The Rabbi and The Rebbetzin (25 page)

The
only tough question was with regard to her being a rebbetzin. It was Rachel who
asked her, “Mrs. Adler, we know that your husband is looking for a full-time
rabbinical position. He must be very capable because you chose to marry him.
That means that he will be likely to serve as the spiritual leader at a large
synagogue which will entail communal duties for you. Do you feel that your
communal responsibilities will conflict with your work at Finkel Nash? You know,
of course, that associates at Finkel Nash work long hours and with great
diligence.” Rachel was aware that the other members of the committee were
concerned with this matter but were afraid to ask the question themselves. One
of the committee had expressed his concern, so Rachel volunteered to ask his
question herself.

Shulamit
was well prepared for this inquiry and was ready for it. She told the committee,
“I’m applying for work in the Family Law Department. My experience with the
many families in my community will complement the work that I expect to do at
the law firm. I am proud to say that I have never neglected any
responsibilities that I assumed in my life. The committee may take into account
that I have a considerable amount of personal help. I have never cooked a meal
or washed the laundry in my life and I do not ever expect to do so. That will
give me an advantage over many other rebbetzins who have to work very hard
domestically. There is also a possibility that my husband may take an
educational position in a religious school and avoid congregational
responsibilities.”

The
committee members seemed satisfied with her polished answer. They may have
still had concerns about a possible pregnancy, but they refrained from asking
unlawful questions. After all, the firm had some fifty women lawyers and most
of them were in the age of fertility. They would have to deal with Shulamit as
any other employee. The regulations of maternity leave were fully established
by the law. Law firms which limited the employment of women because of such
problems, soon found out that they would be subject to discrimination suits and
boycotts by women clients.

The
managing director advised her that she would be hearing from the firm in a few
weeks. He told her that they couldn’t discuss salary publicly. Mrs. Gross was
authorized by the committee to negotiate the matter with her. Before she left,
she set up her appointment with Rachel Gross for the following Monday
afternoon.

Since
Shulamit knew that the firm had already set aside an amount for a signing bonus,
she decided to limit negotiations. She said to Rachel, “If you give me the full
amount that the managing director set aside for a signing bonus, I will accept
it and not quibble.” She realized that doing so would only create ill will.
Rachel was not under any pressure to save the firm a few thousand dollars. The
managing director would be happy to have her settle for the amount he had specified
and not create difficult problems for him by holding out for more.

Although
the placement director had suggested that she hold out for a higher signing
bonus, she did not see what she could gain from it. Most of the bonus would go
for taxes and she was already in the highest tax bracket. A good part of the
rest would go for the charity donation that she had promised to the Hillel chaplain
to be distributed among needy students.

 When
Rachel and Shulamit agreed that the bonus should equal the amount set aside by
the managing director, Rachel pulled out a set of papers for Shulamit to sign.
The first set gave Shulamit the maximum salary for a starting associate at the
firm. The figure was based on the academic achievements of Shulamit which were
in the highest category. After the main papers were signed, Shulamit was asked
to sign the bonus paper. A simple paper signed only by the managing director
alone awarding Shulamit a signing bonus of $50,000. This meant that combining
the highest regular salary plus the bonus signified that Shulamit would be
earning over $100,000 for her first year as an associate. Not even all Harvard
graduates received that salary.

Rachel
sighed. “That’s the way it is in this world. ‘The poor stay poor, and the rich
get richer.’”

Meanwhile,
Shulamit and Aaron were enjoying married life despite periods of separation.
Aaron scrupulously observed the laws of the
vesset,
separation required
on the day before the anticipated start of the menstrual period). On the week
before graduation, after Aaron observed the
vesset,
nothing happened.
When that occurs, regular relations may be resumed. When a week passed and no
period started, Shulamit told Aaron that she was arranging for a pregnancy
test. She had always been regular with her periods and the only plausible
reason for her to miss this period was that she was going to be a mother.

Aaron
was ecstatic and he told Shulamit that if a male was forthcoming, he had the
perfect name for the new baby. “You’re out of luck, Aaron,” she said. “I’m
surprised that with all your knowledge, you are not aware of the Torah
reference which grants the wife the right of naming the first baby. The
Matriarch Leah gave Reuben his name, and Rachel gave Joseph, her firstborn son,
his name. If you treat me nicely I’ll let you add a second name to the baby’s
first name.” As expected, the pregnancy test was positive, and Shulamit was
pregnant when she delivered her valedictory address.

The
last issue of
Law School Briefs
of the season was published in
conjunction with the graduation. Shulamit earned her last school newspaper
headline, which read:

VALEDICTORIAN
EXPECTING

Andrea
Cohen had received the tip from one of Shulamit’s friends who went with her to
pick up the results of the test. Aaron was still teaching and couldn’t take the
day off because it was the day of the final examinations. He didn’t want Shula
to go to the doctor alone so he asked her to take a friend along. The finger of
suspicion fell on the friend and it was assumed that she was the one who leaked
the information. Shulamit was not angry with Andrea because that was the nature
of the beast. When she needed information she would turn over every rock to get
it. She did not forgive the band leader, however, who started playing “Rock-a-bye
Baby” when she was called to deliver her speech.

Shulamit
was in a good mood, and praised the Law School faculty highly. She named Dr.
Woodson along with a number of others. She also praised the president and the
various administrators. She thanked them for the excellent education she
received and for helping her being accepted at the law firm of Finkel Nash as
an associate. The job she received was the only bit of information that didn’t
appear in
Law School Briefs
. Andrea Cohen knew that Shula was hired by
Finkel Nash. She refrained from publishing it because the firm might feel that
Shula had provided the information herself and could not therefore be trusted
to keep information private. Shula was able to reveal the news because there
was no longer any harm in telling it to her friends orally. The remainder of
her speech dealt with the tremendous challenges facing new lawyers and for
society’s needs to be served by the legal system in the United States. At the
end she received a standing ovation.

Glowing
with pride at the ceremony was Aaron and his family. Abe Levine was present
with his family when the chairmen announced his presence and thanked him for
his generous support of the law school in addition to letting his lovely
daughter spend three years studying at the school. After the ceremony, Levine
treated members of both families and close personal friends of Shula to dinner
at one the more expensive kosher Chinese restaurants in Philadelphia.

Early
Monday morning, Albert Nash called in Nurses Greenberg and Jones for a special
meeting. He told them, “This is a very democratic company, where all employees
are equal, except those who are more equal than the rest. By that I mean two of
the new women employees. They are Shulamit Adler, known as the Rebbetzin, and
Andrea Cohen, who is a lawyer who will not be practicing law with us. She has
been appointed as director of the public relations office, but the appointment
has not yet been announced. Finkel Nash had to outbid five other law firms for
the Rebbetzin and the signing bonus we paid her broke all records. She was the
number one student in this year’s graduating class and was rich as well as good-looking.
We expect her to bring in a lot of clients to the Family Law Department. She
should be in perfect health except for a little problem. She is somewhere in
the first trimester of pregnancy, a matter which needs special attention. I am
putting you on notice: if the Rebbetzin loses as much as one hair on her head,
the entire medical department will be looking for new jobs.

“Another
more than equal employee is Andrea Cohen. She finished the law school but she
will not practice law here. She is a first-class journalist and has no fear of
anyone other than God, and Him she only fears moderately. If she starts to ask
questions on matters that may embarrass the company or she seeks information on
something that is not her business, don’t answer. She will get the information
anyway, but I don’t want anyone in our legal firm leaking it to her.”

Shulamit
was due to report for regular work on the third week in June on Wednesday. Preliminary
visits to the law firm were due on Monday with the medical department and on
Tuesday with the security and safety department. The two preliminary visits
were scheduled to start at 1:00 PM.

On
Monday she reported to the office of Rachel Gross, the assistant director of
human resources. The medical office was located on the second floor of the
Finkel Nash building next to human resources.

Rachel
gave her a complete briefing on the structure of the medical department. “The
medical director is Nurse Sarah Greenberg. Don’t let the title Nurse Greenberg
fool you in the least. She is not a nurse but a real doctor. In fact she is not
an ordinary doctor, but a specialist in trauma and internal medicine who has
worked at Philadelphia General more than ten years. She finds it convenient to
pose as a nurse because many of our employees get nervous when confronted by
doctors.

“Nurse
Greenberg is assisted by three registered nurses. Her lieutenant is Nurse
Shelly Jones, and the other two nurses are Evelyn Klein and Florence Moore. We
also have two student aids from the Philadelphia General nursing school who are
doing their field work at our medical office. Although our medical department
has an infirmary and a dispensary, we do not handle major cases here. If
necessary, students and employees with serious illnesses are transferred to
Philadelphia General.

“Each
employee must have a medical checkup once every six months. Such checkups are
very simple. They focus on heart, blood pressure and weight. For injuries we
have an x-ray machine. All examinations are conducted by Nurse Greenberg. All
the new employees will have their examinations today. Examinations will start
at two o’clock and you are second on the list. Nurse Shelly Jones will call you
in the waiting room when your turn comes up.”

“What
sorts of injuries happen in this building?” Shulamit asked.

“This
is a law firm with heavy tomes. Every now and then lawyers reaching for books
drop them on their toes.” Shula didn’t know if Rachel was serious or not. “Captain
Casey will inform you tomorrow how to get in touch with the medical office if
necessary.”

When
the meeting was concluded, Shulamit took her seat in the waiting room. Nurse
Jones summoned her and introduced her to Dr. Greenberg. Dr. Greenberg asked her
to come in and questioned her on her medical history. She recorded all the
illnesses that Shula had and it was evident that Shula was in good health. They
then discussed Shula’s pregnancy.

“Is
this your first pregnancy, Rebbetzin?”

Shula
was a little startled by the question, but she realized the importance of the
information. “It happens to be the first,” Shula answered.

“When
did you suspect that you were pregnant?”

“I
missed my period two weeks before graduation. I was tested for pregnancy a week
before the graduation and the results were positive.”

“Have
you had any symptoms that you might attribute to your pregnancy?”

Shula
outlined some of her symptoms and listed the drugs that she was directed to
take by her doctor. Dr. Greenberg recorded the information and pasted a red
star next to Shula’s data. “The lawyers in this firm work very hard and
sometimes they forget to take their medicines. One of the staff will visit you
monthly to make sure that you are following instructions and that you are
avoiding any unnecessary stress.”

Shula
was then called into the examination room and was given a thorough examination
by the doctor. The doctor proclaimed her in good health and gave her some
general health pamphlets to read. She also told her that some of the drugs she
had been ordered to take were available in the dispensary at a discount price
for employees.

When
her briefing and examination were concluded, Shula called Bernie to take her
home.

The
next morning, Albert Nash called a meeting of the security department, with
everyone who could leave his post in attendance. He repeated the warnings that
were given to members of the medical department but with greater emphasis. He
said to them that the Rebbetzin was a very special attorney and was coming to
work at Finkel Nash after the company outbid all the competing law firms. He
described Shula’s academic accomplishments and her other qualities. “Shula is
the most significant employee we have hired in recent years, and we want her to
be protected to the highest degree.”