Maid in Greece
by
Fred Narvey
"Shalom! Come right in folks; have I got bargains for you!"
The mule and I perked up our ears simultaneously, as did my wife and her mule ten paces ahead of me.
One could expect a greeting like this at a Hadassah bazaar in Canada. But to hear it suddenly on a small Greek Island while riding on a mule is enough to make one wonder.
One of our guides pulled on my mule's tail. We came to a halt and dismounted.
"Shalom, watch out for the rocks and come over here!" came the voice again.
A pretty young woman about five feet two inches with brown eyes and auburn hair opened the door for us, and we entered the smallest tourist shop we ever saw on any of the Greek islands. It couldn't really be called a shop, but rather a cubicle. The woman smiled at us. "My name is Millie and this is Yanos," she said, motioning to her male companion.
"Suppose you and I go and have a glass of wine while the women haggle," said Yanos. That sounded like a sensible idea to me, especially since there wasn't enough room for all four of us anyway. We made our way to the bistro and a waiter brought a small glass of wine for me and a large one for Yanos. I could hardly wait to ask Yanos a few questions, but he broke the ice voluntarily. "I can see that you are curious about us," he said with a good-natured smile.
"I sure am," I answered. "To begin with, what is a Jewish girl who speaks English like a Canadian, doing on a small Greek island?
"If you've got the time I'll tell you the whole story," said Yanos.
"I've got the time, but you'll have to talk fast. It won't take very long for my wife to look over Millie's entire stock."
"Well, I'll tell you," Yanos began. "You guessed it. Millie is a Jewish girl from Canada. She was born in Montreal, the daughter of a poor tailor. She received her education in the English school system and obtained her Grade Twelve diploma. University was out of the question because there wasn't any money for tuition, so she took a course at a business college and got a job as secretary in a Jewish Parochial School where the principal was a young ultra-orthodox Rabbi." Yanos paused, signalled for another glass of wine, and continued. "Since you told me that your wife is a fast shopper and we haven't much stock anyway, I'll make the story brief."
"Millie, who had received a secular education, fell in love and married the Rabbi. She worked hard at her marriage. She took lessons in Orthodox Judaism, joined the Orthodox Synagogue, kept a kosher kitchen, and observed the Sabbath. They were a happy couple except that she found it difficult to accept all of her husband's extreme religiosity. She could never understand why it was so terribly important not to light the stove on the Sabbath, not to answer the telephone, not to turn on the lights in the house until after sundown. Even using a car on the Sabbath was forbidden. It bothered Millie no end, but her husband was a kindly man and she loved him dearly, so she went along with all these customs just to keep peace in the family.
"Yanos," I interjected, "the ship wont wait for us. When does the last mule train leave for the dock? It's a long walk down. Besides, you haven't answered my question."
"What was your question?"
"How come a Jewish girl like Millie is living on a small Greek island?"
"Oh, I was coming to that," said Yanos. "Don't worry, the ship won't leave without you. Have another glass of wine."
"No, thanks," I said, "I'm driving." I didn't know whether Yanos got the joke but it was impossible to be angry at such a charming fellow. The Greeks are beautiful people.
"Well," he continued, "everything went smoothly with Millie and her husband. A year after their marriage they were blessed with a lovely little daughter, whom they named Miriam. This made both of them ecstatically happy and Millie made light of all the little inconveniences due to her husband's religious convictions.
When she was about two years old, the child suddenly got a severe stomach ache. It seemed like such a little thing, but nevertheless Millie and her husband both agreed they should consult a doctor. "It doesn't look like anything serious to me," said the doctor. "Don't become alarmed, but there is a remote chance, I say a remote chance that it might be appendicitis. If the pain should become acute, rush the child to the emergency department of the hospital right away."
The child got over whatever was bothering her and Millie and her husband breathed easier again. Then one day, it was a Saturday morning, Miriam woke up screaming with pain. Millie rushed to the telephone.
"What are you doing?" here husband demanded.
"I'm phoning for a taxi to take Miriam to the hospital!" Millie shrieked.
"Are you out of your mind? Have you forgotten that today is the Sabbath? We don't use the telephone and we don't ride in a taxi until after sundown!"
Millie was beside herself with frustration. "I've read somewhere that a Jew is allowed to break all the rules if a human life is at stake!"
"I'm the Rabbi in this family, not you," replied her husband. "We are not sure that a human life is at stake. The doctor said that it is very remote. The only thing that we're sure of is that it's the Sabbath." With that he picked up Miriam and made a dash for the door.
"What are you doing?" Millie cried.
"I'm carrying our daughter to the hospital!"
So there they were, the Rabbi half walking half running down the street, reciting his morning prayers out loud with the screaming child in his arms and Millie running behind him, sobbing.
By the time they reached the hospital, Miriam was still. The doctor said, "Your child seems to be in a coma. It might be a burst appendix. We'll have to take tests."
Three days later, Miriam died.
Millie and her husband were devastated. He immersed himself in his work and was able to retain his sanity. But Millie sank into a deep depression and no one seemed able to console her. The doctors feared for her life. Then suddenly she disappeared. The authorities couldn't find her anywhere, but the Rabbi, who was overcome with grief, wouldn't give up the search. Finally, a relative who went on a tour to Israel, phoned to say that he had seen Millie. She was working as a nurse's aide at the Hadassah Hospital in Tel Aviv. The Rabbi left on the next plane for Israel.
I won't give you all the details except to say that Millie and the Rabbi were finally reconciled. He wanted them to move back to Montreal, but Millie wouldn't hear of it. After much discussion, the Rabbi gave up his position in Montreal and they both agreed to stay in Israel and live in a kibbutz. Working in a communal environment gave them both a new and fresh outlook on life. Their personal tragedy gradually dimmed and they were very happy." Yanos lifted his glass to his lips and looked me straight in the eye. "Yanos, did Millie tell you all this?"
Yanos gave me a beautiful big smile. 'Millie must be very much in love with this handsome Greek,' I thought.
"She didn't have to tell me," he answered.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I'm the Rabbi."
My mouth opened wide. "You're the Rabbi, with a name like Yanos?"
"Millie nicknamed me Yanos. It goes with the environment on this island. My real name is Jonah Cohen."
"What happened to your beard, earlocks and skullcap?"
"I shed them in the kibbutz, together with my fanaticism."
"You mean you gave up your faith?"
"No, just my fanaticism."
"Just one last question. What's a kibbutznick doing selling souvenirs in Greece?"
"That was Millie's idea. It helps to pay the expenses. We're on a sabbatical."
"On a what?"
"A sabbatical! A sabbatical! I'm writing a novel. I intend to call it 'From Montreal to Kibbutz Dgania Beth'. What do you think of the plot?"
"I'll think about it," I shouted and made a dash for the door.