Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 10 of a new online serial novel, Nine A.M., by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week.  Click here for previous chapters.

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

On the wall at the entrance to the kindergarten, next to the pictures of the flowers, were large, light blue letters that spelled out:

Good morning to you, sun! Good morning, world!

Good morning to Bilhah and to all the sweet children!

The children sang this morning song each day. Some of them were still confused and sang “Bilhah” instead of “Naomi,” even though it was already their new teacher’s third day here. Naomi sat in front of fifty-eight pairs of eyes, scanning her gaze over them all. Mila was at the table on the side, slicing loaves of fresh bread into nice, precise slices and smearing half of them with cheese and the other half with blueberry jam.

When they began to daven, some of the children stood up and went to the food table. “This is from the blueberries we picked yesterday on our outing, right?” a boy asked excitedly. “Naomi, who cooked them into jam? Your grandmother?”

Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 9 of a new online serial novel, Nine A.M., by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week.  Click here for previous chapters.

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

Binyamin’s Heart – A Composition Written by Naomi at Age 9

The sun rises brightly as Bilhah, the preschool teacher, and I walk to the bakery. Today is my turn to help her bring the loaves of bread to the kindergarten. Suddenly, on the hillside, we see a commotion: noise, screaming, the boys running every which way. “What happened?” Bilhah and I ask each other. We don’t have an answer. We listen and hear calls: “Here he is!” “There he is!”

“One of the animals must have run away,” Bilhah says, and continues on her way. The aroma of the bread has already reached my nostrils, but I stop. I want to see my brother Binyamin. What is he doing at this hour?

Am I seeing right? Is that the blue shirt that Babbe sewed…? Yes, it is my brother. But why is he running in the opposite direction of all the other boys? I stop and watch. I see that he is bending down and hiding next to a bush. Why?

Bilhah calls me to hurry, and I continue on my way with her, wondering about my dear brother’s behavior. It’s not like him to be different from everyone else!

At home, I ask him about it, and he explains: “I didn’t want to chase after the poor lamb that escaped; it was so frightened! But the boy in charge of us screamed to me to help catch the lamb, so I went to hide. And what was there, among the branches of the bush that I ran to? That little lamb. I sat next to it, and we hid together, quietly. No one found us.”

It’s just like Babbe and Mamme always say: Binyamin has the most sensitive heart. He acted just like Moshe Rabbeinu! Maybe Binyamin will be the one to take us out of this galus, when he grows up—the way Moshe Rabbeinu took the Jews out of galus Mitzrayim???

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How many years had passed since Naomi had written that piece? Binyamin did not remember exactly. Since then, Naomi had written lots of stories, songs, and essays; Mamme asked Katarina for paper, and she provided it as a token of appreciation for Mamme’s excellent sewing skills. Sometimes Katarina also asked for copies of the nice stories, though Binyamin had no idea why she needed them. In any case, Mamme did not give her all of Naomi’s work—and certainly not that composition. Mamma kept it deep in her closet; it was testimony to her children’s kind hearts, and it was precious to her.

Why was he remembering this now? Not because of the compliments that Naomi had showered him with at the end of her cute piece, but because of that feeling of being pursued that he felt right now, as he silently got off the chair and cautiously walked backward. Just like that poor lamb.

Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 8 of a new online serial novel, Nine A.M., by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week.  Click here for previous chapters.

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

Approval to be outside

Date: May 5, 1993, issued at 8:00 p.m.

In order to complete his work hours, Binyamin Schvirtz hereby has permission to be outside his place of residence beyond the regular hours, for the next two days. This permit is valid only for the factory area, the residential area, and the route between them.

Signed,

Leo Sherer, Foreman

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“Don’t waste electricity,” Leo said, his eyes piercing into the youth as he signed his loopy signature at the bottom of the page. “There’s no need to activate the entire generator just for you, especially as nothing is allowed to be seen from the outside. How much light do you need?”

“My small lamp will be enough for me,” Binyamin said.

“And you should know that this was criminal negligence; I have no other definition for it. You weren’t able to do the finishing because the furs were thicker than usual! It sounds like an excuse, and excuses at your age are a form of contempt.”

“Oh, no, I tried very hard to do everything correctly,” Binyamin replied quietly. “But…it just happened, I don’t know how. Apparently, failure is something human.”