I tell time by the moon—that is, by her menstrual periods, which parallel the 28-day lunar cycle.
yellow stars—symbols of Judaism selected by Hitler’s forces as required badges to identify Jews.
Sons of Jacob—In Genesis 32:28, after wrestling with God’s messenger, Jacob changes his name to Israel, thus establishing his tribe as the Israelites, God’s chosen people.
torahs, talliths, Magen Davids—symbols of Judaism—the five books of Moses, prayer shawls, and the superimposed triangles that form the hexagrammatic shield of David, a feature of the flag of Israel.
M’aidez—French for “Help me,” which is pronounced in English like “Mayday,” a universal radio code indicating extreme distress.
Aztec hearts—The ancient Aztecs worshipped at stone altars, where priests used obsidian knives to cut the hearts from sacrificial human victims.
Balm in Gilead—the concluding question in Jeremiah, chapter 8, in which the prophet mourns Judah’s slide into wickedness and depravity.
Whore of Babylon—a slang insult found in Shakespeare’s Henry V (II, iii, 37) and derived from Jeremiah’s concern that God’s people had taken up Babylonian excesses of bawdy dress, idol worship, and immoral behavior.
