Emor

-Erika Dreifus

April 16, 2011

And God spoke to Moses, saying:

"Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them:

It shall come to pass in the year 5770

on Shabbat Parashat Emor, that the child

named Hannah, daughter of Deborah and Daniel,

shall be called to the Torah as a Bat Mitzvah.

And after she reads from this aged parchment,

the Torah shall be gently closed, dressed,

and placed in the arms of Hannah's grandfather,

Charles, father of Daniel. At 84, the Polish-born man

will then be seated on the bimah, with

the velvet-robed scroll leaning next to his heart.

The congregation will watch. His wife will weep.

From Europe, these human and holy remnants

will have been saved, will have survived,

will be reunited in a suburb called Wellesley,

a few miles outside Boston, United States,

on this day, in this place. And it shall be so.

I am the Lord your God."

Erika Dreifus, a past contributor to New Vilna Review ("Mannheim," "Diaspora," "Sisters, or Double Chai") is also the author of Quiet Americans: Stories, a collection of short fiction. Please visit www.erikadreifus.com to learn more about Erika and her work.

Welcome to the New Vilna Review

*A Note From the Publisher - February 8, 2012*

Dear readers and contributors,

The New Vilna Review has been going through some changes the past few

months, and our focus has shifted to offering an expanded selection of

poetry, fiction and arts writing. We are once again accepting submissions,

and look forward to continuing to publish some of the most interesting and

thought provoking work in the world of Jewish arts and letters.

-Daniel E. Levenson

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief

The New Vilna Review

New Vilna Review Insulated Travel Mug

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