The Rabbi and Princess Harmonica (ebook)

Argumento de The Rabbi and Princess Harmonica (ebook)

In "The Rabbi and Princess Harmonica" a Romanian girl ensnared by human traffickers, and a displaced rabbi who discovers his true calling in art, are brought together through the circumstance of an attempted suicide. They struggle to overcome forces that seek to keep the girl, Sorina, enslaved in degradation. The novel spans locations from Eastern Europe to Australia to the United States.

I was dismissed from the synagogue the same day my wife left me. Both my wife and the synagogue had found a replacement for me, Rabbi Herman Bladowitz of the sonorous voice and good looks. I wasn?t dejected by this but relieved, for I?d cherished neither the congregation or my wife in the way they deserved, and fate had interceded to put things right. I?d dutifully followed my father?s path into the rabbinate only to find it was a mistake. I lacked true zeal, though I went through the motions convincingly enough, with professional demeanor. People seemed to take it for granted I was the real deal. As for Judith, I?d married her because I?d gotten her pregnant and it seemed the honorable thing to do. The baby girl was born premature, lifeless, and the shadow of that hovered gloomily over our marriage. There were no other conceptions. My release from Jewish leadership came a month after I explained to a teenage boy I was counseling that I didn?t believe in the personal God of the Bible, but something more akin to the ?force,? as alluded to in the Star Wars films. He relayed this to his father, a board member who set in motion the mechanism for my ouster and the ascendancy of Herman Bladowitz. Judith and Herman had met six months previously, when he came to Berkeley from his native London to lead a weekend symposium titled ?Whither Judaism??. She?d not shown much religious piety until she was smitten by Herman?s movie star handsomeness and the mellow British baritone he spoke in. She became newly spiritual, almost saintly, to the point of abstaining from sex with me (though not with Herman, as it turned out), and began following a strict program of Torah study, ritualistic observance, and preparing only kosher foods. She also got involved with Jewish charitable causes, performing mitzvas,or good deeds. I was jealous of his influence at first but let it go when I allowed I was indulging male pride more than genuine love. There were ample opportunities to carry on affairs with women of the temple to calm my aggrieved morale, but such a course seemed futile and depressing, the stuff of bad novels, and I stayed clear of it. In Judith?s womb a new life formed, spawned by Herman, that would erase the ache of barrenness she had endured during our marriage. Her defection to Herman after I lost my position caused some scandal among the congregants, but they were mostly Berkeley liberals in a Reform synagogue who took the broad view and tolerated the situation. A few women asserted she was a shameless whore, but their voices were dimmed in a bemused chorus of acceptance and enjoyment of novelty. The divorce was quick and non-rancorous, allowing Judith and Herman ample time to tie the knot so that their offspring could enter the world more or less legitimately. She asked no alimony and the judge granted us a simple division of property which brought enough profit from the house that I could live at least ten years without having to work. I felt liberated for the first time in my life, able to remove my mask and do what I wanted, and what I wanted was to be a nobody, basking lizard-like on the rock of creation. Lest that seem unduly selfish in this dire world, I did have a purpose that could be considered socially useful, if only marginally, painting abstractions on canvas. I can?t explain that except to say it?s always brought me a sort of balance to form scenarios of no discernible sense with dollops of paint. I?m a dolloper at bottom, not a rabbi. ?Jake! No hard feelings?? That was Herman?s phone query the day the board voted to replace me with him, the day my wife did the same. ?No, no hard feelings, Herman, it?s all yours, the whole schmeer. I hope it works out.? Judith had finished packing a couple of suitcases upstairs in our bedroom when he called. Rather than make an inane gesture of courtliness, I let her carry them downstairs by herself. ?Guess who.? I handed her the phone. ?Herman, I?ll see you soon,? she said. ?I don?t want to talk now.? She stopped at the front door. ?No parting hug, please Judith.? ?There?s nothing more to say, is there, Jake? ?No, nothing.? She picked up the bags and carried them down the stairs to her station wagon. Fluffo, the neighbor?s cat, approached and rubbed against her leg. Judith burst into tears. ?Goodbye, Fluffo.? She put the bags into the rear of the car and drove off as Fluffo and I watched.0