Jognau, The Dreamer (10-12)

Jognau, The Dreamer

By: Sylvia Rouss and Ambassador Asher Naim

The Western Wall glistens in the Jerusalem sunlight as I watch my brother Joseph chant the Hebrew prayers. He is the first member of our family to become a Bar Mitzvah.

Thirteen years ago, my family lived in an African village. I can still recall the mountains and lakes of Ethiopia, which were home to baboons, hippos, and gazelles.

Although Jews had lived there for thousands of years, we never felt at home. We were called “Falashas,” strangers, and we thought we were the last remaining Jews.

My village was made up of thatched huts built near a small stream. The largest hut with a Jewish star woven into its ceiling was our synagogue.

Every evening my family gathered in our hut for dinner. At night, we slept on straw mats. I was a sound sleeper and the last one up each day.

One morning shortly before we left for Israel, I heard my mother’s voice saying, “Jognau, wake up.” I squirmed away as she tickled my feet with a reed used to weave baskets. “You don’t want to be late for school.”

I dressed quickly and approached my sister, Maniye, who was baking bread. As I reached to take a warm piece, Maniye snatched it away.

“You haven’t brushed your teeth!” she scolded.

I grabbed a twig and scraped it across my teeth. Satisfied, Maniye handed me some bread. My sister was a great help to my mother. Besides cooking, she wove baskets and designed pottery.

I looked at my mother’s rounded belly and knew that soon she would rely on my sister even more. I was thrilled to know that with the arrival of the baby, I would no longer be the youngest.

As I swallowed the last bite of bread, my mother handed me a basket of food. “Jognau, please take this to your father and brother on your way to school.”

When I dashed into the field where my brother, Adane, was herding the sheep, I fell into a deep hole. I tried to climb out, but the sides were too steep. I called for help, but no one came.

After a few more attempts, I was exhausted. I closed my eyes and entered the world of dreams. A gazelle peered over the side of the hole. “Jognau, hold onto my antlers and I will pull you out. Climb on my back, I shall take you to the tops of mountains so you can see distant places. Each day we will find new mountains to climb.”

Suddenly, a hyena interrupted the gazelle. “Jognau, hold onto my tail and I will pull you out. Together we can hide in the shadows and feed off of the scraps of others.”

Flapping wings brushed aside the hyena. A huge eagle looked at me. “Jognau, pull yourself out. Then hold onto my wings and we shall fly to your home, far, far away. Wake up, Jognau!”

I opened my eyes and saw my brother Adane looking down at me. “Here, take my hand,” he said, reaching toward me.

“No,” I replied, handing him the basket of food. “I’ll climb out on my own.” I found a small toehold, grabbed onto a clump of grass, and pulled myself out. I began to tell Adane about my dream.

“Jognau, you’re such a dreamer,” he interrupted. He removed some food from the basket and handed it back to me. “You’d better hurry and bring the rest to Father.”

I ran to the field where my father was plowing. “Jognau, finally you’re here,” he said.

“I fell into a hole and couldn’t get out,” I explained.

“Oh, really?” responded my father.

“Yes. Then I fell asleep and had this strange dream.”

“Enough.” He smiled. “You’re late for school.”

I hugged him and sprinted across the field. When I arrived at school, everyone was gathered around a group of visitors. My friend pointed at one of the men and whispered, “He’s the Ambassador from Israel!”

The Ambassador told us that he hoped we would soon be able to go to Israel, a place many Ethiopian Jews have longed to return to for thousands of years.

“Legend says one day we will return to Israel on the wings of eagles,” an older boy said.

“It’s like my dream!” I exclaimed and then I told them the story.

The Ambassador looked at me thoughtfully once I finished. “Have you heard of Joseph?” he asked.

“Yes,” I answered. Joseph was a young Hebrew boy whose dreams foretold the future.

“I believe that, like Joseph, you will discover the meaning of your dream,” the Ambassador said.

On my way home from school, I searched the sky hoping to see the eagle from my dream, but saw only clouds.

When I approached my village, I noticed my father and several men talking.

“Soon we will leave for Jerusalem!” one man declared.

My father shook his head. “The government will never let us go.”

“Some Jews managed to leave a few years ago,” another man insisted.

I ran to my father. “The Ambassador from Israel came to school and said that we will go to Israel,” I said.

“I wouldn’t risk a trip like that. Your mother will soon give birth,” my father replied.

Over the next few weeks, many villagers prepared for the trip, but my family didn’t.

One day Maniye showed my father a large basket she had woven. “If we go to Israel, we can pack our belongings in it,” she said.

“Your mother can’t travel now!” my father said.

My mother paused when she heard this. “Please don’t deny our children the chance for a life in the land that God promised us,” she said.

“Are you sure you can make this trip?” my father asked.

When my mother nodded, his face filled with pride. “Then we shall go.”

The next week we received word from the Ambassador of Israel. “You are leaving today!”

My mother packed our belongings in the basket Maniye had made.

Then my father handed us each a pair of shoes. “I traded the ox and plow for these.” I realized how

important going to Israel really was to our father. He wanted us to look our very best.

Soon buses arrived. We traveled for many hours until we came to a large field. I heard a roaring noise and looked up to see a huge winged bird swoop down. “An eagle!” I shouted.

“No, Jognau. It’s an airplane,” my father said.

But I knew it was the eagle from my dream. Soon other “eagles” arrived. We lined up with hundreds of others and climbed into the large belly of the bird.

In the sky, my mother clutched her stomach, “I think it’s time,” she whispered to my father. And there, inside the “eagle,” my mother gave birth to my brother, whom we named Joseph—it was my idea.

It’s been thirteen years since we arrived in Israel. We live in an apartment provided by the government. My father works on a large farm nearby. Adane is studying to be a veterinarian. Maniye and my mother have opened their own shop selling baskets and pottery. I am studying at the university after completing my army service.

And today, my brother Joseph is becoming a Bar Mitzvah. I listen to him give his speech, sharing with everyone the dream I once shared with him. “I believe that Jognau’s dream is about the choices we make. Had my family stayed with the hyena, we would still be living as outcasts in Ethiopia. Had they chosen the gazelle, my family could have traveled to other countries, never settling anywhere. But, my family decided to fly with the eagle and after nearly 3000 years, we returned to Israel, the place that is truly our home.”

~The End~

Our fictional retelling of their story starts in the spring of 2004. It was published in the newspaper, Jewish News, in May 2006.

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