Yeshua divides families... what is happening to us?

12 Tishrei

Everything is changing so fast! I really can't believe the events of last week. A year ago, our village would have hidden fugitives from the Romans. But now we find ourselves giving refuge to our own kin hiding from other kinsmen. You would have thought when the promised one came, he would unite us all, but he seems to be dividing families. Sons and fathers... Mothers and daughters. What's happening to us?

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11 Tishrei ~ EARLY MORNING PATROL

I know this is late but after a very slow day yesterday as we contemplated atonement we had a very busy day today. 

It all started with a Roman patrol marching up the road past KfarGanot before dawn. They passed by on the road next to the farm. We heard the unmistakable sound of their hobnails on the stones and the clanking of their swords and shields as they continued past us towards Chorazim. It is quite some time since such a patrol has passed this way and it made me tremble. They usually mean trouble.

Shmuel was up like a shot and bundled the children off to Danni's. The twins had been fed so they went too. It was only then he told me that the judge had arranged to tip off the Romans that there may be trouble in the town today in order to buy us some time.

Time for what? I wanted to know... but before he could answer someone was hammering on the gate. It was Reuven with Miriam's guards. We weren't expecting him for a couple of weeks. They came in, all on horseback! They usually wait outside. Reuven greeted us and said there was not much time. He gave a package to Shira.

"These belong to my mistress, put them on quickly." Yonatan nodded to her and she retired to their room. Reuven gave Yonatan a fine robe to put on, saying it belonged to one of the kings men. He must be one of Miriam's rich friends.

As soon as they were ready, Yonatan and Shira were set on the horses a and they all departed, Reuven also on horseback and the guards on foot. They went up the road towards Chorazim and then down the path into the dell. An hour later the soldiers returned past the farm followed by the Centurion who visited Rabbi Moshe. We saw nothing of the men of Chorazim despite their threats of the other day.

Despite all the drama all I could think about was that I let the guests leave without serving them breakfast!

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A novel way to communicate

8 Tishrei

I think Devorah is enjoying the subterfuge. She dropped in early today as is her habit in cases of severe illness. We were her second call of the morning, Silas being her first. She says he is very poorly. She had brought some foul smelling concoction for me to boil up. It was strictly not for human consumption she told me, but that there were many different ways to communicate. The message, she said, should be obvious.
"If you don't like what Old Devorah's cooking up, then stay away!" It was a tactic she had used in the past when harbouring fugitives, with good effect. I thought the odour was vaguely familiar. She assured me it was a genuine medicine, but only for donkeys and then only as an ointment. Yonatan thought it was hilarious. His father had nicknamed him "Young Donkey" because he had a stubborn streak. He pulled his shawl over his nose and went back into the house.
We got used to the smell after an hour or so, but for a while it made my eyes run. Shmuli and Yoshi, however, thought Devorah was "cool" and wondered if she could teach them to make such wonderful "stinks". She just chased them out of the yard with my broom.
"What cheek!" she exclaimed with a wink and a grin. "I'll be back later with something for you if you're not careful!"
I've never seen them run so fast!

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Yuk! Yuk! Yuk!

6 Tishrei

It's impossible to keep a secret round here for long! Yoshi and Shmuli came across Yonatan and Shira holding hands outside in the courtyard. Their opinion of this small sign of affection was "Yuk!" They told Shmuel that whatever makes grown ups do this must be catching. Even sensible people like Yov and Yonatan end up getting soppy about girls! They assured us they wouldn't tell a soul about it as it was too embarrassing!

The elders had a meeting at Rabbi Moshe's house this afternoon as the judge and his servant are still here. Shmuel was very quiet when he returned. Since Yonatan and Shira have left all they own behind they will be staying here for a while. Shmuel thinks it is to close to Chorazim, and that there will be trouble, we shall see, won't we?

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Farewell to the pilgrims

4 Tishrei

What an amazing day! We all gathered to give the pilgrims a good send off. As well as cheering and hugging we pressed them with gifts for the journey. We waved and cheered ourselves hoarse. Miri had given all the women and girls ribbons to wave and all the little girls had invented a dance to go with the psalms we sang. Shmuli and Yoshi walked down the hill with Galit looking very sombre - as if he were going away forever!

I went home to the housework - something I have become unaccustomed to of late - and set to with a sigh.
It is going to be hard to get used to doing all this work on my own again. We do have a bread roster so that will help, at least on days it is not my turn. But I still have other chores I did not have before. Still I am so happy for them all I am sure they will be blessed. We are already making plans to give them a feast when they return, just as Azuvah did for us.

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29 Elul WE'RE READY!

I needn't have worried. Everything is ready for tonight. We have prepared the food and all the men are getting their shofars ready. I'm not sure what Shmuli is doing but he's been conspicuous by his absence this afternoon. I have not seen him since lunch.  With boys that can either mean mischief or business these days. The trouble is there is no way of telling which!

Aunt Tirzah has invited all our ladies and their families to her house for the festivities. She forgot that would mean all of Azuvah's family! Milchah has had to decline since Old Silas is unwell and Yov wants them to celebrate with him. It's such a shame. But he is the oldest man in KfarGanot, he is getting quite frail. Since he helped with the threshing and winnowing he has been prone to chest trouble. It must have been the dust. It gets everywhere, but he insisted on doing his part.
"It is a sin to be idle" he would say and worked as hard as anyone.

I felt sorry for Milchah, but she insisted she would be fine. She had made a special honey cake in my kitchen to surprise them all. I shared my mother's secret recipe with her. One that Silas has always liked. I hope it raises his spirits.

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28 Elul ~ STRANGE NOISES!

Shabbat Shalom! I have been busy not being busy.  Does that make sense?  I mean I have had to expend some effort to keep from doing things.

I know it's Shabbat but second day is Yom Teruah and we must be ready for sundown tomorrow when it all begins.  Some of the smaller children told the Rabbi that they had heard moaning sounds coming from the caves. Some people think there may be a wild beast in there.  Who knows?  It’s best to leave well alone I think.

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27 Elul ~ WINE THAT CHEERS THE HEART!

We have been working hard with harvesting today. Well, I was involved with clearing out the room where Shmuel keeps his wineskins. We had to sweep up and he checked the poles where he hangs it all. We do use jars for wine too but the taste its very different. It's nice to have a choice. We can't wait until Succot when we can taste the new wine. As the year goes on, the wine ferments and the taste changes. I like it when it's sweet and new. I have always thought it can be a bit vinegary when it's old, but Shmuel disagrees. I think men like the way old wine can cheer the heart. It only makes me sleepy.

I am ready for Shabbat, but not before all the women got together with Aunt Tirzah to arrange a roster for when Chava and Galit are away. They will be gone for three weeks and we need someone to make bread and do other chores while they're gone. Becoming reliant on others does have its disadvantages.

I almost forgot! Yonatan heard about his wife Shira today. Her father is being difficult, but one of the judges had found out he won't let her leave the house. He sent word that he will be passing here in a few days and will see if he can help. I only heard part of the message but I got the impression the man knows Yeshua. I may be wrong about that though, but he does seem to have some influential friends.

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26 Elul ~ GETTING READY FOR THE FEAST

I have begun busy preparing for Yom Teruah next week. If we have worked it out right it is only four days away. Rivkah and I have been preparing fruit. Making sure it is of good quality and getting bee honey and date syrup into pots. They should be coming to announce the feast and we want to be ready.

I expect Yeshua has gone to Yerushalayim for the winter feasts maybe he will rent another house else when he returns. He has hardly been home for months and it is expensive to rent a place and not live there. I hope that's all it is. The children were encouraged when Shmuel suggested it.

[Our picture today shows aa silver Drachma from Elyrus, Crete.  The images on each side are respectively a Bee, representing oney, and a Goat, representing milk.  These type of coins were minted around 400-300BCE and show the importance of a “Land of Milk & Honey” in ancient times.]

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25 Elul ~ Yeshua has gone!

We had disturbing news today. Yeshua has given up his house in KfarNahum! The boys called in while were at the market but found a man cleaning it. He said that the family of one of the fishermen would be moving in next week. Of course, the children were devastated. No Yeshua and that means Grandma Miriam won't be coming to stay. Shmuli is worried about his business too. Where will he get his customers if they are not looking for Yeshua? He asked lots of searching questions over supper.

For a youngster, he seems to have grasped the idea that their business needs to be different to succeed. There are too many people selling food in the market already. He made a success with his eggs by giving an extra one free with a bulk buy, but he said he was not sure how that would work with raisins.

Did I have any ideas?

[Our picture today shows what may well have been Yeshua's house whilst He lived in Capernaum (KfarNahum).]

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questions about growing up

24 Elul

Poor Shmuli. He asked me if I knew what made boys become so strange when they became men. I wanted to know what he meant.
"Well, they get all soppy about girls, that's what an' the girls get all soppy about them too. I just don't understand it."
I guess he doesn't, but I think this is a job for Shmuel. When I suggested he might ask his father, he said,
" I dunno'. Men are even worse, they get all soppy about babies sometimes. I'll think about it"
Oh dear I think Shmuel will have an interesting time with him over this one!

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no smelly feet here

22 Elul

Yonatan has been helping with the grapes today. I was busy with other things but, judging by the state of the boys they have been helping too! They are covered with grape stains. I always thought the idea was to keep the juice in the vat but they have managed to get a fair quantity of it all over themselves... or each other, perhaps... you know what boys are like!

When Yonatan came back for lunch his feet were sore. Little Rivkah brought him a bowl of warm water and a towel. The water smelled lovely. Then I realised she had used some of my perfume! Fortunately there is plenty left. I will have to put it on a higher shelf in future. Still, Yonatan said his feet feel wonderful. Bless her!
Later, she did the same for her daddy but this time I gave her some herbs for the infusion. She is learning the principles of hospitality. I'm so proud of her. She does it without being asked, it's lovely.

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Where will it all end?

20 Elul

Galit arrived a little early this morning. The others were not back from the milking. He put the bread on the table and I paid him his money. It's a real luxury to have freshly baked bread delivered every day. I will be baking for Shabbat of course, but we buy all our other bread from Galit these days. We will miss the deliveries when they go to Yerushalayim next week. Three weeks of baking my own bread! Will I have time for the weaving, I wonder? In the past we have all done our own cooking and chores but over the last few months all that has changed. We have Chava doing housework, we buy in bread, we have regular hired hands on the farm and share tending the sheep with three other families. Everyone can now develop their other talents to support the family. Who would have thought our fortunes could have changed so much in such a short time?

Our latest employee,Yonatan, is sleeping in our guest room for now. He could have slept in the barn but I did not feel comfortable with that. He has lost his family on account of Yeshua and that must be terrible. He was a good friend of my sister's husband so I suppose looking out for him is a family responsibility. He says my sister is keeping well but the town is very unhappy about the judgement last week. They will be ploughing the thicket as soon as they can get organised. The children only escaped trouble because the Sanhedrin might hear of it. Not only are they rejecting Yeshua, but they are unhappy with our religious leaders now. We used to have such a good relationship with them, trading in their market and visiting the synagogue but now... Where will it all end?

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Yeshua knows Hasassah's deepest longing

19 Elul

Yeshua left for KfarNahum quite early this morning. I'm sure Ya'acov will have moved on by now. Still, when it comes to brothers, people do strange things, don't they? The boys walked with Yeshua and Shim'on to the crossroads and waved until they were out of sight.

Hadassah came over early, shortly after breakfast. She seemed very excited about something, but was very quiet. (I must say, for her, that is rather unusual) It  was as if she had a secret she was bursting to share, but was holding her tongue for fear of spoiling it. She followed me round like a shadow for what seemed like hours, though it could only have been a few minutes. When I could bear it no longer, I sat her down and asked her what was up.

Before she could answer, Aunt Tirzah arrived looking for Shmuel but he had already left for the pasture. We have taken on a new hand and he is showing him the ropes. Always ready to pass on the latest news, Aunt Tirzah informed us that the man had called on them at breakfast time and was from Chorazim. His father had told him that if he had any respect for his elders, he would have stopped being sympathetic to "that heretic, Yeshua."  If not, he could get out. What a shame he arrived after the Rabbi had gone.

As we got down to work this afternoon, we finally found out why Hadassah was behaving so oddly. It seems that when Yeshua was giving thanks for the meal last night, he added something to his prayer. She wanted to know if I had told him how much they wanted another child. I assured her I had not. She was puzzled. How did he know? He had simply thanked HaShem that he had answered their prayers and that they would be new parents within the year. He had not referred to it again and they were too afraid to ask.

"If anyone knows, he does." observed Aunt Tirzah, "I am so happy for you." And so were we all.

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New food ideas

8 Elul

No matter what happens in life, you can be sure that food will be high on my family's agenda. At breakfast, the topic of conversation was yet again the "crispy things" we ate last night. I promised that I would get Milchah to make them again for tonight. Though I expect there will be two of us cooking since Shmuli has asked if his gang can come and Rivkah wants to invite Miri.
But I had one condition.
"The men who dropped in and made off with some of the freshly cooked patties will have to wait like "good boys" or they might miss out at supper!"
"But surely a man can come to his own house and have a snack when he wants!" protested Shmuel with a mischievous grin."And surely he's allowed to feed a Rabbi?"
"Not if they want a hot dinner!" I laughed. In fact we all laughed. Galit, who was eating a hearty second breakfast, promised to bring some flat bread and pickles as it sounded as if we were going to have a party.
Yeshua is eating at Hadassah's tonight, so maybe we'll let him have a taste too. He does seem to like them!

Dinner was interesting. We are finding it difficult to get the knack of eating this new food without making a mess. First Galit tried wrapping the hot "crispy things" in bread with pickles and salad but it was quite a challenge keeping it all together. We all tried but no one had much success until Shmuli pulled out his new knife and made a slit in the side of the bread. He opened it up like a pocket. From then on, it was easy. Hummus, salad, pickles, hot "crispy things" ... delicious!

Shmuli went very quiet. Was he just enjoying the food or do I sense an idea in the offing?

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Irresistible crispy things

17 Elul

Milchah should open a restaurant. She has just cooked an amazing meal. We were wondering what to do with yesterdays leftover beans and chickpeas. Usually, I would have mixed them with bulgur, oil and herbs to accompany a salad. But Milchah...

She told me her neighbours used to cook in open topped pots and she had a couple at home. Her mother in-law would not have them in the house. We sent the two girls to fetch them from the shed. We felt a little excited about doing something sneaky. Don't tell Shmuel we conspired to go behind her in-law's backs!

She set to work as I watched and tended to my spinning. l was intrigued. First, she ground the beans and chickpeas with a stone until they became a mush. Then she mixed in onions, spices and herbs thickening the mix with a little flour. All the while, she was heating some oil in the pot, more oil than I was used to cooking with. She said her neighbours used to cook meat in the oil, but she used this bean mixture. She rolled it into little balls and cooked them in the pot fishing them out with a wooden spoon.  Her brothers loved it. They had named the patties  "crispy things" she tells me,  "well, because they are crispy!"

The "crispy things" were so hot... so crunchy on the outside... and so... so... soft on the inside. What is more, they are incredibly delicious. The best food ever! You can keep your southern fried chicken and omelettes I could live on these quite happily!

Half way through the afternoon, Shmuel and Yeshua came back saying they were hungry. I guess the scrumptious smell was carried  on the breeze. My husband helped himself to some of the food and gave some to Yeshua. Milchah and I chased them from the yard giggling and telling them to wait "like good boys".
"I'll tell your mother!" I called after them as they ran down the road. They thought it was hilarious!

Milchah warned me to keep an eye on the oil... not to let it smoke. Otherwise the "crispy things" are so easy and quick. And to my surprise she says they are equally as tasty cold! But, I asked  myself, would they ever last long enough to get cold?

I don't what has happened to Shmuel. He always used to prefer traditional cooking. But these "crispy things" are a big hit with every one. Milchah cooked so many of them but they all disappeared very quickly. Shmuli asked if he could have some for Galit

Yoshi to try, but there were none left!

I'll have to get Milchah to make some more tomorrow.

[the origin of the word “falafel” is long forgotten, but some dictionaries suggest it is related to an Arabic word for “crispy or crunchy]

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Yeshua's Father?

15 Elul

The elders all disappeared to Uncle Shaul's last night so Yov and Ya'acov came here. I later discoveredthey would be going round the village tomorrow, to collect grain for Azavah's family so thatwe allshare the cost. I went to bed early leaving them to talk. They included Shmuli in their conversation as he was representing the men of the house, but he told me as he was on his way to bed that they had talked a lot about weddings,"Yuk!"

Ya'acov left early this morning to go down to KfarNahum. It is unlikely his brother will be home, but he plans to stay at the house. Cephas's mother and sister are minding it so they can let him in. He told Shmuel that he thought he could talk to some of the callers to find out what people are saying-he wants to find out what strangers think of Yeshua, people who haven't met him. What are their expectations? Who told them where to come, that sort of thing. He keeps his thoughts to himself, but we have gathered that he has a reputation for being very devout. We have seen his dedication for ourselves, and Shmuel learned from one of the junior judges that the Sanhedrin here and in Yerushalayim itself have a lot of respect for him. Yov reminded us how he knew people at the temple, too. I suppose that is why he is making the effort to find out what all the fuss is about.

Just a quick PS. As we were sitting down to supper we heard a knock at the door. It was Shim'on and Yeshua. Of course we were overjoyed. We sat down together, and Yeshua broke bread at Shmuel's insistence- there's something about the way he does it.

Over the meal we told him that he had just missed Ya'acov he could meet up with him in KfarNahum but he said,
"Ah! Ya'acov, always seeking to understand! My Father has a work for him too! He will lead him into all truth..."

But I thought his father was dead...?

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Ya'acov and Shmuel go head to head entertaining babies

14 Elul

Shmuli was so sweet last night. When Shmuel told him about the money he looked at his father and said,
"But Dad, Galit's family gave so much that they can't go to Yerushalayim for Sukkot. We can start again with the chickens, but they've never been up to a feast an' they are all so looking forward to it!"
Shmuel promised he'd see what could be done about it. He disappeared for about an hour. I think he went to see the rabbi as he told me the elders are eating at Uncle Shaul's tonight.

Ya'acov has spent the day with us. I found out he's quite good at calming crying babies. He pulls faces and makes silly noises just like Shmuel. In fact, they got quite competitive about it. What is it with men that they have to turn everything into a contest? Whatever the reason, the twins were fascinated and responded with a few silly noises of their own before falling into a sound sleep.

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