The Golem and the Jinni

Avram takes Chava to Moe Radzin’s bakery and gets her a job as a baker’s assistant. Chava meets Moe’s wife, Thea, and their two children. The other baker’s assistant is a young woman named Anna Blumberg. Moe Radzin doesn’t believe Chava’s story, but he hires the Golem because he likes the idea that Avram will owe him a favor. The job is a good fit for Chava. Thea acts as her mentor and chides her husband for voicing his suspicions about Chava’s relationship with the Rabbi. Chava soon wins Moe over when he sees that she is a skillful baker. Anna dislikes Chava’s skill and confidence, and Chava is envious of Anna’s ability to read people and charm them while taking orders at the register. Chava is still uncomfortable around people and is worried about working the front counter and taking orders. At first, she is awkward, but she manages to figure out the necessary small talk. The job is a success, and soon, Chava moves out of the Rabbi’s apartment and into a nearby boarding house.

Avram is still worried about what to do with Chava, worrying about her like a father worries about his daughter. When Avram was studying at Yeshiva as a young man, he had a Kabbalistic teacher who secretly taught him how to make and command a Golem. At the time Avram made one and brought it to life, but when he ordered it to kill a spider, the Golem lost control and continued to attack the spider long after killing it. Horrified, Avram quickly destroyed the Golem, and his teacher explained that Golems develop a taste for destruction and cannot stop themselves. Knowing the innate dangers of a Golem’s nature, Avram is now determined to find a way to protect Chava and everyone around her. Meanwhile, Chava and Avram continue having Sabbath dinner together every Saturday. They have missed each other’s company, but Chava’s move is essential to keeping up the proper appearances. At night, alone in her room, Chava takes her clothing apart and sews it back together to stay occupied.

Ahmad takes a week to recover from the ill effects of running in the rain. When he tells Arbeely about his affair with Sophia, the tinsmith yells at him, knowing that if Ahmad had been caught, he would have been arrested, and his indiscretion could have brought down wrath on all of Little Syria. In October, Arbeely realizes that he is no longer poor. The work that the Jinni has been putting in at the shop has brought in much more revenue. Arbeely gives Ahmad a large bonus and encourages him to get a flat. Ahmad finds a room in a nearby tenement, furnishing it with cushions and mirrors to make it feel more spacious and quell his claustrophobia. He goes for long walks along the rooftops at night, getting to know the various men and women in the area.

Eventually, Ahmad goes back to Sophia and sleeps with her again. She observes that he is always hot and notes the iron cuffs around his wrists. She asks if he was enslaved, and he tries to dismiss the question, but when she pushes him to explain, and he tells her myths about the Jinn. Sophia admits that she is engaged, and the two part ways.

The narrative shifts to Ahmad’s history in the distant past. Fadwa dreams about the Jinni in his glass palace. In this dream realm, he asks her about her life, and Fadwa tells him that her days are routine and boring. However, he finds these mundane details fascinating. Eventually, Fadwa’s sleeping body begins to wake, and the Jinni leaves, asking to come back to speak with her again. She agrees and wakes in the real world.

Yehudah Schaalman is unable to stop thinking about Rotfeld. He astral projects and finds himself at the bottom of the ocean, where Rotfeld’s body rests. Schaalman realizes that Rotfeld must have died on the journey and assumes that the Golem was never brought to life. His mind strays to the topic of eternal life, and suddenly, he is spiritually transported to the streets of New York. He realizes that something or someone in the city may hold the key to eternal life. He thinks about the years he spent searching for eternal life and decides to go to New York and continue his search.

The narrative shifts back to New York. One of the staff of the Hebrew shelter house brings Michael a box of macaroons from Radzin’s bakery, and when he takes a bite, he feels happy for the first time. Meanwhile, Chava has been getting used to working at the bakery and pretending to be human. One day, she wonders aloud how chickens make eggs identically every time, making Anna and Thea laugh. When Chava goes to the back, she berates herself for not being careful, and Moe overhears her. At night, Moe wonders what is wrong with her, and Thea tells the story of a boy with obsessive-compulsive tendencies. She tells Moe to leave Chava alone. Chava gets a raise but feels guilty because she doesn’t need the extra money like Anna does. Chava believes that Anna’s various love affairs and dates will lead her to get pregnant, and this adds to Chava’s anxiety. Chava visits the Rabbi, who congratulates her on the raise. She is guilty, but Avram explains that money is a tool she will need for the future. The Rabbi walks Chava back to her boarding house. On his way back, he coughs continually, barely able to catch his breath. By the time he climbs the stairs to his apartment, he starts to cough up blood. The Rabbi decides that he could never destroy Chava, so he resolves to find a way to bind her to a new master.

The rain and snow from the New York winter have been keeping Ahmad confined, so he buys an ostentatious silk umbrella. At night, he continues to wander through the Bowery, buying silver from an Irishman named Conroy.

The narrative shifts to Ahmad’s history in the distant past. In the Syrian desert, Fadwa continues with her daily tasks but is often distracted. As time passes, she worries that the Jinni isn’t real.

The narrative returns to the present moment. Avram’s doctor believes that he has less than six months to live. With his timeline shorter than expected, he redoubles his research into Golems and learns that Chava’s consent is required for the ritual to give her a new master. He finds a way to obtain Chava’s consent for the ritual and completes the necessary formula. He lays out the paper with the magic, but before he can fully prepare for Chava’s arrival for Sabbath dinner, he has another coughing fit that triggers a heart attack. Avram dies clutching the commands for the Golem.

Chava finds his body and is horrified. Avram’s neighbors come to help and immediately start observing the death rituals. Chava has no idea what to do. Seeing Rotfeld’s wallet, which she brought with her from the ship, she takes it and leaves, worried that she is about to lose control. She wanders the streets of New York and gets very lost. She meets Ahmad, and they can each perceive the  other’s true nature. Chava shies away from the Jinni, worried that he knows too much. Ahmad is desperate to speak with her because he needs to talk to someone who understands his experience. In the midst of this interaction, Ice Cream Saleh sees Ahmad and is shocked to realize that he can look at Ahmad without feeling pain. Once Chava is back in the boarding house, she looks at the wallet and discovers the commands for a Golem, including the instructions on how to destroy one.

Michael learns of his uncle’s death and goes to the Radzin’s bakery to check on Chava. They talk about Avram’s death, and Chava learns that she can’t attend the Rabbi’s funeral. Meanwhile, Ahmad tells Arbeely about meeting Chava and shares the fact that she is a Golem. Neither Ahmad nor Arbeely know what a Golem is. Ahmad mentions that he followed her back to a boarding house in a Jewish neighborhood. Arbeely worries that Chava will rally the Jewish community to loot and attack Little Syria, but Ahmad thinks that Arbeely is being ridiculous.

After work, Chava thinks about the Jinni, wondering what he is. Her mind swirls as she considers his nature and wonders what to do with the commands for a Golem. She keeps the information in a large gold locket that she wears constantly. Michael arranges his uncle’s funeral but is conflicted about his role in it. He has rejected the Jewish religion and knows that there will be whispers in the temple about him returning to the Godly path. Michael goes to his uncle’s home and begins to go through Avram’s things. He tosses the Rabbi’s papers into a bag and donates all of the books to charity.

Michael collapses with a fever. He catches glimpses of awareness within his fever. He is in a hospital, surrounded by other barely conscious ill people, many of whom are poor immigrants. Meanwhile, Yehudah Schaalman arrives in New York City and stands in awe of the city’s scale and beauty. He causes a distraction to shorten his customs interview, only speaking with the officer long enough to be renamed Joseph Schaal.