Free Apprentice by Maggie Anton Page B

new
kiton
with Achti and her maidservant, the second time in my life, as far as I could recall, that I didn’t sleep with Nurse. The new floor mats weren’t as soft and pliant as our old ones in Kafri, so between my sore buttocks, memories of Nurse’s beating, and being poked by sharp pieces of reed, I feared that it would be a long, uncomfortable night.
    Suddenly there was the sound of soft footsteps, followed by several cushions dropping down next to me. “I thought you might appreciate some company tonight,” Grandfather said as he arranged the cushions for us to sleep on.
    How wise of him to understand how much I’d miss Nurse’s presence.I was appreciating the cushion’s softness when he asked me if I could remind him what Rabbi Simeon said about crowns in the fourth chapter of the Mishna volume called Tractate Avot.
    As soon as I heard the word “crowns,” I comprehended that I was about to receive another lecture about my reputation. “Rabbi Simeon said there are three crowns: the crown of Torah, the crown of priesthood, and the crown of royalty,” I said, and then added with emphasis, “Yet the crown of a good name excels them all.”
    â€œDo you realize that you yourself wear those three crowns?”
    â€œI do?” I knew that Father was from a priestly family; his full name was Hisda haKohen. People in Kafri had brought us priestly tithes even though the Holy Temple was destroyed more than three hundred years ago.
    â€œA priest’s daughter also wears the crown of priesthood,” Grandfather explained. “And a scholar’s daughter who knows Scripture and Mishna certainly wears the crown of Torah.”
    â€œBut royalty?”
    â€œThe exilarch is a direct descendant of King David,” he replied. “In fact, the exilarch’s entire family, including your mother, descends from the Davidic royal house.”
    â€œMother is related to the exilarch?” I asked in astonishment. Was that why we’d been invited to his palace?
    Grandfather chuckled at my amazement. “Nehemiah, the current exilarch, is her cousin. Haviva doesn’t tout it, but her mother and Nehemiah’s mother were sisters.”
    I was silently considering this when he continued, “Do you see why maintaining your reputation, your good name, is so important? If you damage it, you have besmirched the priesthood, the Davidic dynasty, and the Torah itself.”
    â€œI understand, Grandfather.” I hoped he would let me go to sleep now. I was so very tired.
    But he had another point to make. “Bearing the name Hisdadukh, Hisda’s daughter, you must be especially careful. For if you injure your good name, you injure your father’s as well.”
    Finally I could ask the question that had puzzled me for years. “Why did Mother name me Hisdadukh? Nobody else in our family has a Persian name.”
    â€œHaviva already had grandchildren when you were born, and she was determined that no one should confuse you, your father’s youngest child,with them.” He was silent for a moment and I closed my eyes. “Now I have a question for you, child.”
    I forced my heavy eyelids open. “What is it?”
    â€œWhen your father asked you whether you wanted to marry Rami or Abba, why did you say ‘both of them’?”
    â€œIt wasn’t because I thought a woman could have two husbands,” I replied vehemently, still smarting from how Keshisha had mocked me. How often would I keep having to answer this question?
    â€œOf course not,” he assured me.
    Despite a good deal of thought about it, I still didn’t know what had made me give that answer. But what I told Grandfather wasn’t untrue. “I didn’t want to shame either youth by rejecting him in front of all the others.”
    â€œSo you do understand the importance of avoiding shame. I hope that means you understand why you should never