The Devil in Jerusalem by Naomi Ragen Read Free Book Online

marry me?
    Answer: There is truth in this (yes).

 
    4
    Daniella zipped open the long white bag holding her wedding dress. Using both hands, she delicately lifted the beaded silk free of the plastic. It was so lovely, so shiny! Like the future she held in her mind.
    The wedding would take place only a week after her nineteenth birthday. Her parents had not been easy to convince, especially since it coincided with her dropping out of college.
    â€œSo you failed one course! Take it again!” her mother railed.
    â€œI failed organic chemistry. I will never get into any decent medical school.”
    â€œThere must be something you can do! Don’t just give up and get married!”
    â€œYou don’t understand, Mother. I don’t want to be a doctor.”
    There was a shocked silence as her mother absorbed this new information. To her credit, her response was measured. “So, don’t be a doctor,” she said reasonably. “Take a different major. But why get married so young? Get your BA, at least. Without it, what will become of you?”
    Her father was also less than enthusiastic. “Where’s the fire? What’s the big rush? You don’t want to go to college? So get a job. Work in the store. Live with your mother for a while.”
    â€œRight, I’d be so much better off with Mom and her boyfriend,” she’d answered, which made him look down then turn away. End of discussion.
    Her mother was more difficult to put off. “The fact that I made a mistake doesn’t mean you have to,” she nagged.
    â€œWhy can’t you just accept I’m not going to be a rich, Jewish doctor or marry one?”
    â€œAs far as I can see, your Shlomie has no education at all!”
    â€œHe’s a Talmud scholar. He wants to continue learning!”
    â€œYes.” Her mother nodded in mock respect. “Very noble. He trusts that God will support him. Unfortunately, he thinks I’m God.”
    â€œNo! You’re wrong! We don’t care about money! We’re not like you and Dad! We want to live in Israel, work the land, study, plant roots, give you grandchildren who are devout—”
    â€œHave you thought about birth control?” she interrupted.
    Daniella found the question almost brutal in its intrusiveness, especially since it had been the first major bone of contention between her and Shlomie.
    â€œIt is forbidden! A person must never prevent God from blessing them with children,” he’d said almost harshly. “We must accept every soul God sends us with joy, whenever it happens.”
    Her response had been equally vehement: “Yeah, right, Shlomie. Sure. Easy for you to say, since I’ll be the one who’s pregnant and suffering through labor, and taking care of them!”
    He’d taken her hand and kissed it. “Daniella, my beloved. We will do this together. You will never be alone. I will love every one of our children and care for them, the way I will love and care for you, my dearest, sweet friend.”
    â€œWe’ve discussed it,” she told her mother. To her shock, she found herself parroting the very words that Shlomie had used, and against which she had objected so fiercely. Anything was better than siding with her mother on any issue. “You know religious people don’t believe in birth control. They believe that God will only send them children when they are ready, and that each child is a blessing. Don’t you find your children a blessing, Mom?”
    That finally shut her up. “Well, I suppose nothing I say will influence you, so I guess this discussion is at an end.”
    She watched her mother flounce out of the room, clearly relieved to be leaving Daniella and her brooding, judgmental stares behind. For comfort, Daniella went to see her granny.
    The family’s elegant, gray-haired matriarch was a cheerful, half-cup-full kind of person in whose eyes Daniella knew she