She was not a Jew

Rafi comes to fix my washing machine. I bought it for 700 shekels from his stall in the flea market and, after a short period of work, it has decided it will no longer spin.

Rafi is surprised that I've learned to speak Ivrit so soon after arriving in Israel.

‘You have English friends?’ he asks.

‘Some – but Israelis more.’

‘Oh that’s why you know Ivrit. Your mother, your father – they speak it too?’

I tell him no. Not a single word. I tell him that someone once gave my mother a Shalom sticker and she put it onto the fridge upside-down; that even my grandmother, whose first language was Yiddish, would sit in front of an open Siddur, unable to read the Hebrew prayers.

Rafi presses the spin button, and pulls a screwdriver out. ‘My father’s grandmother, who lived in Jerusalem, spoke only Arabic and Ladino,’ he says, ‘because when the family came 500 years ago, there were many Arabs here. My savta never spoke Ivrit.’

I ask him where they came from, his family. From Spain, he says. Rafi is dark; curls run his back in a golden ponytail. ‘Five hundred years ago there was a big balagan – a crisis – with the Jews in Spain. So they left, and came back here.’ He clicks a panel into the side of the machine. ‘But obviously, 2,000 years ago, we were all from here. Before we had to leave.’

I tell him I’m not sure if I’m really descended from the Jews who were here back then.

‘You’re not a Jew?’

‘I am – I mean, my mother is a Jew. But after they left Israel the Jews mixed in a lot with the people who lived around them, didn’t they?’

‘Yes, that’s true.’ He thinks for a minute, trying the spin button, and then rinse-hold. ‘You know, the mother of David HaMelech – David HaMelech, the King of Israel – she was not a Jew.’ He looks directly at me. ‘But it didn’t matter. What was her name? Ruth. Ruth was a good person – very close to God.’

He pats the top of the machine. ‘There, you see – it’s working. A gummy fell off and I’ve put it back. This time, I’ll do it for free.’

Rafi presses spin and the machine hauls itself to work.

Comments

[Anarkali]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that women in the bible are almost never named or mentioned unless they're not Jews. Perhaps taking for granted the otherwise complete continuity/ interchangability/ immortality of the Jewish woman? I don't know what this says about womens' status. sort of 'the king is dead long live the king' kind of thing?

[Caroline]

You seem to have surprisingly poignant conversations with various strangers - or maybe they are all your brothers or sisters?

[susie]

You are definitely going what needs to be done in regards to talking to people and getting their stories! Isn't it great! I'm enjoying reading your experiences! Keep it up....

i'm so glad the machine is spinning again.
xxoo
b

[Sealwoman]

Glad to hear the washing machine spins again, your old one, the one that lives with me, sends its regards.:-)

[Leila]

Anarkali - I am not sure about this and I wanted to do some research to find out before replying to your comment. I have found a women's learning centre in North Tel Aviv, so once I have been and asked, I'll let you know.

Caroline - that's the thing about Israel, which is so different from London. These conversations are a matter of course, they happen all the time - not just with Jews, who are my brothers and sisters, but with Arabs, who are also my brothers and sisters, or my cousins, at least. The ones I write about here are the most interesting, the tip of the iceberg, though!

Susie - thank you for your kind words. I am glad you are enjoying reading. I hope we will talk more soon.

b - xxxxxxxxxx

Sealwoman - my old gold one finally found the love it deserves x x

[yaakova]

Leila,
I have read your whole blog, and want to congratulate you on your aliyah! Your blog is so beautifully written!
It's sad for me, an American, to learn the consequences of anti-semitism in your life-both in the experiences you've endured and the perspective those situations created. I wish you well in the journey-- just as I hope to make a similar journey one day!

An historical point regarding this post: I recently read about genetic studies, which have established that amazingly, there really wasn't much mixing in of the cultures. So you may be more directly related to Jews from history than you realized! (Admittedly, the article didn't explain the obvious: that ethnic differences within Jewish populations indicate considerable mixing with local populations.)
Finally, a biblical point: while Ruth was indeed one of King David's 'mothers', she was actually his great-grandmother.

[Leila]

Yaakova - thanks for such nice feedback and for the interesting info in your comment. I did look up Ruth as I wrote this post, and I found that no one knows exactly who David's mother is - though Rafi considered Ruth to be his mother.

I'm glad you enjoyed reading and hope to keep talking to you.

Leila