ACT II - SCENE I

Scene: In the poorly furnished home of PINCHAS . Large bookshelf with holy books table, chairs, closet.

RACHEL, PINCHAS’S wife, and his children, two girls and two boys from ten years down, MOSHE, YAAKOV, DINAH, LEAH.

Moshe: Mommy, when is Father coming home from the duke?

Others: Yes, Mommy, when is Father coming?

Rachel: I don’t know. It is taking him longer than usual today. I just hope this means something good. The noble duke has never failed to help us for a Sabbath or Yom Tov.

Dinah: Oh, Mommy, Father promised me a new dress if there is some money left.

Leah: And me a pair of shoes.

Boys: Us, too, he promised a pair of shoes each.

Rachel: And a new kerchief for me, if the duke was very kind to us.

Dinah: I wish Father were here already.

Rachel: (looking out of the window) Oh, here he comes.

Children: Father, Father, Father! (They run to the door to greet Pinchas.)

(Pinchas comes through the door, the children hanging on to his sides. Rachel steps forward with expectant face)

Rachel: Well, Pinchas, how was it? Will there be some money left to purchase clothes for the children and me?

Pinchas: I am sorry, my dear wife, I bring no good news. The noble duke was unable to give me anything this time.

Rachel: What? Why? (Wringing her hands) What shall we do? How are we going to make Pesach? And there is no wine or matzoh in the house!

Pinchas: Don’t worry, my dear wife. G‑d has always helped us thus far. He will not forsake us this time either.

Rachel: (Children begin to cry) Here, tell that to your children. Feed them with your hopes, and clothe them with your piety.

Children: Father, A new dress, new shoes, matzoh!

Pinchas: Be quiet, children. We shall all have what we need.

Rachel: Yes, because you earn so much money. Perhaps a miracle will happen and money will rain down from heaven. . . .

Pinchas: Quiet! Do not blaspheme the Almighty here in my house, in front of our children. Have faith and everything will turn out well.

Rachel: Meanwhile your children will starve. They had a potato for supper tonight, and a plate of watery soup; that’s all. (Turning to children) Come children, let’s go to sleep. Tomorrow, your father hopes, will be a better day.

(Walks out with the children)

Pinchas: Poor woman!

ACT II - SCENE II

Scene: Same setting as before. Room is now almost completely dark. Pinchas sits at the table studying Gemarah, while a candle in a candlestick throws its moving shadow against the wall.

Suddenly, as PINCHAS rocks back and forth, studying in the typical singsong, something heavy flies against the window, pushes it open and crashes to the floor.

Pinchas: (Yells out in fear and surprise) Woe is to me! What is this? (Glancing at the dark object on the ground) A devil? (Covers his face with his hands) (A horrible laugh breaks out in the empty, dark street)

Pinchas: “Shema Yisroel Hashem . . . Echoed!” (After a few seconds of silence PINCHAS takes his hands off his face and looks cautiously at the dark object on the floor) Hmm, seems to me more like one of those monkeys that dance to the music of the Bohemian organ grinders than a devil. (Gets up and walks closer. Pushes it with his foot) In fact, I am almost sure it is a dead monkey.

Rachel: (Dressed in night clothes, a scarf wrapped about her, enters) What’s all this noise, Pinchas? (Perceives the body of the dead monkey) Oi, Oi! (Covers her face)

Pinchas: Shshsh! Calm yourself, my dear wife! Do not raise your voice: Who knows, perhaps someone wants to harm us Jews and has therefore thrown this dead monkey through our window.

Rachel: Ooooo, I am frightened!

Pinchas: Collect yourself, Rachel. We have to act quickly. Let’s make a fire and burn this thing here before anyone comes and accuses us of some crime.

Rachel: Why should anyone want to harm us?

Pinchas: Why, my dear wife? The answer is as simple and old as the question. They have always tried to accuse us Jews of all kinds of strange crimes, especially before Pesach. And, I am afraid, this is liable to be the beginning of much trouble for us, G‑d forbid, unless we act quickly, so that not a trace remains.

(Though still trembling with fear, Rachel walks around the big hearth in the corner. Pinchas brings pieces of wood and the flames soon shoot up high)

Pinchas: Let’s be careful now! (He covers the body of the monkey with cloth) You hold it on this side. I’ll hold it here. Together we can easily throw it into the fire. Soon there will be only a small heap of ashes left. Hurry now, every second is precious. (Points to body). Here hold it tight and lift it gently together with me.

(Still trembling, they pick up the corpse of the monkey. Rachel’s hands shake. And as she fumbles, a hard metallic ring, like the dropping of a coin, is heard.)

Pinchas: What was that? Let’s have a look. (They put the body back on the floor. Pinchas takes the candle and they begin to search every nook and cranny. They also look under the closet.)

Rachel: There, in the corner, I see something. Wait, I’ll get it!

Pinchas: I’ll get it. (Both grab for it).

Rachel: (Comes up with the coin) It’s full of dust and dirt. Let me clean it, so we’ll be able to see what it is. (She cleans it.)

Pinchas: Rachel, look, a gold piece!

Rachel: Are you sure? Look again. I can’t believe it! (Both examine it.)

Pinchas: There is no doubt, Rachel, this is a real gold coin. You see, I told you, now we shall have matzot and wine for Pesach, dear wife!

Rachel: Yes, Pinchas, I have sinned. I should have known better than to doubt the power of the Almighty.

Pinchas: Yes, Divine Providence is kind to us and has never forsaken us, even if things seemed dark, troubled and hopeless. For this we have to thank G‑d day in, day out, come what may. But . . . (His glance turns to the body of the monkey) Let’s not waste time. This monstrous thing is still here, and we do not know what danger it may hold. Let us burn it quickly, so that no one can pin anything evil on us.

Rachel: Yes, let us hurry! (They grab the corpse at the ends and lift it up. And as they do so, gold pieces fall out.)

Pinchas: Look, look more gold pieces!

(They drop the body and gather the coins, clean them and place them on the table.)

Truly, this is a miracle of G‑d who heard the crying of our hungry children!

(Awakened by the noise, the children come in)

Children: Mother, Father, what is going on here? (Look around)

Pinchas: A miracle has happened to us, my children. We have enough money to buy beautiful clothes and shoes for all of you, and the matzot and wine for the Pesach Seder.

Moshe: How wonderful! Tell us how it happened.

Dinah: Maybe Eliyahu Hanavi (Elijah the Prophet) was here.

All: Oh, yes, Eliyahu Hanavi brought us money for Pesach!

Moshe: (Noticing the body of the monkey) Ooooh, what’s that?

Pinchas: The gold was in this dead monkey’s body.

Rachel: We’d better get rid of it quickly, Pinchas.

Pinchas: Yes, but let us first check where the gold came from. Perhaps there is more of it.

(He gets a large knife and cuts open the corpse of the monkey)

Look, Rachel, there is more left in the animal’s stomach. Here take it all, clean it and put it in a bag. Meanwhile I’ll burn the corpse.

(Rachel and children clean the coins, while Pinchas burns the animal’s parts in the oven.)

Pinchas: Okay, children, now each one of you get a rag and clean the floor. One can never tell what they will accuse us of, if they find any traces of the monkey’s blood here.

(They clean up everything. The children sing:)

Children: “Eliyahu Hanavi brought us a golden monkey.”

(curtain)