Sworn Enemies

Lisa Arsenault is an elementary-school teacher in Ajax.

In mid-19th-century Russia, Jewish children are forcibly conscripted
into the Russian army. In order to meet the quotas, Jewish elders employ
kidnappers, one of whom, Zev, preys on the poor and unprotected. The
rich pay to keep their sons out of the army, but Zev, out of envy and
spite, kidnaps Aaron, who comes from a rich and well-connected family.
Zev is expelled from the community and through a series of mishaps is
himself kidnapped and forced into the army. The two bitter enemies, Zev
and Aaron, encounter each other on the forced march to Siberia, and
through a trick of fate escape together. Vicious to the end, Zev
attempts to kill Aaron during their flight, but Aaron eventually escapes
to France.

The alternating narratives of Zev and Aaron prevent a one-sided
viewpoint and provide interesting insights into how external
circumstances can give rise to, or exacerbate, criminal or evil
tendencies. Without forced conscription, Zev may not have become such a
monster. The story could also be used to study social mores in this
historical Russian Jewish community. However, parents and teachers
should be advised that the unrelenting barbarism practised by the
Russian officers against the young Jewish conscripts is graphically and
horrifically described. Recommended.