On This Foundation Read Online Free PDF Page B

beautiful daughters. We decided it was time to put the truth of our claims to the test.”
    Chana broke free from Abba, shaking her head. She strode to the hearth to fetch the soup. His clumsy attempts at matchmaking annoyed her but didn’t surprise her. In fact, it was Abba who had convinced her to consider Yitzhak for a husband. He had sung Yitzhak’s praises for months before she finally agreed to meet him. And they had fallen in love. But it would take a miracle for it to happen a second time. Chana wished she could invent an excuse to avoid meeting their guest tonight, but her fierce love for her father would never allow her to disappoint him. Abba was a good man, a righteous man, down to the very marrow of his bones. Yet regardless of what this noble wine-maker looked like, how wealthy or wise he was, Chana already knew he could never measure up to Yitzhak. It wasn’t only her grief, she decided, that kept her from enjoying life again. It was the anger that refused to ease or go away.
    Anger at Yitzhak’s murderers and at her own helplessness. If only his killers had been caught and brought to justice and punished, maybe then the rage that burned in her soul would finally die out.
    â€œChana, darling,” Abba said, interrupting her thoughts. “I don’t ask much of you, but please erase that unattractive frown and put on a welcoming smile before my friend arrives.”
    â€œI’m sorry, Abba.” She tried to smile for him, but she knew it looked forced, like a grimace.
    â€œYou’re under no obligation to marry the man or even to like him. But he is a colleague of mine, and I’ve invited him to our home.”
    Her father had followed her to the hearth, and she pulled him into an embrace. “Of course, Abba. I’ll be charming and welcoming. The perfect hostess. I’ll even make some date cakes to enjoy with his wine.”
    â€œThat’s my girl!”
    â€œYou haven’t told us his name,” Yudit said. She and Sarah had taken their places around the table and she patted the cushion on her father’s chair, inviting him to sit down.
    â€œHis name is Malkijah ben Recab.”
    â€œThat’s a mouthful,” Chana blurted. “What do his friends call him?”
    Abba smiled. “They call him Malkijah ben Recab.”
    Chana’s first glimpse of Malkijah ben Recab that evening revealed that they had all been wrong about his looks. He was neither a toad, nor a sack of straw, nor a palm tree. He was as tall as the doorframe, neither fat nor thin, but sturdily built. He arrived with the promised wine, wearing a pleasant smile and a robe that had been woven from the very finest wool. He proved to be quite charming, too. He listened attentively as Abba introduced his three daughters, then said, “I know when I’m defeated, Shallum. Your three daughters are much lovelier than my finest wines. I admit defeat. Here is your prize.” He handed Abba the wineskins.
    â€œWell, now!” Abba crowed. “Didn’t I tell you? But come in, Malkijah, come in. I have been waiting with great anticipation to taste your wine.”
    His appearance was pleasant—no one would call him handsome—but Chana would never be swayed by such shallow considerations as good looks. He wore his dark hair and beard trimmed short, and his broad face and nose looked slightly flattened, as if he had run into a wall as a child. But his ebony eyes looked kind, and his manner as they enjoyed the wine and the conversation was calm and peaceful, as if nothing ever rattled him. She thought of several outrageous things she could say to test his unflappability but kept them to herself for her father’s sake.
    As the evening progressed, Malkijah praised the date cakes Chana had made, complimented Abba on his beautiful home, and managed to find something charming and graceful to say to Chana and each of her sisters. By the time he thanked everyone for