As told to me by Aunt Risa:
Aunt Risa's version of her parents' separation goes like this: My grandpa, supposedly a brilliant, young scholar, was being groomed to become the shtetl's next rebbe (rabbi) when fate stepped in, and he was conscripted into the Polish Army ... during peacetime. (No discrepancies in this 'true' story as of yet)
As anti-semitism ran rampant throughout Eastern Europe, it was common for Jews, conscripted into the Polish army, to disappear without a trace, so, all on his own, my grandpa came up with this plan of action: As soon as his bride was asleep, Yacob would silently steal away in the dark of night, and after making his way to America, where religious freedom reigned supreme and streets were paved with gold, he'd work to save passage for Bailey to join him. Once safely ensconced in the new world, beyond the reach of the Polish authorities, he'd write his bride that he'd disappeared to offer them, both, a life free of persecution, and as soon as she was able to sail to his side, all their dreams would come true. (And so … The plot thickens … )
As Aunt Risa's version continues, rumors of having been abandoned by her bridegroom burned painfully into young Bailey's heart, thus causing my grandmother's anguish to deepen, immeasurably, for this reason: The fact that her sweetheart had disappeared without so much as writing a note of explanation for deserting her and their unborn babe, left this nineteen year old utterly confounded and desperately bereft. Though Bailey missed her beloved husband and had no clue as to where he'd gone or why he'd left her behind, this broken hearted, young woman walked about town with her head held high when negatively focused whispers of tsk tsk branded her and her unborn child, unloved—and as much as she did not want to believe that to be true, she'd privately wring her hands while wracking her brain as to what else could have made Yacob leave without so much as a word?
Whenever Bailey was questioned, over many months, my grandma lowered her eyes and stared miserably at the ground, because she had no answers for family, friends and busybodies, whose demonstrations of pity for the abandoned young mother-to-be caused her heart to feel as heavy as her body had grown heavy with child. Thus did Bailey's distraught mind and saddened spirit suffer unimaginably at having no explanation for Yacob's unexpected disappearance until the blessed day when her beloved's first letter from the new world had been received, offering Bailey's heart reason to sing with joy at having been deeply loved, after all.
As to the naysayers, whose pity she'd despised, well, they rejoiced as Bailey, holding my father in her arms, gave voice to Yacob's desire to hold his beloved wife and their precious, newborn son in his arms, as soon as he had saved enough to book passage for mother and child to sail across the sea. So all's well that ends well... except for this fact: One detail, concerning booking passage has not yet been revealed, suggesting that this story, concerning my
grandparents' lengthy separation, is far from over, and if you are curious about that which fate had in store for my father's parents, next, please check out LOL, part 8, tomorrow, where once again, man will plan and God will laugh, or actually, in this case, God will thunder down from on high, flashing lightening bolts across the sky when armies defy his commandment, Thou Shalt Not Kill, here, there, everywhere ...
Aunt Risa's version of her parents' separation goes like this: My grandpa, supposedly a brilliant, young scholar, was being groomed to become the shtetl's next rebbe (rabbi) when fate stepped in, and he was conscripted into the Polish Army ... during peacetime. (No discrepancies in this 'true' story as of yet)
As anti-semitism ran rampant throughout Eastern Europe, it was common for Jews, conscripted into the Polish army, to disappear without a trace, so, all on his own, my grandpa came up with this plan of action: As soon as his bride was asleep, Yacob would silently steal away in the dark of night, and after making his way to America, where religious freedom reigned supreme and streets were paved with gold, he'd work to save passage for Bailey to join him. Once safely ensconced in the new world, beyond the reach of the Polish authorities, he'd write his bride that he'd disappeared to offer them, both, a life free of persecution, and as soon as she was able to sail to his side, all their dreams would come true. (And so … The plot thickens … )
As Aunt Risa's version continues, rumors of having been abandoned by her bridegroom burned painfully into young Bailey's heart, thus causing my grandmother's anguish to deepen, immeasurably, for this reason: The fact that her sweetheart had disappeared without so much as writing a note of explanation for deserting her and their unborn babe, left this nineteen year old utterly confounded and desperately bereft. Though Bailey missed her beloved husband and had no clue as to where he'd gone or why he'd left her behind, this broken hearted, young woman walked about town with her head held high when negatively focused whispers of tsk tsk branded her and her unborn child, unloved—and as much as she did not want to believe that to be true, she'd privately wring her hands while wracking her brain as to what else could have made Yacob leave without so much as a word?
Whenever Bailey was questioned, over many months, my grandma lowered her eyes and stared miserably at the ground, because she had no answers for family, friends and busybodies, whose demonstrations of pity for the abandoned young mother-to-be caused her heart to feel as heavy as her body had grown heavy with child. Thus did Bailey's distraught mind and saddened spirit suffer unimaginably at having no explanation for Yacob's unexpected disappearance until the blessed day when her beloved's first letter from the new world had been received, offering Bailey's heart reason to sing with joy at having been deeply loved, after all.
As to the naysayers, whose pity she'd despised, well, they rejoiced as Bailey, holding my father in her arms, gave voice to Yacob's desire to hold his beloved wife and their precious, newborn son in his arms, as soon as he had saved enough to book passage for mother and child to sail across the sea. So all's well that ends well... except for this fact: One detail, concerning booking passage has not yet been revealed, suggesting that this story, concerning my
grandparents' lengthy separation, is far from over, and if you are curious about that which fate had in store for my father's parents, next, please check out LOL, part 8, tomorrow, where once again, man will plan and God will laugh, or actually, in this case, God will thunder down from on high, flashing lightening bolts across the sky when armies defy his commandment, Thou Shalt Not Kill, here, there, everywhere ...
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