Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 69 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.
A note on the small cradle in the infirmary:
To Reb Mottel,
It does not appear that your son’s bris will be able to be on time. The baby is too small and weak. If he gets stronger in the next two days, we will reconsider.
Shimshon Schwartzbrod
“When was Rabbi Schwartzbrod here?” Mottel asked as he studied his tiny son worriedly.
“Late last night,” Elky replied. “And I want to go home.”
“How can you? If the baby is too small and weak…”
“He has to stay for observation,” interjected Dr. Annie Katzburg from the other side of the large room. “And you do too, Elky.”
She didn’t answer.
Mottel looked at his baby’s eyes, which were open a crack. “He’s looking at me,” he whispered. “I want…I want to speak to the rav. I didn’t think he was in danger!”
“He will be fine,” the doctor said in a loud voice. “But he has to be given the best conditions possible, so that he can grow and become stronger.”
“B’ezras Hashem,” Mottel said as he stuck a finger into his son’s palm. The fingers did not close around his; rather, they made a weak attempt to curl into a fist. “Isn’t he supposed to grab my finger?” Mottel asked.
Elky shook her head, unsure.
“It’s part of his weakness,” the doctor interjected for the third time. “And even after he has his bris, and even after he is released from here, he’ll need close supervision and intense care, Elky.”
Elky nodded, her eyes fixed on the window behind the doctor’s back. Babbe Sarah Liba, on the other side of the room, was completely absorbed in treating the sprained wrist of one of the children who worked in the kennels.
“And you as well. You are not going back to work before the baby is at least five weeks old.”
“I—”
“If necessary, I will speak to Wangel about it myself!” Dr. Annie knew how to be very aggressive when she wanted to. “And I’ll make it clear to them.”
“I don’t want you to talk to them for me. If I feel well enough, I can go back to work,” Elky murmured.
“You didn’t understand me. I didn’t mean to say that I would ask them to come toward you and allow you more time off. I meant I will inform them that even if you do come to the office, against my explicit instructions, they should not pay you even half a mark. Now do you understand me?”
***
“Oh, it’s you!” Binyamin breathed a sigh of relief. His eyes were strangely glassy.
“It is me. Although your machine is working just fine already, I left my screwdriver there.” He and Elkovitz walked briskly in silence until they reached Binyamin’s private corner. “Where is it?” He kneeled on the floor.
“I don’t know. I don’t know anything right now,” Binyamin spoke quietly, but breathlessly, as he sat down at his workstation. “I barely know who I am. The Nazis were defeated about fifty years ago! Do you understand? Everything my sister heard—it’s all true! They don’t control the whole world, and they never did!”
“So what did they ever control?”
“Apparently, specific areas, mostly in Europe. But it makes no difference now, because fifty years have passed since Nazi Germany was defeated!” He tried valiantly not to shout. “There’s no Wehrmacht, no SS! Do you get what that means?!”
Elkovitz ignored the screwdriver that was tossed behind the fat leg of the massive table, and continued crawling around. “What?”
“That for three generations, we have been in the clutches of a group of swindlers! Disgusting tricksters! Not lifesavers, not goyim with compassionate hearts, nothing. Just people who are looking to get rich on our backs!”
Elkovitz glanced behind him. Two workers had entered the production room, so it wasn’t empty anymore. “Here’s my screwdriver,” he murmured. “And we’ll talk. Meanwhile, you’re not doing anything just yet, right?”
“You don’t have to warn me,” Binyamin muttered with gritted teeth.
“And we’ll get out of here, b’ezras Hashem.”
“The question is how and when.”
“Only with levelheadedness and careful planning.”
“That answers the ‘how,’ not the ‘when.’” Binyamin felt his heart pounding much faster than usual, and he had no idea how long it would take for it to slow down.
“When we sit down to plan, maybe we’ll also be able to estimate when it will all be over.”
“And when will we sit down?”
Elkovitz stood up. “We’ll talk again tonight.”
“And meanwhile, I’m updating my brother-in-law Aryeh, if I get a chance.”
“Fine.” Elkovitz knew he could not demand from Binyamin to be completely silent; the young man was in far too stormy a state. “And maybe…you two should go to the rav together. But please, try to keep it absolutely secret and private!”
Binyamin nodded. “You wouldn’t want to come with us?”
Elkovitz shook his head. “It will be too suspicious. As brothers-in-law, it’s possible you have a joint question to ask the rav; make up whatever you want. But what do I have to do with anything? Uh-oh, here’s my father-in-law—I’m off.”
***
“I’m not ready for people to think we have problems!” Naomi whispered angrily as they stood in their grandparents’ empty room. Binyamin had popped in on his personal break to report to Naomi about his conversation.
“Who would think such a thing?”
“If you go with Aryeh to the rav, supposedly for him to mediate some family matter, won’t it be the first thing anyone will think about me?”
“Not at all,” Binyamin said. “What a foolish thought!”
Naomi wanted to say something but held herself back. “Okay, okay. So when are you going?”
“During our lunch break. That’s when the rav sees people.”
“Did you tell Aryeh?”
“No, I didn’t have a chance yet. When we walk out of the factory, I’ll tell him to come with me.”
“But what will you tell people? Why are you giving up your lunch?”
“I’ll say we had a family matter to discuss with the rav.”
“No. Tell them you have a halachic question. I refuse to have anyone think even for a second that we have shalom bayis issues—not between me and Aryeh, and not between Aryeh and you!”
Binyamin tried to swallow his snicker. “Naomi, is that what’s on your mind right now? In a week we might be out of here, and you’re thinking about what people will say?!”
“First of all, sparing people from talking lashon hara and rechilus is important; it doesn’t matter if it’s for a week or more. And if you ask me, it will be more. And second: Yes, that’s what on my mind right now.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t know what exactly this ‘out of here’ that you’re talking about means. My life is here right now, with all the people who are with us, and I don’t think we have to ignore them because we’re thinking of what is a very murky future.”
Binyamin capitulated. “Fine, so we’ll say it’s a halachic question.”
“One second,” she said suddenly. “You didn’t eat breakfast because of the phone call.”
“That’s right.”
“And you won’t eat lunch either?”
He waved his hand dismissively.
“No, it can’t be like that!” she said. “Binyamin, you can’t stop living your life right now because of the plans and thoughts about what might happen in the future!”
“You may be right,” he said. “But personally, I think you just prefer to stick as closely as possible to the life we have now, instead of thinking about what will happen going forward.”
“True,” Naomi conceded.
“Why?”
“Because it scares me.”
“You already said that once,” he said. His eyes were wide. “Whatever will happen, Naomi, it will be better than what we have here now! I can tell you that much.”
“Who told you? Did anyone promise you anything?”
“No, but…” He sought the right words. “We’re in captivity now, Naomi, in captivity! It’s only because you don’t know real life—free life—at all that you’re so afraid of it.”
She was quiet. “Wait a minute,” she said finally. “I’m sending you a sandwich with one of the children from my class, okay?”
“I don’t know if I’m allowed to eat the food from the preschool.”
“It’s all being paid for by the same place.” She smiled. “Whatever you don’t eat from lunch and whatever you do eat from here.”
“Still, it’s a question.”
“So there you go, something to ask Rabbi Schwartzbrod.” They both smiled, and after a moment Naomi asked, “So you’re not going to eat?”
“No, no. And I’ll be fine, Naomi, don’t worry. Believe me, there have been times that I’ve been so busy at work that I didn’t eat all day, and nothing happened to me.”
“You only collapsed and had to be hospitalized in the infirmary.”
“That had nothing to do with food, in my opinion. And the truth is, I really don’t have time to eat, because my break is over. I’m running back to the factory. Maybe I’ll see you in the evening.”
But they saw each other again before evening, at the end of the lunch break. Dror was the one who noticed Binyamin peeking again into the doorway of the classroom. “Your brother is here again, Naomi!” he yelled at the top of his lungs. “Wow, twice in one day!”
“Twice in one day!” Naomi whispered fiercely as they stood again in their grandparents’ darkened room. “It’s too much, Binyamin.”
“I couldn’t hold myself back,” Binyamin replied in a whisper of his own. “I just wanted to tell you what the rav said. And stop being so hysterical, Naomi. People understand that there are family matters that sometimes have to be dealt with!”
“Fine, alright,” she whispered back, somewhat appeased. “Nu, what did the rav say?”
“To speak with five more trustworthy people, and together with them, think of what to do.”
“Five besides for you, Aryeh, and David Elkovitz?”
“And Babbe.”
“Babbe?”
“Yes, she heard a little from me.”
Naomi digested this new bit of information and then asked, “And he gave you a brachah?”
“Yes.” Binyamin deliberated for a moment, but he was honest enough to admit, “And he warned us, too.”
“What did he warn you about?”
“That we should do it all very secretly. Because even if the Nazis don’t rule the world anymore…” He paused and went to check that the door was closed tightly. “Even if they don’t rule the world anymore, they do control us here. And they are dangerous.”
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