by Naomi Ragen
frum strictly observant of all Jewish laws and customs gai go
gartel the belt in traditional Hassidic garb that separates the upper and lower halves of the body gemach a free-loan society that distributes a wide variety of goods and services as a good deed gevalt “Oh, no! Woe is me!”
Hashem literally, “the name,” meaning God hechsher rabbinical stamp of approval, usually concerning the kosher status of food Ich farshteist? “Do you understand?”
imyertza Hashem “God willing”
kallah moide a young girl ready for marriage kashrut food permissible to eat under Jewish law kavanah sincere intentions
Kavod HaRav the Honored Rabbi
kiddush the prayer over wine said on Sabbath and at festivals kollel Talmudic academies of higher learning for men out of high school, usually married men maideleh a young girl
Mameh Mommy
Mincha the afternoon prayer
moisar a despicable person who hands over a Jew for punishment to the Gentile authorities narishkeit childish foolishness
nuch “What can you do?”
posek a respected religious authority who decides religious law prust low-class, vulgar
Rashi a medieval commentator on the Bible Rebbitzin honorific for a rabbi’s wife Rebono shel Olam “King of the Universe”
Satmar fanatical religious Jewish sect who reject Israel and modernity shaine lovely, beautiful
shidduch (sg.), shidduchim (pl.) marriage arrangement shmurah matzah ritual Passover bread in which leavening is forbidden, made from wheat watched in the fields and in storage to ascertain it is not moistened and thus leavened before being baked into matzah; this is a stringency shmutz literally “dirt” but used to mean dirty dealings, gossip shvitzing sweating profusely, working hard, or filled with pride Tateh Daddy
tenaim formal engagement contract teshuva repentance
tuchus behind
tzadakis a female saint
tzadik a male saint
tzimmis literally, a pot of fruits, vegetables, and meat; used to describe a commotion, a big to-do (usually about nothing) vilde chayas wild animals
Vus? Vus is dus? “What?” “What is this?”
Vus mere vilstah? “What do you want?”
yichoos family connections, prideful lineage
Also by Naomi Ragen
Sotah
Jephte’s Daughter
The Sacrifice of Tamar
The Ghost of Hannah Mendes
Chains Around the Grass
The Covenant
The Saturday Wife
The Tenth Song
Women’s Minyan (a play)
About the Author
Naomi Ragen is the author of nine novels, including several international bestsellers, and her weekly e-mail columns on life in the Middle East are read by thousands of subscribers worldwide. An American, she has lived in Jerusalem for the past forty years and was voted one of the three most popular authors in Israel. Visit Naomi online at www.naomiragen.com.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE SISTERS WEISS. Copyright © 2013 by Naomi Ragen. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover design by Steve Snider Cover illustration © Marc Yankus The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-0-312-57019-4 (hardcover) ISBN 978-1-42995779-3 (e-book) eISBN 9781429957793
First Edition: October 2013