The Sons of Isaac(38)

She was the first to grasp the seriousness of Rebekah’s dilemma. She could see that with the father, Abraham, expecting descendants as numerous as the stars, it was important for Rebekah to become pregnant as soon as possible. Since she was naturally wise in the ways of herbs and potions, she immediately began to think of a solution.

Within the hour she secretly called one of the young shepherds and insisted he go find some small, spiky leaves from any of the vervain bushes. With them she intended to brew a potion that was sure to induce pregnancy. To her great disappointment, he returned with the news that such bushes were only to be found on the high slopes around Hebron.

Deborah was not one to be easily defeated. “Go hunt until you find a mandrake,” she said. “This will always bring results.” As it happened it was not the shepherd who found the mandrake but one of the shepherd’s wives. She had been going to keep it for her own use, but since she already had five young children, she decided to give it to Deborah with instructions that if placed under Rebekah’s sleeping mat, she would be pregnant before the new moon.

That night while Isaac was sitting with his father and the men around the fire, Deborah called Rebekah into the tent. “Look,” she said. “See what one of the old women brought me this afternoon.” To Rebekah’s astonishment, Deborah reached into one of the baskets and pulled out something carefully wrapped in sheepskin. With her eyes dancing and her fingers flying excitedly, she unwrapped the bundle and exhibited a perfectly shaped mandrake. “See,” she said, “now you will be with child. The old woman said these are not hard to find here in the desert.”

Rebekah had heard of the strange magic of the mandrake but had never seen one. Its dull leaves and whitish-purple blossoms were wilted, but the forked root was strong and healthy. “See,” Deborah said, “it does look like a little person.”

Rebekah picked it up and held it at arm’s length. “It’s an ugly old thing. What am I to do with it?”

“Be sure to keep it in a safe place and sleep with it under your sleeping mat every night,” Deborah said. “You won’t have to worry anymore about getting pregnant. This is the very strongest magic there is.”

“I have often heard the surest magic was to keep one of old Terah’s small fertility images under the sleeping mat. It’s too bad I didn’t bring one with me.”

Deborah didn’t answer right away. She had thought of bringing out the small image Rebekah’s mother had given her, but she was afraid it would not be welcomed by either Isaac or Abraham. It was better, she thought, to use the more natural herbs and potions. Surely with the mandrake, Rebekah would be pregnant within the fortnight.

When the fortnight had passed, Rebekah was still not pregnant, and when three more months had passed, it was whispered that Keturah was again pregnant, but Rebekah was still barren.

Abraham had now turned all the business of raising their vast herds to Isaac who was fast mastering the art of making a profit, as well as making decisions for his family.

When the rainy season came, Isaac announced that they would be moving to Gerar. “You will like it in the city,” he said to Rebekah. “Short visits can be pleasant; to stay longer means getting involved with their feast days and temple celebrations.”

Moving to Gerar was not very complicated. They left the tents as they were and moved into the large stone house that was kept ready for their return by servants. Once they were settled, Rebekah and her maidens spent most of their days in a leisurely fashion while Isaac and some of his men still rode out to inspect his vast herds.

The women spent much time in the mornings at the public bath. Here they met many of the women of Gerar and took pleasure in hearing gossip from places as far away as Egypt. Even more exciting were the visits to be made in the afternoon to the homes of women of wealth and leisure.

It was on a cold, cloudy morning that something happened to spoil not only the trips to the bath but the whole visit to Gerar. On this morning Rebekah and her maidens had especially looked forward to relaxing in the warm fragrance of the steam rooms and pools. The maids had just finished spreading out her sponges and pots of cream and were heating olive oil over a little fire pot when there was a great commotion at the door. Women began to whisper and gather their food and toilet articles into their baskets and then slipped quietly out a side door.

Rebekah sent Deborah to find out what was causing the commotion. Within moments she was back and urging everyone to gather up their things and follow the others out the door.

“Leave?” said Rebekah. “Why should we leave?”