Wolf Tulschinsky – From Silt and Ashes by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
After one last draw on his pipe, Wolf emptied it into an ashtray on the end table. He leaned back on the sofa and stretched his lanky arms over his head and his long legs out in front of him.
“Public school is a wonderful thing,” he said. “The twins will learn to read and write like American children. There’s talk at the synagogue of starting a Talmud Torah class as well. It will be like heder in the old country, so Jeffrey will learn Hebrew, too.”
“What about me?” Evalyne sat up straight. “Talmud Torah classes are for boys, sweetheart.”
“Auntie Havah reads the Torah in Hebrew, doesn’t she?” Evalyne stuck out her lower lip.
“Yes, I do. Is this not America? Why shouldn’t Evie know what her brother does?”
Havah rose and arched her back in an attempt to find some relief.
“Are you saying we should be without tradition like the gentiles?” asked Wolf with a growl in his voice as he stood.
“I’m saying, our traditions should include women and girls.”
“Then your tradition contradicts Talmud!”
“My papa used to say the Talmud is just a bunch of rabbinic opinions.”
“They’re damn good ones at that, and I’ll thank you to keep your ideas to yourself where my daughter’s concerned.”
~~Taken From From Silt and Ashes by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
Wolf Tulschinsky is a self-made man. He met and fell in love with Sarah Gitterman on the way to America. Together they’ve forged a good life for themselves and their twins, Jeffrey and Evalyne. He’s a good husband and a loving father. While Wolf prides himself on his trade as a tailor and a modern American, his ideas concerning Jewish tradition are very much old world. Although it’s clear in both Please Say Kaddish for Me and From Silt and Ashes he admires Havah’s courage and strength, he disagrees with her radical stance on women and education.
Published by Argus Publishing
Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency