A Place at the Table by Saadia Faruqi

Author:Saadia Faruqi
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780358118923
Publisher: HMH Books
Published: 2020-08-11T00:00:00+00:00

18

Elizabeth

HEBREW SCHOOL AND I have an awkward relationship. It’s not quite an orange-juice-and-milk situation, but it’s not a PB&J, besties-forever vibe either.

It’s where I first met Micah, when we were both new to our synagogue’s Sunday morning religious-ed program. On the first day, I was trying to spot kids I knew from Watersville Elementary. There was Lisa Greenbaum—in my grade, but not in my class—and Ari Marks, who played kickball every day at recess and was always in trouble for tracking mud inside. They waved at me, but there were no excited hugs, and neither one of them sat by me.

Mr. Yukht, our teacher, said we were the nicest group of kids he had ever met, even though he’d only known us for five minutes. But he meant it. Mr. Yukht has moved up with our class every year. He says he’s sticking with us, so we all have to invite him to our bar and bat mitzvah parties. He’s bald and wears khakis like a regular man teacher, but his red high-tops and suspenders make him super cool, at least to me and Micah.

There may be other kids like us at our Hebrew school, but Micah is the only one I’m comfortable talking about it with. He makes me feel like I’m not the only person in Mr. Yukht’s class who gets mixed up when our class talks about Jewish holidays.

After Mr. Yukht wraps up the day’s lesson, we stand in line, waiting to high-five him on our way out. Then Micah and I head to the synagogue’s main entrance.

“Where’s your dad taking us for lunch?” I ask Micah. “I vote IHOP.”

Micah shudders so dramatically, his curls shake. “You call those pancakes? Have you been to the new crêpes shop on Main Street? Those are pancakes.”

I’m about to argue when Mrs. Gruver steps out of her office and puts her long, skinny self between me and any chance of escape.

“May I speak with you, Elisheva?” she says, tipping her head down so she can stare at me disapprovingly over the tops of her glasses. I wonder if she knows her chin squishes into her neck when she does that.

I widen my eyes at Micah.

“I’ll tell my dad you’re with Mrs. Gruver,” he says with a meaningful nod.

Mr. Perez is not a fan of our principal. “Hebrew school should be something you kids enjoy,” he says. “She’s too strict. Takes all the fun out of it.”

Easy for him to say. He’s never been to Hebrew school. Micah’s dad grew up Catholic. Unlike my mom, he never converted to Judaism. Micah’s mom, Ms. Rosen, is the religious one at their house.

I follow Mrs. Gruver into her office. There’s a giant picture over her clean white desk of her son, Noah, at his bar mitzvah. Mrs. Gruver and her husband stand behind Noah at the bimah. She’s smiling and wearing a pretty floral dress. The way Mrs. Gruver is scowling at me right now, it’s hard to believe she ever smiled in her life.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.