Jacob's Way (13 page)

Dov's massive chest heaved with relief, and he patted her shoulder clumsily. He began to tell her about his day at the dock, but Reisa did not forget about his words. Indeed, she kept his dream in her mind for two days, and even as she and Jacob left to go on another tour, she thought of little else. Finally on their second night, when they had found a family willing to give them a room in exchange for goods, she mentioned Dov's dream to Jacob. He sat quietly while she spoke, and finally he said, “What are you thinking, Reisa?”

“You remember Zuriel's plan to go to the South? I think God is telling us to do the same thing.”

Jacob stared at her. “It's impossible! Our people are here. We don't even know that there are any Jews there or synagogues.”

“Yes, there are. Zuriel's cousin told him so. Not many but a few.”

Jacob was highly disturbed by this suggestion, and Reisa knew better than to argue. “It's something to think about,” she said. “Maybe it's nothing.”

But the seed was planted. Although Jacob said nothing about it, she knew he was thinking of it.

Jacob was so quiet at dinner the following night that Laban Gold asked him, “Are you not feeling well, Reb? You say almost nothing.”

“Oh, I'm very well. Just thinking.”

“Do you feel bad,
Zaideh?
” Reisa joined in.

“No. I just feel the need for God.” He nodded to them, excused himself from the table, and climbed the stairs to his room.

Every time Jacob Dimitri had problems he would flee for refuge to the Scriptures. He knew them almost by heart, having read them over and over again throughout his long years. Many times he could remember finding a Scripture that would seemingly give him an answer. This was difficult because, at times, he was not quite sure if he simply chose the Scripture, or if God had caused his mind to focus on it.

All day he stayed in his room, going over the Old Testament Scriptures. He read until his eyes grew weary and he had to lie down and rest.

When he awoke the following day, he had a strong impression that he needed to read the book of Joshua. All day long he read carefully.

He had gone almost all the way through the book of Joshua, and finally he reached the part that had to do with Caleb and his daughter. He had read this before. Joshua had divided the land among the Israelites, and Caleb, being one of the heroes with Joshua himself, had gotten the choice of land. He began reading the section which said:

And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjath-sepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.

And Othniel, the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it: and he gave him Achsah, his daughter, to wife.

And it came to pass as she came unto him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wouldest thou?

Who answered, Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And he gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.

Jacob suddenly felt a very strange emotion run through him, just like the other times when God had spoken to him through the written word. He read the passage again, and then for the third time. The verse that moved him most was the phrase, “Thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water.”

With trembling hands, Jacob pressed his eyes. He began to pray silently and remained absolutely motionless. Finally he read the section again, and he knew that the phrase “Thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water” would be on his mind for days.

Finally weariness overtook him, and he went to sleep. It was late when he woke up without any warning. He turned on the light and blinked until his eyes grew accustomed to it, then looked at his watch that he always kept beside him. It was three-thirty, the middle of the night.

But Jacob was wide awake. He rose and dressed and then sat down in a chair. He had gone to sleep thinking of the phrase that had so burned into his mind, and now he thought,
It may be nothing. I will read more of the Scripture. It may be only my idea.

He left the book of Joshua and began reading at the beginning of the next book, Judges. He read the first eleven verses and then suddenly the words jumped out at him. “And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjath-sepher, and taketh it…”

It was the identical passage! Jacob sat there quietly, his hands trembling as he completed the passage. It was the same, word for word. “Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water.”

Something seemed to click in Jacob's mind. He had always said, “It is impossible to know always the will of God—but sometimes he speaks to us so plainly we cannot mistake it.”

Jacob Dimitri was not a mystic. Nor was he in the least an impulsive man. He believed in waiting and thinking things through, pondering and meditating on them. But now he suddenly knew that he must share this with Reisa.

Reisa started, for a sharp knock on her door had broken through her sleep. She sat up, pushing Boris away, thinking perhaps it was a sound from somewhere else in the house, but it was repeated—not loud, but with intensity.

“Just a minute,” she said. Getting out of bed, she put on her robe and moved barefooted to the door. She unlocked it and opened it. Seeing Jacob there, her eyes grew large. “Are you sick,
Zaideh?
”

“No, but I must talk with you.”

“Come in.” Stepping back, she allowed her grandfather to pass. He held the Scripture in his hand, and she saw that his face was troubled. “What is it?” she demanded.

“I—do not know, Granddaughter,” he said, and his voice was slightly above a whisper. “Something has come to me. I have thought much about what you have said about the South, and now it may be that God has given us a confirmation.”

Reisa's heart began to pound, and she reached out and took her grandfather by the arms. “What is it? What has God said to you?”

He said, “Come. Let me sit down and read to you.”

Reisa watched as he sat down on the single chair beside the bed. She sat down as close to him as she could get and listened as he said, “This is from the book of Joshua.” He read the Scripture with an unsteady voice. “When I read this verse ‘Thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water,' it seemed to burn into my spirit.” He looked up and said, “I was troubled by this because I do not ever want to mistake God, and it is easy to do so.”

“You think it is from the Lord?”

“I went to sleep at once, but an hour ago I came awake very suddenly—completely awake. You know how slowly I come out of sleep, Reisa. But I was wide awake, and I picked up the Scripture. I did not want to read Joshua anymore, so I started reading the next book, the book of Judges.” He put his finger on the spot and turned the book toward her. She read it aloud, “Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water.”

The two sat there hushed, each waiting for the other to speak. Finally she said, “You must decide,
Zaideh
. I am only a woman.”

“Do not say that, child,” Jacob said quickly. He reached out with his free hand and took her hand. “I have been troubled about your dreams.”

“And then there is Dov's dream…” Reisa said.

“I think,” Jacob said slowly, “that we must go. If God is calling, we must answer. It will be hard, but then Abraham went out and did not know where he was going. He was simply told by God to leave his kindred, his family, and God would provide the place.” Jacob smiled tremulously.

“We will be the children of Abraham. We will go out though we know not where we go.”

The two sat there, and both knew that something tremendous had happened in their lives. Neither of them understood it, but somehow a tiny seed of faith had been planted. And it was Reisa who said, “We will go south. Abraham is our father, and God is our God. He will take care of us.”

The two bowed their heads and prayed, and as they did Reisa Dimitri knew that her life would never be the same again.

Part Two

Eleven

A
s Reisa leaned on the railing of the
Dixie Queen
, the cascade of sparkling drops showering from the huge paddle wheel delighted her. During the two-day trip that had brought them from New York to Virginia, she had spent hours fascinated by the rise and fall of the paddle wheel. She listened now as the wheels churned in the water, and far below she could hear the throbbing of mighty steam engines. The boat shivered and quaked beneath her feet, but it was a thrill to her.

Mr. Gold had decided that they should take a boat down the coast to Virginia instead of going by coach or railway. The fare had been much cheaper, and they had been able to bring their trunks with them. Since these contained all they had left of their home, neither Reisa nor Jacob could bear to leave them behind. Now they were stowed safely somewhere in the hold of the ship with their names firmly attached to them.

The trip had been a delight. They had slept well both nights, Jacob and Dov sharing a cabin, while Reisa shared one with a lady named Frances Milhouse, a middle-aged woman going to Georgia to meet her husband. She and Reisa had found each other good company, but both were wondering about how they would like the South.

“I've heard so much about the mistreatment of the slaves,” Mrs. Milhouse said one day as they stood on deck, watching the river pass beneath them. “I just don't want to see such things.”

“But the war ended all that, didn't it?”

“It was supposed to, but we will see.”

Dov came to stand beside Reisa, his huge form dwarfing her. He turned and smiled through his thick beard, his white teeth flashing. “Boat is good in water,” he said. “Better than wagon.”

“Yes. Much better,” Reisa said.

“Where we go now?”

“We'll get off at a city called Norfolk.”

Norfolk had been the destination decided by Reisa and Jacob after studying a map carefully. It had become their plan to get off and make their way westward, maybe past Richmond. They had no real reason for doing this, but not having another plan they had made this one. And now as Reisa stood beside Dov watching the silvery drops fall back into the churning water, she hoped they had made the right decision. All any of them knew of Norfolk was that it was in the South.

Dov was silent. He was quiet as a rule, but there was something comforting about his presence. Reisa knew that she would never be afraid of any physical danger as long as he was there. Her grandfather, she knew, felt the same, for he had said once, “God has sent Dov to take care of us. He is one of God's innocents.”

Now Reisa glanced up at the huge man and smiled. “Do you miss home much? I mean, back across the big ocean?”

“Sometimes,” Dov said. “But this is good land, and I have two good friends.”

Reisa patted his hand and smiled. “You'll have more than that. God will send us many friends.”

Even as she spoke, the whistle gave a mighty blast, and Reisa straightened up. “I think we're coming to Norfolk,” she said. “One of the sailors told me it wasn't far.”

Indeed, the banks were lined more and more with houses, wharves, and other buildings. “We'd better go get Grandfather,” she said. They moved away from the deck and found Jacob engaged in a conversation with one of the deckhands. He smiled and said, “This is Mr. Anderson. His sister married a good Jewish man, and we've been talking about how he should treat his new brother-in-law.”

Anderson was a short, muscular man with a tanned face and a pair of bright blue eyes. “To tell the truth, I was worried. I didn't know nothin' about Jews, but meeting your grandfather here, well, it's given me a change of mind.”

“God will bless your sister, and may God bless you, too, Mr. Anderson.”

“We'd better start getting our things together,” Reisa said. “We'll be docking soon.”

“That's right,” Anderson said quickly. “I'll go down and see to your luggage if you'd like.”

“Thank you. Dov, would you go with him and help him carry the trunks?”

Dov nodded and the two men left. Reisa went to her own cabin where she stroked Boris. He had not liked the ship for some reason, and now he yowled piteously. “It's all right, Boris,” she said. “We'll be on firm ground soon enough.” She got out the canvas carrier with the thin wooden bottom. She had sewed net over one end of it, and when she put him in he settled down reluctantly. She tied up the drawstring on the end, picked it up by the handle, then picked up her light canvas carpetbag that she had bought in New York to carry some of her clothes.

Leaving the cabin, she went to the deck where the passengers that were to disembark were gathered. There were not many of them, no more than a dozen. Soon Anderson and Dov emerged from the hold, each carrying one of the trunks.

“I'll help you put these on shore, Mr. Dimitri,” Anderson said.

“Very kind of you, I'm sure.” Jacob turned to Reisa, whispering, “This is such a kind man. If all Southerners are like this, we will do well here.”

The
Dixie Queen
nudged its way carefully into the dock. They watched as the deckhands lowered the gangplank that was situated in the bow. About twenty bales of cotton were located there, and Captain Creighton came by, giving orders. “All passengers ashore!” He had spoken to Dov before. He was from North Carolina and had taken an interest in the big man, marveling at his size. “Well, friend. You ought to do well here, a strong fellow like you.”

“He's very strong,” Reisa said proudly, looking up at Captain Creighton, who was a tall man. “I've never seen a load he couldn't pick up.”

Anderson grinned. He had stopped and put the trunk down. “I bet he couldn't pick up one of them bales of cotton.”

“No indeed!” Creighton exclaimed. “No man could do that.”

“Yes, he could,” Reisa said firmly. She had unbounded confidence in Dov's strength.

“I'm sorry, miss, but I don't know any two men who could pick up a bale of cotton. We have to wheel them off on two-wheeled dollies. They're very heavy.”

Reisa felt a twinge of puckish humor. “I'll tell you what, Captain. My grandfather doesn't let me make wagers, but I'll make a bargain with you.”

Creighton smiled at her. “What sort of bargain?”

“If Dov can carry one of those things of cotton ashore all by himself, you'll buy your family something from our kit.”

The several sailors waiting to unload the bales laughed. Creighton said, “What do I get if he can't?”

Reisa thought for a minute. “Then I'll let you pick anything from our pack as a gift for your wife.”

“Sounds like a bet to me,” Captain Creighton said. He stared at the big figure of Dov, then put his eyes on one of the bales of cotton. “Might as well get out the most expensive thing you've got.”

Reisa turned and said, “Dov, pick up one of those things and carry it ashore for the captain.”

Dov nodded. He moved over to a bale of cotton, pushed it with his hand, and it gave. It was bulky, and he looked around and asked for something in Russian.

“He wants a rope,” Reisa said.

“Plenty of those on board ship,” Captain Creighton said.

A rope was soon produced, and Dov threw it around the bale. He tied it in a firm knot, then backed up to the bale which was standing on end, putting the loop over his shoulders. He tightened the knot so that it fit snugly, then he simply leaned forward. The bale tilted and rose off the deck.

“Well, I'll be—!” Creighton and the sailors stared as Dov moved slowly down the gangplank. There was no hesitation in his movement, and a cheer went up from the deck crew. At the end of the gangplank, Dov leaned back, and the bale settled down. He slipped out of the rope, loosened it, and brought it back up. Handing it back to the captain, he smiled but said nothing.

“Well,” Creighton laughed. “Open your pack. Let's see what I'm going to buy.”

Reisa quickly grabbed one of the packs. They had packed two small ones for herself and Jacob and one enormous one for Dov. They were carefully packed with all sorts of things. The passengers quickly gathered around, as well as the crew and the captain, and before they had left they had sold over thirty dollars worth of merchandise.

Reisa put her hand out to the captain and smiled up at him. “Thank you so much, Captain. It was a good trip for us.”

“You're going to sell your goods in Virginia?”

“Yes.”

“I'm afraid it won't be so easy as here. This country's been hard hit. People don't have much. But good luck and God bless you.”

The three left the
Dixie Queen
, turning to wave at the captain and the first mate and the rest of the crew.

“That was very good, Reisa, but it sounded like a wager to me,” Jacob said.

“No. We had nothing to lose. I knew Dov could do it.” She smiled at the big man and then looked around. “Now, what will we do with our trunks? We can't carry them with us.”

“That's true,” Jacob said. “I don't know what we'll do with them. We'll have to store them somewhere.”

Reisa had learned to be quite active in handling things like this. She found the office for the steamship line and got permission from the agent to leave the trunks until they found a place to store them. He agreed at once saying, “They'll be very safe here, miss.”

A thought came to her, and she asked, “Is there a synagogue in this place?”

The agent, a thin man with gray eyes and gray hair to match, gave her an odd look. “A synagogue? I think there is. I've never been there myself, of course.”

“Could you tell me how to get there?” She listened carefully and nodded. Giving her thanks, she went at once to Dov and Jacob. “They will keep our trunks until we come back for them. And,
Zaideh
, we have found a synagogue. The man told me how to get there.”

Jacob beamed. “That is good, Granddaughter.”

The three of them made their way away from the harbor to the inner city of Norfolk. They noticed at once how different the city was from New York. The trees were different, being a variety that they had never seen before, and there were few high buildings such as in New York.

Finding the synagogue was simple, and when they entered they were greeted by a middle-aged man with black hair and black eyes to match. His eyes took in the three at once, and he waited.

Jacob greeted him in Hebrew.
“Boruch hashen.”

The rabbi smiled at once and replied,
“Tzu eich bagaigenen.”
Then he interpreted himself. “A great pleasure to meet you. My name is Isaac Tichler. Welcome to Norfolk.”

Jacob quickly introduced Dov and Reisa, then said, “Excuse my English. It is not good.”

“Better than mine when I first arrived.” Tichler smiled. “How can I help you? I hope you've come to settle here. We need more good men and women in our synagogue.”

“Unfortunately we will be moving on.” Quickly Jacob explained their plan and then ended by saying, “We need a place to store two trunks until we find out where we will be.”

“That will be no problem. I have the use of a wagon. Where are they?”

“At the dock,” Reisa said quickly. “If you would, Dov and I will go get them.”

The reb was pleased to do this for them, but he insisted that they stay for a talk and for a meal afterwards.

Dov and Reisa rode in the wagon to the docks and returned in half an hour with the trunks. Rabbi Tichler had Dov place them in a storage room and promised, “They will be safe here for as long as you care to leave them. But come, we will have a good meal.”

“I hope it won't be eggs.” Jacob smiled. “When we are on the road, we eat so many eggs that I'm starting to cackle. It's hard to find kosher food.”

“Well, we will do better than that.”

Indeed, the rabbi did better—much better. His wife greeted them warmly, and an hour later they were sitting down to a meal of
grieven
, fried chicken skins, which they had not had since they left their home in Russia. There was also lox,
tshav
, delicious sour leaf soup, and for dessert, streudel that melted in the mouth.

“I fear that you may find difficulty by and by,” Tichler said. “This land was devastated by the war.”

“But that was over almost six years ago,” Jacob said. “Has it not recovered?”

“Not by any means. Virginia was the site of many battles, and many homes were destroyed. Those men who survived came home to find nothing but a pile of ashes with everything gone. They literally started from the ground up.”

“That was not so in the North, was it?” Reisa asked.

“No. Almost all battles took place in the South. The land was truly devastated. It was as if a huge scythe went over it—especially in Virginia and down through Georgia. General Sherman destroyed everything he could. To this day he is hated very much in this land.”

“So the people here still have not put the war behind them?”

“How could they!” the rabbi exclaimed, holding his hand out in a helpless gesture. “Every family you meet will have lost fathers, sons, brothers. There is still much bitterness against the federal government.”

They talked so long that the rabbi said, “It would not be wise to start on your peddling journeys today. Stay the night, and I will take you myself to the outskirts of Norfolk and put you on the main road.”

Reisa was glad to hear this and so was Jacob. She was concerned about her grandfather's health, and she tried to make things as easy as possible. In addition to this, she knew that he was anxious to spend time with educated men.

Indeed, it proved to be a pleasant evening. After dinner Rabbi Tichler and Jacob shared passages from the Torah with one another while Reisa repacked their bags.

At one point Jacob asked, “What is your feeling about the Messiah, Reb?”

Tichler gave him a quick glance. “Why do you ask?” he said.