Even so, the auditorium was filled to bursting, with men sitting on one side of the aisle and women on the other. My class marched in, all of us dressed in green robes, with mortarboards on our heads. I wore my Shabbos clothes underneath and tried not to think of the dress with the lace sleeves. I saw Mama, Baba and Esther sitting with the women on the left, and Papa and Avrohom Isaac sitting with the men on the right. Younger single men like Yossi didn’t attend their sisters’ graduation because there were marriageable girls receiving their diplomas. The boys’ absence ensured that modesty was preserved and the Evil Inclination was kept at bay. About a hundred girls were in my graduating class. We all settled down on rows of chairs in front of the stage, which was occupied by our principal and teachers. Devorah Leah and Faygie were sitting next to me. “Freedom at last!” Devorah Leah whispered. “Only until September, when seminary begins,” Faygie said. “Isn’t it wonderful that the three of us will still be together?”
