Jesses Star (7 page)

The Rebbe overturned the bag and shook it. Something small and glittering fell into the palm of his hand.

The Rebbe unclasped a gold chain and fastened it around Yossi's neck. A six-sided Star of David nestled against his throat.

“Hooray for Yossi!” the people shouted. “Hooray for our hero!”

Yossi flushed with pride. Grinning, he
reached up and grasped the star in his hand. It seemed to give off a warmth of its own. Then he turned to face the green Canadian shore. He stretched out his other arm. “To our new life — in Canada.”

Jesse blinked, once, twice. His head felt heavy, his brain murky. Colors swirled before him; first the gray-green of ocean waves, then shiny gold, then a deep forest green. Faces came and went: the kind face of a bearded man in a long black robe, and the smiling face of a girl who looked strangely like himself, and a pair of watery-looking eyes, and the evil leer
of a crone with a long pointed nose and sharp teeth …

Where was he? One moment he seemed to be in a small, cramped hut, then he seemed to be on the heaving deck of a vast ship, and then he recognized the sloping eaves of his own attic …

Jesse realized his hand was fisted at his throat. He opened his fist. Something fell against his chest.

The star. The Jewish star. Yossi's star.

Jesse looked around, puzzled. There was the bookshelf with the toppled books. There was the box with his baby clothes. There was the carton of worn ice skates. And there, on his lap, was Yossi's box.

Yes, he was definitely back in his attic. But how …? Why …?

Jesse shook his head as if to clear it. Had it all been a dream or had it really happened? No, it was too real to be a dream — the people, the village, the danger. He'd been there, smelled the hay and apples, seen the golden moon in Braslav's sky. He'd
become
Yossi. Somehow he'd gone back in time and lived Yossi's life. Now he was Jesse again. How had it happened?

The star. It all had something to do with the star. The strange warmth, the feeling of going back in time. Yet now, though the star still hung around his neck, he felt perfectly normal. Yet different, too. As if, by becoming Yossi, he'd somehow become more himself. It didn't make sense. But that was all right. He felt great. What a neat feeling, to have been his great-greatgrandfather for a while!

With new eagerness, Jesse examined the picture. Sure enough, that was Yossi at the front, the boy with the big grin and the same dark eyes as his own. And that pair right behind Yossi, gazing into one another's eyes, the girl dimpled and shy-looking, were Miriam and Daniel. And the woman with the care-worn face, standing beside the proud-looking man in a shabby overcoat: Mama and Papa. There was the solemn-faced Rebbe, and that chubby woman with the silly-looking hat was, of
course, Golda.

Jesse's eyes roved over the picture, picking out Simon and Rivka and Sadie … and Eli, looking as glum and sour upon reaching the shores of Canada as he had back home in Braslav.

Looking from face to face, Jesse felt a strange warmth. He knew these people — knew them like friends. Like family. They
were
family — his family. He'd never felt this way before about his ancestors. Never really thought about them at all. They were dead and gone, so who cared? But now — to his surprise — he did care. He felt close to them. To Yossi, most of all, and to Miriam, and Mama and Papa. Even to Golda, that old busybody!

Jesse scanned the faces. They looked exhausted. And no wonder, after all they'd been through. But they looked hopeful, too. And proud. Darn right! Jesse thought. They'd been brave. They'd had guts — Yossi most of all.

What a cool guy — and my very own
great-great-grandfather! Jesse thought with pride. Who would have imagined that a kid — a clumsy kid, a bumbling kid, a kid dressed up in a raggedy witch costume — could frighten off a bunch of grown soldiers? Remembering the looks on the soldiers' faces, Jesse laughed out loud.

But then he shivered. If Yossi hadn't managed to scare the soldiers away, the whole family might have died of starvation or fire — and then he, Jesse, would never have been born. That was something to be grateful for!

But not only that. He was grateful to Yossi, too, for helping the family get to Canada — to a place where people didn't hate you or kill you just because you were different. He'd never thought about it before. But now he knew how lucky he was. And not just him. His parents and grand-parents and all their relatives — all because of Yossi.

“My great-great-grandfather, Yossi Mendelsohn, was a hero …,” Jesse imagined
starting his report. Then he laughed. Now his problem wasn't gathering enough information — it was figuring out what to do with all the information he had! Just wait till Ms. Brannigan read his paper. She'd be blown away. So would the other kids, when he told them about Yossi. And so would Mom. She'd be thrilled to hear what he'd found out about the family.

Jesse replaced the photograph in the box. He started to take off the Jewish star, but then he stopped. No, he would leave it on. It was part of him now. “Right, Yossi?” he whispered with the faintest breath.

Tucking the box under his arm, Jesse climbed down the ladder, the golden star glittering at his neck. As he pulled the trap door shut, he almost thought he heard Yossi whisper, “Right!”

Jews are people who practice an ancient religion called Judaism. In effect, the people and their religion are one and the same thing.

Judaism was founded in about 2000 BC by the patriarch Abraham in the land that is now called Israel.

Throughout their history, Jews have been conquered by many other civilizations, including the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians and Romans. Whoever their rulers, the Jews managed to adapt to new customs, while clinging to their religion and beliefs.

The Jews were exiled from Israel by the Romans in 135 AD, after they were defeated in a three-year war. This expulsion is known as the Diaspora, a Greek word meaning “a scattering,” and the Jews were indeed scattered throughout all the countries of the Middle East and Europe.

Wherever they settled, they built centres of learning, and became known as scholars and merchants. Yet often they faced persecution and oppression. Thousands of Jews were killed in the Spanish Inquisition, and sometimes they were banished from one country after another.

Russia was one of the countries where Jews settled in the Diaspora. For more than two hundred years, periods of tolerance and acceptance of Jews alternated with periods of poverty and oppression. In 1881, following the assassination of Czar Alexander II, the persecution became more intense than ever before.

Restrictive laws ordered Jews out of their homes and villages, and a wave of pogroms swept through Russia and Eastern Europe. Soldiers and citizens attacked Jewish communities, destroyed schools and synagogues, and killed men, women and children.

As the pogroms continued, tens of thousands of refugees poured over the Russian border. Often, they were sent from country to country, as each state refused to accept them. Fortunately, immigrant resettlement organizations in the United States and Canada helped thousands of Jews immigrate to North America.

Before 1880, the Jewish population of Canada was 1,200. By 1882, it had doubled. By 1914, it had reached 120,800.

The Star of David mentioned in the story is a symbol commonly associated with Judaism, although it appears in other Middle Eastern and African cultures. Also called the Shield of David, it is supposed to represent the shape of the biblical King David's shield. The Star is made of two interlocking triangles, one pointing up and the other pointing down.

Today, the Star of David appears on the flag of Israel, and many Jewish people wear it on a necklace to proclaim their faith and their identity.