11 Tevet
Breakfast was interesting. I felt I had to apologise to Sextus. He must have thought me terribly ungrateful. He had saved my life and I had rewarded him by keeping him at arm's length. He said he just thought I was shy. It used to make him smile the way I would keep the table between us when he visited. Thinking back, it never occurred to me that nobody else seemed in the least uncomfortable with him.
I just kept turning it over and over in my mind trying to think if there was anything I had missed.
Finally Sextus said, "If it's any consolation, Miriam didn't find out I was a Jew until I had been working for her for two years. She caught me wearing tzit tzit on the day of Atonement. That was all my family ever did that was remotely Jewish. I must admit, my eating habits have changed since I came to the Galil and I'm healthier for it too!"
I can't say I felt very consoled, but I was intrigued about his family's approach to our faith. It seems they follow the Sadducean tradition, they do not believe in the resurrection so, unless they really want to there's no real reason to follow traditions. In Rome there are many who don't really have a belief in a deity of any kind but go through the motions to keep the authorities happy. His father, a man of science, did not believe in any power outside of the emperor but he did acknowledge HaShem once a year, "just in case." It was people like me, he told us that has made him question his beliefs.
I could have talked to him all day, but he had to continue his journey and we all had work to do. He promised to return later in the week on his way home. After saddling his horse, he left in the direction of the Rabbi's house. If he's having a crisis of faith, I can think of no one better to talk to, can you?
Breakfast was interesting. I felt I had to apologise to Sextus. He must have thought me terribly ungrateful. He had saved my life and I had rewarded him by keeping him at arm's length. He said he just thought I was shy. It used to make him smile the way I would keep the table between us when he visited. Thinking back, it never occurred to me that nobody else seemed in the least uncomfortable with him.
I just kept turning it over and over in my mind trying to think if there was anything I had missed.
Finally Sextus said, "If it's any consolation, Miriam didn't find out I was a Jew until I had been working for her for two years. She caught me wearing tzit tzit on the day of Atonement. That was all my family ever did that was remotely Jewish. I must admit, my eating habits have changed since I came to the Galil and I'm healthier for it too!"
I can't say I felt very consoled, but I was intrigued about his family's approach to our faith. It seems they follow the Sadducean tradition, they do not believe in the resurrection so, unless they really want to there's no real reason to follow traditions. In Rome there are many who don't really have a belief in a deity of any kind but go through the motions to keep the authorities happy. His father, a man of science, did not believe in any power outside of the emperor but he did acknowledge HaShem once a year, "just in case." It was people like me, he told us that has made him question his beliefs.
I could have talked to him all day, but he had to continue his journey and we all had work to do. He promised to return later in the week on his way home. After saddling his horse, he left in the direction of the Rabbi's house. If he's having a crisis of faith, I can think of no one better to talk to, can you?
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