Apprentice (65 page)

But the stars were not aligned for me, although they were perfectly aligned for the Persian king Narseh. Roman troops crossed the Euphrates, but Galerius had greatly underestimated his foe. Rome suffered a massive defeat and was compelled to flee, with Persia's army in pursuit. The result so far was that Rome had not only failed to dislodge Narseh from Armenia but had lost the province of Mesopotamia too.

Claudia and Julia reported that Diocletian was beside himself with rage. The emperor arrived in Antioch and declared that Galerius must take all the blame. He ordered Galerius punished in an act of public humiliation, forcing the general to walk through the dusty streets in front of Diocletian's chariot.

At first I'd been overjoyed that the war was over and I could finally leave. But word came that Galerius was mobilizing an enormous army, not only from Syria and Palestina, but with reinforcements from the Danube frontier. Nobody knew exactly when he'd attack, but nobody wanted to be in the way either.

With their husbands ordered to the front, Claudia and Julia looked to Yochani and me to help fill their anxious hours in a city full of strangers. This usually worked out well, as it provided Yehudit with playmates between the hours I spent teaching her to read. Perhaps it was a mother's pride, but it seemed to me that she learned especially quickly. Studying
from both the Hebrew and the Aramaic versions of Torah, she made such swift progress that at times I almost burst with joy.

The God-fearers accompanied us to the bathhouse, where I noticed one morning that it no longer struck me as odd that married women in the West didn't remove the hair from their armpits or between their legs. I had to admit that their acquaintance was helpful when I became
dashtana
again, for Claudia was able to provide me with all the supplies necessary to manage my flow.

We went to the theater or chariot races at least weekly, but Yochani and I declined to attend any of the gladiatorial contests. So while Julia and Claudia entertained themselves at the coliseum, I was at Salaman's workshop. For some reason, I was far more reticent to share my personal life with them than they were with me. Of course they knew I was a widow, but the last thing I wanted anyone to know was why I hadn't remarried.

With the return of my menses, I understood that it was only a matter of time. I began to have erotic dreams, sometimes of Rami, but more often featuring Salaman or Rabbi Avahu. There were a few occasions when I woke in the night so aroused that I used my own hands to do what Rami had done with his. My body was telling me that I'd lived without a husband too long.

But the problem literally reared its ugly head when we all took a trip to the therapeutic hot springs at Hammat, just outside Tiberias. We had arranged to stay several days at one of Hammat's hostels, and then spend Shabbat with Yochani's son Eliezer in Tiberias. But whom should I encounter, coming out of the men's dressing rooms as I was leaving the women's, but father's old student Zeira, looking even darker and more hunchbacked than I remembered.

“Hisdadukh.” His countenance was suffused with astonishment and joy. “I heard that you'd moved to the West, but I never imagined our paths would cross here.”

“Zeira!” I tried to sound more pleased than I felt. “What brings you here?”

“I'm Rav Zeira now,” he replied. “And I'm here for the same reason you are, to observe Elohim's commandment to live in the holy land of Eretz Israel.”

“How long have you been here? Have you seen my father recently?” My mood had improved immediately upon hearing that Zeira had no inkling why I'd really left Bavel.

“I guessed that Rome was unlikely to attack King Narseh during the rainy season, so I took a chance and came across the southern Silk Road this past winter,” he said. “Your father and mother are well, which I know because I was studying with Rav Hisda until just before I left.”

“Are you staying at Hammat? If so, we must dine together.” Perhaps my invitation sounded too enthusiastic, but I was eager to hear the latest news from home.

“I would enjoy that, though I'm only here until tomorrow.” His disappointment was obvious. “I'm studying with Rabbis Assi and Ami in Tiberias, and I need to be back for Shabbat.”

Zeira's face lit up again when I told him, “We are also going to Tiberias for Shabbat.” Then he followed me like a puppy into the dining room.

Yochani and the God-fearers took one look at my ugly companion and promptly sat elsewhere. Yehudit stayed with me only long enough for a few mouthfuls before deserting me for Julia's daughter, her new best friend. But sharing a meal with Zeira was not at all disagreeable, as he shared story after story about Father, my brothers, and the current crop of students in Sura. In passing, I learned that Abaye's first wife had died and he was now remarried, and that Abba bar Joseph still had no children.

To my relief, Zeira seemed to have no interest in what I'd been doing these last three years, and did not even ask where I was living. Unlike Father, he had a high opinion of the scholars in Tiberias and occasionally interrupted his tales of Bavel with ones that praised Rabbis Assi, Ami, and Elazar ben Pedat. Zeira was especially anxious about learning from Rabbi Assi, for the sage was infamous for his bad temper, especially when he was questioned overmuch. I was content to say as little as possible, although when Zeira mentioned how much he admired Rabbi Avahu, I couldn't resist remarking that I'd spent Pesach with the rabbi's family.

When we shared the evening meal later that day, I did question him about his journey here, thinking that perhaps I too could make the trip during the winter rainy season.

But he shuddered at the memory. “I'm sure I survived only because I was involved in performing a mitzvah,” he replied. “With so many Saracen princes and much of Persia's army occupied in Armenia, there is no
one left to guard the trade routes. Lawless bands and brigands scour the desert for the few travelers desperate or foolhardy enough to attempt the journey. Our caravan was attacked twice, and men died each time.”

He continued for some time with details of the raids, turning what must have been a harrowing and exciting experience into one so boring that I entertained myself by watching Yehudit and Julia's daughter play tag among the tables. I paid him so little attention that the only thing I heard was that he had barely escaped with his life, which he repeated several times. I doubted he suspected my motive for bringing up the subject, but he still managed to frighten me into abandoning any plans for returning to Bavel until peace was reestablished.

The next morning Zeira and I broke our fast together, and I learned that he'd been forced to divorce his wife when she refused to move to Eretz Israel with him. He told me that he so wanted to study with Elazar ben Pedat that he made one hundred fasts so he might find Elazar alive when he arrived here. In Tiberias I saw Zeira at synagogue services, and to my surprise Rabbi Assi invited me to his home for the three Shabbat meals. Of course Zeira was in attendance there too.

Once back in Sepphoris, I was somewhat relieved to hear nothing from him. But when we returned to Tiberias the following Shabbat, Zeira was waiting for me at Eliezer's. The rest of the holy day was a repeat of the previous week, with Zeira dogging my footsteps except when I insisted on taking an afternoon nap. His hunchback made him so short that all I could see of him on these walks was a mop of oily hair crawling with lice.

On our return to Sepphoris, I felt obliged to tell Yochani something about him having studied with Father, but she earned my eternal gratitude by not pressing me for more. For I'd come to the ghastly conclusion that Rav Zeira wanted to marry me.

During the week I decided that rather than spend the next Shabbat in Tiberias, I'd suggest that Claudia, Julia, and our children enjoy an excursion to the beach at Caesarea. I was confident that Susanna would invite me and Yehudit to stay longer, which she did. Thus I was in Caesarea when the most extraordinary events occurred.

We were just finishing our midday meal on Fifth Day when there was a commotion at the door. The next moment a man dressed in a workman's tunic ran up to Rabbi Avahu. “You don't have much time,” he said between
breaths. “But if you don't act, Diocletian will punish Judah Nesiah severely.”

Rabbi Avahu poured the man some wine. “What do you mean?”

“When Diocletian went to the bathhouse this morning, I pretended to be one of the attendants. That's how I overheard the plot.” He stopped to drink the entire cup. “Someone has filled the emperor's ears with tales of the patriarch Judah Nesiah insulting Diocletian the swineherd.”

Rabbi Avahu groaned. “Not that canard again.”

“Diocletian, already in a black mood over Galerius's defeat, demanded that Judah Nesiah explain himself in Caesarea exactly at the close of Shabbat.” The man paused for emphasis. “And to punish the patriarch, the message won't arrive in Tiberias until tomorrow, just before sunset.”

Susanna and I looked at each other in dismay. Since it was impossible to get from Tiberias to Caesarea in less than half a day, the patriarch was trapped. He would either have to violate Shabbat by traveling on the Day of Rest or disobey the emperor's direct order by arriving late.

Rabbi Avahu jumped up from the table and clapped his hands, causing a roomful of servants to surround him. Quickly he shouted orders to several of the men. “You—bring me a quill, ink, and a fresh papyrus. You—find the swiftest horse and rider to take a message to Tiberias. You and you—hire the fastest chariot racers for tomorrow, a team in Tiberias and another in Sepphoris, plus carts to meet them.”

He tossed a handful of coins to the informant, and then sat down to write. He had just sealed the letter when we heard the clatter of horses' hooves in the courtyard. Moments later the message was off, and he sat down to think.

Susanna asked the question that was in my mind too. “Assuming that your scheme works and Judah Nesiah arrives here in secret tomorrow before Shabbat begins, what will he say to Diocletian that won't jeopardize your bathhouse spy?”

He grimaced in annoyance. “That is what I am trying to figure out.”

Susanna's mention of a bathhouse spy made me think of the
mazikim
that haunted bathhouses and tormented the customers. “I have an idea,” I said tentatively.

They both looked at me expectantly. “What is it?” he asked.

“Judah Nesiah can say that he was bathing in Tiberias in preparation for Shabbat when a bathhouse
mazik
appeared and told him what Diocletian was planning,” I said. “Then the
mazik
further offered to magically
transport him to Caesarea when Shabbat ended. Judah Nesiah can explain that the
mazik
owed him a favor for some reason or that the
mazik
merely wanted to vex Diocletian.”

They looked at each other and joined in relieved laughter. When they finally calmed, Rabbi Avahu turned to me and said, “If your plan works, name your reward and you shall have it.”

“All I ask is that I can continue to enjoy your excellent hospitality.” Despite their great wealth, I didn't want to overstay my welcome.

“Consider our house your own,” Susanna replied.

The next afternoon a nondescript peddler's cart unloaded its cargo outside Rabbi Avahu's kitchen, one of many similar carts that arrived in preparation for Shabbat. Two men, heavily cloaked despite the summer heat, disappeared inside and remained in their room until Shabbat was over. At that time Judah Nesiah, Rabbi Avahu, and their entourage entered the carriages that would take them to the emperor.

Susanna and I waited, and waited. Too nervous to sleep until the men returned, we paced the large hall and drank more than a few cups of wine.

“Hisdadukh, you don't have to answer if you'd rather not,” she said abruptly. “But my husband and I were wondering if you'd like our help in arranging for you to find a new husband.”

M
y stomach, already in knots, tightened further. Rav Zeira had certainly been attentive to me, and he'd recently gotten divorced. Had he approached Rabbi Avahu about acquiring me as his next wife? Was it Salaman, deciding he'd remained unmarried long enough, who'd contacted the scholar? Considering how often Salaman told me I was beautiful, he had to be attracted to me. Or was there another man entirely?

Before I could answer Susanna, we heard the unmistakable sound of carriages approaching the gate. We jumped up and rushed to the door, through which Rabbi Avahu and Judah Nesiah walked moments later, laughing and in high spirits.

Rabbi Avahu threw his arm around Susanna. “Diocletian was completely taken in.”

Judah Nesiah slapped his thigh. “He will never plot against anyone in a bathhouse again.”

Despite the men's distinguished positions, I couldn't remain silent. “You're sure he had no idea that you really arrived yesterday?”