1. Rabbi Ethan
“‘Brainwash’ is a strong word, Rachel.”
“How else do you explain it, Rabbi? He started the summer my sweet little boy. Now he’s like those crazy Black Hats who preach at you from street corners in the Jewelry District.”
“Let’s take this one step at a time.” He keeps his voice calm, like the senior rabbi had coached him. “We’re a Reform synagogue. How exactly did Jacob become involved with an Orthodox congregation?”
“All the summer camps were booked and I got desperate. So, I enrolled him in the Hasidic day camp. Summer camp is supposed to be trips to the beach, arts and crafts. You know, camp.” Rachel’s grip on the edge of his desk becomes tighter, her knuckles nearly white. “Two weeks in, he starts to call them his people. ‘His people.’ I could die.”
“Children often try on new identities, play with concepts of self.” Ethan leans back in his chair, hoping his easy posture will reassure her. “I’m sure it’s a phase.”
“A phase, Rabbi? He’s a ten-year-old quoting Talmud to his math teacher. Refuses to sit next to girls in class. He says it’s an abomination. He found his father’s old yarmulke, and wore it to school. I took it away, and do you know what he does now? Makes them out of newspaper and scotch tapes them to his head. He cut the tassels off the living room drapes and stapled them to the hems of his shirts.”
Rachel’s voice rises with each word. Can Miriam hear her out in...
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