July 17, 2026 Categories: Features
Persuaded – Chapter XLIV
Effi
Recap: Chani and Effi are elated to find each other again. Effi would happily announce an engagement immediately, but for propriety’s sake they agree to begin dating again. Effi left Bagel Hole on a cloud, and as if to mirror his mood, the day’s gray skies finally parted and let through shafts of sunlight like a path straight up to heaven. Finally, after all this time, he and Chani had reconnected, and they both seemed to be on the same page! And they were going on an actual date the next night! Well, her father hadn’t officially given his approval, but she had indicated she didn’t think he would object. Not this time around, not when he was no longer impecunious and unknown. So much for deep Torah values, he thought with a trace of bitterness. “If anything,” he thought, “I was worth more when I was an idealistic young bochur hoping to make my mark as a talmid chacham. It’s a shame that wasn’t enough for Mr. Elman back then.” But what a relief it had been to learn that Chani had never wanted to break off their shidduch, and had simply been too young and impressionable to stand up to her elders! She had clearly suffered as a result, but of course, so had he. What a waste. Why hadn’t he spoken up earlier, tried to relaunch the shidduch again a few years sooner? Somehow it had never occurred to him. He was on the other side of the country, and since he’d lost all contact with his former circles, he hadn’t even known if she was married or not. Perhaps deep down he’d felt too convinced—or too afraid—that bringing it up again would lead to yet another rejection, and he wouldn’t have been able to handle being rejected twice. There’s a reason for everything, he told himself, even he wasn’t sure what it was and why they’d had to spend eight years separated. He reflected on the chain of events that had brought him to Brooklyn to live in Chani’s house (what an irony!), which then led to a date with Lieba, which had shocked him to the core and crumbled his pride and certainty of being the master of his fate. The girl had narrowly escaped a devastating brain injury, but she’d then spent several painful weeks in a hospital, and further convalescence with the Hararis and then her parents. At the time Effi had felt so guilty about what happened that he was loathe to add insult to injury by breaking off the shidduch. Yet neither was he foolish enough to continue dating a young woman who had proven herself so reckless and immature. In the end, blessedly, he didn’t have to end it himself. The subject had quietly been dropped while she recovered. He disappeared to Boston with Shiffy and Avraham for a conference, and no one chased after him. They were probably afraid to broach that sore subject with him. Then—miracle of miracles!—she and Beyda hit it off and started dating, and he was spared the agony of officially rejecting her. In a funny way, he mused, he had led Lieba to her real bashert. That awful accident, during which Chani had been the only one to pull out a phone and call Hatzalah, had allowed him to see how very superior she was to just about everyone there—himself included—in maturity, levelheadedness, and resourcefulness. And now she was going to start dating him again! Where should they go? Lakewood had changed so much since his time there that, with the exception of Bagel Nosh, he no longer had any idea where to take a girl. She deserved somewhere good, even though he knew she was really quite low-maintenance despite her once-wealthy origins. He’d ask Ralph for a suggestion. It now occurred to him that he had not exactly come equipped with a dating wardrobe (oops). Well, how was he supposed to know? But if he and Chani were going to continue dating for a few weeks (even though there was really no need—it was pretty clear what they both wanted), he would have to stick around the Lakewood area and would need appropriate things to wear. Well, he had some things to take care of for work in Brooklyn anyway, so it made sense to drive back there for the evening, sleep over, and return with a suitcase. If he was going to be spending time in Lakewood, maybe he could sleep at Ralph’s house some nights, since Beyda was no longer occupying the basement. (Beyda had returned to his family in Brooklyn to arrange for his upcoming wedding; having found his second fiancé, he no longer needed the solace of hanging around with the family of his first one. The wedding to Lieba was just months away, and he was busy looking at apartments, looking for work, and spending time with his kallah.) Effi tried calling Shiffy from the car as he headed north on the Garden State Parkway, certain she’d be pleased by the announcement of his “new” shidduch. She must have been on another call or otherwise indisposed, because she failed to pick up. Hmm. This was not the kind of news he wanted to communicate by leaving a voicemail. But he was still itching to tell somebody. He decided to call his brother-in-law instead. It sounded like Avi was drinking coffee in the Elmans’ kitchen, deep in concentration and tapping on a laptop as he grunted, “Hello?” “How’s it going? Did you find us office space yet?” “Nah,” Avraham grumbled. “I’m not cheap, but these Manhattan real estate prices are even more ridiculous than California prices. I might have to bite the bullet and call a real estate agent.” “An agent? Why an agent? Don’t we have any good contacts in New York of our own? We must know people, or know people who know people. Are we frum Jews or what?” Avraham guffawed. “You’re right!” he said. “In fact, I’ll start with your brother Moishie! I completely forgot he knows people in real estate. What’s doing in Lakewood?” “I’m on my way back to Brooklyn; I should be there by supper time,” Effi said. “But I’ll be going back down again tomorrow afternoon. I have a date tomorrow night.” The tapping ceased abruptly. “Wow! That’s good news!” Avraham said. “Who redt the shidduch? Who is she?” “You know her already,” he said, unable to stop grinning. “I’m going out with Chani Elman.” Avraham smacked his hand against his head so hard Effi could hear it over the phone. “Chani Elman?” he roared. “Chani Elman! Of COURSE! How could I have overlooked Chani Elman? She’s a terrific girl! I could totally see it!” Effi could hear the clatter of Shiffy’s heels on the ceramic tiles as she rushed to the phone. “Effi has a date with Chani?” she hissed. At Avraham’s nod, she grabbed the phone. “Effi,” she declared, “You have finally scored a date with a girl who might be worthy of you. I was wondering if you’d wake up yourself or if I’d have to ramrod the idea down your little throat. Make sure to take her somewhere nice!” Effi laughed. Should he tell them Chani was the girl whose rejection had sent him running weeping into their arms eight years ago? No, he didn’t want to prejudice them against her. They’d have plenty of time to find out later. Or not. “Glad to know you approve,” he said. “She’s the only girl we’ve met since we’ve been on the East Coast who has both brains and middos,” Shiffy said. “And I happen to think she’s pretty, too.” “Well,” Effi said coyly, “I guess we have to see if we think there’s potential.” “I think you should snap her up,” Shiffy declared. “Don’t mess this up! Who suggested this?” Effi cleared his throat. “Um…we ran into each other in Brooklyn and Lakewood a few times, and I liked what I saw, so I got someone to redt it for me.” “I think it’s a great idea. I hope it works out!” “Me too,” Effi said. “Maybe it will, because for the first time in forever, the suggestion came from me.”barbarTo be continued.
