Anatole had walked the same distance every day for three months. From his home in the Hebrew quarter of Ortygia to the flat plain near the edge of the little island. Ortygia had served many roles for Siracusa over the centuries, from trading outpost to military compound, from humble camps for the slave trade to its current status as neighborhood for laborers. There were many nationalities represented there, with a lineage that could trace its history back to the slaves, and there was a cluster in the center where Anatole lived with the other Jews of the island, called Giudecca.
GiudeccaAccess to water for ritual cleansing was a central part of Jewish practice. Running water from streams and rivers was used, as was the standing water of lakes and pools. The Jews of Sicily had access to the
