On This Foundation Read Online Free PDF

tableware, that Chana was surprised she had overheard their conversation.
    â€œNo, my little cherub, I haven’t met anyone.”
    â€œPromise us you won’t marry a Samaritan or an Edomite,” Yudit said. She was taking the bread from the warming shelf above the hearth, wrapping it in a cloth so it would stay warm and moist.
    â€œNever!” he said with a frown. “No need to worry about that! Not only does the Almighty One forbid mixed marriages, but Gentile women lack spirit. It’s probably beaten out of them by their fathers. I like a woman who isn’t afraid to speak her mind, like your mother—and like her three beautiful daughters,” he added with a smile. Chana tried to brush past him and end this uncomfortable conversation, but he stopped her.
    â€œListen, my angel. I’m not bringing up this subject to cause you more pain but because it just so happens that I know someone who would like to be introduced to you.”
    â€œOh, Abba, no! Please—”
    â€œJust hear me out. He serves as a member of the council with me and is the ruler of the district of Beth Hakkerem, about an hour’s walk west of Jerusalem.”
    â€œâ€˜House of the Vineyard?’” Sarah asked, translating the district’s name. “Are there any vineyards left in Judah after two years of drought?”
    â€œYour friend must be pretty old if he’s a district ruler,” Chana said. “I don’t want to marry an old man.”
    â€œHe’s only thirty-seven. I already asked.”
    â€œAbba, that’s fourteen years older than me.”
    â€œYitzhak was ten years older than you,” Yudit said. Chana rolled her eyes at her.
    Abba was relentless. “He’s a nobleman. And the fact that he has risen to such an important position on the council at such a young age should tell you how brilliant he is.”
    â€œWell, I can see that you’re already an admirer of his, Abba.”
    â€œI am. He has offered some very wise advice during some of our council meetings, and I’ve never heard him raise his voice or lose his temper—like several other members I could name.”
    â€œWho, Abba? Who?” Yudit asked, always alert for juicy gossip.
    â€œNever mind, my cherub. I shouldn’t have said that.” He turned back to Chana. “He’s a landowner with extensive vineyards. And quite wealthy. Some of his wealth is inherited, but most of it he earned by his own hard work and shrewd business skills. You would have a lovely home and servants to wait on you and—”
    â€œAnd if he’s such a good catch, why isn’t he married?” Chana asked. “Let me guess—he’s ugly as a toad.”
    â€œNo, I bet he’s as short and bristly as a sack of straw,” Sarah said.
    â€œI think he must be tall and spindly like a palm tree,” Yudit added, not to be outdone. It was a game the three of them played since childhood, watching people passing by and comparing them to objects or animals.
    Abba ignored them, still praising his friend. “Well, he was married, but now he is a widower, so he’s well acquainted with grief. He has two sons—around age sixteen or seventeen, I think.”
    â€œAbba, they’re nearly grown. They’d never accept me as their mother.”
    Abba exhaled and took Chana’s hands in his. “Well, my dear . . . now that I’ve heard all your objections and excuses, you should know that I’ve invited my friend to visit this evening. You girls can decide for yourselves if he’s a toad, a sack of straw, or a palm tree.”
    â€œNot for dinner!” Chana said.
    â€œNo, just for a glass of wine before he heads home.”
    â€œAbba—”
    â€œAnd he’s bringing the wine. It’s from his vineyards. He has been bragging to me for ages about how wonderful his wine is—and I have been bragging to him about my three