Читать книгу He Who Returned - Martin Fieber - Страница 14

“Jesus, I want you to help me and your half-brothers in the workshop today.” Joseph’s voice sounded very serious. “We still have to prepare quite a few things before we go to Sepphoris in a few days to aid in fully rebuilding the city.”

“Why was the town destroyed?” Jesus was very curious and always wanted to know about the background of events.

“You have already heard of the zealots, right?”

“Yes. Those are men who want to drive the Romans out of Galilee.”

“Exactly. They want to drive the Romans out of all of Galilee and Judea. These zealots fight and are very brutal. Many of the members of their various groups are from Sepphoris. One might say that city is the home of the zealots. After the death of Herod the Great the situation was very dangerous, and the Romans wanted to keep the town from falling into the hands of the zealots. After all it is located on the main trade route which connects Damascus and Egypt.”

“Many people must have been killed.” Jesus became sad.

“Yes, and not only that. Many of the former inhabitants were sold as slaves to the Romans. Among them many children. One hears a great deal of awful things.” A tear slipped down Joseph’s cheek. “Jesus, we have to hurry up. Come now.”

Jesus followed Joseph, whom he viewed more as an uncle or a brother than as a father, into the workshop. There Jossi and Judah had already begun working early in the morning.

“Jesus, our job is to equip the theater which is currently being built in Sepphoris with doors. And to supply the dressing rooms of the actors with tables. We need eleven doors, seven are already finished. You can brush away the shavings and bring us the tools that we need. Is that all clear?”

“Yes, after all I’m not that small and dumb.”

“And if you do a good job, then you can join us sometime when we go to Sepphoris and take a look at the theater.”

“How many people fit in there?”

“Jesus, stop asking so many questions. You had better do as father tells you!” Judah was annoyed. He hated it when Jesus kept on asking questions like that. “There is a broom in the corner. Get started already.”

Jesus observed the three men while they worked. Judah drilled holes into a door they were making out of cedar wood, Jossi planed off the rough spots from another. Joseph marked the spot for mounting a metal handle on yet another. He had just picked up the eleven handles from Shaul, the smith. He looked at the tools which hung on the walls. Various saws, chisels, a couple of hatchets, iron and wood hammers, files and drills. The planers were lying underneath the large axe which Joseph was especially proud of because he had brought it with him from Egypt.

During the last couple of weeks Jesus had spent a lot of time in the workshop while the men were in Sepphoris. He had carved himself his flute and other small objects. He loved wood, especially the olive wood with its interesting grain. He had secretly tried out some of the smaller tools and had already gained some abilities. Joseph however knew nothing about all this. Although he was young compared to his nearly grown-up half brothers, he knew that he would be deliver quality craftsmanship and that he would be a good craftsman if God asked this of him. He would like to build new houses.

God, I thank you for being here in Nazareth. Today for the first time I had the feeling that I was in exactly the right place here. I did not know this up until now, but now I am certain of it. Even though I often feel weak and drained, even if I am sickly, as people in the village apparently say about me, even though I still hear voice calling ‚you false Messiah!’ behind my back, from today on I know that I am in exactly the right place. Why since today you might ask father, but I do not know the answer.

Joshua was very sad today. I have rarely seen a boy who already has such an aura of sadness at his age. Please help him and his family. May you bless all beings and fill them with your love. May it always be thus.

∞

Joshua and the other children were sitting in school listening to the words of the torah. Samuel was reading them a few passages from the records which described the life of Moses. But Joshua was not listening because his thoughts were with his mother, who had recovered physically some in the last couple of days, yet who had remained a different person nonetheless since the horrible event. She was closed-off and kept her speech to a bare minimum in daily life. Suddenly Jacob the potter entered the room and told Samuel that a man who urgently wished to speak with him was waiting outside in the courtyard.

“Children, wait here. I will be right back.” He had hardly stepped outside when he returned with hasty steps.

“Let us quickly pray, for we have to cancel class for today. I will have to speak with the visitor for a while. May God, our Lord, bless our life, give us enough food and a loving heart.”

Then Samuel hurried off, after he had stored the torah scroll in the shrine.

“Your father has pretty words on his lips, scar-face.” Simeon stopped briefly in front of Joshua. “A loving heart. Pah, what a joke, I heard he hit your mother black and blue.” He made a strange grimace and hurried out of the synagogue with his pals. They would probably use the next hours for their weapon games. They didn’t think of anything else anymore. But Joshua for once had to agree with Simeon. His father should not have said that bit about a ‚loving heart’. Joshua felt as if he had turned to stone.

“You are not feeling well today, or?” Jesus had sat down next to Joshua.

“I hate my father. I hate him and I am afraid of him. You know what he did to my mother. I will never forgive him that.”

“Yes, it is horrible. But try to give these bad feeling sup to God, our loving father. Then he can carry the burden which would otherwise crush you at some point, and then you will feel lighter around your loving heart.”

“That is easy for you to say, Jesus. But I can not do that.”

“The main thing is that you remember my words for the future. If my father had done that to my mother, I would feel just the same.” Jesus put his hand on Joshua’s shoulder. Joshua could tell that Jesus wanted to distract him and get him to think of something happier.

“Joshua, in a few days I might be allowed to accompany my half-brothers and Joseph to Sepphoris. Would you like to join us?”

Joshua’s eyes beamed with joy before they were filled with sadness again abruptly.

“I think my father would not allow it.”

“But I am sure that you would enjoy it.”

“Yes, I love stories. It sure would be nice.”

“Joshua, trust me.” Suddenly the face of Jesus took on an otherworldly quality and his eyes shone even brighter than usual. “Our father in heaven is all-powerful. He makes it possible. There will be a way, even if you can not see it now.”

The blue eyes which gazed deep into him peered down into the depths of his soul. He felt recognized. He felt loved. He felt at peace. Everything else around him disappeared into a mist and all he saw were these smiling blue eyes which he never ever wanted to forget again.

“Joshua, my son“, he heard a voice say, “brighten your heart. Forgive Samuel, for he does not know what it is that he does.”

In these moments Joshua felt happier than ever before. He felt Jesus gently brush his arm as he stood up and left the synagogue. A few teardrops ran down his cheeks. He felt so sheltered, and it was completely normal for him in this instant that Jesus addressed him as a son. It fit into the holiness of the moment.

Joshua made his way back to his mother. On his way across the courtyard he briefly watched his sisters who were baking some bread. Before he reached the doorway of the entrance he heard an unknown voice that was speaking with his father. Both of the men were seated at a table and speaking excitedly when Joshua entered.

“Joshua, come over here. I want to introduce you to an important man from Jerusalem.” Samuel smiled proudly. “Bealja, this is my son. He will enter upon the same path later on. He is very talented and can already read at his young age.”

“Joshua, I am pleased to meet you.”

“My pleasure as well, sir.”

Joshua went over to his mother who was cutting bread in the room next door and preparing a salad with herbs for the guest.

“Mother, how are you?”

“Don’t worry, Joshua. I will always be there for you. I will protect you and your sisters, even if we have go to another country.”

“Is it really true that we have to go away?”

“Yes, my son, it is. We will journey to a Greek city, to Ephesus. It is supposed to be a large city in which many people live.”

“Mother, I do not want to go away from here.”

“I know, but there is no alternative to it. We are bound by a duty of loyalty to your father and he has to take on an important task there. In a couple of weeks the time will come for the move. This man said earlier that we will hear about it early on.” His mother gently stroked his hair. “Joshua, Ephesus is supposed to be a town of the arts. There is supposedly a theater there and also private libraries. And I know how much you like old writings.”

Though that was a glimmer of light on the horizon, Joshua still did not want to leave. He wanted to remain with his friend Rachel. And he especially did not want to leave Jesus, for he loved his beautiful blue eyes.

Sarah brought both the men the salad and the bread and then took Joshua with her into the yard to see after his sisters.

“Off with you now, go play with the others.” She smiled at Joshua, who immediately took off into the alleyways of Nazareth.

Meanwhile Judith was annoying Esther, as she always did. Today she was pulling at the braids of her older sister, who was just fetching the bread from the oven.

∞

Sarah smiled. She was proud of her children. She loved them. Judith and Esther were wonderful girls who fortunately did not have to endure much of Samuel’s violence. Samuel always let her or Joshua feel the full force of his dissatisfaction. Joshua worried her, for he had a hard lot. And the fact that he would be leaving Nazareth soon, was on the one hand important in order to escape from the narrow confines, yet on the other hand also not good for him. He had finally made a friend. Jesus was a good boy, she even felt that Joshua could not possibly find a better friend. After al she deeply and firmly believed that Jesus was the Messiah. And to play with a Messiah in your childhood was of course great and a unique chance. Joshua had always been together with the girls earlier, which had made him kind of an outsider. On the other hand Joshua would begin a new life in Ephesus and also find new friends. Maybe a new town where Samuel would be assigned many new tasks would change the relationship to his son. Maybe he would become calmer. Then the move would have already been worth it. She has this hope, and it would be worth this hope. No matter how hard the farewell from Nazareth might be.

Sarah was able to find some peace and return to her self whenever she baked bread. Baking bread was a source of divine energy. It was a time in which she clearly felt the presence of God’s love. She enjoyed the time which she gave to the bread, the time required to prepare the dough and with every motion of kneading to give her love to the bread and thus to her family. Baking bread was holy for her, it was a mystical prayer to her creator who then gifted her with the wholesome smell of the hot bread when she removed it from the oven.. What a joy was spread in the world through the bread! Something that had truly mystical power was created by the simple union of flour, water and salt. Every person should always have a right to bread. No person should ever be allowed to starve from lack of bread. Hopefully future generations would always have enough bread. Without bread there would be no life, in her eyes bread was life itself. God had created grain, the flour was ground by human labor, and the dough was formed by human persistence and baked by the holy fire of God. It was completed when it was broken and shared with all friends and sometimes also with travelling foreigners. Then God was very near. Then Sarah felt thankful and recognized herself as a creation of God.

Sarah loved fire. For her fire was sacred. It was her secret that she spoke with the fire-spirits. Sometimes she saw these graceful and at the same time wild beings in the flickering flames. Maybe this was the reason that her bread was so popular in Nazareth. The women of Nazareth often had differing opinions regarding the subject of how best to prepare various dishes, but they all agreed on one thing: Sarah’s bread simply tasted the best. One part of her talents as a baker consisted in building a fire and watching it until the ashes had reached just the right temperature for baking. Then the fire spirits whirled about in the flames especially quickly and gave her the sign to begin with the bread-baking. She had to smile. That was always like that and worked like a charm. Often some of the women of the village cam by as if by chance and watched her enviously. She knew that they wanted to find out what her secret was, but her secret was well hidden. Sarah’s artistry as a baker was one of the greatest mysteries of the village.

For today she was done with baking, but it was only completed when she had said her daily prayer which she loved so much and which every Jewish child learned from early on. The boys at school, the girls from their mothers. Sarah prayed: “You, Lord, are my shepard. I will suffer no want, you lead me onto green pastures and to fresh waters and you lead me through life safely for the sake of your name. Even if I have to pass through dark valleys, I am not afraid for you Lord are with me and comfort me. You always give my enough bread, you bathe my head with oil and my cup is always full. Happiness and good fortune accompany me in my life and I am allowed to live in your house as long as I live. Amen.”

Miriam had often come over to her lately, in order to bake the bread for both families together with her. Her talks with Miriam were so powerful that she created visions of a better world in the presence of her friend. They often spoke about the greatness of God, about the wonderful love which he gave to humanity. She was not allowed to tell Samuel about this, for according to his opinion, women were not supposed to be concerned with God but rather the household. And especially not her, Sarah, the wife of the rabbi of Nazareth.

Sarah observed her two daughters. She smiled again. She loved Esther just as if she were her own daughter. She was a nice child, but it seemed as if a certain sadness was in her which was not tangible and often hid itself well. For example today, how she was playing with Judith and frolicking with her in the courtyard. The bread was finished, they needed to a few moments of playtime right now.

Sarah didn’t notice Bealja, until he was standing directly in front of her. He bid her farewell and disappeared toward Sepphoris, where he still had to tend to some business. Shortly thereafter Samuel appeared and told her that they would be departing for Ephesus within a few weeks time. He would be informed of the exact date in due time. That was all. Thankfully, for she had no use for his presence at the moment. Then he proceeded to the synagogue, in order to – as Sarah suspected – give an offering of thanks to God. Generally she was full of admiration for her husband, who was a good rabbi. But his hypocrisy and the bad husband and father he was caused her heart to turn to ice toward him. She had learned to protect it long ago. Yet just a few days ago she had had to acknowledge to herself that it had not been completely invulnerable yet. Samuel had never before been that brutal. He had never caused her so much physical pain. Her heart had never been wounded so badly before. She had raised a higher and thicker wall around herself these last few days, which hopefully could not be torn down anymore. She had built in a small door so that her children could always enter her innermost sanctum, as well as Miriam, Jesus and other kind people whom she might meet in the future. But Samuel was never to find a place in her heart again. Now, simply too much had happened for that to ever be allowed again.

∞

“Woman, where is my son?”, Samuel shouted loudly. “Where is Joshua now again?”

“He is playing outside in the alley with Rachel.” Sarah could guess that Samuel wanted to teach him again.

“Tell him that he is supposed to appear here immediately.” Samuel went back into the house while Sarah searched for her son.

After a short period of time Joshua showed up in the house. “You called for me, father?”

“Yes. Since class had to be cancelled today I want us to read together in the scriptures first and then you can do your writing exercises. I don’t want to see you wasting your free time, but rather you ought to keep in mind that only by mastering the art of writing you will be able to gain a good reputation as a scribe later on and become a rabbi..”

Joshua bit his tongue instead of replying.

Samuel fetched his private torah scroll from his chamber. It was not as pretty as the one in the synagogue, but it was well suited for daily use.

“Joshua, what should we read?” It seemed as if Samuel was in a good mood. He had enjoyed the talk with Bealja. He seemed happy about the prospect of leaving Nazareth.

“Let’s read the part from the first book of Moses, where Jacob meets Laban’s daughter Rachel in Charan.” Joshua always associated ‚his’ Rachel with this and then it was easier for him to read the passage because he could vividly imagine the scene. And he could not imagine a more beautiful image than Rachel.

“Good, let’s read that passage, Joshua“. Samuel was amazed again at how easily his son could remember the various name and sections when he concentrated. Charan and Laban were not exactly everyday names and one had to have some talent in order to be able to recall them so readily. Right now he was a little proud how well his son – who after all was only seven years old – was able to remember the history of his ancestors! If only he wouldn’t daydream so often!

Samuel unrolled the torah until he reached aforementioned passage. Joshua read very fluidly and calmly, he rarely had to pause in order to pronounce a difficult word. He loved this chapter, in which Jacob wooed Rachel and had to work for her father for many years. But in the end his patience and humility had paid off.

Today Joshua could concentrate well, even though he would have rather played with the other children. But he relaxed as he reminded himself that he could do that tomorrow again, for his father would not always have time to study with his son.

“Then she became pregnant again and gave birth to a son and said: ‚This time I want to pr .. praise the Lord.’ and thus they called him Judah. She did not have any further children.” The chapter was finished.

“Well done, Joshua.” Samuel was very happy about Joshua’s work today. “Now we will do the writing exercises. I will read a few passages, and you are to write them down. Let us begin.” Samuel knew that it was not allowed to copy from the torah, unless it served the purpose of teaching. If one considered things carefully, this was also a teaching which he was passing on to his son. Hence he was able to ignore the rule this time. After all a future rabbi was in training here, he thought to himself. It was clearly visible that his on would at some point step into his footprints and become the rabbi of Nazareth.

Time always passed quickly, for Joshua also noticed that he was making progress with his writing.. But after another hour he had become tired.

“Joshua, that was enough for today.” Samuel noticed how tired he had become. No wonder, for Joshua had worked for along time with utmost concentration.

“I can tell that you are beginning to make more and more mistakes now. I am happy with your development. We will work together often in the future. I also want you to do your writing exercises when I am gone on occasion for a few days.” Samuel fixed his gaze on Joshua. “An hour every day. If you think I won’t be able to tell, then you are making a big mistake. Don’t even try to trick me. It is important, believe me. You are destined for something greater than tending sheep or harvesting barley. Have you understood?” His voice took on a threatening tone.

“Yes, father.” Joshua had frozen, for he had not expected that tone of voice after having just been praised a moment before.

“I will probably have to spend some time in Jerusalem soon. I will take a look at your exercises in that time. I know how much you can write in an hour.” Satisfied with his cleverness, Samuel smiled. With one last glance at his son he left the room and went over to the synagogue.

Joshua remained seated fro a while and thought about his tough individual lessons with Samuel sadly. On the one hand he was grateful for being able to improve his writing skills more and more, but on the other hand the rules and regulations of his forefathers sometimes seemed to crush him under their weight. Especially this ridiculous ‚hear oh Israel’ with the demand among other things that the tefilin had to be worn on arm and forehead, restricted him so much that it was enough to drive him up the wall. There were strips of parchment containing passages from the torah within the leather cases. As if it would make any difference whether one wore them or not. In this regard he could not comprehend adults and the teachings of his forefathers. Or whether one fastened a capsule with torah passages on parchment on the doorpost or not. What was that supposed to effect? He had to endure the wise-cracks of Simeon for wearing these stupid things. Simeon on the other hand refused to wear them whenever he could. That idiot could not even fasten the tefilin on his arms properly. But the worst thing, and which proved the lack of any effect of those containers, was that the words on parchment could not prevent his father, a man of God, from hitting him and injuring his mother. He had learned that it was his religious duty to respect his father, but in reality he despised him. And that is why God had to be angry at him, Joshua, he thought.

Slowly he became aware of the voices of children coming from outside the house. He went out sadly and sat down under the shadow of a pomegranate bush that stood near where the girls were playing their favorite game with Jesus: “Jacob and the Lord.” He watched the children a while and noticed that the girls always insisted that Jesus play the Lord. He tensely observed that the girls loved being caught by Jesus. Now it was Rachel’s turn and Joshua could not avert his eyes. He stared at her, curious to see whether she would also act so childishly, after all one had to try at least a little to avoid being caught in the game and to run away from the Lord some.

“Jacob, where are you?” Jesus called out with a gentle voice.

“Here.” Rachel laughed as she answered. It seemed as if Rachel also was not doing much to hide from Jesus, the Lord. After a couple of moments he had her already. They laughed and hugged for a while after they had taken off their blindfolds.

Joshua was still sitting under the tree and suddenly felt very lonely. He noticed it getting darker around him. His sadness increased and his loneliness was almost unbearable. But suddenly it got brighter again. “Joshua“, a voice called out and tore him from his thoughts. “Joshua, do you want to play with us?” It was Rachel’s voice, which brought a smile to his face with its cheerfulness.

“Yes, I will join you. Who am I supposed to be?”

“Jacob, of course.” Rachel brought him a blindfold. “Jesus is always the Lord. We decided on that yesterday.”

She wrapped Joshua with the blindfold. Then she turned him around a couple of times until he had lost his sense of direction.

“Jacob, where are you?” Jesus called out to him. He seemed to be somewhere behind him. Joshua turned around.

“Here.” Joshua answered and went in the other direction, until he noticed that the girls standing around in the circle wanted to push him back into the middle. He would not make it so easy for Jesus. Some time went by. He listened for the footsteps of Jesus, which he suddenly could barely hear anymore.

“Jacob, where are you?” Jesus seemed to have come nearer.

Joshua moved away from him before he replied. After all he did not Jesus to catch him so quickly. But all of his thoughts were no use. After a short while Jesus touched him on the back and he had to give up. How had Jesus been able to find him so quickly? He had after all been on the opposite side when he had called out.

“I found you. I have found Jacob. I have found Joshua.” Jesus seemed to be very happy. The girls laughed, for they enjoyed it very much when Jesus had been successful once again. In the old days when Simeon still played with them and called all the shots, they had been happy when it had taken longer until Simeon had found the Jacobs. But with Jesus the situation was completely different.

Both of the boys took of their blindfolds.

“How were you able to find me so quickly?”, Joshua asked Jesus.

“I concentrate, look inside myself, ask my father in heaven and then I see a weak light. This is the light that shows me the way and guides me to you.”

Joshua was astonished. It truly seemed as if Jesus had abilities that were not normal. Who was Jesus? Was he truly connected to God, the Lord, or was his father someone else, perhaps a demon, as his father suspected?

These thoughts wouldn’t leave Joshua alone for the entire rest of the day. He loved Jesus on a level of which he had never been aware before. This love was simply deeper, he could find no better word for it. It was closer, it touched something inside his heart of which he had not until now even known that it existed. On the one hand he always wanted to be close to his blue-eyed friend. On the other hand he was also a little afraid of him. Afraid? Yes, that is what one might call it. Afraid that his innermost feelings could be unlocked and come out.

How did Jesus know all of that? It could only come from God. He could not believe that this kind Jesus was connected to dark forces in any way. No, it was not possible. But he could not make his father understand this. The prophets of the olden days also had had gifts that were sometimes simply inexplicable. How, for example, could Moses transform stick into a snake?

As Joshua observed his thoughts he noticed that he was indeed a hidden thinker, a kind of philosopher, as his mother had once said. He was not familiar with the term, but he knew its meaning. Sarah often asked him why he, thought so much about everything, why he couldn’t simply take the days as they came. He was not able to do that. How could Simeon and Amos take life so lightly and view every day as a merely game?

∞

When Jesus rose the following morning it was still dark, he had awoken much earlier than usual. He reviewed the day gone by in his mind. Thoughts came and went. There were moments in which noticed that he was different than the others. In principle that was not so bad, after all no two souls were alike, yet he felt lonesome nonetheless, as he ad to admit to himself. Not even his mother could take this loneliness from him. She did try to cheer him up and explained to him again and again that he, unlike other children, had a special task to fulfil on this earth that he had to learn to accept. Although Jesus understood this he found it hard to accept. He liked many of the children, especially the girls, for their souls were softer and more open, and they simply liked him the way he was. Just like Joshua, although he had noticed that Joshua’s father had been keeping his son away from him lately.

Yes, it was true, since Joshua had been attacked by the dark creatures he had retreated some. Jesus wanted to change this development. He wanted to take care of Joshua better in future. He had realized that. Now it was getting lighter and he heard the first sounds of the new day. He put on his garment and greeted the new day with an inner gratitude for being alive.

Like every other morning Joshua had gone over to the synagogue with Samuel. That is, he had gone over a few minutes before the other children. His father had already announced that they would speak about cleanliness today. That was the favorite topic of Samuel. Joshua and the other boys were however already sick of hearing about it. But the topics were like an iron law from which there was no escape.

Last of all Simeon arrived, who disliked the topic most out of all of them. After the noise level had gone down and an initial prayer had been spoken, Simeon had to demonstrate his knowledge of Hebrew. He stood up and went to the torah scroll.

“Simeon, start reading already.” After only a few minutes Samuel was already enraged.

“Umm, rabbi, where am I supposed to begin?” Unlike in others situations, in the presence of the rabbi Simeon was obviously quite scared .

“Simeon, I just announced that we would be reading in the scriptures of Moses. Namely the exact passage where you learn which animals you are allowed to eat and which animals God forbids us from eating.”

Simeon read – in very poor Hebrew – of the quadrupeds, then of the animals that dwell in water. What followed next was a passage about birds and insects. Joshua enjoyed the moments when Simeon had to endure the strictness of his father.

“Simeon, that is enough.” The rabbi could not believe how badly Simeon still read. After all he was already eight. Although children were not sent to school as early as here in Nazareth in the other villages, it was up to the local rabbi to decide on what age they were to begin at. Why of why couldn’t the children grasp what a grace it was to learn how to read so early on?

Samuel took a deep breath. “So Simeon, please tell me again which quadrupeds we are allowed to eat.? You just read it aloud. It should be easy fro you to repeat it in your won words.”

“Umm. Uh. Rabbi, I, uh, I had to concentrate so much on reading that I unfortunately don’t know the answer.”

“Fine, then the other way around. Are we permitted to eat camel? Simeon?”

He did not reply.

“Amos?”

“I don’t know either.”

“Why don’t you two pay attention?” Samuel was close to giving up on them. There simply was no use.

“Ismael, you surely know the answer. Are we allowed to eat a camel?”

“No, rabbi. We are not allowed to do that. It says in the scriptures that we are allowed to eat quadrupeds that have completely cloven hooves and are ruminants. And while the camel is a ruminant, its hooves are only partially cloven.”

“Very good Ismael. Which quadrupeds are kosher? Jesus? Do you know?”

“Honourable rabbi, we are allowed to eat the cow, the goat, the sheep, mountain goats and the gazelle.” Jesus was visibly annoyed by the topic, for these strict superficial rules were not his thing at all. But since he felt like pricking the rabbi a little he continued. “We are however not allowed to eat the hip of the animals, since in honor of Jacobs fight with the angel those are to be spared.”

Samuel was astonished once again. Where did that obstructionist get his knowledge from? It seemed as if there was no topic on which he would not be able to give an answer. “Good. If you know so much, then please tell me, which birds are kosher and why we are not allowed to touch them?”

“If that is all you ask, I will gladly oblige.” Jesus was in a good mood and in his element. Today he was enjoying his face-off with the rabbi.

“The eagle, vulture, all kinds of ravens and the falcon are forbidden. Since they are birds of prey, people are afraid that their qualities would be transferred upon them. Rabbi, there are many more birds, but I think that would lead to far afield.”

Now Samuel had had enough. “Yes, Jesus, you know a lot, however I hear a certain tone of irony in your voice. What is the meaning of this?”

“Honourable rabbi, I can answer that if you wish.”

“Then speak and stop purring about here.”

“It is obvious that cleanliness and filthiness are a favorite topic of yours.” The expression on Jesus’ face changed and attentive observers could not fail to realize that he was using words from another world.

“Last week we spoke about hands and feet, which according to the law are impure. Yet I ask myself why feet are supposed to be impure, when they touch the holiest thing that there is, namely the earth? Or how could hands be impure, when it is they who help brothers and sisters with their problems and can treat illnesses? We also spoke about impure people last week. Is it possible at all that humans could be impure? I have respect for the writings of our ancestors, of our fathers and forefathers, yet they were written by people and were told in a time that does not match our own. If a person were starving, and the only thing he could eat were an ostrich that offered itself to him, would it not be in line with the spirit of God to do so? Or ought he to starve to death instead, just because the ostrich is not kosher? Do you believe that that would be what our and your God intended? Would you not save your son and give him meat of the ostrich if you could thereby save his life?” Jesus was finished. The silence that followed was both noble and terrible at once.

“Get out of this holy place. I don’t want to see you here again today. Get lost, you false Messiah.” Samuel was angrier than he had rarely been before. The gall of that lout. How dared he expose him in front of all of the children like that? “Go on, get lost already.”

“Nothing rather than that, honorable rabbi.” Jesus stood up and left the synagogue, gazing deeply into Joshua’s eyes on the way out.

The rest of the lesson went by fairly quickly. Joshua barely even dared to breathe. Nor was as much as a sigh heard from any of the other boys. Samuel continued and told them everything else there was to know about cleanliness and impurity. But Joshua did not register even a single word of it. Finally, the lesson was over.

Samuel threateningly approached Joshua. “Joshua, I want you to forget the words of Jesus as quickly as possible. They were spoken by a demon. Jesus was not himself today. Do you hear me?”

“Yes, father.”

“And I also don’t want you playing with him or speaking with him anymore. Is that clear as well?”

Joshua did not answer this time.

“Is that clear, my son?”

Joshua was very afraid and wanted to go to bed in one piece tonight. So he said yes.

Joshua was sad and shaken. He wanted to never forget those words of Jesus, for the power of Jesus was simply too impressive. What energy Jesus radiated! He was impressed how that boy was able to stand up to his father, and how he in fact did stand up to him! Where did those words come from? What was clear to him already was that the words did not come, as his law-loving father claimed, from a demon. So where did they come from then? It seemed as if Jesus had stepped into another world earlier. And when his gaze met the blue eyes of Jesus, when he had to leave the synagogue, he had gazed deeply into the origin of the universe and recognized the love that was behind it all. This love came directly from God. This love made him sad and angry, just like the prohibitions of his father. He hated the rabbi. He would always hate him.

After the lesson today I noticed the anger I felt toward the rabbi. How could that dumb man react in such a way? He ought to be a role model for us. Or am I that for off here, father? Why did you grant him the office of being a rabbi? Sadly I am not getting any reply from you. And sadly I had an attack of weakness when I got home. I simply must be more patient with myself.

My mother says that I have to have patience and understanding when it comes to people, especially for example Samuel. But how is that possible, father? Father, how can I be patient with a dumb person who has so much power? And how can I possibly even be understanding toward him? I do not comprehend that.

Please teach me how I can love Samuel ,how I can understand his way of doing things. God, please bless the people of Nazareth. Father, please also bless Samuel.

∞

Today Joshua was allowed to stop his writing exercises early, for Samuel was satisfied with his performance. This was very convenient for Joshua, for he longed to see the olive tree up on the hill, to lean up against its trunk and spend the rest of the day of there.

He quickly set out toward the tree. None of the playing children could sway him to pause in the dusty alleyway. He ran up the hill and heard himself say “I love you“, as he touched the olive tree and sat down next to its gnarled trunk which radiated patience and absolute love. Joshua got comfortable and let his spirit wander with his gaze across the horizon. He left time and space behind. For a long moment he was in a sun-filled world without violence. He was in a world of beauty and harmony, until he heard a flute melody reach his ear from somewhere. It took him a moment to recall where he was, sitting against the olive tree. Then a moment later he spotted Jesus coming up the path, still playing his flute.

“Joshua, may I lend you some company?”

“Sure, Jesus, gladly.”

“Are you often here?”

“Yes, but not often enough, for this is where I find peace and quiet. I often miss that.”

“Yes, I understand that.” Jesus sat down next to Joshua and gazed into the distance until his view settled on Mt. Tabor. “Isn’t that a beautiful mountain? Sometimes I dream that lights travel over the mountain very quickly. Then a voice tells me that I am being accompanied on my life’s path and protected, no matter where I go.”

“No way!” Joshua was astonished. “I have also dreamt that once or twice. The only difference being that I did not hear a voice. What is the meaning of all this?”

“I had a very sensitive teacher named Bakenor while in Egypt. He told me that there are people who live on other planets, who sometimes visit this earth. Bakenor told me that he had often seen moving lights in the heavens above three large, pyramidal structures that he called pyramids. They are located a few days journey south of Alexandria near the great river Nile. They moved in every possible direction. Sometimes the lights were as big as pomegranate.”

“There are people on other planets? Why do you hear their voice? Who are you, Jesus?” Joshua gave Jesus a questioning look.

“Our father in heaven has sent me here. He is the father of all humans, no matter which planet they currently dwell on. A while ago the voice already told me that I …“ Jesus paused.

“What were you going to say, Jesus?” Joshua knew that Jesus had just kept some significant information to himself.

“I am not sure whether I am allowed to speak of it. I was getting a little ahead of myself and don’t know if your soul wants to hear it, really. Please forgive me.”

“Jesus, please tell me. You can’t simply start a sentence and then leave it half-finished. I want to hear everything you have to say, Jesus. I know that your soul heals mine, I know I will be able to understand.”

Jesus could tell that the only was out of this situation was in fact to finish his sentence. “As I was saying, the voice had already told me a while ago that I lived on another planet a long time ago in order to prepare myself for the task which I have taken upon myself in this life-time. The only thing that I do not know exactly yet now is what the details of the task are.” he wanted to go onto some more detail regarding his task in order to avoid touching on the topic of earlier lives, but it was too late for that now.

“You used to live on another planet?” Joshua stared at Jesus with an open mouth and fearful eyes. He was speechless.

“Yes, I lived with the great holy lineage.” Jesus smiled. “Well, you see, Joshua, maybe I shouldn’t have told you all that. Please don’t tell anyone else, not even your father. Otherwise I would get into a lot of trouble with him. He would kick me out of school or maybe even do something worse than that.”

“Jesus, hold on. First you tell me of people that live on other stars and that are watching over you here in Galilee. And how am I to tell if that is true? There is no reference to anything of the sort in the scriptures of our ancestors and prophets. And besides, how are they supposed to get here if they do exist? With flying horses? And why you? Why are you in Galilee, if you have such an important assignment? Why not in Jerusalem?”

“I do not know why our father in heaven has sent me here to Nazareth.”

“Hmm. Und why do we have the same dream? Why do I dream about the lights? What do I have to do with those people?”

“Perhaps you, too know the great holy lineage.” Jesus had to change the topic. Otherwise the talk would be going too far. “Joshua, what was the most beautiful moment in your life?”

“I can recall two of those. One of them was when Rachel and I sat together in this tree and cuddled and simply enjoyed the silence. The other one was when I …“ Now it was Joshua’s turn to be too embarrassed to finish his sentence. However, since he had just insisted that Jesus not leave his sentence half-finished, it was only fair for him to now to the same for him.

“Go on, speak, Joshua.”

“The second moment was when you all arrived in Nazareth and I was able to see your eyes despite the sand storm.”

“O, then you seem to have recognized me. Then your soul seems to have remembered me. I am very happy to hear this.”

After that both of the friends sat in silence, simply enjoying their company. This afternoon underneath the olive tree had caused some commotion in Joshua’s soul and had connected it to the soul of Jesus. A bond of love had been created.

A blessing went forth from the olive tree, which wanted to teach humans patience and calmness, and wrapped the souls of both of the boys in light so that they would not forget this timeless moment for a long long time. “Light the lamps of other souls that live in spiritual darkness and need warmth in their lives with the oil of my fruits“, the tree breathed after the boys as they walked away. “Light the lamps of other souls with the oil of my fruits …“