Freaky Friday:

In Short Friday, Isaac Singer takes the reader into the lives of a devoted and devout couple, Shmul-Leibele and his wife, Shoshe. Shmul-Leibele is described as a man who was ultimately unsuccessful in mastering a trade, but where he lacked in skill, he made up through being an honorable man; his moral compass often guided him to buy only the best materials and consistently return scraps to his customers. Shoshe, in short, is a “God-fearing woman” who many found admirable through her diligence and honesty (68). The story primarily focuses on the piousness of Shmul-Leibele and Shoshe and the heavy influence that religion had in their lives. Through Shoshe, the reader is introduced to a major component of the story, the role that food and food preparation plays in their religion and how Singer’s descriptive writing and placement of props is strategic in illustrating the characteristics of the couple.

The reader is first introduced to food through Singer’s description of Shoshe, in which he describes her occupation as kneading dough and states that she would venture “…off to the forest to gather berries and mushrooms, as well as pinecones and twigs for the stove” (67).  A detail that I skimmed initially yet later sparked my interest when rereading; I believe that the description is not necessarily a tangent in Singers description, but instead a heads up to the reader that we should keep an eye open for the presence of food (and even the stove) throughout the story. When preparing for Sabbath, the couple would often deprive themselves during the week and then prepare lavish feasts in honor of the Holy day. The food preparation and consumption assisted in expressing the characteristics of the couple. For instance, Shoshe would often make sure each dish was well cooked by sealing the oven tightly shut with dough; to me, this exemplifies that Shoshe was a very diligent and routine woman, and in a way, she goes through somewhat drastic measures to get the perfect end product—which is how I view her relationship with both God and the afterlife. Likewise, Shmul-Leibele would always treasure the mouthfuls of Shoshe’s extravagant meals, exclaiming “Ah, Shoshe love, it’s food fit for a king! Nothing less than a taste of Paradise!” (68). This simple statement tells us a lot about Shmul-Leibele’s personality; it shows that food was an outlet for him to express his happiness and gratitude to Shoshe (which he sometimes found difficulty in), it shows that he had a ritualistic and routine personality because he stated this gratitude at every Sabbath meal, and also, this seemingly perfunctory statement introduced the significance that Paradise had in his life.

When the plot reaches the shortest Friday of the year, for which this story took place, Shmul-Leibele went throughout his usual pious schedule and found himself especially longing to be home, but certain holy laws would not permit him to do so. As he entered his hut, the room “made him think of Paradise” largely in part to the aromas that came from the oven along with the “scents of the Sabbath supper” (71). After eating the typically delicious meal and reciting psalms and several prayers, the couple was taken over by exhaustion, which brought a wrap to yet another successfully executed Sabbath—so they thought. In the dead hours of the morning, Shmul-Leibele had a sudden urge to make love to Shoshe, so he allowed himself to do so after assuring himself that “the great saints also loved their wives” (72). After making love, they both fell asleep only to be awakened by a mutual nightmare. The snow surrounding their hut, combined with the fumes from the oven, had caused them to become asphyxiated. As they both laid there, side by side, they try to recount what could have caused this unfortunate event to occur. Promptly turning to their scapegoat, food, for an answer. Shoshe perplexed over the situation, stating that they both “went to sleep hale and hearty” and that they had “arranged a proper Sabbath…an entire chicken neck and tripe.” They were no longer left with an appetite, for the two of them “had no further need of food” (73). As they were finally embracing death and preparing for the Angel Dumah, Shoshe had one final thought, “she was curious about the Sabbath meal. Had it been removed from the oven? Who had eaten it?” (74). I am still unsure how to comprehend Shoshe’s final thoughts, but if I had to guess, I would say that she was simply going to what was familiar and comfortable to her. She had often used food as an outlet to express her love for both her husband and God and wanted to insure that she had done everything she could have done with the food before the angels came to retrieve her. An angel had finally arrived to take the couple to their true Paradise.

-Jason Trull