tevye in the promised land

As a sign of his grief over Tzeitl, Tevye tore his shirt and sat on a low stool in Hodel's house in the traditional custom of mourners. He maintained a stalwart expression to disguise the hole he felt in his heart. His strength came from Golda. She appeared to him in a dream and told him not to worry.

Tevye in the Promised Land

Tevye in the Promised Land, Chapter 14: The Dybbuk

By Tzvi Fishman

Strangely, the person who seemed most affected by Tzeitl's death was Goliath. Upon hearing the news, he surrounded himself with an impenetrable wall. He even found it hard to play with the children. Shmuelik said the body had to remain wrapped in a sheet on the floor of Hodel's house until the Sabbath was over. […]

Tevye in the Promised Land

Tevye in the Promised Land, Chapter 13: Tzeitl's Last Wish

By Tzvi Fishman

"What are we going to eat?" Shmuelik asked Tevye as they changed into their Sabbath clothing. Tevye did not understand the question. "What do you mean?" he asked. Before Shmuelik could answer, Hillel spoke up in a bard's satirical manner. "He means that though you may be overjoyed to be reunited with your daughter, the […]

Tevye in the Promised Land

Tevye in the Promised Land, Chapter One: Anatevka

By Tzvi Fishman

Nemerov, the district Police Commissioner, reared his horse in the air. "Three days," he warned. "The Jews of Anatevka have three days to clear out of the area." It didn't matter that the Jews had lived in Anatevka long before the Russians. The Police Commissioner didn't care that Tevye's great-grandfather, may his memory be a blessing, had cleared the forest by the lake and built the first house in the region. It didn't matter to the Czar and his soldiers that for as long as anyone could remember, the Jews had dutifully paid the taxes which had laden the Czar's table with food, while the pantries of the Jews remained bare.