Chapter Three

Zechariah could hear Elizabeth, Miriam and Benesh outside speaking to the animals. He glanced out the window and saw Benesh pouring some water into their water trough. He always enjoyed any visit by Benesh. The young man had been one of his favorite students. He had great respect for his Father Haskel who had taught him well the lessons a young boy should know before he entered school.

Zechariah placed the bowl of still smoldering incense back upon the shelf where it belonged. He placed the incense back in its proper place also. He opened a small chest and placed his tefillin back in its place.

He pulled his mantle around his shoulders and fastened his girdle to hold it in place. He picked up his worn sandals and sat down on the edge of the floor where it rose above the animal pen. His feet had become used to the feel of the wooden soles of his sandals which had become worn to the shape of his feet over the years. He stood and placed a white head covering over his gray hair. He placed his prayer shawl in his girdle pouch and straightened his dressings one last time.

Picking up his staff he stepped outside and greeted Elizabeth, Miriam and Benesh who were still fussing over the animals.

“Have you nothing better to do than waste your day petting a few animals?” he said.

Elizabeth turned and smiled and him.

“Benesh asked me to lead his new donkey here for you to inspect.”

“A new donkey?” He said observing the animal. “Let me see this new donkey for myself.”

Benesh watched Zechariah inspect the animal. Zechariah slowly walked around the donkey, patting here and there, inspecting the hooves and his teeth. Finally he inspected the ears.

Holding an ear close to his mouth he said, “Don’t listen to a thing Benesh tells you. He’ll have you plowing the fields by your self in no time so he can sit at home and smile at the young women coming back from the well.”

“Zechariah!” Elizabeth scolded. “You old trouble maker. Off to the synagogue with you.”

Miriam and Benesh giggled at the two of them.

“Perhaps a young man with a new donkey would like to give an old man a ride to the synagogue.”

“Zechariah!” Elizabeth looked around for her broom to scurry him off with. Not finding it she scolded him some more and shooed him on his way. Laughing, he smiled and bid them farewell.

“See what you have to look forward to Miriam?” Elizabeth said. “He is impossible. Always stirring things up. Now come inside, both of you and eat some sweet bread with dates in it.”

* * *

 
Zechariah arrived at the synagogue to find most of his students already there. Some parents were waiting with them and greeted him as he came into view.

He entered the synagogue, called the “house of the book” while teaching the young. He lit the oil lamps while the children came in and took their places on the wooden benches lining the walls. Parents gave one last set of instructions to obey Zechariah and honor their God. The children pulled out their prayer shawls and waited for Zechariah to begin.

Turning he scanned the group of boys, around twenty five in number, a normal number for a village the size of theirs. Their village, Ein Kerem, was around an hour and a half walk from Jerusalem. Originally a Canaanite village, it evolved around “the spring of the vineyard”, from which it derived its name.

The boys ranged in age of five years old to ten years old. At twelve

The children sat quietly and waited for Zechariah to begin the morning Tefilah or prayers.

“Children,” he said. “Let us pray. Repeat after me. Bless, O my soul, the Lord.”

“Bless, O my soul, the Lord,” the children repeated.

“Lord my God, You are very great.”

“Lord my God, You are very great,” They repeated.

“Glory and majesty have You worn,” Zechariah recited.

“Glory and majesty have You worn,” the children repeated.

“Who dons light as a garment.”

“Who dons light as a garment,” the children repeated.

“Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,” Zechariah sais, finishing the morning prayer.

“Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain.” children repeated.

Together they placed their prayer shawls on their heads.

“Eliazar,” Zechariah said.

“Yes Rabbi,” he responded.

“Who is our God?”

“In the Torah, in the book of Deuteronomy, it says ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord IS One!’”

“And what is your duty to our God?”

“In the Torah, in the book of Deuteronomy, it says, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.’”

“And this boys, is why your father has taught them to you and why I am teaching them to you. That you might love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

Zechariah gave pause for a moment to allow for his words to sink in a little.

“Itamar, what is the first commandment of our God?”

“In the Torah, in the book of Exodus, it says, ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.'”

“Mordechai, what is the second commandment of our God?”

“In the Torah, in the book of Exodus, it says, ‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.'”

“Jethro, what is the third commandment of our God?”

“In the Torah, in the book of Exodus, it says, ‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.’”

“Lavan, what is the forth commandment of our God?”

“In the Torah, in the book of Exodus, it says, ‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.'”

“Aviel, what is the fifth commandment of our God?”

“In the Torah, in the book of Exodus, it says, ‘Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.'”

“Benjamin, what is the sixth commandment of our God?”

“In the Torah, in the book of Exodus, it says, ‘You shall not murder.'”

“Doran, what is the seventh commandment of our God?”

“In the Torah, in the book of Exodus, it says, ‘You shall not commit adultery.'”

“Eshkol, what is the eighth commandment of our God?”

“In the Torah, in the book of Exodus, it says, ‘You shall not steal.'”

“Gershem, what is the ninth commandment of our God?”

“In the Torah, in the book of Exodus, it says, ‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.'”

“Shalev, what is the tenth commandment of our God?”

“In the Torah, in the book of Exodus, it says, ‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.'”

“And which is the greatest commandment?” Zechariah asked.

Young Joshua rose before Zechariah.

“Yes Joshua.”

Joshua sat back down and said, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.”

“Well said. What does your God command you regarding your neighbor?”

Zamir stood before Zechariah.

“Yes Zamir, tell me one commandment regarding your neighbor.”

“In the Torah, in the book of Leviticus, it says, ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.'”

* * *

“Goodbye Elizabeth,” Miriam said.

“Goodbye,” Elizabeth said.

“Goodbye,” Benesh said.

Elizabeth waved to the both of them and watched them quickly head home. Miriam leading a new donkey and Benesh carrying the water pots.

Elizabeth propped the door open to let the air move through her home. She selected a few sticks from the pile next to the oven and placed them on the coals. She gently blew on them until they caught fire enough to burn with no more coaxing. She pulled out the dough that she had seeded with leaven the night before and placed it on a baking tin. She sprinkled olive oil on top of it and some sesame seeds.

Opening the door to the oven she placed the bread inside and closed the door.

She spent some time tidying up their small home. She cleaned out the animal droppings from the previous night and added some fresh hay to their pen. She refilled the oil lamps and watered the flowers on the window sill.

She felt fussy today. Always did when it was time for Zechariah to go to Jerusalem for his priestly week of service. She hated to be alone. Twice a year he would be gone for a week and a couple of days. The one bright spot is the goods he brought back from Jerusalem.

Zechariah would take the cloth and thread Elizabeth had made since his last visit and some of the raw wool from the few sheep they had. With that he would barter for items they needed. Oil, wheat, etc. Sometimes he would take some of his carvings to trade. He had worked at carving wooden items since he was a boy. Even though he received from the village part of their necessities for his priestly work there, it was never enough to provide for all their needs.

Elizabeth poured a glass of water. While drinking it she examined the cloth on her loom. She could easily finish it before Zechariah returned from teaching the boys. This would make the total length of cloth she was sending with him around 225 cubits, though, her short arms usually made her count a little high. Most was linen made from flax, but there had been a good harvest of wool in the village this year and she had been able to weave more than the usual.

She laid out the wraps for the cloth and started arranging them in according to weave and design. Over the years she had learned what customers in Jerusalem preferred and what would be easiest for Zechariah to bargain with. This year they hoped to trade for a cow, but she doubted they had enough to bargain with. There were other needs as well, and after bargaining for those, well, a cow was just so expensive.

The sound of a dove cooing caught Elizabeth’s attention. Looking up from the floor she saw a pure white dove sitting on the window sill by the vase full of Rock Rose flowers. Elizabeth sensed there was something more to this visit than meets the eye. Her heart felt strangely warm and she felt like crying for no particular reason.

Suddenly she just began praying. Praying with more of her heart than she had ever known. Everything in her still wanted a child, a child she could call her own. A child she could nurse, could protect, could hold in her arms and watch it quietly sleep. And it really didn’t matter whether it was a girl or a boy.

“O Lord, how foolish I feel,” she prayed wiping away tears with the linen she had just been folding.

Sitting on her knees she wept as she stared at the dove and the Rock Roses. Then she felt her heart filled with a restful peace and with hope. More peace than she had ever felt and her tears changed to tears of gratitude.

“What is happening to me Lord?” she prayed.

The dove grabbed a Rock Rose in its beak and flew away leaving Elizabeth to her tears and prayers.

© 2011 John Pearson All Rights Reserved.