The Rabbi and The Rebbetzin (24 page)

Aaron
introduced himself as Rabbi Aaron Adler, a
musmach
from Yeshiva Ohr
Moshe in Pittsburgh. He added that he had served as rabbi of the Beth Israel
shul in Dunberg, Pennsylvania, for the last two years, and that he was now
living with his wife Shulamit a few blocks down Sansom Street.

He
then asked the man, “Is this a shul that you have here?”

The
man answered, “It certainly is. We have a minyan every morning and Shabbos.
When the section around the university changed, the younger people living in
the area moved to other neighborhoods. The remaining residents, who were too
old to move, kept up the shul and the minyan.”

“Can
you tell me the davening times?”

“We
daven at 7:30 AM every weekday, and at 8:30 AM Shabbos morning. None of our
members have to go to work early, so they can start to daven at 7:30 on
weekdays. On Friday nights we daven twenty minutes after candle lighting, and
for Saturday afternoon
Minchah
we daven twenty minutes before the
Erev
Shabbos candle lighting time.”

Aaron
was getting excited at the prospect of a nearby shul, but one hurdle remained
to be cleared. “Do you have a mechitza for the women?” Aaron asked. “My wife
goes to shul on Shabbos.”

“Certainly,
would you like to see the shul inside?”

“I
would be very happy to.”

When
the rest of the daveners left the area, the man speaking to him introduced
himself as Pinchas Stern and said, “I am the Gabbai of the shul. I read the
Torah in middle of the week and we have a college student who reads on Shabbos
and holidays.”

Inside
the shul, Aaron saw a well-preserved synagogue auditorium with an impressive Holy
Ark. It reminded him of the Beth Israel synagogue in Dunberg, but this shul had
a larger seating capacity. The women’s section was in an alcove alongside the
right border of the main auditorium, and the mechitza was present. He estimated
about 350 seats, on benches rather than chairs, for the men. It was harder to
judge the capacity of the women’s section, but it was at least over a hundred.

“How
do you maintain such a big place with a handful of worshippers?” Aaron
inquired.

“Our
children in the suburbs, some of whom are quite wealthy, are very generous. We
also sell seats for the holidays and make an appeal.”

“I
have one more question. How come you have no indication outside the building
that it is a synagogue? I drove past the building a number of times, and I only
stopped because I saw the men in the street.”

The
Gabbai answered, “Normally, we finish before 8:15 AM. Today, however, one of
the men observed a Yahrzeit and made a little Kiddush. As far as the outside
signs are concerned, they are now stored in the basement. This is a mixed
neighborhood and some people don’t like Jews. For a few years we’ve had some
vandalism, such as broken windows, and some harassment such as curses and name-calling.
We removed the signs and things quieted down.”

“That
is too bad,” Aaron said. “Things like that shouldn’t happen in America.”

The
Gabbai replied, “Do you know the name of the shul? The name was always Ahavat
Achim. Do you know why the founders called it that?”

Aaron
answered, “I can only guess. Philadelphia is known as the ‘City of Brotherly
Love.’ I guess the founders of the shul were inspired by that.”

“Absolutely
correct, but some of our neighbors don’t realize that.”

The
Gabbai then locked the shul. Aaron and he went outside where Aaron introduced
Bernie to him. He then told the man why he and his wife moved to Philadelphia,
and that they were living nearby in Mrs. Shapiro’s rental apartment.

The
Gabbai knew her. “She comes to daven here on the holidays to say Yizkor and she
helps us when we have a Shabbos Kiddush. She is a very fine lady and very
religious.”

Aaron
wondered why Mrs. Shapiro had not told him about the nearby synagogue. When he
asked her at lunch, she answered, “You and your wife are very young people, and
I didn’t think you would be comfortable davening with all those old men.”

“It’s
far better than davening alone at home. The regular shuls are too far to walk
to. The services at the university have separate seating, but without a mechitza.
Rabbi Soloveitchick ruled that even on Rosh Hashanah, when one would miss the
sound of the shofar, it is more correct to daven privately than to attend a
shul without a mechitza.”

Aaron
promised to attend the minyan Friday night and Shabbos. He and Shula walked to
the shul after candle-lighting and took their places in the shul. The Gabbai
assigned Aaron to a seat upfront and Shula behind the mechitza.

The
Gabbai led the evening service and sang liturgical melodies that were familiar
to Aaron and Shula. They were pleased with the evening services and even more
satisfied with the traditional Shabbos morning worship.

The
main item of business for Shula, in addition to attending class, was to prepare
applications for work at leading law firms in Philadelphia following graduation.
Her first appointment was with the director of placement service at the school,
Dr. Maurice Silverman. He helped her prepare her portfolio containing her
resume, her transcripts, and letters of recommendation. He told her that she
should stick to the main firms in Philadelphia because they would be overjoyed
to hire her on the spot. She did not have to bother with any of the smaller law
firms. He then suggested that she wait until February when the firms she
selected would answer her application.

In
the early part of February, Shula returned to the placement office to bring the
director up to date. She told him the good news that she had been accepted and
offered contracts by all six of the firms to which she applied. He told her
that these firms would reveal their standard salary scales to her, but that was
not sufficient. Because of her record and her accomplishments, she should be
able to hold out for a larger starting salary. The schools could not break
their standards in favor of one candidate because it would create ill will. The
best way to solve such a problem was to negotiate a signing bonus which should
be a non-publicized arrangement between the firm and the candidate.

He
then reviewed her list of chosen firms, and he suggested to first consider the
offer of Finkel Nash Baker & Caldwell. He explained his choice by saying, “Finkel
Nash is a very successful firm and they maintain a Family Law Department that
you requested. The department is run by three senior partners and twelve
associates. The firm has a number of vacancies and will expect their new
employees to come to work a week after graduation.”

“What
about my trip around the world, Dr. Silverman? How am I going to celebrate my
graduation from law school?”

“From
what I know of your background, Rebbetzin, you may never have to go to work.
You could afford to stay in Nepal and climb Mount Everest. I take it you that
you want to work to preserve your human dignity and help mankind. Some of these
companies offer partners a month of vacation, enough time to reach the North Pole
if they are inclined to do so.”

Shula
called Finkel Nash and her call was transferred to the Human Resources Department.
Mrs. Rachel Gross took her call and spoke to her very cordially. “What can I do
for you, Mrs. Adler?” she paused for a minute and then she asked, “Shall we
call you by your married name, your maiden name, or your nickname?

Shula
answered, “When I was young and beautiful, I was called Shula Levine, the
campus queen. Now everyone calls me the Rebbetzin because I just married a rabbi.”

“Oh,
my goodness,” Rachel exclaimed before getting a hold of herself. “By the way,
Rebbetzin, do you know what the name Adler means?”

“Yes
I do, Rachel, it means ‘eagle’ in German.”

“Do
you know that lawyers are often called ‘Legal Eagles’? Would you like to be a legal
eagle at Finkel Nash?”

Shula
was amazed that an assistant director of human resources was talking to her about
a position rather than someone of higher rank. She was on her guard and became
very cautious. “Are you in a position to offer me the job?”

“As
a matter of fact, I am, but I have to follow some company regulations before I
do that. I have your folder here and I see that your application is in order. All
of your documents are present including letters of reference. I report directly
to the managing partner of the firm, Albert Nash, the son of the late Monroe
Nash, one of the founders of our firm. He rules over us with an iron fist. Do
you know what he wrote to me on your application?”

“Are
you allowed to tell me?” Shula asked.

“No,
but I don’t worry about secrecy in such matters. I’ve been here for twenty
years and I am well-connected.”

“Well,
what did he say?”

“He
said, ‘Don’t dare lose this lady. She’s hot! If you lose her, you will be
looking for a new job yourself.’”

“Did
he write anything else?”

“No,
but he added an amount at the end, a code number.”

“Which
signifies what?”

“The
amount by which we may exceed the regular salary scale to get you to sign with
us. The figure is not for public consumption so I can’t reveal it to you. We
are in a harsh bidding war with other major firms and we fight for the best
talent available.”

“OK.
I guess that sooner or later you will have to tell me. I hope to be pleasantly
surprised.”

Rachel
than added, “He made one other coded request. The code word was
enceinte
.
It refers to something that we are not allowed to ask.”

“Did
you say
enceinte
?”

“Yes,
I did. Albert figures that no Orthodox rabbi would allow any delay in having
children.”

“I
will make a deal with you,” Shulamit said. “I’ll answer your question if you
answer mine.”

“Deal,”
Rachel said. “You ask yours first.”

“All
right, why is the managing director so keen on employing me?”

Rachel
organized her thoughts. “Albert Nash is the buddy and golf partner of Edward
Crawford Jr., the president of the law school. Edward has been regaling him
with stories about Shula Levine. He told him that since the school opened they
never had a smarter, prettier or wealthier student than Shula. Albert figures
that you will draw a mob of new clients. In legal firms, such a person is
called a ‘rainmaker.’ He might also be thinking that he would have an edge in getting
some of Telacomp’s legal work, especially in the area of patents. Our patent
department has a national reputation.”

Shulamit
was satisfied with the answer and replied, “Telacomp does indeed employ
out-of-house legal services. You would have as good a chance as any other law
firm. My father does think highly of Philadelphia lawyers.”

“What
about my question?” Rachel asked.

“I’ll
answer your question with a caveat. Your director is absolutely right about my
husband who is trying very hard to make me pregnant. Thus far, however, he has
not been successful. Even if I get pregnant before graduation, I will be able
to put in six to eight months of solid work with Finkel Nash before I go on
maternity leave. This information is confidential between us.”

“Thank
you, Shulamit, the only other requirements for you to be employed is to be
interviewed after
Pesach
by the managing director, me and the head of
the department of family law. You will also need a medical examination after
employment, and of course there has to be an agreement on salary. After the
interview, the bonus allowance may be raised if you make a very good impression
on the committee.”

Shulamit
felt very happy with the outcome of her phone call and was pleased to know that
the human resources assistant director pronounced
Pesach
as ‘
Peisach
,’
a sign that she came from a very traditional background. She reported most of
the particulars of her call to the placement director.

He
told her, “If you want to work at Finkel Nash, you are almost in. Be careful
with the interview because they are quite conservative. Don’t tell them about
your confrontation with Professor Woodson or that you espouse ultra-liberal or
radical causes. Speak respectfully to the committee and don’t alienate the
managing director.”

Since
Shula had two months before the interview, she concentrated on other matters.
She applied for permission to take the state bar examination which would be
next given in July. She bought the tutorials and devoted as much time as she
could for the two-day examination. She wasn’t particularly worried about
getting very high grades, because she would have already been signed up by
Finkel Nash. In any event, some 90% of the University of Pennsylvania Law School
graduates passed the bar examination on their first try.

The
rest of her spare time was devoted to increasing Aaron’s efforts to get her
pregnant. She no longer had to worry about delivering the valedictorian address
holding a crying baby in her arms.

The
interview took place on the scheduled date and Shulamit was sure that she did
very well. She answered the few questions they asked of a technical nature
without any trouble. Most of the other inquiries concerned her cultural
background and her knowledge of world affairs. Shulamit decided to treat the
interview in a lighthearted way, because showing any fear or nervousness would
endanger her success. When they asked her about familiarity with world affairs,
she explained that she was well versed in the subject because she read every
edition of
Law School Briefs
religiously. The committee had a good laugh
at her response.