Kissa
I knew it would happen—I only wondered about when and how, and if people would start fighting in the midst of it.
Fortunately, Alena did not resist when a group of men approached our wagon and eyed the ox. I think the poor animal had been even more miserable in the heat than we were, and he could not forage with so many people about. Alena had been keeping her eye on the beast, and I was certain she regretted bringing the animal out of the city. But who could have foretold that we would be trapped like flies in a bottle?
I think Alena was relieved when the men asked for the ox. She agreed to hand him over, and they cut the poor creature’s throat immediately after freeing him from the harness. As hot blood steamed on the sand, one of the men took charge and slit the animal from chest to tail, then pulled out the stomach bag and other parts. As Shelamzion squealed and hid her eyes, I observed quietly. This was no worse than what I had seen many times when I went to Egyptian temples with my parents.
After gutting the animal and leaving the entrails for the buzzards, the butcher began to hack off pieces of meat and give them to eager groups of people. Right away I could see that the process was unfair. For those at the front of the line received generous portions, while those coming from a greater distance would receive little. But at least some of us would eat.
As for Alena, she received a large hunk of meat from the flank, which she quickly wrapped in cloth and hid under a blanket. “For later,” she said, glancing at Shelamzion’s mother. “Once the crowd has dispersed.”
I looked at the cloudless sky, where the sun shimmered in a wide bowl of blue. The Jews were highly religious, as were most Egyptians, but their devotion to one God only seemed irrational to me. When things were bad, as they were now, who could you blame? In Egypt, if one god disappointed, you could always appeal to another, or go to yet another for help. But with the Jews, all things, good and bad, came from the hand of HaShem, and they had no other source of aid.
I considered my mistress, who lay faceup beneath the wagon, staring at the rough boards above her. She must have felt the pressure of my gaze, for after a moment she turned and looked at me. “What?”
I inclined my head toward an open area some distance away. Understanding, she crawled out from under the wagon and walked with me.
When Alena or other adults were nearby, I rarely spoke, for slaves were supposed to serve, not converse. Though Shelamzion and I had talked freely since our first day together, we had learned to keep our conversations private.
Once we were far enough away that the others could not hear us, I said to her, “What I want to know is why you are not furious with your HaShem.”
Shock flickered over my young mistress’s face. “Why would I be furious?”
“Don’t you pray every day?”
“Don’t you ask your God to keep you safe?”
Another nod.
“Then why isn’t he answering your prayers?”
She ran a hand through her damp hair and sat down, radiating puzzlement. “I don’t know,” she said after a moment.
“Don’t any of your people get angry with your God?”
“I don’t know.”
“What do you have to do to convince him to act on your behalf? In Egypt, we give our gods sacrifices. What do you give yours?”
“We give sacrifices, too,” she replied, her voice small and uncertain. “And sometimes we do other things.”
“Like what?”
“Like . . . we obey Him. That pleases Him.”
I crossed my arms. “I don’t understand your HaShem. And if he keeps us out here much longer, I don’t think I want to.”
Shelamzion didn’t respond but instead propped her chin on her hand and looked at me as if I were a puzzle she needed to figure out. I sat with her, glad that we weren’t sitting under the wagon in a puddle of ox blood.
“I don’t know the answers,” Shelamzion finally said, “but I will find the answers and explain everything to you. My father said all the answers can be found in the Torah.”
Having spent my ire, I lifted my gaze to the heavens. “When you have solved all the mysteries of the universe, come to me and explain all.”
“I will,” she said, assuming a pose of mock solemnity. “If not today, then tomorrow, and if not tomorrow, then the next day. And if not that day, then the day after that—”
“Enough.” I playfully swatted her shoulder. “I suppose it is enough that you are willing to listen to my questions.”