.

worry; they will not only be equal, but they will climb to new heights. We all wish for them a happy life together.

      10

      After lying awake most of the night, I got up early on our wedding day. I walked out to Tamar’s garden, and to my surprise, Sharmila was there walking along the paths between the terraces. She saw me and held out her arms. As we embraced, she said, “I didn’t get much sleep last night. I could not turn off my mind or my emotions. I walked over here thinking you might be here.”

      “You thought right, and I had the same problem.”

      “But I think my problem is more complex than yours. I am happy that this is our wedding day, but I will also hate to see the rest of my family return to Beth-shan.”

      “That does make it difficult. We will have to visit them often.”

      “That will help, but it will always be difficult to say good-bye.”

      “True. I have a hard time with good-byes. We must spend as much time with them as possible today.”

      As we were kissing, we heard kitchen noise from Sarah’s kitchen and decided to go over and join the others. When we arrived there was a lot of shouting and well wishes for a great day. We did have a great day. I think we spent most of the day talking, eating, and dancing. By the time we separated into the women’s party at Sarah’s and the men’s at Tamar’s, we really did not need any more food. But we had plenty of wine, and we also had plenty of speeches, at least at the men’s party. The plan was that the men would leave me at Tamar’s and go over to Sarah’s and participate in the blessing of the bride; everyone would participate in the procession, and they would bring Sharmila to me. This would be done in the late afternoon, which would give the folks from Jerusalem time to get home before dark.

      At the men’s party, my father said some important things: “Naam, you are fortunate indeed to find a beautiful wife, who has been raised in the scribal tradition. She reads, writes, and will help you as she did her father. As your mother wrote in The Minority Report, ‘The male and the female are equal,’ but you should know that in your personal relationship Sharmila’s beauty and your desire for her will always subordinate any tendency on your part to dominate or rule. This goes against God’s word as presented in our Royal Epic, but the rebel Job also found many things to correct in our traditions. When God says to Cain that Sin is a Demon, who desires you, he adds, ‘But you will rule him.’ It turns out that this may have been God’s hope, but it is not the way it ended (Genesis 4:7). Earlier God says to the woman, ‘Your desire is for your husband, but he will rule you.’ (Genesis 3:16) This may be the orthodox position, but this is not only wrong but does not match the reality. May your equality blossom and let your passion abound.”

      Khety said, “What you have just said reminds me of a line from an Egyptian love song. The maiden says, ‘My lover makes me the greatest of all women. He does not break my heart.’ I have watched the love between Sharmila and Naam grow during several years, and I see a wonderful future for them.”

      I cannot remember all that was said, but I do remember that we had a great time. It was also an opportunity to get to know Samuel. We talked about the next wedding; Rachel and Samuel wanted to get married soon.

      I do remember some of Abdi-anati’s talk. Abdi-anati said, “I want to thank all of you for your great hospitality. This trip has been a real success, because two of your students, Joseph and Jacob, who are with us this evening, have agreed to come to Beth-shan and work as scribes. This wedding day is a great moment in our lives, but it does mean that Sharmila will not be going home with us. That brings about one of those strange mixtures; I am both glad and sad at the same time.”

      He was happy, but there were tears in his eyes. He wished us well, and he asked me to bring his daughter to visit whenever possible. I embraced him and promised that we would visit often.