Ask Zedekiah Greenburg

ASK BLOG IS CLOSED

[treeisholdman]

Would you say that you're proud of Elihu?

Of course, I would! He’s a real mensch, my boy. I knew he would be smart and so very well-rounded when he was a young man in his studies in Bnais Yeshiva! Top of his class, and he read the Torah every night.

Now, years and years later… he’s a maven in his field, that is, he’s the best at what he does. He’s trained other monsters to do what he does so well, and he also donated to the orphan’s fund…among other things… I’m so proud of my son, I think my bark would peel from all the praise I’m giving him…

[treeisholdman]

How do you like Belladonna? And does she like to spend time with you?

Oh, I love and adore my little Bella. One of her favorite things to do after Bnais Yeshiva is to come and crawl into her old Zeidy's lap, and just snuggle me so much.

Usually, she’ll fall asleep against me, and sometimes I’ll fall asleep too!

[treeisholdman]

You look so nice in your new clothes! Are they for an occasion or is that typically how you dress?

Shalom again, Shades! Yes, these are just like I used to wear up on the surface years ago. After I got settled in finally, Elihu took me down to his assistants Mater's clothing store, Whiteforest and Brewer. Never thought I'd finally have good clothing that would fit again! Well, I just came into the house to grab something, and we'll be out in the sukkah for the next few days! See you around, Shades.

[treeisholdman]

This may sound odd, but I'm curious, have you ever gotten termites before?

Termites? Oy gevalt, I used to get them swarming around me, back in Tel Aviv, especially out on duty with the MIDF. Those flying pischers would think I was a regular tree I guess? 

It’s almost nice that I’m down here. Don’t have any bugs to deal with that would try that kind of stuff!

[treeisholdman]

So you met Oraline when she was under the influence of the scroll and you managed to get it out of her, but what happened after that? How did you two fall in love?

Well, not immediately. She was disoriented and pretty injured actually. Deep gouges in her chest and stomach, she was suffering from clay shift, having been forced to wade through water just to attack the…the water-dwelling monsters…she doesn’t remember any of this, as it was under the influence of that damned scroll. 

Me and her…she was disowned by the human family she had been caring for…so, she came back to the kibbutz with me and my brother Ephraim. You see, this was a small skirmish back in Jerusalem, not the actual Great War. Having no where to go, she lived with us. I guess it just happened eventually…when two monsters can feel that spark, deep within themselves…they are most likely destined to be together.

[treeisholdman]

Why don't you go give your son a big hug Zede, he seems a little shocked

* It feels like an old wound has finally closed. 

[treeisholdman]

"Haha, wow, that really is a noticeable difference! :D Anyway, Dr. G, or Dr. Gaster, is the Royal Scientist! He and his team work to improve the Underground – for example, they created the CORE, which provides electricity to everyone! c:"

Oy that's quite a tall order! All the lights and the homes! I remember having to deliver jugs of olive oil to the families for lamp oil! That was mostly what I farmed back in Tel Aviv. 

Olive trees, grapes, blackberries and wheat. After the humans had stopped trade with us, I was the only one who made kosher wine in the valley. Rabbi Bergman worked alongside me making sure it was kashrut.

[treeisholdman]

Doctor Gaster is the royal scientist. He was born on the surface as well, pretty cool guy and his boyfriend is your son's apprentice/assistant

He's the Royal Scientist? Um...t-that's really nice, I guess? I'm a little wary round scientists, if you understand at least. I've seen enough people in white coats for a lifetime and then some.

But if my boy trusts him... I'll trust him too. Certainly he wouldn't do anything like what those putz did in the labs. He seems like a mensch, if he's the one who helped do all of this down here...

[treeisholdman]

Awww you're officially home now! How do you feel seeing Ora again?

I feel whole again, like my soul doesn’t hurt anymore. I went through those trials and problems, and I made it through. All of it was worth it. To see my sweet Oraline again… *He turned towards her, giving her a sweet kiss.*

Ir nito nor vi sheyn vi ikh gedenken, meyn zis aun tayer leym libling.

[treeisholdman]

Haha, hearing you speak now, Eli speaks in almost the exact same tone of voice! Same vocabulary and everything. The apple never does fall far from the tree, quite literally i suppose

That's a pretty good joke there! Apple doesn't fall far the tree. Heh, yeah I mean I was in the boys life till he was around 15 or 16 years old. 

But he sounds like I do? Goodness, he sounds like he grew up well without his old Abba around...

[treeisholdman]

Have you ever written Oraline a love letter? You seem like the sweet type of husband that would do that kind of thing

Of course I've written her love letters! I always wrote her when I was out at my post or if I'd schlepped vegetables into the main town and be gone for a few days, I'd leave her little notes or letters for her to find during her day taking care of Elihu.

I'm about to plotz I'm so excited to see my sweet Oraline and my handsome boy again!

[treeisholdman]

What was your fondest memory of your family that you would remember while in the labs?

Oraline's smile and her laugh. My son's bar mitzvah...when I was at my lowest, I would remember the day he became a man, and he pledged to be a strong, upstanding member of the Jewish community and to his family. I would think of the farm...and how that I would grow good food for the small families that lived near us.

My brother Ephraim. He was a private in Royal Guard. He got the ropes almost undone around us, when the Israeli Defense Force had captured us. I'll never forget him staring at me in the fire... telling me to go, to run. I've got a family to think about. Then... I felt an arm on my shoulder. I couldn't see through the hazy smoke, I thought it was my savior. But it was them. And they took me away from everything...

[treeisholdman]

I mean this in the nicest way possible, but once you've gotten back with your family, i think it's about time for some new clothes!

I’ve been in a lab for over 400 years. Been tortured, electrocuted, battered and broken. It was only my hope of seeing my family again and my faith in HaShem that had kept me going. I think ‘getting new clothes’ is the farthest on my mind, you little pischer…

[treeisholdman]

Are you a Rabbi, Zedekiah?

No, but a lot of people have said I should be one. To be a wise person who teaches is good, but to be able to listen to those teachings and apply them to life, is even better!

I think it's because I'm pretty cryptic with what I say sometimes. But I'm honestly just a farmer and Abba, who was thrust into the Royal Guard, advanced through the ranks till he hit Brigadier, and just dealt the best that he could with what life gave him.

[treeisholdman]

"Er, sorry, it's a bit hard to tell if you're sitting or not from the camera... but... don't give up on your grandchildren seeing the Surface just yet! Dr. G and his team are working on possible ways to break the Barrier... and who knows what the future will bring?"

Well, this is me standing, Kodai! I’m nine feet and five inches tall last I’d checked! I just can barely stand fully upright in the house as it is. I think Elihu wanted to make sure his old Abba could fit in the house, which is why these ceilings are so high already.

Who’s this Dr. G? Ain’t never heard of ‘em before...

[treeisholdman]

"...oh, dear. There's... really no good way to tell you this, so I suppose I'll just have to answer your question directly. ...Maybe you should sit down, first."

I am sitting down. I’m nearly ten feet tall, Kodai...

.............

Besser mit a klugn in gehenem eyder mit a nar in ganeydn.... Better to be a wise person in Hell than a fool in paradise....at least I’m with family...that’s what matters the most. 

...but my grandchildren...they may never see the sun...to see the beauty of the surface that Adonai created...he created it for all creatures, not just the humans! And yet...they took it from us...ripped it from our hands like the greedy gonif mamzers they are! Arein iz di tir brait, un arois iz zi shmol....The door to evil-doing is wide, but the return gate is narrow...

[treeisholdman]

"Hehe, fair enough! c: SOUL traits are just indicative of your strongest trait(s), yeah? Anyway, the monster community certainly has come together and built something fantastic out of nothing! ...Not that there aren't problems, but considering the circumstances, the Underground is really quite amazing."

Yeah, it looked pretty nice, going through the snowy areas, and then it was like going through a swamp of sorts? Lots of water. The crystals reminded of the night sky.

The circumstances? Just what do you mean? The Exodus was voluntary I thought? Monsters had started to go to the woods, the forests, for protection. 

It’s why after the skirmishes in Jerusalem I moved our kibbutz far away from those fercocketed humans. I wasn’t going to let them get my boy and my sweet Oraline...what happened on the surface while I was in those labs?