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The Good Woman Of Jerusalem free porn video
The Good Woman of Jerusalem
by Melissa Tawn
In the year 1906, when the Turkish Empire extended from the Bosporus to
the Euphrates, a young widow took up residence in the Mea Shearim quarter
of the holy city of Jerusalem, the center of the ultraorthodox Jewish
settlement. Her name was Hannah and she was accompanied by her two-year-
old daughter, Hassia. Nobody knew from where she came, and nobody knew
her background, nor did she volunteer any information about her past.
Hannah found a small one-room apartment to rent and earned a very modest
living doing embroidery work - first on clothes for one of the many
seamstresses in the area and later on velvet tallis bags and even
parochet curtains which cover the ark of the Law. Indeed, the parochet
she embroidered for the synagogue of the Belz hassidim was considered so
beautiful that it was used only during the High Holidays.
Hannah quickly distinguished herself by her modesty and pious demeanor.
She spoke only in whispers and kept her eyes firmly fixed on the floor,
lest she should make eye contact with a man. Her dresses covered her
ankles and wrists, even during the hottest days of summer, and her high
collars enclosed most of her neck. Her hair was always enclosed in a
scarf, which covered her entire head. She never wore jewelry or, tfu-tfu-
tfu, makeup, but always appeared clean and healthy looking. Her age, so
people guessed, was around 25. At prayers in the women's gallery of the
synagogue, she was a model of concentration and purpose, never utilizing
the occasion for idle gossip or frivolity. When she went to the ritual
bath, she did so in the very early hours of the morning, so as to have
complete privacy. When she had moments free from her work or household
duties, she would piously read psalms or meditate on sermons she had
heard the Sabbath before.
From time to time, matchmakers would try to talk to her about remarrying
a suitable candidate, but she would always turn them away. Not only would
she not provide any details about herself and her lineage, she would
always claim that she was not worthy of whomever the matchmaker suggested
as a possible candidate for betrothal. All she wanted, so she said, was
to raise her daughter in peace.
Nonetheless, it was impossible for Hannah not to catch the eye of some of
the younger men, and foremost among them was Eliyahu Teitelboim, a young
and very promising talmudic scholar and the grandson of the famous Rabbi
Hirsch Teitelboim, the 80-year-old president of the Ashkenazic Beis Din
(religious court) of Mea Shearim, who was considered one of the
patriarchs and pillars of the community. The young Eliyahu would, of
course, never dare to approach Hannah in person, or even look her way
more than for a few seconds at a time, but he did mention his attraction
to her to his mother (his father having died of cholera in an epidemic
many years before). When the efforts of matchmakers consulted by his
mother failed, she approached Rabbi Hirsch and asked him if he could
intervene.
And so it came to pass that Rabbi Hirsch Teitelboim issued an official
summons to the good woman Hannah to appear before him in his study, on
such-and-such a day of such-and-such a month. A summons from the
president of the Beis Din cannot be refused, and so, on the appointed
day, Hannah shyly knocked on the door of the great Rabbi Hirsch, full of
trepidation and awe at the invitation. Without raising her eyes from the
floor, she accepted his invitation to sit. "My dear daughter," Rabbi
Hirsch began, "since you have no family here, I must talk to you directly
of a matter which should really be that for your parents to decide. I
have been told that you have refused all attempts by matchmakers to
arrange a match with my grandson Eliyahu, a matter which is causing him
much pain and suffering. Is he considered in your eyes to be unworthy of
you?"
Hannah blushed and fixed her stare on the tiles of the floor. "It is me
who is unworthy, your honor. I am unfit for any man."
"I have been told by many that you are a pious and modest woman," replied
Rabbi Hirsch, "and a loving mother to your daughter. Why do you think
that you are unfit for any man?" Hannah blushed even more and for several
minutes did not reply. Finally, she said in a whisper so low that Rabbi
Hirsch had to lean forward to hear her. "It is a long and sad story, your
honor, but you are the president of the Beis Din and so I am obliged to
tell you. I will leave it to your judgment as to whether this tale is
ever to be repeated."
"I was born, your honor, in the city of Safed, the home of the holy Ari,
the great kabbalist, from whom I am directly descended on my mother's
side. I was not what I am now - I was born a male, and was trained as a
yeshiva scholar, like your grandson. Like him, I was called an illui, a
genius, and a great future was predicted for me. At the age of 20, a
match was arranged between me and Golda, the only granddaughter of the
miracle-worker Rebbe Mendel of Provishch. Our marriage was, of course,
consummated and in due time our daughter Hassia was born. Two months
after her birth, tragedy struck. My wife, may her memory be blessed, was
hit by the speeding carriage of Murad Abu Hameed Pasha, governor of the
Galilee in the name of the Turkish Sultan, a pig of a man who would no
more think of stopping to help a Jewess than he would to stop for a dog.
She died the next morning, in great agony.
My parents having passed away, and having no siblings, I was left to take
care of the baby by myself, a task with I undertook with great effort,
while at the same time continuing my studies as best I could. I had, at
the time of the accident, been delving into the hidden meanings of the
first of the Biblical mysteries, namely the creation of Eve. As you know,
God creates Eve from Adam's rib. Why does he do that? Why not create her
from the same clay and dust from which he created Adam? There is
obviously a great significance here, and one day, as I was feeding the
baby, it came to me in a flash: inside each man there is, hidden, a
woman: a woman who will one day control his destiny. Slowly but
deliberately, I began to search for the woman in me, and to appeal to her
to come to my aid, making use of all of the kabbalistic tools which I
had
mastered. Equally slowly, Hannah emerged. At first she was but a voice,
whispering suggestions as to how to take care of the baby, how to f
eed it and how to sew dresses for it. Later, she became a presence, one
which I could feel, not apart from me but as another aspect of myself. As
the weeks passed, this aspect took control of me more and more, until I
felt that it was I who was but a minor aspect of her.
Finally, I realized that Hannah was ready to take over my body and my
life completely. I packed up my late wife's clothing, and all of the
baby's things, and, without saying goodbye to anyone, took the coach to
Jaffa. There I rented a room from a Turk. I shaved my hair, my beard, and
my ear locks. Later I would pull out the hairs of my face one by one by
the roots, so they would not grow back. I threw away my male clothes and
donned Golda's dresses and shoes, which miraculously fit me exactly. I
let Hannah take control of my speech and gestures, and I became her. I
found work as an apprentice to a British lady who worked as a seamstress,
and from her learned the art of embroidery. After over a year, I felt
ready to move to Jerusalem, to seek my fate.
Now that you know my story, that fate is in your hands, and I will accept
your judgment in this as in all matters, as I, a poor woman, must."
Rabbi Hirsch was, needless to say, astounded by this tale, and found it
rather hard to believe. "It is very difficult for me to accept what you
say," he remarked, "without any sort of proof."
"There is, of course, one way which I could exhibit that what I say is
true," replied Hannah, but it would be most immodest of me to do so. Let
me suggest an indirect approach. We both know that girls receive very
little education beyond reading and writing and basic understanding of
the Law, whereas boys are rigorously and thoroughly taught the secrets of
the Talmud and its commentaries from an early age. Why not question me
about the minutiae of Talmudic scholarship, and see whether I once was
the illui I claimed to be?" Rabbi Hirsch accepted this suggestion and,
for the next two hours, grilled Hannah intensively until he was convinced
that she knew matters which were never taught to any female, and was as
capable a master of Talmudic dialectics as even the best of his students.
He then dismissed her, telling her that he would think deeply about her
tale, and render his verdict in the morrow.
That night, sleep came hard to Rabbi Hirsch Teitelboim. After tossing and
turning in his bed until almost the crack of dawn, when he suddenly fell
into a deep sleep and immediately found himself in an immense marble
hall, the walls of which glowed with a strange but comforting golden
glow. Seated on four thrones in the hall, were four women, who bade him
to approach. "We are the Four Mothers, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah,"
they said, "and you are to know that the good woman Hannah is under our
special protection. Do as your grandson wishes and sanction his marriage
to her, for she shall be an ideal wife and a mother in Israel."
At this they vanished, and Rabbi Hirsch awoke, as refreshed as if he had
slept soundly all night. As he put on his phylacteries to say his morning
prayers, he suddenly heard a voice speaking to him from no direction and
all directions at once, "Rabbi Hirsch, heed your dream, for it is the
will of Heaven."
Later that day, in the synagogue, Rabbi Hirsch Teitelboim announced the
betrothal of his grandson Eliyahu to the good woman Hannah. The marriage
itself took place three months later, and was considered one of the most
beautiful and moving ceremonies of that year, with hundreds of guests
dancing in the street to honor the bride and groom.
The post-nuptial festivities lasted for a week, but Rabbi Hirsch was not
able to be at all of them, since two days after the wedding he was
urgently called to the city of Tiberius to adjudicate a complex legal
matter. He stayed there for over four months, and after his return to
Jerusalem he immediately inquired about his grandson's marriage. Eliyahu
assured him that all was well, and invited the old man to visit his house
to see for himself. There Rabbi Hirsch saw his radiant granddaughter-in-
law, preparing the evening meal for her husband and her young daughter,
and very obviously pregnant with twins.
POSTSCRIPT: In 1970, when Hannah Teitelboim passed away at the age of 91,
she was acknowledged by all Israelis, religious and secular alike, as one
of the great personalities of the state, who actively worked for
tolerance and understanding among all people. Her funeral was attended by
the President of the State, by the Prime Minister, and by the leaders of
all religious communities, as well as her nine children and 56
grandchildren. She is buried on the Mount of Olives, in a grave
overlooking the courtyard of the Holy Temple. Five years later the State
of Israel issued a stamp in her honor. One of the main streets of the
city of Safed, where she was reputed to have been born (no record of the
birth was ever found, but then so many records from the time of the Turks
have been irreplaceably lost) was named Hannah Teitelboim Avenue.
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