The Jew of his Wife

The Jew of his Wife
I still see it in my mind’s eye as if it was yesterday when the man smiled at me. He was middle-aged with a friendly smile which bespoke of a desire to get rid of isolation and discrimination. His wife was I think busy doing something like cooking or washing. They lived in an old run down place which looked like a room next to a stable. In fact it was more like a stable than a room. His son looked at me with skepticism but the man smiled. A friendly and inviting smile saying: welcome and thank you for seeking our contact. Yes, they were Jews of that society who had to be careful, friendly and considerate to please the others. People said they were cowards, scaredy-cats . A man whose wife had a strong personality and dominated him was ”The Jew of his wife“.

I was looking at them because I was curious although I remember it was just the other day when we, a group of naughty boys terrorized them by hurling old cucumbers or apples into their cave breaking whatever we hit. They hurried out in panic but we fled. We told our families, relatives and people we knew what we did and they all burst into peals of laughter and patted us approvinbgly. Still when he saw me looking at them, the man’s smile never left my mind. The picture is as vivid as ever.

I wanted to say sorry please forgive me. I feel ashamed of what I did but the man’s smile appears again as if saying don’t worry when you are older you understand better and come back as a friend. They couldn’t stay longer and had to leave to their new Homeland. They wouldn’t have left if they had a choice. Homeland is where you were brought up , isn’t it?. It is time now to come back home. But this time you are not alone. You have a friend.

Jamshid
Bremen, 10 February 2009

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