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The Maiden of Ludmir
by Miriam Hoffman
1996-1997 Season
Central Synagogue Auditorium
123 East 55th Street
New York, NY
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Cast of "The
Maiden of Ludmir"
Courtesy of Avi Hoffman
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A review of this play
appeared in the New York Times on December 14, 1996:
Woman Ahead of Her Time As a 19th-Century
Rabbi
by Lawrence Van Gelder
Feminist aspirations are pinned to
obscure religious history in the new musical that is ushering in
the eighty-first season of the Folksbiene Yiddish Theater.
With look and lyrics by Miriam
Hoffman, music by John Clifton and direction by Robert Kalfin,
"The Maiden of Ludmir" draws on the true story of Khane Rukhl
Verbermakher, whose profound Talmudic scholarship, fervor and
wisdom prompted her to adopt the religious practices of Jewish
men in Ukraine in the nineteenth century. A synagogue was built
for her; the troubled consulted her; she gave learned counsel.
But she was a woman ahead of her
time. Although she attracted many followers, others regarded her
as a woman possessed by a dybbuk. Among Orthodox Jews, she was
deemed a poor model for women, who were expected to marry, bear
children and serve their men but never to become rabbis. In the
end, she was persuaded to give up her post as a rabbi.
As presented in "The Maiden of
Ludmir," performed with simultaneous English and Russian
translations through Jan. 12 at the theater at 123 East 55th
Street, this story is more interesting as drama than as a
musical. As the character whose name in the program is Khane-Rukhele,
Rachel Botchan makes a powerful case that the Torah was given
not only to men but also to women.
The arguments and the characters
-- parents, the wise old Rabbi of Chernobyl, a siple boyfriend,
the family housekeeper, townspeople -- command attention. And
while there are good voices in the cast and intermittent humor,
the musical components of "The Maiden of Ludmir" never manage to
lift the show into the realm of rousing entertainment. |
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The Cast of Characters: |
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The Synopsis: |
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The action takes
place in Ludmir and Chernobyl
Chernobyl, Reb
Motel's study. Reb Motele, the famed rebbe
of Chernobyl, engages in banter with Menashe, his
assistant. Menashe tells him there is a man waiting
to see him, the man is convinced he has glass legs.
Through a clever psychological maneuver, the rebbe
convinces the man that he is cured.
Reb Motele's
waiting room. Reb Monish Verbermakher, a well to do
merchant has been brought by his wife Sara, a barren
woman, to see the rebbe in a last ditch effort to
have children by getting the rebbe's blessing.
Monish is skeptical, but his wife has faith. She
reminds her husband that he is entitled to a divorce
although Monish reassures her that it is not his
intention even if it is her fault that they are
childless. The rebbe blesses her, predicting that
Sara will not only be blessed with a child, but an
exceptional child, and because her husband saddled
her with all the blame, the child will be a girl and
not a boy.
Ludmir, fifteen years
later. The Verbermakher home. Khane Rukhele, the
only daughter of Monish and Sara, is studying the
Talmud with her father. Khashe-Bashe, their
housekeeper, who helped rear the child, engages in
banter with Sara. Monish expresses his regrets that
their brilliant Khane Rukhele was born a girl.
Monish tells them that a girl is not supposed to go
near sacred books. Khane Rukhele replies that it is
written that a gentile who studies Torah is compared
to a high priest, is she any less than a gentile?
Some time later.
When Khane Rukhele hears the neighbor's son, Duvidl
sing outside, she wants to know if he asked for
her. The housekeeper points out to Sara how
entranced Khane Rukhele is with the young man's
singing.
Outside the house,
Duvidl, the neighbor's son, stops singing when he
sees the girl. Khane Rukhele says that his voice is
like a clear spring, one can bathe in it. She is
pressing him to sing, telling him that she loves his
simple words. He worries that she thinks little of
him as a scholar. She assures him that to the
Master of the Universe, he is as precious as every
human being. In their song they reveal that they
have pledged themselves to each other. Khane
Rukhele feels that it is inscribed above that they
will love each other like Jacob and Rachel, and King
Solomon and his Shulamit.
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Some time later. the Verbemakher house. Sara is
sewing a" tallis" (prayer shawl) with golden
thread. Monish
reminds her that matchmakers are knocking the door
down with marriage proposals. Sara wants to know
what is the rush. She explains to her
husband that Khane Rukhele is different from all
other girls, she is brilliant and must not be torn
away from the sacred books and turned into an
ordinary housewife. Monish agrees but warns
that this is precisely why she should be married off
as soon as possible. Sara entreats him to wait and
trust the girl's own instincts.
Scene 7
As time passes, Khane Rukhele
wonders what God has in mind for her and where she fits in God's
golden chain of events. Her mother is ill and her days are
numbered. She too wonders what God has in mind for her daughter
and worries what will become of her daughter when she is gone.
Sra makes her husband promise on her death-bed not to rush their
daughter into marriage. Under protest, Monish gives his word
that he will do nothing without Khane-Rukhele's consent.
Scene 8
Several weeks after Sara's death.
Khane Rukhele is still mourning her mother's passing. Monish
tries to console her by telling her that there is a limit to
mourning, and it is time to get on with her life. He brings up
the subject of marriage. Khane Rukhele reveals that she has
chosen her own bridegroom. When Monish finds out that her choice
is Duvidl, he opposes the match, stating that Duvidl is a very
ordinary young man from an inconsequential family, and that she
can have her pick of the brightest and the best. Khane Rukhele
states firmly that if she is to marry anyone it will be Duvidl.
Monish's last words before sending a matchmaker to Duvidl's
father: "He who gives away his daughter to the unschooled, is
like delivering a lamb to the lion."
Scene 9
The day of Khane Rukhele's
engagement to Duvidl is filled with joy. Khane Rukhele sings of
her happiness. Khashe Bashe regrets that Sara didn't live to see
her daughter's betrothal.
Scene 10
The next evening. At the cemetery.
Khane Rukhele has gone to her mother's grave. While there, music
is heard and the Heavenly Tribunal reveals itself to her. The
judges tell her that she is on trial. She asks her
transgression. Sara appears as her defending angel. The trial
begins. The court is to determine whether the maiden is
challenging the order of nature. The prosecutor insists that the
court will prove that the girl has transgressed the law by her
actions, abandoning womanhood as it is known and usurping the
territory of men.
ACT 2
Scene 1
The next morning. Yoske the
gravedigger is carrying Khane Rukhele through the streets of
Ludmir. She is semi-conscious and disoriented. Jews gather to
ask what happened? The women try to confuse the Angel of Death
and ward off the evil eye. They sing about the demons, golems
and spirits that come out at night and haunt the cemetery. The
gravedigger brings the maiden home. Monish tries to get answers,
but the villagers only continue to tell him more stories and
superstitions. Khane Rukhele doesn't seem to recognize her own
father. Monish laments that this catastrophe happens just as
they prepare for her wedding.
Scene 2
Reb Motele's study. Monish pleas
with the rebbe to save his daughter. Reb Motele promises she
will be well and assures him that his daughter will bring great
joy and more than enough sorrow.
Scene 3
A year later. Ludmir. The maiden
now has her own synagogue. Her waiting room is filled with
people who have come with requests. The petitioners comment on
the maiden's holiness and tell of how even the opponents of the
Hassidim have come to honor her. They believe that she is a
miracle worker and that she is possessed by the soul of a tsadik
since the night she fell over his grave in the cemetery. There
is a woman to see the maiden who claims that her dead husband
has come back as a rooster. The maiden helps the woman to
resolve the situation. The next visitor is a former soldier who
is suffering from amnesia ever since he was conscripted into the
Czar's army. Duvidl visits the maiden. he has learned that she
wears a prayer shawl, lays "tfiln" (phylacteries), and acts like
a rabbi. he expresses his fear for her. The maiden explains that
she can no longer marry him, as she is now a different person.
Scene 4
Khane Rukhele's waiting room. More
time has passed. Khashe Bashe comments on the increase of the
maiden's followers. She marvels at the way things have change
since her grandmother's days. She feels that thanks to Khane
Rukhele, women will now flourish and will be able to become
rabbis, judges and cantors. Monish waits to see her daughter. A
quarrel breaks out between the maiden's followers and a man who
tries to incite them against her. He claims that the maiden is
possessed by a dybbuk. Monish confronts his daughter, expressing
his fear for her safety. The woman barges in, this time without
her rooster. She claims that a gypsy has stolen and slaughtered
it. The gypsy has been arrested and having claimed innocence,
goes on a hunger strike. The woman fears that if the gypsy dies,
she will have two reincarnations to deal with instead of one.
Scene 5
Chernobyl. Reb Motel's study.
Monish reminds the rebbe of their earlier encounter, where he
foretold of his daughter's joy and sorrow. He fears for his
daughter's safety and implores the rebbe for help.
Scene 6
Ludmir. The maiden's waiting room
and study. Menashe arrives looking for the maiden. Khashe Bashe
tells him that she is off teaching unschooled women. Khane
Rukhele welcomes the rebbe and her father. The rebbe tells her
that the time may not be right for her. He explains that his
thinking was premature when he thought that a soul could find
shelter in a woman as well as a man. the maiden's world starts
to crumble. She bursts into tears. The rebbe tells her that all
is not lost, for heaven and earth have conspired that nothing in
this world is in vain. He sings to her that the fact that she
has come this far is a sign of heaven's approval. The maiden
still believes that she can change the order of things. There is
a heavenly sound, and the maiden has a vision of the Heavenly
Tribunal in session. The judges tell her that her outcry has
shaken the heavens. She questions why she has come so far only
to be defeated. The judges explain to her that she has indeed
prevailed in heaven, but that on earth there is a great chasm
between her and the powers that be. They assure her that it is
only a matter of time before women will be free to pursue their
quests. The maiden regrets that she is not destined to shepherd
the flock. In their song the judges insist that the gates of
heaven stand open. The maiden sings, likening herself to a
sailboat that is pounded and thrashed by the winds of a storm,
but that in spite of it all, she will maintain her faith in God.
Monish accepts her fate and the rebbe pronounces: "God and His
judgment is just." |
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