Jesus and Menachem. Siegfried E. van Praag
gesture. The man who wished to wound Abba Alexander stood now with his back to them so Yocheved could have stabbed him. Menachem who had recognized the voice of the stranger pushed Yocheved back and entered the Pharisee’s room first.
“Abba, I know this man. He is Ben Nesher, the captain of Yehuda the Galilean. Give him the two thousand drachmas which he demands.”
“And who gives you the right, young man, to tell me what I must do?”
“Because Ben Nesher is too good for you to make him a sinner. It is written, ‘Thou shalt not murder!’”
“I will not give the money because I may not give it. They wish to know better than God and to act ahead of God. The end has not yet come. They want to bring it closer by violence against God’s purpose.”
“We only know what we must do, Abba. That is the only thing we know of God’s design. Hand over the money.”
“Nay.”
“Then I let Ben Nesher do his work. I crave your forgiveness, Yocheved.”
“Will you let my father be murdered, Menachem?”
“I shall not lift my hand against anyone who has sacrificed his blood for Israel.”
There followed a few moments of silence. Then Abba Alexander arose.
“Good, the wise men say that when one is threatened by danger he may break the Law, except when the oppressor demands that God’s Holy name be defiled. I shall give up the gold to buy my life. At this moment I eat unclean flesh. I shall atone for this.”
Abba Alexander opened a closet where he stored his money chest. He counted out the gold to the captain.
“I do not love my father. There is no tenderness in him,” said Yocheved softly to Menachem. “I hold not with his interpretation. But when you refused to fight for him I loved him.”
“I go to fight for Ben Nesher. He loves us so much that he has become our despair.”
“Have you nothing left over for me then, Menachem? Will you not take one step out of your way for me? Do I mean so little to you that you cannot do for me nor leave me one deed, that you cannot postpone one intention for my sake?”
“You counsel me ill, Yocheved.”
“In you too, there is no tenderness, Menachem. There is no more tenderness among the men of this folk.”
“My tenderness will come when you no longer put yourself first, Yocheved. God keep and protect you!”
“Colder than ice are the words of a man whom one loves in vain. God be with you, Menachem.”
Then the young man gripped the great Ben Nesher by the arm. “I was coming to seek you and did not think I would find you so close. I am going with you.”
With swift steps the two men abandoned the house of Yocheved, who stood near a window staring after them:
“My lover deserts my house like a thief. Now I remain behind with a father who lives not among humans. He does not even notice me. The least of the commentaries in the Mi-Sinai8 which his wise men say is derived from the Law of Sinai, is dearer to him than my soul. One cannot serve God and people at the same time, no matter what they say. My mother has run off with her lover. This is no house in which to stay. Its doors are shut but in all of Nazareth there is no house more open and colder. I shall run away also. May not a chaste virgin do the same as an adulterous wife—run after a man?”
5. Ecclesiastes.
6. The House of Holiness, the Temple.
7. Righteous deeds.
8. Oral law.
5
“Although you are confused I shall take you with me,” said Ben Nesher during the first quarter of the moon as they descended the road together to cross the land of Samaria to the south.
“You balance and weigh and reflect too much, and you wish to respect Abraham and Marcus and Alexander and Hanina and Simon and Reuben and the majesty of the sun and the mournful time of the moon. Hark you, that won’t do. A man can only take one responsibility upon himself. Seek out some great cause. I have chosen Israel. Still I shall take you with me since you are eager. They say that bloodshed makes a man insatiable. Much blood must flow over your hands before you properly love that which you fight for. Blood clings, Menachem. It clings firmly to whatever you love.”
“I am no Pharisee,” said Menachem, “and no Sadducee or Essene as I know that if you obey God too much on one side, you disobey him on the other. Why is it written that you shall not murder? You have almost forgotten it. You murder too easily. I go with you and I shall tell you why. He who will not build each day for fear he possesses not the perfect plan for the house of the future, his children will surely have no roof over their heads.”
Ben Nesher and Menachem did not remain alone. From all sides, from caves along the hidden paths of the mountains emerged men who joined them in the long journey from Nazareth to Judea, expected and unexpected, acquaintances and strangers. They followed Ben Nesher and Menachem like wolves behind sheep. They dropped like birds of prey from the mountain tops into the growing troop.
So they came to Sichem and passed through Samaria. Like them, the Samaritans suffered oppression. They also cherished hatred against the Roman tax collectors. Still they chortled with glee when they saw the men of Israel march by. Clearly it also went hard with them under Roman rule. They perceived that Ben Nesher’s troop came in rebellion and marched to meet their doom. That did the Samaritans good, and whenever the Jews disappeared far enough upon the rugged road they seized rocks and smote Ben Nesher’s men from behind.
The following day they left behind the land over which Herod Antipas seemingly reigned and along a small grey valley they came upon the first slopes of the highlands of Judea. Ever more partisans joined the small army of Ben Nesher which had halted near a place called Noema. The commander knew that the caravan of a tax collector from northern Judea would stop in that village overnight. He wanted to attack.
Groups of men lay on the ridges and in the hollows of the barren grey mountains. Eagles that saw them screamed and abandoned their nests. Some of the rebels peered at the predatory birds with amazement. Curious vultures did not remain so aloof. They hovered over the mountain tops and alighted on overhanging rocks. Then they stretched out their naked necks and their red eyes stared at the solitary men of Israel. Some of the men rubbed themselves against the rocks, for their backs itched from hunger and insect bites. Sitting by himself on a large rock, Menachem gazed at the army of outlaws. There were fathers of families from Jerusalem, farmers from the plain of Esdrelon, Pharisees that for long years had joyfully prayed in the synagogues and ragged youths from Transjordan and Perea, sea fishermen, young lads who had run away from the schools of the Law, Levites in rags who found no more joy in their Temple. Some slept on the ridge.
He saw a couple who had placed massive Roman swords upon their abdomens. The weapons moved up and down with their breathing. Some lay on their bellies and cupped their heads in the hands like boys. They slept like the thirsty who drink and the lovers who mate. Their own lives passed by whether they slept or kept watch. A network of tiny streams was diverted to their aim: to uproot the Romans and eject them from the land! Was their purpose God’s purpose? Or was God’s design precisely the work that did not matter anymore: to eat a good meal the following day, to see a wife in Jericho again, to bless a child or hear Rabbi Gamaliel explain the Torah? Some slept on their sides with rocks in their loins. And there were those who stared at the stars with open eyes. They sent out thoughts of longing or love