Shulamis; or, The Daughter of Jerusalem

by Avrom Goldfadn

Everyone is welcome to read, copy, and assign th translation at will. I do own the copyright and ask to be contacted before any staged production.

The most famous, most often performed operetta in the Yiddish repertory, Shulamis; or, The Daughter of Jerusalem (1881) is also historically significant as an early work by Avrom Goldfadn, father of Yiddish theater, with echoes of Talmudic legends and an early modern Hebrew novel. Although Shulamis has been translated over the years into Russian, Ukrainian, Spanish, and more, I think this is the very first English translation. It is taken entirely from the edition published in Warsaw in1886.

Shulamis is an odd, melancholy fantasy-romance set in a NeverNeverLand vision of ancient Jerusalem, mixing heartbreak and clowning, spooky magic and sharp political commentary, spectacle and suspense, folk dance and the conventions of nineteenth-century European operetta. Its tuneful and varied score contains “Raisins and Almonds,” a lullaby so widely beloved by the Yiddish masses that many assume it’s a folk song; in fact, the tune still serves in documentaries and elsewhere as an instantly recognizable evocation of traditional Yiddish culture. The plot is based on a Talmudic legend, with echoes of a Hebrew-language novel of the Enlightenment

PLOT SYNOPSIS

Lost in the desert, shepherdess Shulamis is rescued by aristocratic Avsholem; the pair fall instantly in love; a passing wildcat and a well in the oasis witness their solemn vow to be faithful forever. Avsholem, returning home to Jerusalem, forgets Shulamis and marries beautiful Avigail, while Shulamis, left behind, pines for him and fends off suitors by pretending to be mad. But when the children of Avsholem’s marriage die, the first because of a wildcat and the second down a well, he has a vision of Shulamis and remembers his vow. He returns to Shulamis, and the operetta ends with their splendid wedding.

TRANSLATION

My great hope is that this translation will be produced onstage. So I did my best to make the lines speak-able. I tried to preserve the couplets’ rhyme schemes and even the occasional spots where all rhyme disappears. The play is written in Daytshmersh, and I used a Latinate vocabulary to convey that quaintly elevated diction. At the same time, the tone of the play is artless and folk-y, virtually free of wordplay or verbal wit, and I tried to render this impression of simplicity according to Goldfadn’s intentions.

I left most of the song lyrics (which are in caps) as literal translations without trying to fit them to the music or giving them the open vowels that would make them sing-able. A few of the musical numbers can be heard on old recordings: “Raisins and Almonds” and the vow duet (both Act I), Shulamis’ plaint “Sabbath, Holy Day and Feast Day” (Act III), and the Shepherds’ song (Act IV) are the only ones I’ve found.

I experimented with cutting in a few places but discovered that even couplets that were unnecessary for movingthe plot had a quasi-musical function: cutting or compressing them harmed the overall rhythm of the piece.

The suitors’ contest is like a medieval folk play. The play also includes a nineteenth-century mad scene, as well as the poetic convention of the innocent shepherdess, which was familiar to the Renaissance – and before that to the Greeks. The effect of this mixture is odd but picturesque; in any case, it is intrinsic to the piece, and I made no attempt to change it.

TWO CHANGES

The primary change I made – about six lines’ worth in total – was reshaping the clownish servant to emphasize his goat-like qualities. In this I followed not only pastoral tradition but also the hint in the character’s very name.

The character of Avsholem’s servant Tsingitang, to Goldfadn’s audiences a simple, familiar, and even hackneyed running gag, has become problematic for production in our time.

Tsingitang fits into several nineteenth-century stage and literary conventions, all certainly known to a well-read and well-traveled man like Goldfadn. For example, the inarticulate foolish servant, punished in slapstick routines, appeared as a clown in ancient Rome and as Papageno in Mozart’s The Magic Flute. The exotic or savage minor character whose sheer differentness creates a degree of semi-comic semi-threatening confusion appeared as Friday in Robinson Crusoe and Caliban in The Tempest. The ethnic type, laughable for his strictly predictable quirks, appeared as vaudeville and music hall acts billed straightforwardly as Italian or Irish or German or Black or Jewish. Spectators and readers enjoyed them all without analyzing them or even taking them seriously.

But nowadays we have become sensitized to ethnic prejudices and especially to racism. Comedy based on ethnic and racial stereotypes has become embarrassing and worse. So I figured out an alternative treatment – one that might possibly even have been present in Goldfadn’s own subconscious, or so I suspect from the name.

I started by dropping just one letter out of the character’s name, making him TSIGitang. Tsig is the Yiddish word for goat. TSINGitang is a nonsense word, but someone called TSIGitang must have goat-like qualities. And this turns out to be particularly appropriate to the play. Since the Greek god Pan, goats have been associated with males who, like Tsigitang, are constantly panting after females. This operetta, moreover, is a pastorale set among flocks and herds, so it works smoothly to make Tsigitang a goatherd, akin in the way he talks and thinks to his own animals. In this fantasy world of an ancient Palestine where railroads are already envisioned, cats and wells wield magic powers, and action takes place through verse and song, a character who is a bit more (or less) than human becomes a congenial and even poetic element. And after all, the most famous song of Shulamis’ score – arguably the most famous Yiddish song ever – tells the story of a little white goat trading in raisins and almonds.

So in a few bits of dialogue, I changed words in order to evoke associations to the character as goatherd. In other cases, the character’s own words and sounds are meant to evoke his own goat-like qualities, including hairiness and smell.

The other change I made is in the lyrics to the lullaby “Raisins and Almonds” (Rozhinkes mit mandlen). It’s sung very, very often, but usually only the chorus and one or two of the verses. I had to include all the verses because they are in the text, but one of them I edited. Goldfadn’s words simply promise the child that he will grow up to be rich and powerful – what parent doesn’t want the best for the child? – but include images that suggest the fantasies of the Elders of Zion. In the current era of rising anti-semitism, it seemed necessary to change two lines only.

CONTEXT AND HISTORY: FURTHER SOURCES

Dr. Alyssa Quint, author of “The Rise of the Modern Yiddish Theater” (2019), and Ronald Robboy, musician and scholar of Yiddish theater music, have created extremely thorough, excellent, and valuable scholarly notes on Shulamis’s text. In addition, Dr. Quint has written a serious study contextualizing the play, and Mr. Robboy has done the same for the score. Also, together they have created a useful literal translation.

SHULAMIS; or, The Daughter of Jerusalem

a musical melodrama in rhyme

and in 4 acts and 15 scenes

composed by Avram Goldfadn

(music, costumes, and settings created by the same)

translator: Nahma Sandrow

from 3^rd printed edition: Warsaw, 1886

CAST OF CHARACTERS

MANOAKH An old citizen of Bethlehem

SHULAMIS His daughter, a shepherdess

AVSHOLEM A young hero descended from the Maccabees

TSIGITANG Avsholem’s servant, a former goatherd

KHANANYE Avsholem’s friend

AVIGAIL A priest’s daughter

TSIPOYRE Her wet nurse

YOAV GIDONI Suitor: A young hero

AVINADAV Suitor: A rich young merchant

NOSN Suitor: A high priest

OVADYE Shepherd from Bethlehem

AZRIEL Shepherd from Bethlehem

ELIEZER Shepherd from Bethlehem

Pilgrims, Young Men, Young Women, Dancers, Suitors, Mourning Women, Shepherds, Priests, Levites, Flag Bearers, Torch Bearers, People

SETTING

The action takes place in Bethlehem, the desert and mountains outside Bethlehem, and Jerusalem

ACT ONE

Scene 1

(Scene shows a desert. Many large and small mountains. Paths visible to R and L. Many old and young Jews stand with packs on their shoulders and staffs in their hands. Among them stands old MANOAKH with his daughter SHULAMIS. All these Jews are pilgrims who are going on foot to Jerusalem. They sing.)

CHORUS

LADEN WITH ALL GOOD THINGS
WITH STAFFS IN OUR HANDS
WE SET FORTH THIS VERY MINUTE
TO OUR HOLY LAND.
THIS MAN CARRIES PRODUCE
AND THAT ONE BRINGS BULLOCKS
TO SACRIFICE FOR HIS SINS.
AND THE MERCHANT
CARRIES GOLD, SILVER, AND SILK.
EVERYONE BRINGS HIS PRODUCE AS A GIFT
WITH JOY AND FULL HEARTS,
WITH LOVE, WITH FAITHFULNESS, WITH AWE
TO BOW BEFORE GOD’S QUIET.
OH WHERE ARE YOU, OH WHERE ARE YOU, YOU HOLY ZION?
WE WISH, WE ALL LONG TO SEE YOU SPEEDILY.
SOON WE WILL HEAR SONGS
IN GOD’S HOUSE
FROM OUR HOLY BROTHERS
PRIESTS AND LEVITES.
COME, QUICKLY, UNITED, TO BLESS.
FORWARD, THERE, YES, TO JERUSALEM.
JOYFULLY, YOU HONORABLE PEOPLE!
SING A TOTALLY NEW SONG.YES, CHILDREN, QUICKLY, CHILDREN, QUICKLY.
QUICKLY, CHILDREN, QUICKLY ON OUR WAY.

(All wish each other well as they exit over the mountains.)

GOD BLESS YOU AND WATCH OVER YOU.
GOD MAKE YOUR JOURNEY SUCCESSFUL
AND BRING YOU TO ZION, THE HOME OF YOUR CITY, IN PEACE.

(All disappear off L. Only MANOAKH remains standing a bit longer and approaches his daughter.)

MANOAKH

Turn homeward, daughter. It grows late.
You’ve brought me far enough. My fellow pilgrims wait.

SHULAMIS

No, father dear, let’s not part yet.
Your girl will miss you, don’t forget.

MANOAKH

Turn back. A daughter must obey.
The desert is vast and wild, and you could lose your way.

SHULAMIS

Go in good health, father.

(They embrace and part. MANOAKH goes away.)

Scene 2

(SHULAMIS standing on the mountain looks after her father. She raises her hands and blesses him from afar. She starts going down from the mountain, continuing to look at intervals back in the direction in which her father left. She goes further, deep in thought. Suddenly she looks around and notices how she has wandered from the path. She tries going L, looks into the far distance, and retraces her steps.)

SHULAMIS

Wait. Yes, I think- Past that hill?
No, that’s not a path. No footprints. Oh, it’s still.

(She goes R, looks around, and suddenly stands still.)

Wild desert. Vast sand. Hot sun fills the sky.
I can’t find the way. Am I lost? Where am I?

(She starts L again, and pulls back.)

It’s still far to Bethlehem. Endlessly far.
I’m lost. God, which way? Where’s my home? It’s so far.

(She hides her face from the sun with her hands.)

You look at me, sun, but won’t show me the way.
Soften, at least, your burning cruel ray.

(She becomes weary and goes weakly to a stone lying R.)

Exhausted… so weak… a fire in my breast…
My tongue dry… This thirst will be my death.

(She falls on the stone powerless and sings weakly.)

I BEG YOU, YOU GREAT STRONG GOD
WHO HELPED YOUR PEOPLE IN THE PAST,
WHEN THEY HAD NO DRINK IN THE DESERT,
YOU SENT THEM WATER IN PLENTY.

PLEASE LET YOUR MIRACLE COME TO PASS HERE WITH ME TOO.
LET ME NOT DIE HERE AND PERISH FROM THIRST.
THAT IS A VERY, VERY BITTER DEATH.
REMEMBER YOUR MIRACLE DOWN FROM ON HIGH.
HEAR MY WEAKENING CRY.
SEND WATER, SEND WATER, OR SOON I MUST DIE.

SAMSON THE STRONG ONCE WON A GREAT BATTLE
WITHOUT EVEN A SWORD.
HE WAS WEAK, WEARY, AND FAINT.
AND YOU MADE SURE HE, TOO, QUICKLY HAD WATER.

LET ME NOT DIE HERE AND PERISH FROM THIRST
THAT IS A VERY, VERY BITTER…

HAGAR SAW NO MERCY
WHEN HER LITTLE CHILD SUFFERED FROM THIRST.
IT SHOULD AT LEAST NOT HAPPEN BEFORE HER EYES.
SHE TURNED AWAY, AND – INSTANTLY SAW A SPRING.

LET ME NOT DIE HERE AND PERISH FROM THIRST
THAT IS A VERY, VERY BITTER…

(She falls on the stone, no strength left. She struggles a few times to raise herself. But weak from thirst, battling death, she falls back each time. Finally she gathers her last powers and looks around. She catches sight of a well. She cannot believe her eyes. She sings in amazement.)

AH, WHAT DO I SEE THERE?  I DON’T BELIEVE MY OWN EYES.
IS IT A DREAM?  I SEE A WELL, ABSOLUTELY.
NO, THIS IS NO DREAM.  IT HAS NOT FLOWN AWAY.
I SEE A WELL, YES, WITH WATER.

(She rises slowly from her place. She goes over to the well, touches it with her hands. And as she convinces herself, she sings again the same song but with more courage. She bends over the well, draws out a rope, and is shocked because she finds no bucket.)

No bucket, just a torn-off rope.
Luck played a clever joke on me and blinds me with my hope.

(She looks down into the well.)

The clear spring casts reflections.  It teases me, too.
“You can’t have me,” it murmurs, “I am far from you.”
No.  My dear God would not deceive me.
The well’s fresh water will receive me.
This is a miracle.  In God’s miracles I’ll trust.
I’ll let myself down, and – whatever must happen, must.

(She ties herself around with the rope and lets herself slowly down into the well.)

Scene 3

(From R among the deep mountains we hear singing, an Arabic tune. The voice comes ever closer until it AVSHOLEM appears in military dress. After him comes his wild servant TSIGITANG, carrying in his hand a pack of raisins and almonds and on his shoulders a flask of water. They walk down from the mountain. AVSHOLEM sits down on the stone.)

AVSHOLEM

There now, Tsigitang, now what do you say?
You see I’m right. I always know my way.
I said there was a well, and I was right.
Undo the pack. What have we got to bite?

TSIGITANG

(Bleating like a goat)

Mme-eh almmmonds, raisins mme-eh.

AVSHOLEM

(Imitates him)

But what about figs mme-eh?

TSIGITANG

Nne-eh.

AVSHOLEM

In goatherd days you fed your hungry flocks.
I’m hungry now, and out beyond those rocks
Are many trees with branches and with twigs.
So go, you goat, and pluck me some fresh figs.

TSIGITANG

Me – tree go – big, twig.
Pluck pluck. Eat a fig.

AVSHOLEM

Well, go, quickly.

TSIGITANG

Quickly go mme-eh.

(He jumps away and exits.)

AVSHOLEM

Till I have a rest I’m not leaving this spot.
Jerusalem is still far, and the day is so hot.
Raisins and almonds make a pleasant treat.
Here’s water. Really, what more do I need?

(Unfastens the pack.)

Raisins and almonds. This reminds me of a song so sweet
With which Zion’s daughter sang her little son to sleep.

IN THE TEMPLE, IN A CORNER OF A ROOM,
THE WIDOW, ZION’S DAUGHTER, SITS ALONE.
SHE ROCKS HER ONLY SON, THE LITTLE JEWISH CHILD,
AND SINGS HIM TO SLEEP WITH A PRETTY LITTLE SONG.

UNDER MY LITTLE ONE’S LITTLE CRADLE
STANDS A PURE WHITE LITTLE GOAT.
THE LITTLE GOAT WENT FAR AWAY,
PEDDLING RAISINS AND ALMONDS,
AND THAT WILL BE YOUR CALLING.
SLEEP, LITTLE ONE, SLEEP.

PROPHECY LIES IN THIS LITTLE SONG, MY CHILD.
SOMEDAY, WHEN YOU ARE OUT IN THE WORLD,
YOU’LL BE A MERCHANT PEDDLING ALL THINGS TO EAT.
YOU’LL BE A WISE, RICH, BIG MAN.

AND WHEN YOU GROW UP, LITTLE ONE,
YOU’LL REMEMBER THIS LITTLE SONG.
RAISINS AND ALMONDS –
THAT WILL BE YOUR CALLING.
MY LITTLE ONE WILL PEDDLE ALL KINDS OF GOOD THINGS.
SLEEP, LITTLE ONE, SLEEP.

A TIME OF WORLD TRADE WILL COME,
TRAVEL AND TRADE ACROSS THE WIDE WORLD.
THE WORLD WILL BE WIDE AND GREAT, AND YOU WILL BE GREATEST OF ALL.

AND WHEN YOU GROW UP, LITTLE ONE,
YOU’LL REMEMBER THIS LITTLE SONG.
RAISINS AND ALMONDS -THAT WILL BE YOUR CALLING.
MY LITTLE ONE WILL PEDDLE ALL KINDS OF GOOD THINGS.
SLEEP, LITTLE ONE, SLEEP.

A TIME OF RAILROADS WILL COME.
THEY WILL COVER HALF THE WIDE WORLD.
YOU WILL TRAVEL THE IRON TRACKS,
AND YOU WILL GO FURTHEST OF ALL.

AND WHEN YOU GROW UP, LITTLE ONE,
YOU’LL REMEMBER THIS LITTLE SONG.
RAISINS AND ALMONDS -THAT WILL BE YOUR CALLING.
MY LITTLE ONE WILL PEDDLE ALL KINDS OF GOOD THINGS.
SLEEP, LITTLE ONE, SLEEP.
(He finishes singing, puts aside the pack, takes the flask in his hand.)
There. A small snack, but a tasty one.
A drink of water, and then I’m done.

WHAT DO I HEAR?
THE VOICE OF A SPIRIT!

SHULAMIS
(From the well)

WHO IS THERE? I WILL BLESS YOU.
RESCUE A HUMAN BEING.
HAVE MERCY AND PULL ME OUT.
HAVE MERCY AND PULL ME OUT.

AVSHOLEM

(Still afraid, steps backward)

WHO KNOWS WHAT’S IN THERE TO FOOL ME,
CALLING ME TO TRICK ME INTO ITS NET?

SHULAMIS

(From the well)

NO, DON’T THINK I’M A SPIRIT. I AM HUMAN. PLEASE BELIEVE ME.
BORN FLESH AND BLOOD, THE SAME AS YOU.

AVSHOLEM

THEN PROVE IT. SAY THE NAME OF GOD.

SHULAMIS

HERE IS YOUR SIGN: I CALL ON THE NAME OF GOD.

AVSHOLEM

SWEAR TO ME.

SHULAMIS

I SWEAR TO YOU BY GOD.

AVSHOLEM

(Reassured, he goes over to the well and looks into it, and sees SHULAMIS.. He is amazed and sings happily)

OH, IT’S A PERSON. NO, BETTER: IT’S A GIRL
YOUNG AS THE SPRINGTIME, SHINING LIKE A PEARL.
WHAT SINNER COULD REFUSE HIS HAND TO GIVE
TO RESCUE SUCH A CREATURE, HELP HER LIVE?
DON’T BE AFRAID. YOU’RE SAFE NOW. I’M THE LUCKY MAN
WHO HEARD YOU IN THE DESERT, BY GOD’S PLAN.

Scene 5

(He pulls her out by the well rope. She is pale. She gives him one look, then directs her gaze to heaven and falls to her knees and thanks God. Meanwhile AVSHOLEM stands and looks at her, wondering at her beauty. He sings also, starting at * below.)

SHULAMIS

I THANK YOU, GOD, UNRESERVEDLY,
FOR SHOWING ME TWO MIRACLES.

*(AVSHOLEM joins in here.)

FIRST, I ALMOST CHOKED WITH THIRST.
YOU SENT ME THE SPRING OF WATER.
THEN IT WANTED TO SWALLOW ME LIKE A LION
ONE GLANCE FROM YOU – I LIVE.

AVSHOLEM

AH, GOD, WHAT DO I SEE?
WHAT A JEWEL!
SHE BLINDS ME LIKE A DIAMOND.
WHAT MAGIC ENCHANTS ME NOW?
IN THE VAST WILDERNESS, SUCH A DAZZLING CHILD!

(He approaches her slowly and raises her. She remains standing a few minutes and stares at AVSHOLEM. Finally she speaks to him.)

SHULAMIS

So you are God’s angel, in human form.
No, not a man: God’s messenger, God’s angel.  Yes!
In human form, perhaps.  And may He bless
Your courage and your generous deed.
You came and saved me in my awful need.
Oh thank you, thank you.  How can I repay-

AVSHOLEM

Don’t thank me. God sent me here today.
Thanks go to Him Who sent me here.
You yourself knew that, it was clear:
On your knees, you praised him with veneration.
I merely felt the human obligation
That anyone would feel in such a case.
I saved someone in need in this wild place.
I expect and deserve no reward
Beyond what the deed itself can well afford.
For instead of an ordinary person, what did I see?
What did I find, unhoped-for, shining at me?
A gold piece in the wilderness, a diamond in the sand!
Say, lovely child, what mischance – who? – brought you to this wild land?

SHULAMIS

My father left Bethlehem for Zion for the holiday.
I came to see him off. And oh! The way
The pilgrims marched, inspired – turned glad faces
Toward God’s holy land, toward Zion’s holy places!
For soon the Temple’s towers, its golden spires that touch the skies
Would flash like lightning in their eyes.
Soon they would kneel in the Temple’s high halls,
Its marble hallways, gold-encrusted walls.
Soon they’d see the priests before the altar,
Soon smell the fresh fragrance of incense smoke rising,
Soon hear the Levites’ lovely voices singing:
Sweet sounds of rams’ horns, drums, and harp strings ringing.
“How lovely are thy tents, O Jacob, thy dwelling place, O Israel!”
If only I might someday live to see it all, as well.

AVSHOLEM

But you can have your wish. It’s not so hard to do.

SHULAMIS

Don’t stop me, hear me through.
Excited by that sweet idea, that holy thought,
I forgot myself and missed the pathway that I sought.
I lost my way. I looked around.
I stood in wilderness. All sand. No sound.
The sun burned down on me, thirst burned inside,
No drop of water though I died.
And then – a well! – but oh, there was no pail.
I let myself down, trusting God as my avail.
The spring refreshed me. To my escape I gave no thought.
And that is where you came on me, distraught.

AVSHOLEM

Yes, I found you, and you won me. True!
I found more than I hoped for in you.
From your mouth come not mere words, but pearls.
From your eyes shines wisdom, veiled modestly by curls.
And on your golden forehead is engraved
Your purest innocence and virtuous ways.
And if I found you, it must be truth
That I deserve you, yes, in all your radiant youth,
You’re mine. You’re destined just for me.

SHULAMIS

But what’s your name, your father, and the rest?

AVSHOLEM

My name is Avsholem. My family is blessed.
In Jerusalem, my relatives are priests;
My great-great-greats descended from the Maccabees.
I lack no worldly goods – on dainties freely sup –
But happiness has not yet filled my cup.
Ah, pour into it one sweet word, fast,
And the goblet will be full at last.
I am your captive, and you may be sure
You are not mistaken. My heart is pure.

SHULAMIS

The very moment when you drew me from the depth,
That very moment when you saved my soul from death,
You took my grateful soul, my being, in your hand.
First gratitude, then love at gratitude’s command:
Now both emotions strong together stand.
Yet may a simple maiden love a great one of our land?
In fresh green vales and Bethlehem’s mountains steep,
Manoakh’s child Shulamis tends her father’s goats and sheep.
Far from the noisy town, she sings her quiet days along,
Thrilling but to God, for him her song –
Till with no warning you appeared, my savior! You-

AVSHOLEM

-Take breath!

My darling, I am yours till death.
And death alone can tear us two apart.

SHULAMIS

Apart- yes, we’ll be torn, heart from bleeding heart.
Lambs and kids await me, and wild flowers,
While wealthy ladies wait in Jerusalem’s green bowers
To dazzle and bewitch you. Oh yes, they can.
They know just how to catch a man.
Their practiced charm, their artificial blush and smile –
Expensively fixed up – oh, they have style.
What hope then for a shepherdess – the memory of a shepherdess, no more –
Unpolished, unalluring, clumsy, dull, a bore.
Your world is there, and once you’re happy there,
If my heart breaks, you will not know or care.
Then who will hear me? Where will I complain?
Who will judge you guilty for my pain?
Oh the thought is frightful, terror beyond death.
Don’t raise me up so high, to throw me to the depths.
That instant when you surprised me – the dawn of our love’s morn –
Will end and die so quickly, a babe newborn.

AVSHOLEM

Embrace your joy, and let me do the same.
Why suffer, child?  Delusions, doubts?  For shame!
I know those worldly women all too well.
So when I found you, I could tell
You’re what I’ve dreamed of for so long:
Shulamis, like your namesake in the Song of Songs.
Queens begged King Solomon to smile, but he!- he frowned
Until the jewel of his ideal he found.
Who inspired him, awake and asleep?
Shulamis the shepherdess, tending her sheep.
He knew a maid like that is pure,
Her worth past rubies, with a pearl’s allure.
Oh, Shulamis, by Him who sent me here to save your life,
I swear to be true to you, and you will be my wife.
I swear it.  Say the words, you too, with pride.
I see your innocence is too shy to speak out
But I hear your feelings, hear them shout,
“Embrace your bridegroom, you darling dear, you bride!”

(He embraces her. She falls on his neck and says, weeping, “Avsholem!” And he too says, “Shulamis!” After another pause, she lifts her head and sings.)

YES, WHERE WILL WE FIND THE WITNESSES
TO OUR WORDS,
TO HEAR OUR VOW,
LEST IT BE BROKEN?

(Both look around. A wild cat springs out onto a hill and stands as if listening.)

AVSHOLEM

(Gestures with his hand)

AH, THE WELL, THAT ONE THERE,
AND THE CAT, THAT ONE THERE,
THEY WILL BE, I SWEAR,
WITNESSES TO OUR VOW.
WHICHEVER OF US SHOULD BREAK THE VOW
THEY ARE THE ONES THAT WILL DEMAND ON THE SPOT
REVENGE, REVENGE, AND TOGETHER.

SHULAMIS

(Sings the same, and then they sing together as duet.)

BUT THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN TO US
BECAUSE GOD HIMSELF BROUGHT US TOGETHER.
GOD HIMSELF COMMANDS IT,
THE HEART ITSELF KNOWS IT,
LOVE ALONE SUPPORTS IT.
WE REMAIN FAITHFUL, FOREVER FAITHFUL.
WE REMAIN FOREVER FAITHFUL TO THE VOW.

Scene 6

(They embrace each other. Meanwhile TSIGITANG runs in. He sees them embracing and starts to laugh.)

TSIGITANG

I go – no find fig. You no go – find girl.

SHULAMIS

Who is that?

AVSHOLEM

My servant, once a goatherd: sure-footed, and a merry heart.

TSIGITANG

What? You have girl? Me too. Give me girl too, like that. Sweetheart.

(He searches among the mountains and in the well, and climbs in)

AVSHOLEM

He will accompany you and show the way.
But then – Jerusalem! I cannot stay.
Jerusalem’s preparing for delights.
It’s sing, dance, feast for seven lovely nights,The harvest holiday: one festive week!
Next day at dawn – (your father’s fast asleep) –
This rooster crows, “Good morning! I’m your son,”
And wakes you with one kiss. Or more than one.

TSIGITANG

(Jumps out of the well weeping)

A she for mmme. Mme-eh mme-ee a girl.

(Wrings his hands)

AVSHOLEM

Home. There give girl.
First come, Tsigitang, to Bethlehem you go
And take her home. The way you know.

(TSIGITANG repeats last word of each line)

From this mountain, down the valley, left. Take note.
You’ll hear the calls of donkeys, camels, sheep, and goats.
There you must take her, quickly. No, don’t speak.
Go quickly now, and come right back.

TSIGITANG

Hear down from mountain calling. Flocks! Oh oh, sweet herds!
Take girl and back to you. Mme-eh, no, no words.

AVSHOLEM

Au revoir, my darling, my beloved child,
My lovely diamond shining in the wild.

SHULAMIS

Auf wiedersehn, my hero and my life.
Avsholom mine, hold fast your vow. Hold fast your wife.

TSIGITANG

(Looks enviously at them holding hands)

Me too like that, like that, like that one.

AVSHOLEM

Which one?

TSIGITANG

That. That one. Love. Life.

AVSHOLEM

Come home. There give too.

(TSIGITANG dances with joy. Meanwhile they have been climbing up the mountain. AVSHOLEM stands L, SHULAMIS R, TSIGITANG between them. He looks at them and admires how they sing. They repeat the vow, each one taking a verse. From deep in the distance among the mountains, we see shepherds turning homeward with their flocks, singing and playing shepherds’ pipes. Finally SHULAMIS, accompanied by TSIGITANG, goes off R, and AVSHOLEM L, away on the mountain. Moonlight.)

CURTAIN falls quietly.

ACT TWO

Scene 1

(About 2 months later. The stage is brightly lit, showing a wine garden outside the city of Jerusalem. Center stage under palm trees stands a high, decorated platform. Steps go up to it, and two old-fashioned chairs stand on it. R stand many young men, including AVSHOLEM and his friend KHANANYE. Opposite them stand many girls, some with drums in their hands, some with tambourines, some with veils and flowers. Among them, with a crown of pearls on her head, stands AVIGAIL. All the girls dance. TSIGITANG copies all the girls, makes comic grimaces. All laugh, and they all dance off. Two of the girls who were dancing in circle run back onstage, position themselves not far from the young men and sing.)

GIRLS

RUN TO ME, YOU FINE YOUNG MAN.
SNATCH ME UP, YOU HANDSOME BOY.
JUST LOOK. LOOK HERE.
DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM, WHO?
THE RICHEST IN THE WHOLE CITY.
MY DADDY GIVES YOU SHEEP AND CATTLE,
AND WINE GARDENS TO WONDER AT,
AND MANY COINS.
YOU WILL BECOME RICH,
THE RICHEST IN THE WHOLE CITY.
WELL, SAY, “YES.”

(They turn and run away.)

AVSHOLEM

Khananye, which is the prettiest one?

KHANANYE

None of them.

AVSHOLEM

Which do you have your eye on?

KHANANYE

What do you care?

(Another two girls run in toward the boys and sing.)

GIRLS

MONEY IS ROUND AND CAN BE LOST.
FAMILY NAME CANNOT BE STOLEN.
JUST LOOK. LOOK HERE.
DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM, WHO?
THE BEST BORN OF THE WHOLE CITY.
MY GRANDMOTHER IS FROM A GOOD FAMILY.
MY GRANDFATHER TOO, OF BLESSED MEMORY.
YOU WILL OF RIGHT
DANCE IN THE INNER CIRCLE,
HONORED BY THE WHOLE CITY.
WELL, SAY, “YES.”

(They turn and dance out.)

AVSHOLEM

You’re stubborn, Khananye. You still won’t say?
All right, I bet you I’ll guess anyway.

KHANANYE

Leave me alone. You have eyes in your head.
Don’t worry about my choice. Look for yourself instead.

AVSHOLEM

Who is that? Khananye, who’s that one now,
That one with the crown of pearls on her brow?

KHANANYE

You don’t know Avigail? You’ve heard of her, at least:
The High Priest’s daughter, the pearl of the East.

AVSHOLEM

(With a smile)

Avigail. I know where your mind is. It’s there.

KHANANYE

(Angry)

Shut up. I saw her first. That’s only fair.

(Another two girls from the group run out and sing.)

GIRLS

WHAT GOOD IS A GRANDPA IN HEAVEN?
LIFE ISN’T LIVED WITH YOUR GRANNY.
JUST LOOK. LOOK HERE.
DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM, WHO?
THE MOST INTELLIGENT AND PIOUS OF THE WHOLE CITY.
INTELLIGENCE AND PIETY ARE THE KERNEL
BEAUTY CAN BE RUINED,
BUT WITH INTELLIGENCE AND PIETY
YOU WILL BE ENVIED EVERYWHERE IN THE WHOLE CITY.
WELL, SAY “YES.”

AVSHOLEM

What are you waiting for, Khananye? Go catch her in your net.

KHANANYE

None of your business. I’ll get her yet.

AVIGAIL

(Up on the platform, loudly)

LISTEN TO ME, MY DEAR SISTERS, JEWISH CHILDREN.
TO RUN IS NOT GOOD WHEN EVERYONE DOES IT SEPARATELY.
I’VE THOUGHT UP A BETTER PLAN.
ALL AS ONE, LET’S BE UNITED.
WE WILL ALL LINE UP IN A ROW.
WHOEVER SOMEONE SNATCHES WILL CERTAINLY BE HIS BRIDE.
DO YOU AGREE?

ALL

We agree.

(All line up, AVIGAIL at the head, singing. They wink at the young men and beckon them closer.

COME THEN, COME THEN, FINE YOUNG MAN,
SNATCH ME UP QUICKLY.
COME THEN, COME TO YOUR BRIDE.
TAKE ME OUT QUICKLY.

BOYS

RUN HERE QUICKLY.

GIRLS

KEEP TO THE LOVELY PLAN.

BOYS

CLOSER, CLOSER.

GIRLS

NO, THAT WON’T WORK FOR YOU.

BOYS

AND IF WE RUN TO YOU?

(They take a step forward.)

GIRLS

THAT’S ANOTHER METHOD.

BOYS

WE WILL FIND YOU YET.

GIRLS

WELL, YOU’VE WON. HA HA HA HA.

BOYS

(Join)

HA HA HA HA.

(They sing it over three times until all the girls run around in a circle. Meanwhile AVSHOLEM whispers in TSIGITANG’s ear that if TSIGITANG notices that KHANANYE wants to catch AVIGAILl, he should jump between them and prevent it. And then when KHANANYE does run over to snatch AVIGAIL, TSIGITANG runs before him and falls over him. AVISHOLEM uses the opportunity and snatches AVIGAIL. All laugh. All the girls put a wreath of flowers and a short veil on AVIGAIL’s head.)

AVSHOLEM

Run home to my friends, quick as a shake.
Tell them I’m flying, a wedding to make.
Say: Come here on wings to bless us and lead us
To the holy Temple, and to married joy speed us.

TSIGITANG

Me go say you gotten shakes.

KHANANYE

(Angry)

God pay you back for your mean trick.

ONE

Who knows what the wild one will babble. Come, quick.

(Exit)

TSIGITANG

MM-e too bride. Me too one like that.

AVSHOLEM

Yes, there, when we get home.

(Sings to AVIGAIL)

YOU ARE MY BRIDE. I CAUGHT YOU.
YES, YOU BEAUTY, I FOUND YOU.
NOW AT LAST I CAN BE REALLY HAPPY.
A BRIDE LIKE A PRINCESS.
I ALONE HAVE SUCH A ONE.
WHAT EMPTY VIRTUES DO I HAVE
THAT LIE ONLY IN HER.
I GIVE ALL FOR BEAUTY.
THAT’S WHAT I MUST POSSESS.
GOD DESTINED FOR ME BEAUTY AND RICHES, AND OF COURSE INTELLIGENCE

I AM SO LUCKY. EVERYONE SING, “AMEN, SELA.”

(All sing, making oriental movements with their bodies and singing “Sela.”)

AVIGAIL

YOU ARE MY GROOM, YOU CAUGHT ME.
YOU WELL-BORN ONE, YOU FOUND ME.
THE BRIDE NEEDED A GROOM.
SHE DIDN’T LOOK FOR ANY VIRTUE;
I HAVE THOSE MYSELF.
DIDN’T LOOK FOR SHEEP AND CATTLE;
WE HAVE THOSE OURSELVES.
BEAUTY IS NOTHING WONDERFUL FOR ME;
I AM BEAUTIFUL MYSELF.
GOD DESTINED FOR ME ONE WHO IS HANDSOME AND FINE, AND OF COURSE INTELLIGENT.
I AM SO LUCKY. EVERYONE SING, “AMEN SELA.”

(All join in.)

TSIGITANG

YES, HAVE, GROOM, FOUND
YES, HAVE, SPIRITS, ME, SNATCHED.
HAVE, ALREADY, ALL, ME VIRTUE.
NOT LOOK GROOM, NOT LOOK BRIDE.
BRIDE, I AM MYSELF.
NOT LOOK, NOT SHEEP, NOT CATTLE.
SHEEP I AM MYSELF.
NOT HANDSOME, NOT ME, NOT WONDERFUL.
I AM HANDSOME MYSELF.
SO SO DESTINED. A BEAUTIFUL, AN INTELLIGENT, A PURE OF COURSE.
LUCKY ME. SING. AMELELA.

(He dances and cuts capers with drums in his hand.)

SOMEONE

Here’s priest and here are friends for groom and bride.
This day their joy be glorified.

Scene 2

(Music plays a march. Young Men escort the PRIEST and friends. Some lead the groom up onto the platform and seat him on a chair. Girls do the same with the bride. The PRIEST positions himself below them, near the tree. He lays his hands on their heads and blesses them.)

PRIEST

THE COUPLE MUST COME ADORNED.
TO BE LED TOGETHER AS A COUPLE.
MAZL TOV. MAY GOD SEND
HIS BLESSING ON THE NEW PAIR.
AND MAY HE PROTECT THEIR FAMILY
WITH LONG YEARS.

(All repeat the blessing. Music plays a dance. The Young Men and the Girls dance together, illuminated by various fires and flares.)

CURTAIN

ACT THREE

Scene 1

(A mountainous terrain. Far away to the L can be seen the village of Bethlehem. A very old building with a broken down tower stands on a mountain peak. Beside it, a palm tree and an old broken column. SHULAMIS stands, leaning against the column, deep in sad thought. She looks continually to the R into the distance, protecting her eyes with her hand from the moon’s rays. A flock is grazing in the valley by the mountain. It is sunrise. She makes a sad gesture with her hand and starts slowly down the mountain, looking around continually. She sighs deeply and sings.)

SHULAMIS

SABBATH, HOLY DAY, AND FEAST DAY,
I SAY MY PRAYERS MYSELF ALONE.
I HAVE MY HOLY ARK AND THERE I PRAY.
NO ONE PRAYS AT IT BUT I ALONE.
MY SAD HEART IS THERE THE LECTERN.
NONE SEE ME TURN THE SCROLL ABOUT.
LOVE IS THERE MY LIGHT ETERNAL;
IT BURNS AND NEVER WILL GO OUT.

I AM THE CANTOR, AND I SING ALONE.
MY GRIEFS MY ONLY CHOIR MAKE.
WE SING SAD MELODIES IN PERFECT TONE;
AT JOYFUL TUNES, OUR VOICES BREAK.
HOPE LEADS THE PRAYERS UNENDING.
WE HEAR HER EVEN WHEN SHE’S STILL.
WE HEAR HER CRYING AND LAMENTING,
AND TEARS BEAT TIME; THEY ALWAYS WILL.

WOMEN ARE UNSCHOOLED, BUT WE TOO CAN PRAY.
PAIN TEACHES US TO READ, AND SIGH,
FINE COMMENTARY ON LOVE’S YESTERDAY.
OUR GALLERY IS NEARER GOD ON HIGH.
ENOUGH OF PRAYING, AND ENOUGH LAMENT.
ENOUGH OF WEEPING UNDISCLOSED.
I HAVE SENT MY MOURNER’S PRAYER TO HEAVEN.
GOD HEAR IT! SYNAGOGUE IS CLOSED.

(SHULAMIS covers her face with her hands and weeps.)

I paid too dearly for this life, this faded flower.
Why suffer through my days, cruel hour after hour?
I wish that thirst had burned me to a fiery coal.
I wish the well had drawn me to its watery soul.
Oh, there’s no worse death, no worse pain,
Than to hope, to wait, and to long in vain.

(Pause)

On the day that he promised me he would come back
I slipped out to meet him – saw his servant, his pack.
What a fool!  Nothing there.  Is this then my fate?
Every second’s a day, every minute a year.  And I wait.
Two winters of windstorms and dark desert hours.
Two budding springtimes and small bright wildflowers.
Caravans pass. They always return.
Where’s Avsholem, for whom my memories yearn?
How can it be?  I cannot explain
How he, the poet, the one without stain,
Who, eyes raised to heaven, pledged me his love –
Who vowed love forever before God above –
He, my rescuer, to whom I owe life,
To whom I surrendered and swore to be wife –
He is smiling today at a rich city girl.
She dazzles with bracelets and plays with a curl.
She presses him close, her arms vines round a staff.
He quotes her my vow – as a joke! – and they laugh.

(With painful anger)

Spring, you cat.  That’s not love, that is sin.
Stab your sharp claws deep into his skin.
Tear him off.  Drag him.  The well – throw him in.
Choke him.  Drown him.  Don’t let him up.
You’re my witnesses.  Vengeance, a rich flowing cup!
Ha, he weeps?  He tries to scream but can’t?
He pleads with you.  He begs, “Have pity and relent?”

(Good humoredly)

Well, well, let him go.  Let him go.  Let him be.
No need to torment him.  Don’t you see?
He regrets what he did.  And now he’ll be good.
I’m sorry too, and I’ll forgive him, as I should.
A man can make a mistake but still honor his vow.
He will come to me yet, if not today then tomorrow.
He swore he’d be mine forever until death.
“Death”?  Oh, close my mouth.  Stop my breath.
He swore death alone could keep us apart,
And maybe death has stopped his loving heart.
And he loved till the end, but his family said no,
And he longed for me and pined, but they wouldn’t let him go,
And he died of sorrow because we were apart.
And here I was angry at you, my poor, poor sweetheart.

(Painful and weeping)

Sleep sweetly in your grave, my love.  Sleep in peace.
I’m yours, forever, Avsholem.  I’ll never cease.
I would die for you.  I will live for you.
My heart is with you.  Till my death I’ll be true.
My will is a fortress, an iron band.

(Decidedly)

I’ll never show myself again in all this land.
No other man on earth will win my hand.
If my father tries to force me to a match,
Like a cat I’ll spring at his eyes, and I’ll scratch.
Madness – in madness – that’s how I’ll hide.
No bridegroom in Bethlehem will want a crazy bride.

(Pause)

Yes, I’m a madwoman to all except one.
I’ll keep the secret. I’ll tell no one.
Nature, what can you be feeling?
Like me, like my heart, you must be reeling.
I see from afar how you throw the sand high.
You blow from all sides. You darken the sky.
Wait, angry storm, for now I go home,
About these mountains nevermore to roam.

(She runs off quickly, looking back at the storm.)

Scene 2

(The simple room of SHULAMIS’ father. Old MANOAKH enters in the midst of a conversation with a few young men, who follow him on.)

MANOAKH

Well, my dear gentlemen, what can I say?
You’d like to be wed this very day.
My daughter is young. I’ll let her flower at God’s pace,
And then she’ll be the one to choose her husband’s face.

ONE

My honorable man, forgive me if I’m bold.
To preach and counsel thus, the counselor must be old.
Didn’t you feel, when you yourself were young,
How young blood yearns, as in love songs we’ve all sung,
For a girl so innocent and beautiful
As your Shulamis, so virtuous and dutiful?
Say the word.  Decide right now.
You choose yourself.  A father must know how.
Which one of us will be the lucky man
To wed Shulamis?  Choose.  You know you can.

MANOAKH

No wonder at all that a man can get confused.
Day or night, they bang the door and will not be refused.
This one’s high born, that one’s pious, that one’s rich.
I told you: I still must ask my daughter which.
Sshh, here comes another suitor to command
That I make him happy with my daughter’s hand.

(YOAV GIDONI strides in, dressed in military uniform, bows to MANOAKH in oriental manner.)

YOAV GIDONI

MY NAME IS YOAV GIDONI.
MY NAME IS YOAV GIDONI.
MY NAME IS FINE.
I AM THE STRONGEST OF JEWISH HEROES.
I STRUCK AT THE ROMANS,
DROVE AWAY MANY ROBBERS,
TOOK MANY CAPTIVES,
AND DEALT REALLY GOOD BLOWS TO ALL ENEMIES.
I FOUGHT MANY BATTLES
I LAY ALL MY LAUREL WREATHS HERE FOR YOU.
YOU HAVE A DAUGHTER, INFINITELY BEAUTIFUL.
MY LOVE FOR HER IS GREAT.
IF SHE CANNOT BE MY BRIDE NOW –
NO, I WILL NOT STAND FOR IT.

(MANOAKH makes a sign to him to place himself off to the side a bit because AVINADAV, the rich citizen, enters bowing.)

AVINADAV

MY NAME IS AVINADAV.
MY NAME IS AVINADAV.
MY NAME IS FINE.
I AM THE RICHEST OF JEWISH WEALTHY MEN.
I HAVE FERTILE FIELDS
AND MANY THICK FORESTS
AND NUMBERS OF BEAUTIFUL HOUSES
AND WINE GARDENS ON MOUNTAINS AND IN VALLEYS
AND MANY BARRELS OF GOLD AND SILVER.
I LAY ALL MY PROPERTY AND RICHES HERE FOR YOU.
YOU HAVE A DAUGHTER INFINITELY BEAUTIFUL.
MY LOVE FOR HER IS GREAT.
IF SHE CANNOT BE MY BRIDE NOW –
NO, I WILL NOT STAND FOR IT.

(MANOAKH makes a sign to him to place himself off to the side because NOSN, the High Priest, enters and bows.)

HIGH PRIEST

MY NAME IS NATHAN THE PRIEST.
MY NAME IS NATHAN THE PRIEST.
MY NAME IS FINE.
I AM THE MOST PIOUS OF JEWISH PRIESTS.
I HAVE MORE THAN STRONG MEN.
ALL FIRST-BORN OFFERINGS BELONG TO ME.
AND A TITHE OF ALL THAT GROWS.
AND WHO EATS FROM THE SACRIFICES,
AND ALSO THE OXEN, POULTRY, AND MANY MANY LAMBS?
I LAY ALL MY RICH OFFERINGS HERE FOR YOU.
YOU HAVE A DAUGHTER INFINITELY BEAUTIFUL.
MY LOVE FOR HER IS GREAT.
IF SHE CANNOT BE MY BRIDE NOW –
NO, I WILL NOT STAND FOR IT.

MANOAKH

My sons, you never will agree.
There are too many of you pestering me.
In order to respect each suitor’s claim,
Let’s just cast lots, and see who’ll reach his aim.
Do you agree?

ALL

We agree.

(A table is brought in with parchment and chalk.)

MANOAKH

(Recitative to musical accompaniment)

Each of you must sign his name.
Here. Bits of parchment, all of them the same.

ALL

Fine, we obey.

MANOAKH

Well then, begin.

YOAV GIDONI

(Approaches the little table and writes)

I, Yoav Gidoni Son of Eliezer HaLevi

(He folds the piece of parchment and throws it into the box.)

IN SUCH AN HOUR
I LAY THIS HERE.
TAKE IT AND MIX IT,
SO THE BLESSING
“ACHIEVED HIS END”
COMES OUT FOR ME.

ALL

(Signaling to him with a finger)

DON’T YOU BELIEVE, BRAGGART,
THAT THERE IS ONLY ONE NUMBER.
THERE ARE MANY HERE.
KEEP IN MIND
THAT THE WINNER
CAN BE ANY OF US EQUALLY.

(This is all repeated when AVINADAV and NOSN the Priest write their names, up to the chorus.)

MANOAKH

(Mixes the box)

My child, put in your hand
And pull out the name of the lucky man.

(One of them puts his hand into the box. He takes a slip out and cries, “Yoav Gidoni!” All shake their heads sadly, gesture, and sign to each other in astonishment that the winner is GIDONI. MANOAKH takes GIDONI by the hand and congratulates him in friendly manner, while GIDONI laughs at all the others and teases them.)

YOAV GIDONI

SO NOW WHO’S THE WINNER?
SO WHO?
I WIN. SO GO.
ONLY THIS WAS MISSING FOR MY HAPPINESS,
AND IN A SECOND I ACQUIRED THIS TOO.
NOW I TRULY AM RICH
AND I LAUGH AND LAUGH.
YOU TOO, FATHER-IN-LAW,
MAY TEASE THEM SAYING “GO GO GO.”
YOU MUST BE GLAD YOURSELF
THAT IT TURNED OUT THIS WAY.
HOW BAD IT WOULD HAVE BEEN FOR YOU
IF IT HAD FALLEN ON ANOTHER MAN.
WELL, WHAT ARE YOU STILL WAITING FOR SO LONG?
YOU LOST. WELL? GO.
WHY ARE YOU STANDING THERE WITH YOUR NOSES HANGING DOWN?
YOU’VE GOT NO REASON TO BE ANGRY AT ME.
IF THIS IS THE WAY IT IS, I MUST DESERVE IT ALL
AND EVEN MORE.

(In the last lines of singing, we hear SHULAMIS’ voice offstage. She is singing the last verse of her song.)

MANOAKH

Sshh. My Shulamis at the door. She’s coming inside.
My dear young bridegroom, prepare to meet your bride.

Scene 3

(SHULAMIS enters deep in thought, head down, not looking around.)

MANOAKH

So deep in thought? Daughter dear, look up and see
The bridegroom standing next to me.

YOAV GIDONI

(Approaches SHULAMIS and presents himself courteously.)

Yoav Gidoni.

SHULAMIS

(Looks at him with a smile.)

Bridegroom? A really nice boy.

(To her father)

Mazl tov, father, I wish you both joy.

MANOAKH

I don’t understand you, daughter.

YOAV GIDONI

(Steps up to SHULAMIS)

Shulamis, one word.

SHULAMIS

(Pushes him away angrily)

No.

(Runs around like a lunatic, throwing everyone away from her.)

I AM HOLY. DO NOT COME NEAR.
I WILL KILL ANYBODY, NO MATTER WHO.
GO AWAY, AWAY FROM ME.
WITNESS. HEAVEN. WELL. CAT. WILD BEAST.

(Faster)

WITNESS, CAT, WELL, HEAVEN,
ALL TURN IN A RING.

(Suddenly she stands still, deep in thought, just as if she remembered something. Sadly.)

OH, THE WELL,

(Starts to cry hard and falls on her father’s neck. All stare, dumbfounded. SHULAMIS tears herself suddenly away from her father’s hand and again runs around singing.)

A STRONG WALL IN MY HEART.
NO ONE CAN KNOW MY PAIN.
GO AWAY …

(At last again falls on her father’s neck.)

MANOAKH

What is it?  What’s happened?  Shulamis, darling, come here, aside.
Tell me what’s wrong.  Come and confide.
You’re not yourself.  You’ve changed.  Come near.
Come tell your father all he should hear.

SHULAMIS

You want to know? You want to know?
That I- sshh – a vow – no no no no.

(She makes a pounce at one of the young men, holds him back with one hand and with the other shows him the world around him as if she saw something there.)

THERE IN THE FAR WILDERNESS.
THERE WHERE THE HOT SUN BURNS,

(She shoves him away.)

STANDS A LITTLE WELL ON THE SIDE.
A LITTLE STREAM OF COOL WATER FLOWS THERE.

(She grabs another young man.)

NO FLOWERS WILL APPEAR
IN THE FAR, WILD, SANDY PLACE.

(Shoves this one away)

THERE IS HEARD, MEEOWING AND CRYING,
A WILDCAT.

(She runs on tiptoe over to her father as if she is whispering a secret to him.)

“MEEOW,” SHE SCREAMS ANGRILY.
DO YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE “MEEOW”?

ALL

WE WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE “MEEOW.”

SHULAMIS

BUT THAT YOU MAY NOT KNOW. NO.

(She tears her hair.)

ONLY I KNOW THE SECRET. YES.

(Falls on her father’s neck and laughs.)

MANOAKH

(Anxious, wrings his hands)

Oh, woe is me.

ALL

WE HAVE NO IDEA NOW
WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE CHILD.

Shulamis

(Again grabs and drags someone and shows him the vision.)

SHE MAKES HER EARS BIGGER
JUST AS IF SHE STOOD AND LISTENED TO SOMETHING.
AND THE CLAWS LIKE SHARP KNIVES
STICK OUT LIKE PINS.
IN A CIRCLE, YOU GREAT STRONG MEN.
FRIGHTFUL HATE EMANATES FROM HER MUZZLE,
AND FROM HER BURNING EYES
A FIERY ANGER SPARKS.
“MEEOW,” SHE SCREAMS ANGRILY, AND SHOWS HER SHARP TEETH.

ALL

WHAT SHARP TEETH?

SHULAMIS

OH, WATCH OUT, BEHAVE WELL
IF YOU DON’T WANT SOMETHING BAD TO HAPPEN TO YOU.
YES.
THERE, SEE, FLYING TO THE WELL,
A THIRSTY YOUNG MAN. HE DRINKS A LOT.
HE LIES DOWN TO REST A BIT
AND DOESN’T THINK ABOUT ANYTHING.
AN EYE THROWS A LIGHTNING SPARK
OH, TAKE CARE, I AM WARNING YOU NICELY,
UNLESS YOU WISH MUCH EVIL TO TAKE PLACE.
YES.
SEE THERE, FLYING TO THE WELL,
A THIRSTY YOUNG MAN. AND HE DRINKS DEEPLY!
HE LIES DOWN TO REST A BIT,
AND THINKS ABOUT NOTHING.
A LIGHTNING GLANCE FROM AN EYE…
THE WILD CAT SPRINGS OUT
AND SEIZES HIS THROAT WITH HER CLAWS
TO STRANGLE HIM ON THE SPOT…
“MEE-YEW,” SHE SCREAMS ANGRILY,
“NOW YOU MUST FIND OUT FROM ME
THAT YOU MUST HOLD TO YOUR VOW.
I WAS YOUR WITNESS.”
YES

MANOAKH

Woe to my old years that I have lived to see
What my daughter has become. Who foretold it for me?

SHULAMIS

(Laughing and weeping the whole time. Plucks the hair from her head and tears off her outer garment. Finally she quiets, approaches AVINADAV with a smile, and lays her hand on him.)

Ah, a fine bridegroom, a treasure, I can tell.
I might just take this one-

(Angrily)

-and throw him in the well.

(She pushes him away from her, laughs, runs to her father. She pulls her hand, marches in military fashion to YOAV GIDONI, stands opposite him like a soldier and says delicately)

And you, great conquerer who’s knocked down fortresses, let’s see
How you’ll besiege a weak little fortress like me.

(Angrily)

Tremble before me, hero. Bow your knee, you worm,

(Indicates her breast)

For this fortress you will never storm.
Your bow and arrow and sword so stout –
Hand them over. I’ll stab your eyes out.

(With those words she grabs his sword out of its scabbard. She makes a pass at his face. The sword falls down. She runs away laughing. After a short pause, she goes over to NOSN the Priest, puts her left hand delicately on his shoulder, and with the other hand strokes his red beard.)

And you, my ginger cat, you’re here too?
Go scare other people with your mew mew.
Explain to them the holiness of a vow.
Scratch them. Choke them. Give it to them. Now.

(She claws at him, chokes him, laughs, and again falls on her father’s neck.)

MANOAKH

Woe to my years, woe to my grey hairs.
Tell me, daughter, are you tortured by cares?
What’s the matter? Soothe the awful thoughts I’m thinking.
Tell me, I beg you. My spirit is sinking.

(DUET)

SHULAMIS

YOUR QUESTIONING IS ENTIRELY IN VAIN.
I WOULD HAVE TOLD YOU IF I COULD.
ASK THE CAT. SHE’LL EXPLAIN EVERYTHING.
ASK THE WELL.
ASK THE CAT.

MANOAKH

OH HOW CAN ONE BEAR THIS?
OH MY MISFORTUNE IS GREAT.
WHAT IS THIS ABOUT A WELL?
WHOM SHOULD I LISTEN TO?
WHAT IS THIS CAT?
WOE IS ME. WHAT WILL SHE EXPLAIN?

Woe is me.

(He weeps.)

My darling Shulamis, by the Father above me,
Do me one last favor, if you still love me.
Dig me a grave and lay me in it.
I cannot survive this another minute..

SHULAMIS

(Sadly)

Ask the well.

MANOAKH

Is this what lay awaiting my gray hairs, my years:
To see my child mad, mad and drenched in tears?

SHULAMIS

(Still sadly)

Ask the cat.

MANOAKH

After she saw me off, she lost her way.
She was lost in the wilderness that fateful day.
Tell me what happened, for pity’s sake.

SHULAMIS

Ask the well.

MANOAKH

What well? Were you bitten by a snake?

SHULAMIS

Ask the cat.

MANOAKH

A cat? Ah, I will run to the end of the world for healing.
I will do anything – anything – short of stealing.
I’ll ask doctors and priests – everyone in the world –
To restore a clear mind to my poor clouded girl.

SHULAMIS

Ask the well.

MANOAKH

Well? Come, daughter. A mysterious madness.
Pray, mothers and fathers, to be spared all such sadness.

SHULAMIS

Ask the cat.

(MANOAKH leads her out, weeping bitterly. All look after them. Then they move to the side where YOAV GIDONI stands, worried. He exits sadly, head hanging. They sing after him, laughing.)

ALL

WELL NOW, WHAT MORE ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
YOU TOO HAVE NOTHING. GO!
WELL, WHY ARE YOU SILENT, YOU LUCKY RABBIT?
WHY ARE YOU GOING AROUND WITH YOUR NOSE DOWN?
THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS TO A BRAGGART,
RIGHT, GREAT HERO? GET OUT.

Scene 4

(AVSHOLEM’s rich chamber. AVSHOLEM and AVIGAIL sit very comfortably on a handsome divan, drinking coffee, cheerful and happy. TSIGITANG stands between them with a jug and pours often. He sings too and dances. AVSHOLEM and AVIGAIL sing together.)

DO YOU REMEMBER, SWEET ONE, SWEET ONE, HOW I CAUGHT YOU?
YES, MY DEAR ONE, DEAR ONE, I CHOSE YOU.
TO LIVE IN CONTENTMENT AND JOY
IN THE TRUE GARDEN OF EDEN
ONLY WE HAVE THAT.
TO BE HEALTHY AND HAPPY –
ONLY WE HAVE THAT.
AND BESIDES, A CHILD LIKE A KING’S SON-
ONLY WE HAVE THAT.
GOD HAS BLESSED US: THE CHILD IS HEALTHY, INTELLIGENT FOR SURE.
WE ARE SO FORTUNATE. LET’S SING, “AMEN SELA.”

(All sing. TSIGITANG sings too and dances. All laugh with enjoyment. TSIGITANG sees how AVSHOLEM and AVIGAIL kiss and gets between them.)

TSIGITANG

Me she like that.

AVSHOLEM

Girls like a well-groomed bridegroom. Look at you!

TSIGITANG

Groomm-meh? Groom beard. Head groom. Tail-

(Realizes he doesn’t have tail.)

Me do!

(Dances off)

AVSHOLEM

Now, my Woman of Valor, Avigail, my wife,
Admit we have a perfect married life.
We suffered through our first-born darling’s death.
One year today, the wildcat, in his cradle, stole his breath.
God gave, God took away, beloved mine.
But then God gave again, and there’s your sign.
No moaning, now.  What good is weeping?
We’re young.  My wife’s an angel in my keeping.
And just one year after we’d cause to mourn,
Our second child, our handsome boy, was born.

AVIGAIL

Where is he now? I want to see the child.

AVSHOLEM

With his nurse in the garden. The weather’s mild.

AVIGAIL

Tsigitang!

(TSIGITANG runs in. Beard combed to point. Perhaps two curls of hair curl up suggesting horns, perhaps flower in beard or hair, perhaps bell. AVSHOLEM and AVIGAIL react to perfume.)

TSIGITANG

Look! Beard, nice whiskers. Groomme-eh! Smme-ell!
Oh lovely me bridegroom! You find bride, tell.

AVSHOLEM

You can tell her yourself. You’re in love with the nurse.

TSIGITANG

Yes, me love nursie. Oh lovely nurse.

AVIGAIL

Well, go on and call her. She’ll love your goatee.

TSIGITANG

Go call her. Love whiskers. Love…

(Indicates himself, smells himself)

– Nursie love me!

AVIGAIL

Have her bring in the child right away.

TSIGITANG

Bring child. Right away. Bring nursie, bring, play!

AVIGAIL

Well, go on then, you parrot. I wish you would talk.

(Exit TSIGITANG.)

When will you teach him to speak, not to squawk?

AVSHOLEM

You’ve got the wrong creature. He doesn’t squawk; he bleats.
So what if he repeats and repeats?
He is honest and faithful, and cheerful all day.
All he asks is a bride, and he’s found his romance,
For he and his nurse love to laugh and to dance.
They make me remember our own first meeting.
(I laugh at that story at every repeating.)
You recall the wine garden, before we were married,
How I tricked poor Khananye? ‘Twas his own fault; he tarried.
He was so angry, fit to be tied –
He caught only Tsigitang to be his bride.

(They both laugh. They hear from a distance TSIGITANG’s voice. He is screeching like a cow and weeping. They listen in astonishment and listen.)

AVIGAIL

What’s the wild animal bellowing about?

(TSIGITANG enters weeping.)

AVISHOLEM

Did somebody hurt you? What makes you shout?

(TSIGITANG weeps)

Speak up. Quickly. What’s the matter? Say!

(TSIGITANG weeps)

Tell me. I’ll kill you- Don’t scare us this way.

TSIGITANG

Little baby. Cry. Little baby. Nursie.
Oh oh water. Nurse. Baby.

(Weeps)

AVSHOLEM

What?

TSIGITANG

Nurse. Cry.

(Indicates with hands on the ground. WET NURSE runs in.)

WET NURSE

(Wrings her hands)

A misfortune, my sir, my lady, a blow.
God’s sorrows have poured down upon us below.
They’re watering the garden. I watch by the well,
The child in my arms, as the gardeners will tell.
Then he wiggles and twists, and he pulls on my gown,
With no warning – so sudden – into the well. Down.

AVIGAIL

Help. My child. Where is he?

AVSHOLEM

My child. Ah.

(He falls helpless onto the divan)

WET NURSE

There. There. He’s dead, there.

AVIGAIL

(Exiting)

Call the women. Weep. Tear.

(She rips garment. She and WET NURSE out)

Scene 5

(AVSHOLEM lies on the divan sobbing convulsively. Occasionally we hear deep sighs from his chest. The music plays the melody from the “Vow” quietly. In the center of the wall a tableau appears. Under a blue scrim illuminated by moonlight we see a scene: the well, beside it the cat; SHULAMIS sits sadly by the well and looks at the cat. She embraces it. Above stands an angel. With one hand he indicates the tableau, and with the other he signs to AVSHOLEM to look at it.)

AVSHOLEM

Ha?  What is this?  An angel.  What do I spy?
Shows a well, and a cat.  A girl stands nearby.
She stands sadly.  She weeps. I know her, somehow.
Ha?

(With a wild shriek)

Shulamis!

(Quieter)

That moment!

(The tableau closes)

They witnessed our vow.
The wild cat. The well. It comes back to me now.
But revenge on us all? Unbearable cruelty.

(Pause)

No. God’s judgment, according to his prophecy.
Oh. Shulamis, I see it.  You remained true.
You kept faith.  I was faithless.  The right is with you.
You demand vengeance?  I know, I know.
You demand I be judged.  I go, I go.

(He starts out, gives a start and comes back, because he hears the voices of the women mourners who are entering.)

AVIGAIL

SCREAM WITH ME, WOMEN, TOGETHER, A WAIL, A LAMENT.
SUCH A MISFORTUNE TO HAPPEN – TWO IN ONE DAY.
STRIKE YOURSELF ON THE HEAD, STRIKE.
SUCH A MISFORTUNE, SUCH A SORROW, SUCH A PAIN, SUCH AN AFFLICTION.
TWO IN ONE DAY.
POUR ASHES ON YOUR HEADS, WOMEN.
PUT SACKCLOTH ON YOUR BODY.
TEAR YOUR HAIR THIS WAY.
SUCH A MISFORTUNE, SUCH A SORROW, SUCH A PAIN.
TWO IN ONE DAY.

(The women cross the stage. AVIGAIL falls onto the divan. She covers her face with both hands and weeps painfully. Pause. AVIGAIL breaks out in weeping.)

AVIGAIL

What guilt, what sin, great God? What did I do
That I deserved, dear Lord, such punishment from you?

AVSHOLEM

Calm yourself, my dear one. God almighty is just.
You are not guilty, no. Hold fast to your trust.

AVIGAIL

Two children dead, dead on the same day.
The Angel of Death ripped them away.
The first by the cat, the second by the well.
Who has heard of such pain, who? Come and tell.
Never has such sorrow struck any other,
Only to me – woe is me – this suffering mother.

AVSHOLEM

God’s judgment is just. One must not complain.

AVIGAIL

Why do I deserve judgment? Why? Can you explain?
And how were they guilty, what transgression untold?
The two innocent angels, the two young sweet souls.

(She falls on his neck and weeps.)

AVSHOLEM

Ah, enough, Avigail.  You’re splitting my heart.
Every word, every tear, to my soul strikes a dart
It’s all my fault.  I am why it was sent.
Yes, I deserve all martyrdom and punishment.
You are fine.  You are true.  You deserve no less
In a spouse.  But I am false.  Yes.  I confess.
I am false. I was false to you
And to another.  Yes, false to her, too.
Avigail, give me up.  You must let me go.
I gave my life to another, long long ago.

AVIGAIL

(Frightened)

What are you saying, Avsholem, my dear?
You’re asleep. Or I’m dreaming. No. What do I hear?

AVSHOLEM

This is no dream.  How did I forget?
On the way home to Jerusalem, just before we met,
Thirst burned me.  A well! – and trapped inside,
A girl.  Without me, she’d have died.
Moved by her beauty – and I had saved her life –
I vowed a sacred vow to make her my wife.
And in that wild place, to witness that vow,
A wildcat and a well.  You know everything now.

AVIGAIL

God, what do I hear?

AVSHOLEM

Ah, frivolous childhood, unthinking youth.
You make from honey, poison, and from foolishness, harsh truth.
Stirred by strong wine and by Zion’s lively joys,
By maidens’ songs and holiday noise,
I saw a goddess. Your beauty enchanted me.
And I forgot my vow entirely.
See how God forbids us to neglect a vow.
He sent his witness to rebuke me now.
No crying, dear, or anger. Now wisdom must begin.

(He takes her hand)

Only God can grant repentance for my sin.

AVIGAIL

(Confused, she moves away from him)

So-  so then it-  how could I prepare
For a blow that falls?  It struck me from nowhere.
So- the day we met, when we chose each other,
You had already pledged your heart to another?
You sinned against that one?  Revenge hers to take?
And me?  Against me?  I was just a mistake?
It’s God that you offended, and only God complain?
O my dear, your offense against me is what’s plain.
God doesn’t need sinners.  There will always be more.
But for me you’re Avsholem, the one I adore.
Only you have I known, and will know all my life.
You lit the first spark of love in your wife.
Two years you have tended the fire’s hot flames
Till our hearts have been fused, and our bodies, and names.
Heat of nature, the warmth of married bliss –
Do you honestly want to destroy all this?
Do you want to see my heart pour out blood and hot tears?
No, I know my good Avsholem, I’ve known you all these years.
It’s not so easy to rip the knot apart
With which habit and life have bound us heart to heart.
O no, you won’t find another such Avigail among the wives.
I swear it to you on our children’s poor young lives.

AVSHOLEM

Oh my dear, as hard as parting is for you,
It’s even worse for me. I’m fainting too.
How good it is to live with you in Eden, our own garden.
But oh how horrible if we receive no pardon,
If o’er Eden hang curses and storm clouds black,
While thunder and avenging lightning crack –
If fair sunbeams and breezes of delight
Refresh us nevermore – oh, what a plight.
She won’t permit it, lonely as a stone,
The unfortunate maid, till I atone.
Vengeance she demands from heaven, and rightly so.
I must return to her forever. I must go.

AVIGAIL

(Slowly)

Go.

(Decisively)

Go.

(He starts to go. She holds him back securely.)

No, Avsholem, no.  You cannot go.
You won’t leave your Avigail.  No, oh, no.
Since you show me no pity, I’ll call upon my dead,
My two dead babies, to be merciful instead.
Stand up, my strangled boy.  Stand, you from deep water taken.
Your father wants to leave me here forsaken.
Don’t let him.  Call him.  Hold him tight.
Through him you left the world too young.  Demand your right.

AVSHOLEM

(Interrupts)

Enough!

(Weeping deeply)

Oh God, give me strength to survive this ordeal.
I can’t be a hero. Please let me just not feel.
Hail down on me stones. Shoot a poison-tipped arrow.
Pierce me with swords to the bone, to the marrow.
The worst terrors of battle, seas of blood that are spilt
I have borne and can bear. But spare me this guilt.

(Pause. Slowly.)

All who loved me have suffered, and all through my fault.
To all talking, all weeping, I now call a halt.

None can pardon my sin. I confess, with repentance.

I myself, the condemned, must pronounce my own sentence.

Come, sharp quill pen, and sign the dread decree.

(He draws his sword and is about to stab himself.)

AVIGAIL

(Grabs his hand)

Stop.  Not that.  No.  I’ll set you free.
Forgive me, darling.  I beg you, forgive me.
Forgive my poor heart that has made you despair.
It’s not your fault that love took you unaware.
It was hard, I confess – I couldn’t-  I just-
But I see now – you showed me – I see, and I must-
You must live.  Yes, you must.  And I- I must try
To be strong.  See how strong, how I love!  I don’t cry.
I send you to her.  Go. That’s what you must do.
And maybe that one deserves pity too.
And I- till my death, I will spend every day
Saying psalms, doing good.  Through my tears I will pray
For myself, and for you, and the babes I loved so.

(Weeps)

Go in good health, Avsholem. Go quickly. Now go.

(They fall on each other’s necks and weep. Finally the wails of the mourning women awaken AVSHOLEM. He pulls himself up and starts slowly to leave. AVIGAIL falls to her knees.

Yes, great god, your reasons are hidden from the eye.
We sinful ones must not question, though we sigh.

(She covers her face and weeps. The women, singing their song from earlier turn back and as they approach AVIGAIL, one of them dresses her in sackcloth. And thus with the song they lead her off L.)

Scene 6

(Same setting as first tableau of Act III, but a bonfire burns on the ground with something cooking in a pot. Around the fire sit the shepherds of Bethlehem. Some play pipes and some sing. A starry night, the moon shines.)

SHEPHERDS

THE WOLF CUB DOES NOT SLEEP.
BECAUSE OF GREAT HUNGER, HE DOES NOT SLEEP.
HE LOOKS AT A LITTLE GOAT THAT DOES NOT SLEEP.
LITTLE GOAT, WHY DON’T YOU SLEEP?
ARE YOU WORRIED, SO YOU DON’T SLEEP?
YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT YOUR SHEPHERD DOESN’T SLEEP.
THE BAD TIGER DOESN’T SLEEP.
HE’S EVEN MORE CLEVER, AND DOESN’T SLEEP.
HE DOESN’T ROAR WHEN HE DOESN’T SLEEP.
HE CAN POUNCE, BECAUSE HE DOESN’T SLEEP.
THE LITTLE LAMB IS FRIGHTENED AND DOESN’T SLEEP.
HE AWAKENS ME FEARFULLY: “DON’T SLEEP!”
WHY DON’T YOU CALM YOURSELF AND SLEEP?
I’M GUARDING YOU WELL, AND I DON’T SLEEP.
THAT ANIMAL DOESN’T SLEEP.
IT’S A REFRESHING PLEASURE TO HIM, YET HE DOESN’T SLEEP.
HIS EYE GLEAMS.  DON’T SLEEP!
HIS NAILS ARE SHARP.  DON’T SLEEP!
NEVER MIND, LION.  DON’T SLEEP.
I’LL GIVE YOU A “DON’T SLEEP”!
YOU JUST REMEMBER IT WELL – AND DON’T YOU SLEEP –
THAT THE SHEPHERD IS ON GUARD, AND HE DOESN’T SLEEP.

OVADYE

Friends, did you hear what happened the other night
In the neighboring flock? Yes, the tiger – what a fight!

AZRIEL

You mean the tiger that the other night, boys,
Scared the flock and caused all the noise?

OVADYE

That shepherd should bless God – and his friends –
That the tiger didn’t rip him into shreds.
Not just one tiger, but a whole battalion!
He could never have resisted them all on his own.
We heard him yelling through the desert night.
We drew our bows and bent them back.
Our arrows hit some – though barely in sight –
And away in the night ran the rest of the pack.

AZRIEL

(Looks around)

Sshh. In the distance – something – far…

OVADYE

(Looks)

A shadow. Nothing. Imagination. A star.

AZRIEL

Something is there. It’s getting clearer.

(All get up)

Something is coming nearer and nearer.

SHEPHERD

Yes, I see it too. Friends, don’t waste time.
Prepare bow and arrow, and stay alert.

(All look toward the R)

OVADYE

You’re so scared of tigers, you’re ready to cry.
It’s people, I’ll bet you, just traveling by.

AZRIEL

Well, I’ll take that bet.

OVADYE

Bet your red cow, then.

AZRIEL

And what do I get if I win – your red hen?

                                                              SHEPHERD
I see people also.  Two people, I swear.
They’re coming this way.  Look there.

OVADYE

Well, Azriel, just take a look now.
Well, what do you say? Hand over that cow.

(AVSHOLEM enters R with his servant, and bows to them.)

AVSHOLEM

The God of Life greets you, brothers.
I am a traveler, coming from Jerusalem.
I am a Jew. My name is Avsholem.

ALL

Welcome. Peace, guest, Welcome.

AVSHOLEM

I’m on my way to Bethlehem. Tell me, honest people,
Is it still a long way off?

OVADYE

God’s blessing on you. Yes, it’s far away, yes.
Sit down with us awhile and rest.
It’s late. Stay with us here and sleep the night.
In the morning you’ll set out right.
Don’t refuse our desert comforts.
Come share our modest supper-

TSIGITANG

Eat, eat, mme-eh.

AVSHOLEM

This is my servant. However wild he may look,
He has fed many herds. He’s a very good cook.

(They show TSIGITANG to the cooking pot, and he jumps to it happily. He stirs with the spoon, moves around, and yells. After a long pause, AVSHOLEM approaches them.)

Can you tell me – oh, what was his name… Manitt?
A man in Bethlehem… Manoakh, yes, that’s it.

AZRIEL

Who, Manoakh? Old Manoakh? A nice old man.
Everyone in the village wants to help him if they can.

AVSHOLEM

Why, what’s the matter?

OVADYE

A blow from God has fallen from above.
He had an only child, a daughter that he loved.

AVSHOLEM

And? Well? What? Is she alive?

OVADYE

Yes, but such a life’s a harder fate than death.
Her suffering will end when she no longer can take breath.
Alive, yes, poor thing, she’s alive, but she is mad.
She screams and hits out, she makes noises.  It’s sad.
She shouts and she threatens…  a “wildcat,” a “well”…
So far, no doctor is able to tell
How to rescue her spirit, pull her out of danger-
But you tremble.  Are you frightened, stranger?

AVSHOLEM

(Weeps)

Oh Shulamis, through my sin, your heart’s blood spilt.
I confess it. I confess my guilt.
My guilt, all mine, mine alone.
Kill me, righteous God. I can never atone.

(All look at him in astonishment as he weeps.)

Help, Jews! I am lost. What can I do?

(He swoons. They grab and support him.)

ALL

Poor wanderer, what has happened to you?

AVSHOLEM

(To himself)

I’ve hurt so many innocents who will never heal.
Wait, Shulamis, you’ll see your repentant husband kneel.

(He wants to run. They hold him back.)

OVADYE

We beg you, dear man, tell us, do,
What in the world is troubling you?

AVSHOLEM

(Slowly)

Nothing. I’m a doctor. Lead me to her now.
I can cure this woman. I alone know how.

OVADYE

No, it’s late now.  Why disturb her?  She’s asleep.
Spend the night here, and I will leave my sheep
At dawn, and guide you to her bed.
Rest now by firelight.  No more to be said.
Drink fresh milk.  It will make you strong.
And we’ll drive off your melancholy with our song.

(All lie down on the ground near the fire. AVSHOLEM is in the middle. He drinks from a pitcher of milk brought to him by a shepherd. TSIGITANG keeps cooking, moves around, yells, sings along with the shepherds. Some of the shepherds play pipes and some sing.)

SHEPHERDS

FLICKER, FIRE, FLICKER.
CRACKLE TO US MERRILY.
MAKE LIGHT FOR US TILL DAWN.
THE FARMER RESTS BY HIS PLOW,
THE SHEPHERD BY HIS LIVESTOCK.
EACH ONE’S LABOR IS DEAR TO HIM.

(One sings first verse)

SOME PEOPLE BUILD WITH WOOD.
WE CAN BE PROUD
AND DANCE MERRILY IN A CIRCLE
BECAUSE OUR FATHERS WERE SHEPHERDS FROM THE BEGINNING.

(One sings 2^nd verse)

THE FIELD IS DEAR TO US.
THE AIR INDOORS IS CERTAINLY UNHEALTHY.
YOUR OWN LUNGS TELL YOU THAT
WHEN THEY ARE WOUNDED, POOR THINGS, BY SICKNESS.

(One sings 3^rd verse)

THE GREAT CITY DOES GREAT, GREAT HARM:
DESIRE, WORRY, WINE.
THIS ONE – IT WITHERS HIS STRENGTH.
THAT ONE – IT WEAKENS HER MIND.
THE OTHER – IT DRIVES HIM YOUNG INTO THE GRAVE

(By the time they sing the last verse, they are half asleep. They put their heads down and go to sleep. Only, like an echo, the piping can be heard. The moon disappears behind clouds. On one side, the sunrise has just begun.)

The CURTAIN falls slowly.

ACT FOUR

Scene 1

(Scene is MANOAKH’s simple room. SHULAMIS lies ill and weak on a small sofa. From time to time a heavy sigh rips from her breast. Near her, on a small table, an oil lamp flickers. Some medicines stand there too. MANOAKH sits at the head of her bed. He wipes his eyes sadly. He raises his hands to God and weeps.)

MANOAKH

GOD, SEE FOR YOURSELF WHOM YOU WANT TO CONQUER HERE.
GOD, SEE FOR YOURSELF WHOM YOU FOUND TO TORMENT.
WHAT IS MAN? A BIT OF DUST
THAT THE SMALLEST WIND BLOWS AWAY.
WHAT IS HIS LIFE? A SHORT DREAM
THAT FLIES AWAY SO QUICKLY.
GOD, SEE FOR YOURSELF, IF I SINNED BEFORE YOU,
GOD, SEE FOR YOURSELF, HOW I BEG YOU TO FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME.
TAKE YOUR HEAVY HAND OFF ME.
I WILL SIN NO LONGER.
I AM UNABLE TO BEAR UP ANY LONGER.
YOUR PUNISHMENT IS VERY HEAVY

(Pause. SHULAMIS groans.)

MANOAKH

What can I do for you, my child? What do you need?
Tell your old father. I promise that I’ll heed.

SHULAMIS

A little water, father dear, that’s my one small desire.
My mouth is dry. My breast’s on fire.

MANOAKH

But I can’t leave you here alone without protection.

SHULAMIS

O father dear, my guard is your affection.

MANOAKH

But calm? Will you be calm, and in that way stay safe?

SHULAMIS

So calm!

MANOAKH

Then I will go, my thirsty child, my waif.

(Exit)

Scene 2

SHULAMIS

(Alone, lying down, sings in a weak voice)

GOD, SEE FOR YOURSELF WHOM YOU WANT TO CONQUER HERE.
GOD, SEE FOR YOURSELF WHOM YOU FOUND TO TORMENT.

(Sighs)

WHAT IS MAN? A BIT OF DUST
THAT THE SMALLEST WIND BLOWS AWAY.
WHAT IS HIS LIFE?
A FLEETING DREAMTHAT FLIES AWAY SO QUICKLY.

(She groans and with a sob hides her face in her pillow. AVSHOLEM opens the window from outside and looks around with curiosity.)

AVSHOLEM

This is where she lives. Oh God, and there she is at last.
Oh, how changed!

(He wants to call to her but catches himself.)

No, too soon, too fast.
A shock of sudden joy can make her sicker.
Why do her harm? Gentler will in the end be quicker.
I’ll eavesdrop on her ravings, hear her thought.
Does she remember me? What have I wrought?

SHULAMIS

A dream.  Yes, a dream.  All is silent around me, for
I’ve driven them away, those knockers at my door.
My sacred vow has magicked it.  No one dares disturb
While my poor father tries each potion and each herb.
How could herbs help, even if he knew my sadness?
My little sheep can’t frisk my spirits into gladness
Since, in every innocent lamb that licks the fragrant dew,
I see a wildcat with its fierce meeyew.
My mountain rambles shame me; I must stay inside,
From God and nature, melancholy, hide.
The sun, which used to meet a cheerful maid each dawn,
Espies my weeping eyes now, and is gone.
He dances off to skies of bluer cheer.
The little wood which held its breath to hear
My happy tunes, and kissed green branches with a will,
In breezy rhythms, now is still.
What should I do?  My moans and sighs no music make.
This is the song fate plays me, world; it’s called “Heartbreak.”

(Sings)

OH, THE WELL, OH THAT,
AND THE CAT, OH THAT.

AVSHOLEM

(From outside, AVSHOLEM joins in her singing)

OH THAT

SHULAMIS

(Listens tranquilly to the echo and says happily)

The echo! Yes, the loyal friend still standing at my side
Who stays, and ever will abide.

(She sings further)

MAY THEY BE, AS I SWEAR,
WITNESSES TO OUR VOW.

AVSHOLEM

(Sings from outside)

VOW.

SHULAMIS

Sing more to me, echo.
Help me with it. Help me singing.
Keep imitating his voice in your ringing.

(Sings)

THAT WHICHEVER OF US SHOULD BREAK HIS WORD

AVSHOLEM

(From outside)

SHOULD BREAK HIS WORD

SHULAMIS

(Happily)

Natural. So natural, just the voice I still hear in my heart.
Sing with me, dear friend. Don’t keep apart.

She sings)

THEY THEMSELVES RIGHT THERE

AVSHOLEM

RIGHT THERE

SHULAMIS

SHOULD DEMAND ON THE SPOT

AVSHOLEM

ON THE SPOT

SHULAMIS

VENGEANCE! VENGEANCE!

AVSHOLEM

(From outside, with a sob)

Yes vengeance, bitter vengeance. That has already come.

SHULAMIS

What do I hear?
That was his voice in plain reality.
Or no, a trick, a nervous fantasy.

(Thinking back)

I thought I heard “vengeance” from his own mouth.
No, my darling, no vengeance. That’s all past.
All I want is that beloved face, at last.

(As she stands to go to the door, TSIGITANG falls into her arms)

TSIGITANG

Mme-eh girl. Like this, like that. Away. Come back.

SHULAMIS

(Astonished)

His servant! Oh, my heart! His servant! Can it be?
Wh-wh-what are you doing here? Your master – wh-wh-where is he?

TSIGITANG

(Imitates her)

Wh wh wh wh – She can’t talk.

(Laughs)

SHULAMIS

Where is your master? Dead? Alive? Yes?

TSIGITANG

No little baby. Dead. Cry.

SHULAMIS

(Frightened)

What? Dead?

AVSHOLEM

(From outside)

No, he’s not dead. Behold him. He is here before you.

(SHULAMIS screams. He enters)

Take back your penitent. Forgive me, I implore you.

(He embraces her, weeping. Pause)

TSIGITANG

(Also weeping)

Me too. Like this, like that. Another girl. Another she.

AVSHOLEM

You’re weak and you’re confused but no, not mad.
I heard the clear intelligent words you said.
And now you’ve wept enough. We’re here together now.
Say you aren’t angry. Are you sick? Those tears I won’t allow.

SHULAMIS

(Weeping)

No, I’m not sick. And I’m not angry. See?

(Pause)

You won’t go away? You’ll always stay with me?

AVSHOLEM

Forever your Avsholem. Forever at last.
Shulamis, no doubts. The nightmare is past.

(They embrace.)

Scene 2

MANOAKH

(MANOAKH, deep in thought, enters L with a pitcher of water in his hand.)

Here is water for you, my child.

TSIGITANG

(Springs to him, grabs the pitcher)

Water, water.

MANOAKH

(Looks up, frightened, and asks in amazement)

What’s going on here? What is this?

AVSHOLEM

(Approaches slowly)

You must be Manoakh. I am a medical specialist of great fame.
Your unfortunate daughter must be healed. Therefore I came.

MANOAKH

God send long life for all your pain.
However, good man, you have come in vain.
Every doctor in the world – he tried.
And every medicine in the world – she tried.
In vain. Still, go ahead. Try. Try your medication.
Maybe it’s through you that God has sent salvation.

AVSHOLEM

I heal by speech alone. It’s new and sure.
You’ll pay me once you see the cure.
I know that once I perform this task
You’ll gladly grant whatever I may ask.
Now watch. Stand still. Obey. Attention pay
While she repeats the words I say.

(AVSHOLEM begins to sing “The Vow.” SHULAMIS joins in. By the end, at words of the duet “But that will never happen,” they embrace and remain in the embrace till the end of the duet.)

TSIGITANG

(To MANOAKH)

Me too, like this. Like that.

MANOAKH

What? I see my child all healthy, all alive?

(Lively)

Who is this angel? Say what worldly gain
Can recompense you? Blessings on you rain!

SHULAMIS

This, father, is the reason, truth to tell,
Why I kept screaming “cat” and “well.”
I lost my wits to keep off suitors for my hand
Because I’d pledged myself to him. No reprimand,
I beg you. Now I can confess
My hidden sorrow, and my happiness.
Later on I’ll tell you all the rest and I’ll explain
Why only he could cure my pain.

AVSHOLEM

And I, what kind of payment can I demand?
No king could pay, no ruler of a land
The fee for such a special task.
I give it freely. Your blessing’s all I ask.

MANOAKH

My blessing is little for, as you know,
God gave you his blessing long ago.
Now, no time to waste in sad remembering.
We must go up to Jerusalem and bring
Offerings with piety that nothing can alloy,
I for my oath and you for thanksgiving joy.
And because this is holiday season, there at the temple of our nation
We’ll put up a wedding canopy and then a celebration.

(He kisses them both. TSIGITANG copies him.)

TSIGITANG

Me too girl. Me too kiss.

AVSHOLEM

Give, give. Meanwhile dance. Yes, yes.

ALL

(Sing quartet)

OH HOW I’M HAPPY AND EXCITED
THAT GOD HAS MADE ME SO FORTUNATE.
I NO LONGER EXPECTED IT AT ALL.
THEN GOD BROUGHT ME HELP.
NOW IT’S WORTH LIVING.
OUR CONTENTMENT HAS RETURNED TO US.
MAY GOD BLESS IT FOR US.

(As they sing, TSIGITANG dances with drum. Exeunt. Second curtain falls.)

Scene 3

(Music plays a march. Curtain remains down, and from behind curtain the choir is heard singing.)

CHOIR

FORGIVE YOUR PEOPLE ISRAEL THEIR SINS.
THE PEOPLE NOW COME TO MAKE PEACE WITH YOU
WITH MANY TEARS
TO BOW DOWN AT YOUR THRONE.

PRIEST

WHEN I MENTION THE NAME OF GOD,
YOU MUST ALL GIVE PRAISE TO HIM.
ALL SING THIS: “BLESSED BE HIS NAME.”

(Choir joins in with solo. Music again plays march.)

Scene 4

(The second curtain rises, revealing three sections of the Temple. In the furthest upstage section is seen the gilded candelabra burning with shew bread. Before the hanging curtain of the Holy of Holies hangs an eternal light above, at the altar, and there in the center, where a fire burns, stands the High PRIEST with the eyzov in his hand. Priests stand all around him: Levites, with musical instruments, and small little priests, with gilded pitchers in their hands. Behind, and in front of the stage, stand the crowd with banners and packs with esrogs and palm branches in their hands. In the middle is the choir. Pours out like a fountain. Gilded marble columns with various colored hangings. As the curtain rises, the choir continues singing.)

CHOIR

WE OFFER SACRIFICES, GOD, TO YOU.
WE REPENT THE SINS WE HAVE ALREADY COMMITTED.
PLEASE HEAR OUR PLEA,
GOD OUR LORD.
WHEN I MENTION THE NAME OF GOD
YOU MUST ALL GIVE PRAISE TO HIM.
ALL SING THIS: “BLESSED BE HIS NAME.”

(Choir joins in the solo. When the Levites finish their dance, MANOAKH enters with AVSHOLEM and SHULAMIS, festively costumed. AVSHOLEM kneels to the R of the altar, and SHULAMIS kneels to the L of the altar. The PRIEST lays his hands on them and blesses them.)

PRIEST

GOD WHO BLESSED OUR FATHERS
MAY HE BLESS THE GROOM AND BRIDE.
MAY HE SEND FROM THE HIGH HEAVEN,
MUCH BLESSING AND PROSPERITY AND ALSO SUCCESS.

(Choir joins in)

CHILDREN’S CHOIR

MAZEL TOV.
MUCH BLESSING AND PROSPERITY AND ALSO SUCCESS.

(The choir finishes singing. AVSHOLEM and SHULAMIS stand up. The father MANOAKH leads them around and around the altar. The entire company with the banners with the priests with everyone together circle once around the altar among the columns while all sing loudly and cheerfully.)

CHOIR

GIVE PRAISE.
ALL SING AS ONE.
SING EVERYONE WHO HAS THE STRENGTH.
GIVE PRAISE.
ALL SING AS ONE.
WE HAVE A GREAT GOD.
HAPPILY, ALL LITTLE JEWS TOGETHER
GOD HAS FORGIVEN OUR SINS.
WE WILL CELEBRATE THE LOVELY HOLIDAY.
SING, DANCE, PLAY, REJOICE NOW.
EVERYONE HAS CRIED OUT ALL HIS PAIN.
GOOD, FROM THE ENTIRE HEART.
GOD HEARD OUR REQUEST LONG AGO.
LET US ALL THANK HIM WITH SONG.
ALL THANK HIM,
WITH PURE THOUGHTS.
MAY HIS NAME BE BLESSED. YES, YES.
HALLELUYA, HALLELUYA.

(CURTAIN falls slowly.)

THE END