A week afterward The Girlsingers and Erga, their manger, took a taxi to Haifa. Their show was said to be on Carmel Mount, in Hadar cinema theater. Suddenly the driver stopped the car due to a puncture. He went outside to see what was the problem, and asked the girls to go out as well.
“Please wait at the sidewalk,” he said, “till I’ll change the tier.”
He was bothering with his tools down on the roadside, as suddenly a transporter was coming from behind. Its driver, Naitty Freulich, was looking aside, saw Semadar, and was taking his vehicle in reverse. Then he was parking it far onto the sidewalk. ‘Cars arrive here in a speed from behind,’ he said to himself, ‘someone would slip to the margin, and hit a car which is too close to the road, damn it’.
Bearded Naitty got out of the transporter. He was waving his hand to Semadar, who was standing not far and looking to him. She had notified him two days before about that Show in Haife. He said that he would like to attend. Afterward he would have to deal with goods, that have arrived for him in the Haifa port.
The taxi driver was busy with the tier, checking the spare wheel.
Semadar approached Naitty, said ‘hello’ to him and asked:
“What happened to your partner, Effy?”
“He is O’key. But he won’t come. He has a job to accomplish.”
“This is Naitty, that I’ve told you about,” Semadar introduced him to Erga, who turned to look at the bearded man. He nodded.
Semadar went aside with Naitty, and continued listening to him.
“Effy is in the Haifa Port,” he said, “releasing some products from the customs, you know. Then he will stand on guard of the boxes near the gate, till I’ll come to pick him up with the goods.”
Naitty was leaning toward Semadar, and like telling her a secret- he was whispering:
“I have prepared something for the three of you. Really, it’s for you, but I can’t disciminate your friends, the other singers. So, it’s my present to the whole Singingirls Band. It’s in my car.”
“You’ve not come especially for that?” she asked, surprised. “No, I was on my way to the Port, and found the opportunity.” Naitty turned to the other girls and Erga. He stil l tried to avoid the impression that he had come only for Semadar’s sake. “I’ve prepared a a small present for you all,” he said, “I’ll bring it to the theater … ”
“I’ve finished,” they heard the driver saying. “Girls, get in.”
Nathan also got to his vehicle, and the engine roared. He was soon driving it, bypassing the taxi.
After half an hour Naitty appeared in the theater’s Hall. He was seated on a regular seat in the first row, after having bought a ticket at the cash outside.
Erga paid attention to him, came nearby and was seated next to him. She was trying to open a conversation with bearded Naitty, who had already taken off his capshade hat, remaining with a wide cap on his head. The illumonation there was poor, so he did not see the sardonic smile that had appeared on Erga’s lips.
“I have not known that you are very very religious,” she said.
“I am a true God believer. I don’t know if you’ve heard about that. But it does not prevent me from attending your show. There are Hosid and Litvak Jews, who are much more extreme than myself.”
“Maybe,” she said, “but I don’t understand all orthodox religious people. Had I been a God Believer, I would have chosen to be a conservative Jew, or reformist one.”
“O’key, it’s your right to choose. But principally believe in Him! For me- a Sababath is a real Holiday. No travel, no work. And I am used to put on me Thfilin in the secular days. Thfilin are black cubes, connected to some leather strips. The Torah’s main chapters are written inside the cubes, on small scrolls.”
“I’ve never seen them,” said Erga. “I have to do that one day.”
At that moment the lights were off and they began listening to the first song. Accordion and guitar were accompanying the girls’ voices.
Suddenly Naitty felt like an impetus to stand up and pray.
‘I don’ty know what has happened to me this morning,’ he said to himself, ‘As I woke up, I forgot to pray. Only at eleven a.m.- I recalled. But now I’ve forgotten to pray Minkha(afternoon pray) and therfore I must pray twice Evening prayers. O’K… ’I hear Someone already singing on the stage. She’s not Semadar…
God will forgive me that my prayer was belated… ‘A voice of a woman can seduce’, so said Our Rabbies. Therefore I’ll cover my ears by my palms. Avoid mixing the prayer with the singing girl’s voices. ‘And we shall bless God from now – forever, Hallelujah!’ Now I have to pray twice the Eighteen blesses: “Blessed be… the God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob. The great, the brave and the terrible God, Almighty … ”
“Naitty, please return to your seat,” He heard Erga’s whisper.
She saw he hasn’t yet finished to shake himself and mumble: He indicated her to be silent- by putting a finger on his lips, and she turned her face to the stage. She knew he had been Semadar’s acquaintant. She also had been informed by Semadar, that the man was rich, and maybe trying to court her; but Semadar was claiming: ‘I still think that Naitty realy loves music, so he had told me.’ ‘Whatever will be this man’s reason for coming here’, said now Erga to herself, ’He seems to be a tremendously serious person. He’s a characteristic American smart guy. They won’t have reached all their economical and technical and cultural acghievements – including a wonderful entertainment ability – without being hard working, industrious, and sophisticated.’
“Oh,” she turned to Naitty, who had got already seated near her, “Have you heard the loud applauds? The audience feels good.”
He suddenly was filled with cold sweat. He had remembered what he said to Effy on the previous night: “Look what a change had become upon me: My Eighteen prayers are now much more than before- filled with devotion to God. Wonderful Holy land.’
He recalled that while he had been in Korea, he was always praying the Eighteen prayers while his face and body were turning to East!… But now he understands that it’s not the correct manner: Take a map of the Globe, and find there the location of Jerusalem… If you are in Korea- for example- you have to turn to south-east, in order to be facing Jerusalem. because Korea is up on the globe, and Jerusalenm is down. So- our tradition commands to turn to Jerusalem precisely, and you’ve to obey that.… You can also turn your face to west -south, as this world is a ball. A real ball!’ He looked at the stage.
‘Our Torah Interpreter, Rushi,’ he soon continued to meditate, ’had already mentioned that ball- before Columbus had based his sailing westward instead of eastward, in order to reach India. By that he had discovered America, of course… All that was also made by God, who decided to rescue some Jews from poor and murderous Europe. So, He had sent them to the New World!… Oh, my ears had missed the last song, as I was too much bothered in meditating… Yes, Rushi wrote about the ‘ball’ in his interpratation to ‘Genesis Legends’. In that book is also mentioned an Ancient Monsters, like Dinosauer or Mamuth. Also it said, that God had created and destroyed many worlds, before – our little globe… There is also written about Cain’s dog. ‘Cane’ is Dog in Latin and old Greek. So, when Cain had been punished by God to be blinded, he was given a Leading Dog to take him as a vagabond on earth. God had made a Sign on his forehead, ‘Cain’s Sign’… O’ God, Do I also need such a sign? No, I’ll escape from that condemning sign. Because I don’t … She was guilty of what had happened, and God in the sky knows that well. So…Oh, I’ve missed a second nice song, of Tzvia. But now I’ll listen to Semadar…
He restrained himself, not to shout something from joy; as now he had known that Semadar’s voice was really attractive and enchanting: He was listening to her Hebrew words, that at first he could only partly understand. Therefore he immediatelly repeated some of them in his mind. Then he suddenly asked: “Excuse me, Erga. What’s the Hebrew word: ZAAKATAM?”
She hesitated to answer, a
nd whispered: “ShSh, afterward.”
The first rhyms in the poetic song that Semadar was singing, were as follows: (Hereby – translated into English by me, the humble author. As nobody really remebers nowadays who was the verse writer or who composed the music – no one would ever get royalty payments for it.)
“The autumn trees, in their nakedness
were stretching their arms toward the sky.
Praying by reading an old Elegy to Goodness,
begging that He would not neglect them thereby.”
The song went on, describing the winter- that its storms break the trees; then excelling the flourishing spring, with its trees growing into new life- with birds coming to them; and at last – it was bringing the message of the sweet fruits of summer trees…
Naitty was so excited by that song, that he had almost broken in a weep. The fact that he had understood the mood of the text and the deep significance of its words, and the nice music meeting those- had brought him to ecstasy: He began shaking while seated, to right and left, onward and backward. He mumbled:
‘Oh, I’m so satisfied from that rare phenomenon, that grabs my hair and takes me to far distances of the soul. All that has been caused by Semadar’s singing, so amazing and enchanting. God has created her to sing, she fulfills a message from Him, and she is his delegate… I am thankful that I can understand Hebrew, one of the ancient languages in the universe. It’s a Holy language, that some Jews (not me) hinder their families to use it, saying that we are all dumped on this dirty earth with myriads of sinful people (except us) and having other absurd beliefs… But I say the opposite: We must use Hebrew, because the Torah is a living entity. It had been written in Hebrew, and all its interpreters used Hebrew, including the Talmud. So, why should not the simple people know it and speak it, too? Therefore the Lubavitcher Rabbi was telling people to study Hebrew. He is antagonizing those ‘super puritan Litvaks and Sotmers’, who refuse to use it daily. Now I recall, that when I came a second time to Lubavticher – to tell hime that A Yeshiva won’t be fit for us – and again I’ve spoken about my bad financial situation, he told me: ‘Go forth, like God said to Abraham. Go to your land!” I had been afraid, that I would discover something about the horrible night to the Rabbi. I would have mixed him up in a crime, God forbid. And how nice he was – that at the end of our meetiong he gave me his sacred Dollar. He is used to render such a faked Dollar to millions of his fans. No, call them God Believers, not just Rabbi’s fans! Lubavitcher gave a nice blessing to me – Nathan Freulich. He said: Your name Nathan indicates that you are an offspring of Prophet Nathan. ‘And God’ll take care of you’, so said the Rabbi, by his prophetic intuition:
‘You’ll travel along the land, and so make your living…’ All that – has been realized now. The day is not far, that my Redemption will come. Without too much ‘tricks or Shtiks’ – as you may say. I will be liked by many people, and be loved by a woman, who I know already. Patience, man.
CHAPTER 39
To America and Back Page 39