He was met at the gate by a handsome, slender youth, tall enough to show that he was past puberty, yet lacking the beard to prove that he had reached manhood. Despite the fellow’s dexterity at helping him dismount, Eliezer sensed that he was no servant.
“Welcome to Ramerupt-sur-Aube, sire . . .” The youth paused.
Eliezer approved of the youth’s discretion, not calling him lord, but still suggesting that he was some sort of noble. Eliezer realized that his dark complexion—darker now that he’d been riding outdoors—revealed his foreign, southern origin. Often people weren’t sure what to make of him.
“I’m afraid you’ve arrived at a bad time,” the youth said somberly. “The lord and lady are in mourning,”
“I’m their brother-in-law, Eliezer ben Shemiah, just returned from Córdoba. And you are?”
“Excuse me for not recognizing you, Master Eliezer. I’m Milo de Plancy. Come with me.” Milo made a small gesture and a groom hurried to take custody of Eliezer’s horse.
“No offense, Milo. I didn’t recognize you either. It’s been over two years and you’re at least a head taller.”
“But I should have recognized you.” Milo looked like he was about to cry. “I should know all my lady’s relations.”
Eliezer followed Milo to the house. Joheved and Meir must be quite upset to make their squire so unhappy. “Is Étienne a good teacher? Joheved says he’s an excellent steward.”
“Étienne died of dropsy just before Candlemas,” Milo whispered. “Enter quietly. The family is saying their prayers.”
Eliezer waited at the doorway behind Milo. Salomon’s salon would have been crowded with all the students here, but Meir’s great hall could easily hold twice as many. Eliezer searched the room for Rachel but he couldn’t find her; she must be sitting against the wall near Salomon. Eliezer couldn’t see his father-in-law either, but he could hear him.
Salomon was teaching a Midrash on Proverbs 31, one particularly appropriate for a family mourning the death of two boys.
“A good wife, who can find?” Rabbi Meir was sitting in the house of study on Sabbath afternoon, when his two sons died. What did their mother, Beruria, do? She laid them on the bed and spread a sheet over them.
When the Sabbath ended, Rabbi Meir came home and said to her, “Where are my sons?” She answered, “They went to the house of study.” He said, “I did not see them.”
Beruria gave him a wine cup for Havdalah, and he recited the prayer. He again asked, “Where are my sons?” and she replied, “They went somewhere and will soon return.” She put food before him, and he ate and said grace. Then she said, “Master, I have a question for you.”
He said, “Ask your question,” and she said to him, “Master, some time ago a man gave me something to keep for him. Now he comes back and seeks to take it. Shall we return it to him or not?” Meir told her, “Whoever has an object in trust must return it to its owner.” She said, “Without your consent, I would not have given it to him.”
What did Beruria do? She took him by the hand and led him upstairs. She brought him to the bed and removed the sheet. When Meir saw the two of them lying dead, he began to cry and wail, “My sons, my sons . . .”
So she said to Rabbi Meir, “Master, did you not tell me that I must return the item to its owner?” He said, “Adonai gave and Adonai has taken away; blessed be the name of Adonai.” [Job 1:21]
Rav Hanina taught, “In this way she comforted him, and his mind was set at ease. Regarding such a woman, it is written, ‘A good wife, who can find?’ ”
Joheved’s sobs echoed through the room, and Meir’s arms tightened around her. The couple stood flanked by their sons Isaac and Shmuel, along with daughters Hannah and Leah. But where was Rachel? Eliezer stepped into the salon, his anxious gaze sweeping the room.
He stopped short when Rachel came into view, and his heart broke. She had lost weight and her beautiful green eyes were rimmed with red. Silent tears streamed down her face as she leaned heavily against Salomon, his hand gently patting her shoulder. Eliezer’s throat tightened with grief and guilt. He’d delayed his return to enjoy life in Córdoba, and now his new son was struck down before he’d even held him.
He focused on Rachel until she lifted her head and their eyes met. He’d hoped that she would exhibit some pleasure, or at least relief, when she saw him. But Rachel stared at him with such a baleful expression that Eliezer knew it could be a long time before she was able to forgive him for returning so late.
After greeting her with an affectionate hug, which she returned with a distinct lack of enthusiasm, he thanked Heaven that at least she was not niddah. Eliezer expected to be baited by Rachel’s scowls and curt remarks that evening, even anticipated how he would reply, but she maintained her stony silence.
At souper Eliezer was as solicitous to her as possible, keeping her wine cup filled and serving her those dishes he knew she enjoyed. Filled with gratitude that their older children had survived, he showered them with affection, telling Shemiah all sorts of fanciful tales about Sepharad and bouncing little Rivka on his lap. Yet Rachel’s melancholy did not abate.
After the meal he played with little Rivka and helped Shemiah review his studies, and then offered to put their son to bed so Rachel could attend to their daughter. Apparently she’d begun nursing the girl again after the baby died.
When he finally entered their bedroom, he was not surprised to see that Rachel had put out the lamp. It didn’t matter; he was perfectly capable of doing what he intended in pitch dark. He took his time undressing and hanging his clothes on the pegs on the wall—let his wife wonder why he wasn’t more eager to join her in bed after their six-month separation.
Indeed her petulant voice called out from the darkness, “What’s taking you so long? Are you coming to bed or no?”
“Shush.” He climbed in and let the bed curtains fall behind him. “You’ll wake little Rivka.”
He didn’t expect her to reach for him, and she didn’t. He leaned on his side and caressed the curve of her bosom, gently pinching her nipple as his fingers passed over it.
Rachel had promised herself that she wasn’t going to let him seduce her so easily, but the resulting sensation between her legs caused her to gasp, and she couldn’t bring herself to stop him when he continued to toy with her hardening nipples. It’s been such a long time.
Curse Eve, the first woman, who had eaten the forbidden fruit and doomed all of womankind so that:Your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you.
Eliezer’s tongue was probing her mouth, and, despite the anger Rachel felt at her weakness, the fire below was growing stronger. She clung to her husband’s neck as her passion mounted, and though she willed them to be still, her hips pressed and ground against his. His lips began to move, first to her neck and then slowly down her body. When he reached her breast, his tongue teased her nipple so exquisitely that she couldn’t bear it if something didn’t address the need that assailed her in that hidden place below. Yet at the same time her mind screamed at her for not fighting her desire.
As if reading her thoughts, his hand began making its way down her belly. She tried to resist him and keep her legs closed, but her body betrayed her and spread them wide as his fingers approached. Her breath was coming fast now, and she moaned as he stroked the sensitive skin of her inner thighs, moving closer and closer to her ervah, yet never touching her there. He wants me to beg him, damn him.
“Please,” she whispered, at the same time furious that she wanted him so badly.
Immediately he sucked hard on her breast, and his hand reached up to probe her secret opening. But his meticulous exploration only increased her torment, and she whimpered as his delicate caresses fueled her passion.
“Please,” she begged him again.
Eliezer withdrew his fingers, but instead of positioning his body above hers, he slid off the bed and pulled her legs toward him. Then, her thighs gaping open before him, he knelt on the floor in fro
nt on her.
“Eliezer.” She tried to sit up, but he pushed her back down on the bed.
“I want you to emit your seed first.” His voice was husky with desire. “So we will have another son.”
The next thing she knew, he was kissing her breasts again. Then his hands replaced his mouth and his lips began moving relentlessly down her belly. Mon Dieu, he is going to kiss me there!
Suddenly his lips reached a spot that sent her mind reeling, and her entire being was instantly focused on the ecstasy his mouth was generating. She moaned and cried, and grasped the linens convulsively, but couldn’t pull her hips away. His fingers kept playing with her nipples and his tongue was a flame licking at her, turning her ervah into a furnace stoked ever higher.
She was transported to a world where the only thing that existed was the inferno between her legs, which continued to rage hotter and hotter until, suddenly, her ervah began to swell and pulse with paroxysms of such intense pleasure that she thought she would explode inside. When she couldn’t take any more, she pulled away and lay gasping on the bed, her loins and nipples throbbing as the spasms slowly dissipated.
Eliezer sat back for a few moments, and then gently stroked her inner thighs to rekindle her desire. He knew he should wait a little longer, but pleasuring Rachel this way was too stimulating. He had been keenly aware of her increasing excitement, and when he’d felt her climax, it had nearly sent him over the edge himself. Her breathing began to quicken again and he couldn’t wait. He flipped her legs back onto the bed and climbed on top of her, somehow compelling himself to enter gradually.
Her damp warmth gripped him, caressed him. Rachel groaned deeply and wrapped her legs around him, so he drew back and then penetrated fully. She moaned again and began to breathe faster as his movements became more vigorous.
Soon she was panting beneath him, her cries of delight growing louder with her increasing urgency. Eliezer had hoped to restrain his ardor and make her climax first this way too, before finally bringing them both to the zenith together. But then he felt her sheath begin to spasm around him, and he gave himself over to the passion that forced him to sink his entire length into her as rapidly and as forcefully as he could.
Rachel’s ecstasy erupted in waves, each more powerful than before, a crescendo that would surely shatter her body into pieces if it continued. Then she heard him moan as he slammed into her one last, overwhelming time before he collapsed on top of her.
seven
For a long moment they lay together, unable to move or make a sound. Rachel reveled in the crush of his body against hers, the soft prickling of his beard on her shoulder, the smell of his hair—and she began to weep.
“I hate you,” she whispered between sobs. “Why can’t you be here when I need you?”
Eliezer kissed her cheek and gently stroked her hair. “I hate being away from you, I hate that I never got to see our new son before he was buried, and I hate that there’s nothing I can do about it until my sister’s sons are able to take my place.” And I hate the number of men who know I have a beautiful wife at home alone while I travel.
“There must be some occupation that you can do in Troyes.”
He sighed. “None I can think of that will provide for our family so well.”
Rachel sniffed back her tears. Her husband was right. Papa’s wine production was sufficient to support him and Mama, and in a good year there was profit for her and Miriam. The sisters also divided the revenue from the money-lending business that Judah’s mother, Alvina, had set up. But Alvina was old, and instead of contributing to their income she now needed their support.
“I’m not going to give up. I’ll find something,” she said. “And if it’s not quite as lucrative as what you do now, I’ll just have to cut back on expenses.”
Eliezer chuckled. “Belle, we both know that you do not share your father’s and sisters’ simple tastes. I can’t imagine you wearing badly dyed bliauts to save money. And I certainly can’t imagine you giving up your jewels, nice clothes, or fine foods.” He wouldn’t want to give them up either.
“I suppose so.” Her tone was grudging.
“Even if you did spend less, we still couldn’t live on the same income as Miriam and Judah. They have only one daughter to dower, and who knows how many more girls you will bear?”
“Judah will also inherit all Alvina’s wealth, while your father’s went to pay your brother’s widow and your mother their ketubah.” The ketubah, a woman’s marriage contract, stipulated how much she would receive if her husband died or divorced her. The amount was often so large that there was little left over for the man’s children.
“You’re still angry,” he said sadly.
“I’m not so angry at you anymore.” She sighed and paused a moment. “I just wish things were different.”
He leaned over and kissed her neck. “Remember what it says in the tenth chapter of Tractate Eruvin.”
She pretended to misunderstand him. “You mean where Rami bar Chama said:A man is forbidden to force his wife in the holy deed, as it is written [Proverbs 19], ‘He who blunders with his feet is a sinner.’ ”
Eliezer was sure his wife knew exactly what he meant, but in between kisses he quoted it anyway. “Non, the Baraita just following that.
‘He who blunders with his feet is a sinner’ refers to one who performs the holy act and repeats it. But can this be? Rava said: He who wishes to have only sons should perform the holy act twice.”
Rachel allowed him to pull her close. If she had to share Eve’s curse, she might as well enjoy it. Before she kissed him back, she whispered,
“There is no contradiction. With Rava, the woman consents, but in the Baraita, she does not consent.”
She too wanted another son.
Eliezer’s sleep was disturbed several times by coughing children, but Rachel assured him that this was nothing compared to before. Shibeta was weakening, and they could leave for Troyes in a day or two. Eliezer devoted most of this spare time, when he wasn’t playing with the children, to reviewing Salomon’s latest Talmud lessons. For when the Hot Fair opened, the section Salomon was teaching would require more effort than simply memorizing the text.
Salomon had chosen Tractate Shabbat, starting with the seventh chapter, which describes the various kinds of labor forbidden on the Sabbath. He began with the Mishnah:The main types of work are forty save one: sowing, plowing, reaping, gathering sheaves, threshing, winnowing, cleansing crops, grinding, sifting, kneading, and baking; shearing wool, whitening it, combing it, dyeing it, spinning, stretching, making two loops, weaving two threads, separating two threads, tying a knot, loosening a knot, sewing two stitches, and tearing in order to sew; hunting a gazelle, slaughtering it, skinning it, salting it, tanning its skin, scraping it and cutting it up, writing two letters, and erasing in order to write; building, pulling down, putting out a fire, lighting a fire, hammering, and carrying from one domain to another.
“These are the labors the Israelites performed in the desert to construct the Tabernacle,” he explained over souper. “All work prohibited on the Sabbath is derived from them.”
“Excuse me, Rabbenu.” Simcha blushed with embarrassment. “I know the first group of eleven have to do with preparing bread for the altar, and the second group of thirteen with making the Tabernacle’s curtains, but I’m not sure what each word means.”
“You’re not the only one,” Rachel said. “I don’t know the difference between threshing and winnowing.”
“Of course you do.” Eliezer gave her a suggestive smile. “Your father teaches that in order to avoid impregnating Tamar, Onan threshed on the inside and winnowed on the outside.”
Joheved and Meir exchanged glances, then he waved for her to speak. “Threshing is beating the husks to separate out the grain, and winnowing is tossing the grain in the air so the chaff blows away and the heavier wheat remains.”
Meir’s estate produced wheat, along with sheep and wine, so he easily explained
the first twelve terms. “Whitening the wool is the Mishnah’s name for washing it, which we do in the river.”
Joheved held up her distaff, identical to her sisters’. As children, she and Miriam had lessened their mother’s complaints about girls studying Talmud by spinning thread during their father’s lessons. “Before placing the wool on the distaff, we comb it into parallel fibers.”
“That makes it easier to draw a good length onto the spindle.” Miriam demonstrated the action, pulling a tuft of wool from the distaff and twisting it around her spindle. Then she let the spindle fall, where it stretched and tightened the thread as it rotated. Finally she wound the thread onto the spindle and began the process again.
“Why does dyeing come before spinning?” Judah asked. “I thought cloth was dyed after weaving.”
Eliezer, expert in dyestuffs, provided the answer. “These days we dye the whole cloth, but in the past it was common to dye the wool.”
Next came “stretching” and “making two loops,” but nobody volunteered an explanation.
“They clearly come before weaving.” Miriam turned to her father. “Does the Gemara explain it later?”
“I’m afraid the Gemara is not helpful.” Judah proceeded to quote it.
“What are loops? Abaye said: two times for the heddle loops and once around the heddle.”
“The heddle?” Rachel scowled. “Now I’m more confused than before.” She looked at her father questioningly.
Salomon stroked his beard. “I need to see some weavers at work. Once I understand what they do, I can explain it properly in my kuntres.”
“Our clients include weavers,” Rachel said. “They borrow money during the year to buy flax and wool but don’t get paid until the cloth is sold. When they come to repay their loans, I’ll ask some if you might watch.”
Rashi's Daughters, Book III: Rachel Page 9
