Shifre said that marriages in their country seemed different that those in Lublin. What did she mean by this?

Question

The Devil's Arithmetic

Shifre said that marriages in their country seemed different that those in Lublin. What did she mean by this?

STORIES SEEMED TO TUMBLE OUT OF HANNAH'S MOUTH, reruns of all the movies and books she could think of. She told the girls about Yentl and then about Conan the Barbarian with equal vigor; about Star Wars, which confused them; and Fiddler on the Roof, which did not. She told them the plot of Little Women in ten minutes, a miracle of compression, especially since her book re- port had been seven typed pages. She mesmerized them with her tellings. After the first one, which they had interrupted every third sentence with questions, they were an attentive audience, and silent except for their frequent loud sighs and Esther's nervous laughter at all the wrong moments. Rachel cried at the end of Yentl, when Hannah de- scribed Barbra Streisand bravely sailing off to America alone. And all four had tears running down their cheeks\ when Beth died in Little Women. Hannah wondered at this strange power she held in her mouth. It was true 50 Aaron had always liked her stories. So did Rosemary, but as her best friend she had to. And the Brodie twins, whom she'd only started to babysit, could usually be kept quiet with a tale. But she'd never had such a large, appreciative audience before. Walking through the woods behind the wagons, the girls kept jostling one another for the place of honor by Hannah's side. Hannah wondered about that most of all. In New Rochelle, except for Rosemary and two other friends, who had all been together since first grade, she was not very popular. There was even one clique of girls—Rosemary called them "the Snubs"—who never spoke to her, though three were in her Hebrew class and one was actually Rosemary's cousin. She remem- bered vividly standing with Rosemary at the school's water fountain, giggling and splashing each other. The Snubs came over and called them babies just when Jor- dan Mandel went by. He'd laughed at them and Hannah had thought she'd die on the spot. Yet here, wherever here was, she was suddenly the most popular girl on the block. Except there wasn't any block. She realized that she couldn't have made up that powerful memory. She was Hannah. But these girls, who were hanging on her every word, believed she was Chaya. And it was great to be so popular. She wasn't going to spoil it by trying to convince them she really was someone else. "So let me tell you about The Wizard of Oz," she said. She couldn't remember which was the movie and which was the book. Shrugging her shoulders, she began a strange mixture of the two, speeding along until the line "Gosh, Toto, this sure doesn't look like Kansas." 51 "What is Kansas?" Rachel asked. Just then Gitl dropped back and listened to them. Hannah was afraid she would interrupt them or make her ride in the wagon. But all Gitl said was "Kansas, it is in America. Near New Rochelle." Then she walked away, laughing. As they wound on through the forest, Hannah guessed everybody from the shtetl was there. The littlest chil- dren and some of the older women rode in the open wagons, but everyone else walked. Sunlight filtered through the canopy of large trees, spotlighting the for- est. It was even more magical than the forest in Oz, Hannah thought, When she stopped for a moment to take it all in, the girls complained. "Go on, go on," Shifre said. "What happened next?" Putting her arm around Hannah's waist, Rachel smiled. "Let her be. She is only catching her breath." "You are the one who has trouble catching her breath," said Yente the Cossack. She. wrinkled her long nose. "But Chaya has plenty of breath. Shifre is right. What happened next to this Dorothy Gale?" Hannah was in the middle of a muddled version of Hansel and Gretel, having temporarily run out of movies and books and fallen back on the nursery tales she told Aaron or the Brodie twins, when her attention was arrested by a high, thin, musical wail. She stopped in mid-sentence. The others heard it at the same time and Yente clapped her hands. "The klezmer!" she cried but. "We're almost there:" 52 She had been holding Hannah's arm, but pulled away half a step to look longingly toward the front of the line. For a moment, Hannah was almost annoyed at having her audience distracted. "Don't you want to hear any more?" she asked. "Never mind her, Chaya," Rachel said smoothly. "How are you to guess Yente knows songs like you know stories? She will leave the dinner table, even, at the sound of a clarinet. So ignore her and finish about this witch. Does she push Gretel in the oven or not?" But the mood was broken and a new mood took over the villagers as the sound from the clarinet reached them. The pace of the walk, which had become lei- surely, quickened. Even the horses picked up their step. The constant chatter stopped. Everyone seemed to be straining to listen. Then another instrument joined in. It took a moment for Hannah to realize that the second was a violin. It certainly wasn't like the one she had labored on in Suzuki class so long and with so little result. This violin had a piercing, insistent sweetness of tone, almost like a baby crying. The wagons came to a halt as the klezmer band came around a bend in the forest path. Hannah saw that there were three musicians in all: the clarinet, the violin, and an accordion. The music was fast and full of a wild energy. The band members strode down the line of villagers. Behind them came Shmuel, dancing with abandon, his hands above his head and his black hair a dark halo 53 around it. Yitzchak followed him, big hands clapping in rhythm. Other men soon joined them. Laughing and shouting encouragement, the women watched from the side. Then they began to sing. "Sing, Chaya!" Shmuel called as he danced by her. "Sing!" "I don't know the words," she called back. But even as she said it, she found herself singing, the words stum- bling out as if her month remembered what her mind did not, as if her mouth belonged to Chaya, her head to Hannah. She began to clap madly in rhythm until the tune came to an abrupt end. "Look," Rachel cried above the noise, the breathi- ness back in her voice, "they have even brought a bad- chart. Fayge's father must have a lot of money." "Or an only daughter," Esther added. "Then why is she marrying Shmuel?" Shifre blurted out. Looking at Hannah apologetically, she added, "I mean he is handsome but he is not so rich or so learned. And you know about Rabbi Boruch ... " "They say . . . ," Rachel began, and the girls bent closer to her as her breath gave out, ". . , they say that Fayge is his favorite and always gets her way. They say she saw Shmuel and fell in love." "In love." The girls breathed the words in rhythm. "So?" Hannah was puzzled. "So they fell in love." "So—it may happen in Lublin that a Jewish girl mar- ries for love," said Shifre. "But here in the country, we still marry the one our parents pick out with the shad- chan, the marriage broker." ,54 "Even today?" Hannah asked, not sure when today was. "Even today," they all said together. Hannah turned to look at the man Rachel had pointed out as the badchan. She wondered who he was. The word seemed to have no easy translation in her head. As she watched, the tall, skinny man circulated from group to group. Each knot of people he left was laugh- ing uproariously. Maybe he was some sort of comedian. When the badchan got to the girls, he squatted down in front of them. He was so tall, even squatting, he towered a full head above Rachel, who was the smallest of them. Then he began in a sing-song manner to rhyme about each one in turn. When he got to"Hannah, he pointed his finger at her and sang: Pretty girl, with faraway eyes, Why do you look with such surprise? How did you get to be sa wise, Old girl in young-girl disguise. "That is you, Chaya!" Gitl cried out from behind them. "What a fine badchan." Without taking his eyes off Hannah, the badchan said, "So, your name is Chaya, which is to say, life. A strong name for a strange time, child. Be good life and long life to your friends, young-old Chaya." He stood up slowly, unfolding like some kind of long-legged bird, and danced away to the next group of villagers. "Strange," Hannah remarked to no one in particular. "Well, that is what he is hired to be," Rachel said. 55 "Strange and mysterious and to make up rhymes, sing songs, tell fortunes. He said I looked startled by life, Chaya. Do you think so?" She put her arm through Hannah's. Hannah shrugged, but she wasn't really thinking about what Rachel said. She was watching the badchan. He reminded her of something or someone, but she couldn't think what. Then, when he tipped his hat to one of the old women on the wagons, it came to her. He was like a court jester. Only instead of wearing one of those colorful caps with bells, he wore a black hat like the other men, and the bottom of his coat danced along with his every move. The idea of a Jewish jester so tickled her, she began to laugh out loud. Without even knowing the joke, the other girls joined in. 56 THE FOREST WAS NOW BOILING WITH PEOPLE, FOR THE VIOSK villagers had come behind the klezmer to greet Shmuel and his friends. Hannah hung back. More people meant more greetings and more excuses. It was worse than any family party at home. At home\ The skin on her face suddenly felt stretched tight across her cheekbones and her eyes began to prick- le with tears. Where was her home? She forced herself to recall the house in New Rochelle. with its borders of flowers and the flagstone walk. But the image seemed to be fading, especially when compared with the forest full of villagers and the tiny house and horse barn she'd left just hours before. A hand on her arm riveted her to the moment. "Come, Chaya," Gitl said. "Come and meet your new aunt-to-be." Pulling Hannah past the noisy cele- brants, Gitl led her to the one wagon facing the rest, where the men were busy at work encouraging the two strong workhorses to turn around. 57

Asked by kjfhiryf r #1326586 on 11/7/2023 2:33 PM

Last updated by Aslan on 11/7/2023 6:17 PM

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Answered by Aslan on 11/7/2023 6:17 PM

From your text:

"So they fell in love." "So—it may happen in Lublin that a Jewish girl mar- ries for love," said Shifre. "But here in the country, we still marry the one our parents pick out with the shad- chan, the marriage broker." ,54 "Even today?" Hannah asked, not sure when today was. "Even today," they all said together. Hannah turned to look at the man Rachel had pointed out as the badchan. She wondered who he was. The word seemed to have no easy translation in her head. As she watched, the tall, skinny man circulated from group to group. Each knot of people he left was laugh- ing uproariously. Maybe he was some sort of comedian.

Answers 1

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