Apprentice (3 page)

Abba bar Joseph (b.270)
—a.k.a. Rava. Rav Hisda's student, Hisdadukh's suitor

Abaye
—Rav Hisda's student

Achti (b.269)
—Hisdadukh's older sister, wife of Ukva bar Chama

Alista
—funeral keener in Sura

Amemar
—tenant farmer on Hisdadukh's lands in Sura

Ami
—rabbi in Eretz Israel, heads school in Tiberias

Assi
—rabbi in Eretz Israel, heads school in Tiberias

Avahu
—rabbi in Eretz Israel, heads school in Caesarea

Bahram II
—king of Persia (274–293
CE
)

Beloria
—wife of Hisdadukh's brother Pinchas, basket weaver

Chama (b.291)
—son of Hisdadukh and Rami bar Chama

Chanina
—Rabbi Avahu's son, in Tiberias

Claudia
—wife of Roman centurion, God-fearer in Sepphoris

Choran
—wife of Abba bar Joseph, in Machoza

Devora
—wife of Hisdadukh's brother Yenuka, in Kafri

Diocletian
—Roman emperor (284–305
CE
)

Em
—Haviva's friend, enchantress in Pumbedita

Eliezer
—Yochani's son, in Tiberias

Ezra
—amulet maker in Caesarea

Galerius
—Roman general under Diocletian

Guria
—Yenuka's daughter, wife of Hisdadukh's brother Keshisha

Hanan (b.255)
—Rav Hisda's son and third-oldest child, brewer

Hanan bar Rabbah
—Hisdadukh's grandfather, Haviva's father

Haruta
—Imarta's daughter, slave-potter

Haviva
—Hisdadukh's mother, wife of Rav Hisda

Hisda
—Babylonian rabbi, judge on
beit din
in Sura

Hisdadukh (b.275)
—Rav Hisda's daughter and youngest child, nicknamed Dada

Huna
—colleague of Rav Hisda, heads
beit din
in Sura

Imarta
—Rahel's slave, pottery maker

Jacob
—runaway slave, tutor for Rav Hisda's grandsons

Josiah
—cosmetics peddler

Judah Nesiah
—patriarch, ruler of Eretz Israel's Jewish community

Julia
—wife of Roman centurion, God-fearer in Sepphoris

Kartir
—Persian high priest under King Bahram

Keshisha (b.272)
—Rav Hisda's son and second-youngest child

Kimchit
—amulet maker in Sura, Hisdadukh's teacher

Leuton
—Hisdadukh's maidservant

Mari (b.259)
—Rav Hisda's son and fourth-oldest child, flax dealer

Mariamme
—wife of Hisdadukh's brother Hanan, household treasurer

Nachman (b.251)
—Rav Hisda's son and second-oldest child, judge

Nachman bar Jacob
—colleague of Rav Hisda, heads
beit din
in Nehardea

Nanai
—Achti's daughter, named for Pushbi's mother

Narseh
—king of Persia (294–302
CE
)

Nehemiah
—exilarch, ruler of Babylonia's Jewish community

Newandukh
—Hisdadukh's friend from synagogue

Pazi
—wife of Hisdadukh's brother Tachlifa, weaves silk

Pinchas (b.263)
—Rav Hisda's son and fifth-oldest child, brewer

Pushbi
—widowed mother of Ukva and Rami bar Chama

Rabbah bar Huna
—Rav Hisda's student, son of Rav Huna

Rahel
—wife of Hisdadukh's brother Mari, inscribes magic bowls

Rami bar Chama (b.268)
—Rav Hisda's student, Hisdadukh's husband

Reish Lakish
—Rabbi Yohanan's study partner in Sepphoris, Yochani's father

Salaman
—mosaic-floor artisan in Sepphoris

Samuel
—Tachlifa's business partner and brother-in-law

Shapur
—king of Persia (240–270
CE
)

Shayla
—wife of Hisdadukh's brother Nachman, healer

Sheshet
—blind colleague of Rav Hisda in Nehardea

Simeon
—Yochani's son, merchant in Tyre

Susanna
—Rabbi Avahu's wife in Caesarea

Tabita
—Haviva's friend, enchantress in Sura

Tachlifa (b.266)
—Rav Hisda's son and fifth-oldest child, merchant

Tazi
—Pazi's twin sister, Samuel's wife

Timonus
—Rav Hisda's steward, captured Roman soldier

Ukva bar Chama
—Achti's husband, Rami's older brother

Valerian
—Roman emperor (253–260
CE
)

Yalta
—Rav Nachman's wife, exilarch's daughter

Yehezkel
—son of Keshisha and slave Zahra, raised by Achti and Ukva

Yehudit (b.294)
—daughter of Hisdadukh and Rami bar Chama

Yenuka (b.248)
—Rav Hisda's son and oldest child, brewer in Kafri

Yochani
—Hisdadukh's friend in Sepphoris, daughter of Reish Lakish

Yohanan
—Yochani's rabbi uncle in Sepphoris, Reish Lakish's study partner and brother-in-law

Yosef bar Hiyya
—Rav Hisda's colleague in Pumbedita

Zahra
—Hisdadukh's maidservant

Zeira
—Rav Hisda's student

I
have always been blessed with a good memory. This gift from Elohim, which has allowed me to memorize the entire Torah and Mishna, as well as a myriad of incantations and spells, has also given me knowledge and power of the unseen world. Because of this, I am considered a wise woman by many in Babylonia: Jews, Zoroastrians, and enchantresses of both religions. And especially by my husband.

My knowledge, my memories, and my friendship with Queen Ifra Hormizd allowed me a voice at court as well, albeit a small one. The Persian nobility and Zoroastrian priests, called the Magi, respect me, and some even consult me on occasion.

But a good memory may also be a curse. I will always carry the burden of seeing the beloved husband of my youth stolen away by the Angel of Death before we'd been married five years. And the agony of losing a cherished child at the tender age of four, a budding blossom never to bear fruit.

It pains me still to think of these things.

Even as a girl I found it easy to remember, though my strongest memory from childhood is one I've heard retold by so many people that I don't know where their stories stop and my actual recollection begins. Father, Grandfather, my brothers, and of course Rami and Abba, each had a slightly different account of what happened. Even Mother had her own version, although she only heard about it from Father.

I must have been about nine years old, sitting next to Father as he taught Torah. It was almost time for the midday meal when Rami bar Chama and Abba bar Joseph approached him. As Rami and Abba were his two best students, the others gathered around to hear what questions they had for the master.

Instead, Father put his arm around my shoulder and asked me, “Which of these two do you want for a husband?”

To this day I don't know if I was a prophet, as Abba believes, or as my older sister, Achti, maintains, a greedy little girl presented with a choice of sweets. I do recall that I was astonished by Father's question. Naturally I'd expected him and Mother to choose a husband for me as they had for my sister, as all caring parents do for their daughters. Even if he had wanted to take the unusual step of consulting me, I could never have imagined that he would do so in public, in front of the candidates themselves.

But judging from the mouths that dropped when I replied, my astonishment was nothing compared to everyone else's.

For when I looked up at Father, the words that came out of my mouth were, “Both of them.”

Father's eyes were questioning, but not angry. The silence that followed stretched out until Abba finally responded, “I want to be the last one.”

And that is what came to pass.

•     (283–292
CE
)     •

TENTH YEAR OF KING BAHRAM II'S REIGN

•     283
CE
     •