Page 106 - Issue4-November2017_online_opt
P. 106
the shidduch project
Maybe one of his yeshiva friends would never breathed a word to Molly. Come to Molly scrunched up her face. “Yes, but
suggest a match – a sister, a cousin. Then think of it, none of Molly’s friends had you said – ”
he wouldn’t need to drag his mother into ever spoken to her about shidduchim, ei-
his private life. ther. Why? Maybe it just wasn’t a subject “Until someone invents an app,
one spoke about. there’s just no way for me to keep track.”
uuu
“Why so quiet today? Something “Is she really busy or is it something
Molly left the house, slamming the bothering you?” Shulamis asked. about us?”
door behind her. At midday, it was too
hot to walk, so she got into her car, driv- Molly paused for a moment, all of her “Don’t you go there.” Esther’s voice
ing to the outskirts of the city until she feeling suddenly bubbling up inside of took on an urgent tone.
reached Kever Rachel. her.
“And what if I run into Evelyn Mai-
The room around the grave was sur- “I know I shouldn’t be talking about zels?”
prisingly empty and cool. She sat for a this, but I need your advice on shiddu-
long time just staring into space, unable chim.” The words streamed forth like wa- “Smile at her like you always do. This
to focus on the words in her Tehillim. ter flowing from a burst pipe. isn’t for you, but I’ve got a new idea. You
Then she got up and stood at the grave, know Hashem gave me a sixth sense
resting her head against it. “I was waiting for that. Asher is cer- about this.”
tainly ready.”
“Hashem,” she moaned. “My life is Molly took out a broom and started
falling apart, no career – I couldn’t even “I know. I wanted to set him up with to sweep up the baking powder. “I don’t
get a job at the lousy women’s gym. Ash- Dena Maizels and he refused.” need a consolation prize.” This shidduch
er, my good kid, the non-rebellious one, is project was proving to be more compli-
suddenly being so weird. It’s enough with “Dena, lovely girl. Silly me, I should cated than she’d expected.
Bella and Elazar. I don’t know what to do.” have thought of it myself.”
“Believe me, sweetheart, this is not
She leaned against the grave and “But he thinks it’s ridiculous.” consolation prize. Have you heard the
wept. Then she lifted her head and saw “What does he know? My kids give me name Ayelet Gold? Ellie and Shmuely
a woman behind her. She looked to be those lines all the time. They don’t want Gold’s daughter. Big yichus. Generations
about Molly’s age and she sat in a motor- to date anyone from Har Nof, or anyone of rabbis. The family tree takes up an entire
ized wheelchair. “Okay, Hashem,” Molly with red hair, or anyone fat, or anyone whole wall. And she’s a Bais Basya alum.”
whispered. “You’re right. It’s not so bad. with pimples. If I listened to them, they’d
I get the message loud and clear.” all be single today. You’re the mother. You Those last words were the kicker.
talk some good sense into him. That’s “I wanted to send Bella there,” said
uuu your job.” Molly sullenly.
Yes. Molly breathed a sigh of relief. She Molly had dreamed of Bais Basya for
At six o’clock every morning Molly was Asher’s mother. She’d talk him into her Bella. She liked the school’s unique
walked through the neighborhood with it. How would she do it? She’d bake a tray blend of frumkeit, academics, and spirit.
her best friend, Shulamis Black. While the of carrot muffins with dried cranberries At Bais Basya, the girls were encouraged
bonds of mutual affection were strong, and pecans and deliver them to the ye- to ask questions, no matter how outra-
Molly and Shulamis were, as Shulamis shiva. That would soften him up. geous, and they got answers, good ones,
liked to say, chalk and cheese. Molly was but Bella hadn’t made the cut and now
svelte, blonde, and chic, while Shulamis uuu she was barely treading water at Bais Ri-
was dark and short and dowdy, favoring nah. Suddenly this shidduch was begin-
long-sleeved, button-down shirts and The following morning, Molly tackled ning to sound interesting.
shapeless black skirts. While Molly was an her baking, but just as she was reaching “Are the Golds English speakers?”
only child and a baalas teshuva coming into the pantry for the baking powder, Molly asked.
to Orthodoxy in her 20s, Shulamis was Esther phoned. Though she’d lived in Israel for more
an FFB from Manchester. They had met than a quarter of a century, Molly con-
more than two decades before when they “Sorry, bad news.” ducted her life among other English
both moved into the building on HaKab- “Huh?” Molly dropped the jar with the speakers, mingling hardly at all with
lan Street on the same rainy October day, baking powder, sending white dust all native Israelis. She still regarded them
and they’d been friends ever since. over the floor. as gruff, uncouth, and ever-so-slightly
“It’s not happening. Dena is busy.” scar y.
Shulamis also had thirteen kids, six “Busy? Why did you suggest her if she “Mom is from Cleveland, Dad is from
of whom were married, giving her PhD was busy?” Wasn’t a matchmaker sup- Cincinnati.”
of sorts in both motherhood and shiddu- posed to know this sort of information? “Good.”
chim. While Molly often asked Shulamis “I wish you could experience one day “Grab a pen. I’m reading out the ref-
for parenting tips, she knew little of Shu- of my life,” said Esther. “You can’t imag- erences.”
lamis’s matchmaking experiences. When ine how many calls I get.” Esther dictated a long list of names
Shulamis was involved in a shidduch, she “But why suggest a girl who’s un- and phone numbers of Ayelet’s teachers,
available?”
“Well, first of all, you suggested her.”
98 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
Maybe one of his yeshiva friends would never breathed a word to Molly. Come to Molly scrunched up her face. “Yes, but
suggest a match – a sister, a cousin. Then think of it, none of Molly’s friends had you said – ”
he wouldn’t need to drag his mother into ever spoken to her about shidduchim, ei-
his private life. ther. Why? Maybe it just wasn’t a subject “Until someone invents an app,
one spoke about. there’s just no way for me to keep track.”
uuu
“Why so quiet today? Something “Is she really busy or is it something
Molly left the house, slamming the bothering you?” Shulamis asked. about us?”
door behind her. At midday, it was too
hot to walk, so she got into her car, driv- Molly paused for a moment, all of her “Don’t you go there.” Esther’s voice
ing to the outskirts of the city until she feeling suddenly bubbling up inside of took on an urgent tone.
reached Kever Rachel. her.
“And what if I run into Evelyn Mai-
The room around the grave was sur- “I know I shouldn’t be talking about zels?”
prisingly empty and cool. She sat for a this, but I need your advice on shiddu-
long time just staring into space, unable chim.” The words streamed forth like wa- “Smile at her like you always do. This
to focus on the words in her Tehillim. ter flowing from a burst pipe. isn’t for you, but I’ve got a new idea. You
Then she got up and stood at the grave, know Hashem gave me a sixth sense
resting her head against it. “I was waiting for that. Asher is cer- about this.”
tainly ready.”
“Hashem,” she moaned. “My life is Molly took out a broom and started
falling apart, no career – I couldn’t even “I know. I wanted to set him up with to sweep up the baking powder. “I don’t
get a job at the lousy women’s gym. Ash- Dena Maizels and he refused.” need a consolation prize.” This shidduch
er, my good kid, the non-rebellious one, is project was proving to be more compli-
suddenly being so weird. It’s enough with “Dena, lovely girl. Silly me, I should cated than she’d expected.
Bella and Elazar. I don’t know what to do.” have thought of it myself.”
“Believe me, sweetheart, this is not
She leaned against the grave and “But he thinks it’s ridiculous.” consolation prize. Have you heard the
wept. Then she lifted her head and saw “What does he know? My kids give me name Ayelet Gold? Ellie and Shmuely
a woman behind her. She looked to be those lines all the time. They don’t want Gold’s daughter. Big yichus. Generations
about Molly’s age and she sat in a motor- to date anyone from Har Nof, or anyone of rabbis. The family tree takes up an entire
ized wheelchair. “Okay, Hashem,” Molly with red hair, or anyone fat, or anyone whole wall. And she’s a Bais Basya alum.”
whispered. “You’re right. It’s not so bad. with pimples. If I listened to them, they’d
I get the message loud and clear.” all be single today. You’re the mother. You Those last words were the kicker.
talk some good sense into him. That’s “I wanted to send Bella there,” said
uuu your job.” Molly sullenly.
Yes. Molly breathed a sigh of relief. She Molly had dreamed of Bais Basya for
At six o’clock every morning Molly was Asher’s mother. She’d talk him into her Bella. She liked the school’s unique
walked through the neighborhood with it. How would she do it? She’d bake a tray blend of frumkeit, academics, and spirit.
her best friend, Shulamis Black. While the of carrot muffins with dried cranberries At Bais Basya, the girls were encouraged
bonds of mutual affection were strong, and pecans and deliver them to the ye- to ask questions, no matter how outra-
Molly and Shulamis were, as Shulamis shiva. That would soften him up. geous, and they got answers, good ones,
liked to say, chalk and cheese. Molly was but Bella hadn’t made the cut and now
svelte, blonde, and chic, while Shulamis uuu she was barely treading water at Bais Ri-
was dark and short and dowdy, favoring nah. Suddenly this shidduch was begin-
long-sleeved, button-down shirts and The following morning, Molly tackled ning to sound interesting.
shapeless black skirts. While Molly was an her baking, but just as she was reaching “Are the Golds English speakers?”
only child and a baalas teshuva coming into the pantry for the baking powder, Molly asked.
to Orthodoxy in her 20s, Shulamis was Esther phoned. Though she’d lived in Israel for more
an FFB from Manchester. They had met than a quarter of a century, Molly con-
more than two decades before when they “Sorry, bad news.” ducted her life among other English
both moved into the building on HaKab- “Huh?” Molly dropped the jar with the speakers, mingling hardly at all with
lan Street on the same rainy October day, baking powder, sending white dust all native Israelis. She still regarded them
and they’d been friends ever since. over the floor. as gruff, uncouth, and ever-so-slightly
“It’s not happening. Dena is busy.” scar y.
Shulamis also had thirteen kids, six “Busy? Why did you suggest her if she “Mom is from Cleveland, Dad is from
of whom were married, giving her PhD was busy?” Wasn’t a matchmaker sup- Cincinnati.”
of sorts in both motherhood and shiddu- posed to know this sort of information? “Good.”
chim. While Molly often asked Shulamis “I wish you could experience one day “Grab a pen. I’m reading out the ref-
for parenting tips, she knew little of Shu- of my life,” said Esther. “You can’t imag- erences.”
lamis’s matchmaking experiences. When ine how many calls I get.” Esther dictated a long list of names
Shulamis was involved in a shidduch, she “But why suggest a girl who’s un- and phone numbers of Ayelet’s teachers,
available?”
“Well, first of all, you suggested her.”
98 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
