Page 56 - Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

interest them. "Well, during the week I go to school,
but on the weekends I go with Rosemary to the mall
and..."
"School, too!" Esther said with a sigh. "Only boys
are allowed to go to school here. I always wanted to
go."
"You want to go?" Hannah was shocked. "No one
I know does. We can't wait for the weekends. That's
when we can have fun, go shopping, and . . "
.
It was the girls' turn to be shocked. "Shopping? On
the Sabbath?" Rachel asked.
Esther was still thinking about the school. "I heard
once about a girl who disguised herself as a boy and
went into a yeshivah to study Torah. I do not believe
it."
"I know that story." Hannah's voice rose in excite-
ment. It's called Yentl and stars Barbra Streisand in the
movie. She chops off her hair and . . "
.
"Chops off her hair!" Appalled, Shifre put her hands
up to her own pale braids. "And not married?"
"We have never seen a movie," said Esther. "But I
have heard of them."
"Never mind from movies," Rachel said sternly, the
breathiness gone from her voice for once. "And no
more interruptions. Tell us the story of this Yentl, Chaya.
From the beginning."

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