed their clothing in the summertime.

The irony that the Hebrew word for "second" sounds so similar to the Yiddish word for "snow" was lost on no one. It was not long after landing that the new settlers all began calling the place Planet Shney rather than Planet Shneya.

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

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

Thursday, January 19, 2023

Liftoff Into the Unknown

by Zvi Baranoff

The next morning, Tamar was up before dawn. She paced about waiting for her work crew to arrive. Dovid was also up, sorting personal possessions and waiting for enough daylight to resume loading supplies aboard the Hatikvah.

Tamar and her crew had the mushroom growing facility successfully moved aboard the Hatikvah, although they had to work late into the night. The workmen were none too pleased about the grueling pace and the exacting demands of the supervisor.

Some of the men working under Tamar's watchful eyes had built the initial facility. They remembered the little girl with the rag doll that terrorized them over a decade before. They found Tamar, as an adult, to be no less demanding and just as difficult to work for.

The chickens, goats and sheep were all settled in before sunset. Dovid oversaw the boarding of the livestock and appreciated that the complaints from that element were minimal. However, Dovid was interrupted periodically by other managerial responsibilities.

Some of the passengers had already begun boarding. People are a lot more demanding than sheep or goats.

The personal possessions of each passenger was limited to what each could carry. The emigrants carried their possessions in suitcases or tied up in bedding. Everyone pushed the limits and no one was pleased when the limits pushed back.

The complaints and arguments from these emigrant Yidden mostly were smoothed over with Dovid's intervention, but the effort was exhausting and emotionally draining.

Dovid went to bed early and he slept like the dead. Around midnight, he was awakened by Rifka Leeba. She climbed into bed and pressed herself against him. They made love that night with a passion that rekindled memories of their courtship.

The first roosters could be heard crowing before Dovid began to drift off to sleep. Rifka Leeba, however, determined that the time had come for a conversation and that sleeping was not an option. She rested her head in the crook of her husband's arm.

"Dovid," Rifka Leeba began. "I am not going with you. I am staying on Planet Birobidzhan."

"How can that be?" Dovid asked. "You are my wife and my heart of hearts. Of course you are coming with me," Dovid told her.

Tears ran down Rifka Leeba's face and dripped onto Dovid's arm. She shook her head ever so slightly before continuing to speak.

"All of my kinder are here and some grandchildren and there will be more grandchildren soon. I am not leaving them."

"Also," Rifka Leeba continued, "your momma, mayn shviger, is here. She is growing older and shouldn't be alone. She can't live on her own. She needs help. I am going to live with your momma. You will go to the stars without me."

Dovid had not given much thought to his mother's needs since the death of his father.

"Momma has other children," Dovid told Rifka Leeba. "They can watch out for her."

"Oh, your momma is a mean spirited and cantankerous old woman. She has driven away all of her other children. Besides that," Rifka Leeba reminded Dovid, "you are the only one she ever showed real affection to. Your momma loved you and now I am responsible for her," she said emphatically.

Dovid looked at his wife. "We could still have more kinder, you and I."

Rifka Leeba rolled her eyes and touched her pelvis, just above the patch of hair. "I have not had a baby for more than a dozen years. This well has run dry. There won't be any more kinder through me."

Rifka Leeba never told Dovid that she restarted the herbal regimen that she had learned from his mother to keep from becoming pregnant.

As far as Dovid knew, the barrenness that Rifka Leeba suffered from when they were first married had returned. Female reproduction was mostly a mystery to her husband and, besides, she considered her womb to be none of his business.

Dovid drifted into sleep for a bit around first light. When he awoke, Rifka Leeba was no longer in bed. Rifka Leeba was walking in the shtetl where her husband had been born, along the goat path, towards her mother-in-law's house.

On board the Hatikvah, the passengers were nervously awaiting liftoff. Dovid and his technicians were running about the tarmac making the final inspection and last minute tests of equipment. This was when Tamar approached her father.

"Tate," Tamar said, "We have decided to go along." She patted her abdomen. "We discussed it, the boys and I. If there is room for us, we want to go…if we can bring my musical instruments."

The crates of instruments were stacked in the house. They were certainly more than any one person could carry. There was no way they fit the personal property limitations that were set for passengers on the Hatikvah.

Dovid had the crates of instruments piled on a cart. He marked the crates as "Essential Agricultural Equipment". He ordered them to be loaded onto the Hatikvah.

Dovid and Tamar were the last to board before the door of the Hatikvah was sealed and the final countdown began.

Liftoff was flawless. It was also not a moment too soon. A swarm of angry investors had arrived at the airport. The crowd intended to salvage some of their losses, if possible, and perhaps execute some level of punishment on the perpetrators of the fraud.

Instead of enacting justice, those on the tarmac found themselves standing in clouds of dust, smoke, and fumes. The Hatikvah ascended into the sky above First Landing. The Hatikva was heading into the void and the unknown.