Meant to Be

Meant to Be

An Abrams Family Legacy
Published by Zahav Press
Azriela Jaffe

Meant to Be

Enter the world of the indomitable Abrams family…and meet Yossi and Devoiry Rosenberg.

She’s a dedicated mother, gourmet cooking enthusiast, and slightly compulsive shopper.

He’s a well meaning husband, overly ambitious businessman, and die-hard penny pincher.

Devoiry's got a lot to juggle. Her tightfisted husband's obsession about saving money has begun to wreak havoc on the harmony in her home. Her sensitive daughter Malka's failures at school have eroded her sense of self-worth. Lonely Mr. Weiss needs a shidduch, son Mordy harbors a secret, and family friend Jessica struggles with doubts as she begins testing the waters of her heritage.

Devoiry tries desperately to control it all and make everything right. But when startling things start to happen, she comes to the realization that some things are just meant to be.

An engaging novel of family and faith, of money and meaning.

ISBN: 978-1-56871-536-0

Author: Azriela Jaffe

Cover: Softcover

Pages: 200

Publisher: Zahav Press

Online Price: $9.99

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Book Excerpt from Meant to Be

Meant to Be - Azriela Jaffe

Terra Incognita
By Azriela Jaffe

The newest Jewish novel paperback series from Zahav Press: book 3 of Legacy Jewish novels is an engaging contemporary tale of family & faith - as a well-meaning mother tries to fix it all, until realizing that some things are just meant to be.

Buy Meant to Be by Azriela Jaffe at an online discount at www.targum.com

“Give me a break, Yossi. It’s forty-two cents. Do you hear me?” Devoiry said. “You can’t even buy a candy bar anymore for that, so please, stop making me feel so bad about this.”

“Okay, what I did was dumb. Silly, moronic. But don’t you find it even a little bit funny?” Devoiry asked from the passenger side of their minivan as she and Yossi set out for their appointment with the girls’ school principal.

Devoiry started biting the fingernail of her index finger, a habit she resorted to only when she was fighting with Yossi.

Yossi was somber. “Frankly, I don’t find the subject of wasting money even a little bit funny. And what I find the most disturbing is not that you wasted the money, but that you don’t care! So what’s forty-two cents? And then, what’s forty-two dollars? And then, oh, well, so what’s four hundred and two dollars? Where does it stop?”

“I make my own money, too, and if I wasted forty-two cents, well, I’ll just take the loss!” retorted Devoiry.

“Don’t even get me started! Your cookbook isn’t selling and you’re spending a lot more money on the groceries you buy for your recipes than we’re making off the sales, so don’t try that tactic with me!”

Devoiry looked out the window at the passing farmland, willing herself not to cry. I hate the way I start to cry whenever I get really mad at Yossi!

Even in the wintertime, the expansive farmland with acres of green fields, silos, and silhouettes of Amish farmers infused her with serenity, and she breathed deeply, hoping to extract from the scenery the peace she wanted to feel.

Yossi banged his fist against the steering wheel. “You know, Devoiry, I can’t stand the way you always make me out to be the bad guy, like I’m some fool who is so cheap, you should have your head examined for being married to me. Why do I have to apologize for the fact that yes, even forty-two cents matters to me!”

Yossi paused, staring straight at the road, not looking at Devoiry. “Ever hear the expression ‘Every penny counts’? Well, it’s true! Have you or I ever been really, really hungry? Not the fasting-on-Yom-Kippur kind of hungry, with a smorgasbord at the end of the twenty-six hours. I mean, so ravenous, so emaciated from starvation, forty two cents could make the difference between life or death? ”

Devoiry cringed at the image.

“No, thank G-d, we haven’t ever suffered like this!” Yossi continued, his knuckles turning white on the steering wheel. “But my grandmother starved to death in Auschwitz, and if she could have taken forty-two pennies and traded it in for a soft roll, or a couple of sucking candies, or a fresh apple, do you know what that would have meant to her?”

Devoiry was frightened of escalating the fight by responding. She allowed silence, as uncomfortable as it was, to be a passenger in the car. Finally, she found the courage to speak in a voice barely audible above the engine’s humming noise.

“Yossi, I never thought of it that way. I’m sorry. I just laughed off my stupid mistake, didn’t even think of the forty-two-cent stamp as anything real.” Devoiry twisted her hands in her lap and fingered the buttons on her coat. “The truth is, you’ve taken such good care of our family, forty-two cents has never had to matter. I know you have really strong feelings about this, but you just have to lighten up. You’re wrecking our shalom bayis over — yes, I’m going to say this — a measly handful of coins. Is it really worth it? We’re going to end up paying a fortune for marriage counseling if you don’t cut it out!”

As a tear trickled down her cheek, Devoiry sniffled and reached for a tissue in her purse. Oh, no, here I go again. I can’t stand crying when I’m mad. Wish I’d keep the crying for the onions.

Buy Meant to Be by Azriela Jaffe at an online discount at www.targum.com.

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Meant to Be

Meant to Be

Book Excerpt from Meant to Be

Terra Incognita By Azriela Jaffe

Terra Incognita
By Azriela Jaffe