158 292
158
györgy spiró
and female slaves of other
origins who became Jewish in
Rome, to the greater glory of
the One and Only God, giving
birth to Jewish children in the
zigzag ghetto of Far Side. And
since the Transtiberim—which
was not even fenced in at that
time, already considered part
of the city by government
bodies, albeit unofficially—
was inhabited not only by
Jews but also by people of
various conquered nations,
for the surplus daughters
who became Jewish converts
it was often only a matter
moving a few houses away,
so they were even able to visit
their parental households,
should they so wish. Not that
they had much wish to: their
non-Jewish families were
generally more than happy
to be rid of them, and they
made that quite clear. In any
case, the women became
part of the husband’s family
forever, with no ties of any
kind to their parents’ family—
on that score, Roman and
Jewish laws were in accord.
A girl who converted to the
bosom of the One and Only
God could only be thankful
that her parents had not cast
her out as prey for wolves or
men, or strangled her at birth.
That is how a Jewish Diaspora
took root in the capital of the
empire.
Joseph considered it an
injustice that he must live
on foreign soil, as technically
speaking everyone who did
not live in the Holy Land
was unclean, and that was
a blemish no water could
wash away. But, then, it was
not the first time this had
happened in Jewish history,
he said, and he pointed out
to Uri that the Roman Jews