Part II
Synopsis: Penina, a Baalas Tshuva living in Jerusalem,
makes a quickie international round trip flight with her baby
to visit her mother in Providence Hospital, a Catholic
hospital. Desperate to catch her return flight but unable to
find any cab to the airport, she is given a ride by a kind
stranger. In lieu of payment, the only token she finds to
give Mary is a (Jewish) book on Divine Providence.
Five years passed. Mary was now twenty-eight and looking for
a husband with whom to build a home and life. She wanted
someone who cared about people, who was kind. And he also had
to believe in G-d.
One Thursday evening, a friend called Mary up to suggest a
young man. Perfect for her. His name was Josh and he was
twenty-nine. He was kind and caring and believed in G-d. He
also happened to be tall and handsome. A date was set for
Sunday.
Mary returned home satisfied but thoughtful. Josh was all
they had said. But Mary could not understand how a person
blessed with a G-d as wonderful as the one he believed in,
didn't take advantage of the fact and keep His commandments.
You see, Mary's friend had left out one tiny detail about the
boy. He was Jewish.
Mary and Josh continued seeing each other for a long time.
They planned to tour Europe together and take in a visit to
his grandparents' graves. A week before the trip, Mary went
to visit her parents who lived in a different city.
At this point, Mary decided to tell them she was very serious
about a Jew. Her mother's reaction startled her. Two tiny
tears trickled down her mother's face as she spoke, "I can't
believe it. After all these years. You don't know that I am
adopted. I never told you before, but I suspect I am Jewish
myself. The hatred I feel towards Jews must have been
ingrained from my foster parents who took me in during the
war. They always insisted that I wasn't Jewish, especially to
your father, but I have some information about my real
parents. They came from a town which I have written down on a
paper. Their name was Kahn. Maybe you can go and trace your
roots in Europe, as well."
"Kahn?" muttered Mary's father. "They never told me that, but
it sure sounds Jewish to me."
The rest of the week Mary walked around in a shocked trance.
"Me, Jewish?" she asked herself over and again. She called up
Josh and told him all that had happened. At the end of the
conversation, she said, "If and when it turns out that I am
Jewish, I intend to become religious. I, for one, would be
very proud to be a member of your G-d's Chosen Nation." Her
voice took on a pleading note. "Please join me in my search
for truth." Josh took a deep breath and then said, "All
right, I'll go along with you."
*
Mary, now Miriam, sat atop her throne, dressed in satin
white. She scanned the faces around her as people came up to
shake her hand and wish her "Mazel Tov." One woman in
particular caught her eye. She looked strangely familiar.
"Mazel tov, Miriam," she said. "I'm Penina Markowitz, Josh's
cousin. I have you to thank for getting him back on the right
track."
All at once, the memories came flooding back. Her lunch
break, the airport, the book. "But Penina," said Miriam,
tears streaming down her cheeks, "it's all your merit! It was
the book you gave me that stirred me with a love for Hashem.
Thank you!"
A bell chimed in Penina's head and it recalled the memory of
her mother, the hospital, the kind lift. Could she really
have been Miriam? she wondered. But I thought she was
Catholic. Well, strange things do happen.
Happen. By chance? Certainly not. By Divine Providence.
