Naomi’S “American” Family

By Mark Carp

Joseph Moshev, a seventeen-year-old Russian Jewish immigrant, comes to America alone in 1903, looking for streets paved with gold. Instead, he finds a hard life awaits him as he fights to survive and fulfill his ambition of being a somebody.

He has been preceded a decade before by his cousin Naomi Moshev, sixteen in 1903, who wants a career in show business.

Can these two willful teenagers satisfy their vast ambitions in an ever-changing America?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 29, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503587502

Mark Carp

Mark Carp is the author of “Mr. Show Business”, his seventh book and sixth novel. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland, and holds a BS degree from the University of Maryland and an MS degree from The Johns Hopkins University. His other novels are “Segalvitz,” “Abraham, The Last Jew,” “The Extraordinary Times of Ordinary People,” The End of Hell,” and “Naomi’s ‘American’ Family.”

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CONTENTS

Dedication

Acknowledgment

Chapter I:  Joseph and the Rabbi

Chapter II:  America

Chapter III:  Starting Out

Chapter IV:  Stargazing

Chapter V:  Life and Death

Chapter VI:  The Winds of Sorrow

Chapter VII:  Aspirations

Chapter VIII:  The Theatre of the Absurd

Chapter IX:  Two Worlds

Chapter X:  Waiting and Watching

Chapter XI:  Reunited

Chapter XII:  The Road to Nowhere

Chapter XIII:  Going to the Top

Chapter XIV:  Naomi, the Squaw

Chapter XV:  The Rise of Joseph and Abraham

Chapter XVI:  The Do-gooder Meets the Demon

Chapter XVII:  Opposites Seem to Attract

Chapter XVIII:  Downtown Dines With Uptown

Chapter XIX:  The Rise of Sensuality

Chapter XX:  Society and Its Discontents

Chapter XXI:  God’s Wickedest Woman

Chapter XXII:  Appealing to the Masses

Chapter XXIII:  God’s Wickedest Woman Premieres

Chapter XXIV:  Home Sweet Home

Chapter XXV:  There’s No Business Like Show Business

Chapter XXVI:  East Meets West

Chapter XXVII:  Getting Down to Brass Tacks

Chapter XXVIII:  It’s You

Chapter XXIX:  Getting Down to Business

Chapter XXX:  Getting to Know You

Chapter XXXI:  Meeting the Press

Chapter XXXII:  Engaged

Chapter XXXIII:  Joy?

Chapter XXXIV:  A Love Story

Chapter XXXV:  Family Matters

Chapter XXXVI:  Out on a Limb

Chapter XXXVII:  Jewish Girl

Chapter XXXVIII:  They’re Coming from Everywhere

Chapter XXXIX:  Reluctant Approvals

Chapter XL:  Sage

Chapter XLI:  Naomi Comes Home

Chapter XLII:  A Decision Under Duress

Chapter XLIII:  The Liaison

Chapter XLIV:  Infidelity Admitted To

Chapter XLV:  Solace at Home?

Chapter XLVI:  Awkward Situations

Chapter XLVII:  Dreams and Nightmares

Chapter XLVIII:  Naomi Becomes a Mother

Chapter XLIX:  Time Changes Everything

Chapter L:  The Yield of Strange Circumstances

Chapter LI:  Sage, Naomi and Triangle

Chapter LII:  What Will Lie Ahead?

Chapter LIII:  The Mourning Period

Chapter LIV:  A Change at the Top

Chapter LV:  A New Day Dawns for Everyone

Chapter LVI:  Confusion and Uncertainty

Chapter LVII:  The Changing Landscape

Chapter LVIII:  Sage’s Confession

Chapter LIX:  Queen of the Sand

Chapter LX:  Things Take Shape

Chapter LXI:  The Rollout Begins

Chapter LXII:  The Sheik Emerges

Chapter LXIII:  Some Like It Hot

Chapter LXIV:  The Sequel Takes Shape

Chapter LXV:  Careers Descending and Ascending

Chapter LXVI:  Naomi Directs and Sage Responds

Chapter LXVII:  Suddenly

Chapter LXVIII:  My, How the World Changes!

Chapter LXIX:  Changing Times

Chapter LXX:  Night Follows Day

Chapter LXXI:  Life Imitates Art

Chapter LXXII:  Change Is in the Air

Chapter LXXIII:  Time Rushes On

Chapter LXXIV:  The Scenery Changes for Sage

Chapter LXXV:  Sage Expresses Her Feelings

Chapter LXXVI:  The Ups Have Their Downs

Chapter LXXVII:  Philosophy Has Two Sides

Chapter LXXVIII:  A Song Wasn’t Enough

Chapter LXXIX:  Staring Into the Abyss?

Chapter LXXX:  The End of Wine and Roses

Chapter LXXXI:  The Business of Business

Chapter LXXXII:  A Cruel Coincidence

Chapter LXXXIII:  The End Has a Beginning

About The Author

Reality is what we make it.

                                                                Mark Carp

DEDICATION

To Aunt Ruth Bernstein, a nice lady.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I’d like to thank Arleen Grollman for typing the manuscript.

CHAPTER I

Joseph and the Rabbi

Joseph Moshev sat in the cheder in Kishinev, a city in Russia, as the rabbi discussed a tractate of Talmud.

The rabbi then called on Joseph to explain what was being discussed.

He looked at the rabbi blankly.

Well, what is your answer? the rabbi asked impatiently.

I have no answer.

Why?

Because there is no answer.

No answer? the rabbi shouted.

Oh sure, there are answers. Multiple answers and varying interpretations.

But what is your answer?

Do we need another answer?

Yes.

Okay. Here it is. We’re discussing abstractions in a blunt world where the majority of people don’t care about what we are thinking or saying. Then Joseph stared menacingly at the rabbi and said, "When the Cossacks come and try to kill us, should we discuss today’s Talmud lesson with them?"

Joseph’s classmates began talking among themselves. The rabbi turned to the class and shouted, Enough!

Then he turned to Joseph and said, Maybe you ought to leave the class.

That’s something that’s not open to multiple interpretations, Joseph said, as he got up and walked out.

As Joseph left the cheder and walked home, he began thinking about the United States. His father’s brother, Jacob, had been in America for a little more than a decade and was a clothing manufacturer. He had begged Joseph’s father, Isaac, to leave when he did, but he wouldn’t hear of it and Joseph’s submissive mother, Esther, would never try to overrule her husband.

Joseph remembered the last family picture he saw of Jacob in a beautifully tailored suit with his wife, Leah, in an immaculate white dress and his two teenaged daughters, Ruth and Naomi, dressed to the nines, standing in front of a three-story townhouse, obviously their own, in a toney Manhattan neighborhood. Then he imagined Uncle Jacob’s factory, probably a five-story building, maybe more, producing men’s suits. There were rows of pressers, cutters and sewers, with legions of warehouse personnel loading goods on horse-drawn wagons to be taken to the train station for delivery to merchants across the United States.

Joseph came home and saw his mother cooking.

What are you doing here? Esther asked.

I was thrown out of class.

Why?

I was honest with the rabbi.

What did you say?

"I told him there were no answers to the tractate of Talmud we were studying, only multiple answers and varying interpretations. We were dealing with abstractions and when the Cossacks come and try to kill us, should we discuss today’s Talmud lesson with them?"

You should show respect to Rabbi Abramovitz, he’s a brilliant scholar.

The problem with scholars is that they know what they know but are ignorant of many things.

"You should return to the cheder and apologize to Rabbi Abramovitz."

I don’t want to go back. If we’re smart, we should go to America.

"Your father won’t have it. He says America is for the goyim."

But there are plenty of Jews there.

"But he says you can’t be a real Jew in the United States."

And here you can’t be a real person. We’re outcasts, waiting for the next shoe to fall. We’re in an impossible situation, hoping against hope.

Your father doesn’t believe that.

Mom, I want to leave here and go to America, even if I have to live on my own.

"We’ll talk about this at dinner tonight with your father. … In the meantime, why don’t you return to the cheder?"

I’m never going back.

That evening, at the dinner table, Joseph brought up to his family the idea of emigrating to America.

His father dismissed the idea.

The Messiah will come one day and everything will be right, Isaac said.

But, Father, how do you know there is a Messiah?

It’s common knowledge.

At one time it was common knowledge that the Earth was flat.

"We’ll stay here, observe our faith and live as Hashem has intended us to."

"Suppose your view of Hashem and the Messiah is wrong. Suppose we end up as fodder for the Cossacks."

You’ll see, the Messiah will come.

And when he does, I hope we are all not lying dead in the graveyard, murdered by the Cossacks.

That will be enough out of you, Joseph, his angry father said.

Joseph left the table abruptly, went to his room, got into bed and began to stare at the ceiling.

At 2 A.M., his mother came into the room.

If you want to go to America, you go, Esther told her son.

Then she told him where her husband had hidden some money and valuables. When he goes to work, you can pack and take the money and valuables and leave for the United States.

Why can’t we go as a family?

Because we can’t.

When I make a big success of myself, I’ll send for you and Father.

I know you will, and I want you to live your dream.

I love you, Mom.

I love you, Joseph.

CHAPTER II

America

When Isaac Moshev returned home that evening, he saw how tense his wife was.

Is there anything wrong? he asked Esther.

She shook her head, no.

Where is Joseph?

He’s gone.

Where?

To America and he left us this note.

Esther handed Isaac the note, which read: I’m beginning a journey to a new world and civilization. I know this is right for me. When I achieve success, I’ll send for the both of you.

Love,

Joseph

Isaac stared menacingly at Esther. You knew about this.

Yes.

And you let him go.

I told him to follow his dream.

Then Isaac went to where he had hidden the family’s money and valuables.

They’re gone, he said.

I told Joseph to take them.

Isaac then slapped Esther in the face and left the house.

*     *     *

Joseph sneaked across the Austro-Hungarian border, traveled by train to Berlin, and then journeyed to Hamburg, Germany, where he would board a ship to America.

He purchased a ticket on a great liner, in the steerage section, and now on board, heard a great blast of the ship’s horn as the boat left port.

He had brought his Russian-English dictionary, and his dreams of becoming a clothing manufacturer. He thought to himself if he could own a factory and through mass production and specialization undercut his competitors, he could become a rich man.

The ship landed at Ellis Island, where Joseph was examined by a series of doctors.

After the examinations, he was asked if he had a job waiting. Fearing he might not be allowed to enter if he had no means of employment, Joseph said he would be working for Jacob Moshev, his uncle, who was a clothing manufacturer.

The inspector was satisfied with the answer and Joseph boarded a ferry and traveled to the lower tip of Manhattan where he disembarked. As he walked inland, there was a stench in the air, and he saw dirty children playing in the streets, filthy sidewalks, saloons practically on every corner, and Jews with pushcarts, peddling merchandise. This was America he thought to himself, already scared and disillusioned.

He suddenly thought of home in Kishinev: His parents, the cheder, and Rabbi Abramovitz.

Where were the streets paved with gold? he asked himself.

Then he began to search for his Uncle Jacob.

CHAPTER III

Starting Out

In Lower Manhattan, Joseph found the office of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.

There he was given the address of Jacob Moshev. He stayed at the facility that evening and the following day looked for his uncle’s address.

He found the building his uncle’s family lived in. It was in an area that was remarkably congested with people. He walked up two flights of steps to his uncle’s residence and knocked on the door.

Who is it? yelled a woman inside.

It’s Joseph Moshev from Kishinev.

I’ll be with you in a second, yelled the woman, who was hovered over a sewing machine. The woman looked in a mirror, tidied herself up and opened the door to let him in.

Are you Aunt Leah? he asked.

Yes … Uh, where are your parents?

They are in Kishinev … I came to America alone.

Alone?

Yes, alone.

You must be hungry.

Yes.

I’ll fix you something.

Please.

As Joseph put down his suitcase, he began looking around the apartment. It was crowded with clothing and sewing equipment.

As Leah came from the kitchen with a roll and butter, Joseph asked, Is Uncle Jacob at his factory?

He has no factory.

I thought he was a large manufacturer of clothing.

He’s a contractor.

What’s that?

He gets orders and finds people to do the work. I help out as do my daughters.

Does he need any more employees?

He only employs people when he gets orders. My husband has no full-time employees.

Do you know where I can get a job?

The cloakmakers are hiring.

Then Leah wrote the name and address of a potential employer and handed it to Joseph.

Where is the factory?

When you leave the building, make a left and walk five blocks. You can’t miss it.

I’ll need a place to stay.

Mrs. Mandelbaum on the third floor is looking for a border.

Do you know how much she’ll charge?

You’ll have to ask her.

I’ll see her after I eat.

After Joseph finished eating the buttered roll and was about to leave, Leah said, I’d like for you to have dinner with us this evening. We eat at six o’clock.

I’d love to, he replied.

Then Joseph climbed a flight of steps with his suitcase to see if he could board with Mrs. Mandelbaum.

CHAPTER IV

Stargazing

After Joseph arranged a lease with Mrs. Mandelbaum, he walked to the cloakmaker factory, looking for employment.

He was asked if he could operate a sewing machine.

I could learn.

You look strong, the man doing the hiring said, as he eyed Joseph’s nearly six-foot height and lanky but muscular frame. Write your name and address on this form and report to the warehouse tomorrow at 7:30 in the morning. You’ll go to work there.

Joseph returned to Mrs. Mandelbaum’s apartment and took out his Russian-English dictionary which he began studying, as he had always done in much of his spare time.

Later in the afternoon, there was a knock on Mrs. Mandelbaum’s door.

Who is it? Mrs. Mandelbaum asked.

It’s Naomi Moshev, your downstairs neighbor. I’m here to see Joseph Moshev, your new border.

Mrs. Mandelbaum went to Joseph’s room and saw him reading his dictionary.

You have a visitor, she said.

Fearing it was an inspector from Ellis Island who had found some irregularities in his papers, Joseph thought he might be deported.

Where can I hide? he asked Mrs. Mandelbaum frantically.

She looked at him quizzically and said, It’s Naomi Moshev from downstairs.

Joseph smiled and went to the front door with Mrs. Mandelbaum, who let Naomi in.

Hi, Joseph, Naomi said.

You’ve grown up, Joseph said, as he saw Naomi’s long, raven-colored hair, deep-set brown eyes and willowy figure.

So have you, she said, smiling. Why don’t we go downstairs to my apartment.

Sure, he said.

As they walked down the steps, Naomi asked, When did you come to America?

Yesterday.

And my mother says you came alone, without your parents.

Yes.

Were you afraid?

A little.

I remember when you used to play on the floor of your parents’ house when we celebrated the Jewish holidays.

I recall you always cried when you left.

What did you expect, I was only a child.

As they entered Naomi’s apartment, her older sister, Ruth, was there.

Joseph and Ruth exchanged greetings.

What do you do? Joseph asked Ruth.

I’m a bookkeeper in a cigar factory.

And you, Naomi? he asked.

I go to school and help my father with the orders for his clothing business.

Joseph, said Ruth, how did you learn to speak English so well?

In Kishinev, I read books in English when I could and I always studied my Russian-English dictionary.

He speaks beautifully, said Naomi, with hardly a trace of an accent.

He’s easier to understand than people who have been born here, responded Ruth.

How are you going to support yourself? asked Naomi.

I’m going to work in the cloakmaker’s factory.

Doing what?

I’m working in the warehouse.

That’s hard work.

The man who hired me asked if I could operate a sewing machine.

What did you tell him?

I told him I could learn.

Come tomorrow after dinner and I’ll begin to teach you. Workers with skills are paid more than those without them, and it’s easier operating a sewing machine than working in the warehouse.

How much are you being paid? Ruth chimed in.

Joseph took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Ruth.

As she read it, Ruth said, That’s about right for a starting position.

That’s why I’m going to teach you to operate a sewing machine, said Naomi. "So you can earn more and not shlep those heavy bundles around like a pack animal."

Joseph smiled in appreciation.

Come with me, Joseph, said Naomi. I want to show you something.

He nodded quizzically. They walked upstairs and climbed up an interior ladder through a passageway onto the roof.

As the couple began looking around, Naomi said to Joseph, I like coming up here.

Why?

I think. I dream. I imagine things.

Like what?

Living uptown in a big townhouse and being an actress. … Do you have dreams, Joseph?

I want to own a factory and become rich.

In America, everyone dreams.

But, Naomi, I want my dreams to be answered.

CHAPTER V

Life and Death

Joseph began to work in the warehouse, preparing clothing for shipment. By noon, he had no more energy. He had never labored like this before and began to wonder if he could stand up to this routine.

At lunchtime he ate a sandwich and felt like his energy was returning. He hoped he could make it through the day.

At 6:30 P.M., the work day ended, and he dragged himself back to Mrs. Mandelbaum’s apartment. She had a meal waiting for him.

He sat, depressed, and began to eat. Joseph’s thoughts turned to his family’s home and parents in Kishinev and Rabbi Abramovitz teaching Talmud in the cheder. Suddenly, he wanted to return but knew he wouldn’t.

As he was finishing his meal, there was a knock on the door.

Mrs. Mandelbaum let Naomi Moshev in. She sat at the dinner table.

You look exhausted, she told Joseph.

That was hard work and a long day. I’m s-o-o-o tired.

I want to teach you to operate a sewing machine.

Can’t it wait?

The quicker you’ll learn, the sooner your work may become easier.

Joseph nodded and followed Naomi downstairs to her apartment.

Naomi sat at her mother’s sewing machine and began to show Joseph how to operate it. Then she began stitching a recognizable pattern on a piece of cloth.

She told him to try it. His initial efforts were awkward, but soon he began to coordinate the foot pedal and the needle and began to produce recognizable patterns.

See how easy it is, she told Joseph. I’ll come for you tomorrow night and we’ll try again.

Joseph nodded.

Would you want to go onto the roof with me? Naomi asked.

Not tonight, I’m too tired.

I’ll walk with you to Mrs. Mandelbaum’s apartment.

Okay, he said.

Joseph entered the apartment and readied for bed. He quickly fell asleep and began to dream. He was working in the warehouse of the cloakmarkers when the Cossacks rode in on their horses, chasing Rabbi Abramovitz and his parents, trying to kill them. He woke up, screaming.

Mrs. Mandelbaum rushed in to see what the commotion was about.

What’s wrong, Joseph? she asked.

I had a dream.

Go back to bed and get some rest. You’ll need your energy for work.

Joseph nodded and was soon asleep.

He woke up and readied for work, but something seemed strangely amiss that morning. When he entered the warehouse, he overheard two workmen talking about Kishinev.

What about Kishinev? Joseph asked.

There was a recent pogrom and many were murdered, a workman told him.

I’m from Kishinev, Joseph said. My parents live there. How can I find out if they’re all right?

"There have been articles in the New York Times. Get a newspaper."

Joseph left work without permission and was soon at the New York Times building, trying to obtain a list of those who had been murdered and wounded. A woman handed him a newspaper and Joseph frantically began to search through the names.

The pogrom had taken place on April 6-7, 1903, and his father was dead but apparently his mother had survived. Joseph was deeply depressed as he left the building and returned to work.

When he arrived, with tears in his eyes, the foreman asked, Where have you been?

I had to find out if my parents who live in Kishinev were alive.

Someone has already taken your place. Leave the building. You no longer work here.

CHAPTER VI

The Winds of Sorrow

Joseph returned to Mrs. Mandelbaum’s apartment and lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.

When Mrs. Mandelbaum came home, she saw the door to Joseph’s room was open. She decided to peek in and saw him lying in his bed.

What are you doing here? she asked.

There was a pogrom in Kishinev, so I left my job and went to the New York Times building to find articles to see if my parents had survived. My father was murdered but I believe my mother is alive."

I’m sorry, Joseph. Let me know if there is anything I can do.

Joseph nodded respectfully.

After more lying in contemplation, Joseph roused himself and walked downstairs to Jacob Moshev’s apartment.

He saw his uncle with a yarmulkah on, holding a prayer book and reciting the Kaddish. Joseph, hatless, joined his uncle and the two prayed in unison.

At the conclusion of the prayer, Jacob turned to Joseph, shook his head and said, Terrible, just terrible.

Joseph nodded acknowledgingly.

From what I understand, your mother is okay.

I believe so.

We’ll have to bring her here.

I don’t know if she’ll come.

Why?

She’s a person who’s set in her ways. She is such a creature of habit.

Habits can be broken.

I think she’ll want to stay in Kishinev.

You’ll contact her and find out.

Certainly, Joseph replied.

Joseph left his uncle’s apartment and began to walk. Life had been so cruel, he thought to himself. His father was dead and he had already been fired from his job. He knew he had to be re-employed and was thankful his cousin Naomi was teaching him to operate a sewing machine. He felt when he began a new job, he would be able to study the production first hand, giving him the education he would need to become a manufacturer. Then he began to think of an aphorism in the Talmud: When in a city – follow its customs.

Joseph knew this pithy bit of philosophy was oh so accurate. He also knew he would have to steel himself against the outrageous fortunes that may continue to befall him, because life was what it was, here and in Kishinev.

CHAPTER VII

Aspirations

Joseph returned to the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, looking for employment. He was told of an opportunity at a factory that manufactured men’s suits.

He walked to the factory and was interviewed for a job.

What are your skills? the interviewer asked.

I’m learning how to operate a sewing machine.

Joseph accompanied the man up to the floor where the sewing was done and sat Joseph down at a machine.

Demonstrate what you’re able to do, he told Joseph, whose hands began to quiver.

Joseph gathered himself and began to stitch a pattern.

Can’t you go any faster? the man abruptly asked Joseph.

Not now but I’m learning.

We have production schedules to keep. If you can’t sew faster, we can’t hire you.

Suppose I work for nothing until I’m as fast as the others.

Let me think about it, said the man. Come back tomorrow and I’ll give you my decision.

Joseph thanked him and left.

That evening, Joseph had dinner with Uncle Jacob and his family.

Naomi said, I have an announcement.

Don’t keep us in suspense, her mother Leah said. What is it?

I’m going to be auditioning for a part in the Yiddish theatre.

Jacob looked at his daughter scornfully and asked, What part are you trying to get?

A young bride.

Being on stage is not the type of life I had imagined for you, Jacob said. Those actors are nothing but vagabonds.

But, Papa, this is what I want.

Let her audition, Leah said. There’s no harm in trying.

Okay, you go, Jacob said, but I don’t want you to get involved with any actor.

I’m not a child, I’m sixteen, said Naomi scornfully.

Okay, my grown-up daughter, said Jacob, I don’t want you to get involved with an actor.

Naomi smiled wistfully at her father.

Joseph returned early the next