by Joan Wolf
The crowd outside the walls was nothing compared to the crowd inside. Merchants were lined up all along the narrow streets, shouting out their wares in Greek and Aramaic, and the air was filled with the bleating of frightened animals.
I always tried not to think about the rivers of blood that would be shed on the Temple altars. Lord Benjamin always bought our lamb inside the Temple, even though it was more expensive. To be accepted as a sacrifice, the lamb had to be declared unblemished, and the priests often declared the lambs that came from outside unfit, forcing the poor pilgrim to buy a second lamb, this time from the Temple. Lord Benjamin said it was a way for the priests to make money, and the only way to avoid the swindle was to take no chances and buy your lamb from them.
The smells were almost as overwhelming as the noise and the crowds. Food from all the countries of the Empire was being sold at market stands, and those odors, combined with the stench of sweat and the pungent oils that people had anointed themselves with, were enough to make my stomach churn.
When we finally reached the Temple, we had to separate so each of us could take a mikvah, the ritual bath that was necessary before one could be admitted to the Temple proper. About half the family had gathered in the Court of the Gentiles by the time I joined them, my mikvah finished. The court was almost as crowded and noisy as the streets had been. The money changers were set up, ready to exchange foreign currency into ritually clean shekels, and the merchants were spread all over the vast area, selling a variety of sacrificial birds and animals as well as ritually pure lambs. Some enterprising souls were even trying to sell souvenirs to visitors from foreign lands.
Once all the family had gathered, we went up the stairs into the next court, the Court of the Women. This was where the real Temple started. It was open only to Jews, unlike the Court of the Gentiles, and merchants were not allowed in here. This court was meant for relaxing, for socializing, for meeting old friends. It was also the place where worshippers made their donations to the upkeep of the Temple. Lord Benjamin had given each member of his household a shekel for the Temple treasury, and I felt very important as I dropped my offering into one of the huge chests shaped like a ram’s horn.
As the family dispersed to seek out friends they hadn’t seen since last Passover, I attached myself to Daniel, and loyal Ruth attached herself to me. The Court of the Women was the place where all the famous scholars taught their students, the place where Daniel himself would shortly be a student. We followed him as he walked about, listening to the scholars as they questioned their students.
I tried not to dwell on our coming separation. How was I going to get through each day without seeing him? Without speaking to him? I couldn’t bear to think about it, so I tried to concentrate on what was being said by the scholars.
Beside me Ruth squealed, and I watched as she and another girl embraced and began to chatter. I turned back to the discourse Daniel was listening to so intently. The scribe was speaking about the Messiah, and for the first time I began to wonder if such a being might come in my lifetime.
The women and children remained in the Women’s Court, while the men went through the magnificent bronze Nicanor Gate to ascend to the next court, the Court of Israel. From this vantage point, they could witness the priests making sacrifices and burnt offerings upon the altars in the Court of the Priests.
Women weren’t allowed beyond the Women’s Court, which suited me well. I found the thought of all that blood running down the Temple funnels into the valley below distressing. On these occasions I always remembered one of the psalms that Daniel had taught me, the one where the Lord says that He needs no bulls or goats from us as sacrifice, that all He wants from His people is our worship and thanksgiving.
Apparently the priests of the Temple hadn’t taken that psalm seriously.
Finally the men returned, and it was time to leave the Temple area. Lord Benjamin, Esther, Joses, Miriam, Samuel, and Naomi were going to remain in the city to dine that evening with Aaron bar David, the wealthy merchant who shipped the family’s fish to all the lands of the Roman world, while the rest of us were returning to the Mount of Olives.
As Ruth and I chatted idly, waiting for Ezekiel, Lord Benjamin’s second son, Lord Benjamin announced that the invitation to dine with Aaron bar David had been extended to Daniel and me.
Daniel had no part in the business, but he was going to be a famous scribe someday. I could understand why he had been invited. But me? Our betrothal was still a secret. Why would Lord Benjamin have asked this merchant to invite me?
Daniel said, “I am honored, Father, but a little surprised.”
Lord Benjamin smiled genially. “I met Aaron bar David in the Temple today, and I happened to mention that you would be remaining here in Jerusalem to study. He saw that I would miss you sorely, and he included you in his invitation so that I could have more time with you before we must part.”
I was pleased. What a nice man Aaron bar David must be.
Of course, this still didn’t explain my invitation. It had been strange enough to include Esther, Miriam, and Naomi. Women normally didn’t dine with men not of their family, but Aaron bar David lived in Sepphoris, and everyone said that they did many strange things in that Romanized city.
“But why should Mary go?”
It was Rachel, and she looked to be almost bursting with fury.
“I know that Mary will miss Daniel too,” Lord Benjamin replied benevolently. “It won’t harm her to come, as long as her aunts are present as well.”
In all the years I’d lived in his house, I never realized what a kind man Lord Benjamin was. I gave him my most radiant smile.
He didn’t smile in return. He just nodded once and turned away.
Chapter Eight
Aaron bar David’s house was in Jerusalem’s Upper City, where the wealthy had their homes. The beautiful buildings with their lovely gardens, and the broad, gracious, tree-lined streets, were in sharp contrast to the narrow twisting alleyways and tightly packed mud-brick houses of the lower city. Herod the Great’s immense palace was in the Upper City, as were the houses of the priests and Pharisees who made up the Sanhedrin, the ruling council of our religious life.
Naomi and I gaped as we passed one imposing residence after another, until finally Esther snapped at us to stop behaving like bumpkins, and we lowered our eyes in proper decorum. Daniel murmured in my ear, “Some of this money could be used for better purposes, I think.”
I pictured all the beggars on the streets of the lower city and murmured my agreement.
A servant opened the gate at the entrance to Aaron’s house, and we crossed a stone courtyard with a spouting fountain to arrive at the massive front door. It sprang open before we reached the top step and a servant bowed to Lord Benjamin and bade us follow him upstairs.
The upper room was huge, with most of it taken up by a low carved wooden table with gold inlay. Couches were placed around three of the sides, with the fourth side left traditionally empty. At the servant’s direction, we took our assigned places, Lord Benjamin to the right of the host seat and Samuel to the left. After them came the next two men, Joses and Daniel. The four of us women, Esther, Miriam, Naomi, and I, were placed at the bottom.
Once we were seated, the servant said, “The master is concluding a conference. He will be with you in a moment,” and he glided away, closing the door behind him.
I clasped my hands nervously in my lap. I had never been in such grand surroundings, and I hoped I would do nothing that might embarrass Lord Benjamin and Esther. Naomi, who was sitting across from me, shot me an awed look, and we shared an anxious smile.
Lord Benjamin and Samuel were speaking softly and Daniel was staring into space when the door opened again and Aaron bar David came in. His hair was sparse, and his face was deeply lined. He had a broad, curved nose and beneath it a pair of thick, very pink lips. His belly bulged under his immaculate white garments. He may be rich, I thought, but he’s ugly.
I i
mmediately felt guilty. I knew I put too much emphasis on physical attractiveness. Poor man, I scolded myself. He can’t help the way he looks. He’s probably very nice.
Lord Benjamin introduced those of us Aaron didn’t know: Daniel, then Esther, Miriam, Naomi, and me. When Aaron’s eyes fell upon me, I smiled and ducked my head respectfully. He smiled back, parting his thick pink lips to show a set of surprisingly decent teeth. “I’m pleased to meet you, Mary,” he said.
I was a little startled by his use of my name. I murmured, “Thank you,” and went back to looking at my plate.
The supper, served by Greek slaves, was a more lavish feast than I had ever eaten. There were large loaves of delicious bread flavored with olive oil, mint, cumin, cinnamon, and even locusts. There were platters of partridge and quail, fruits and dates and olives, and a variety of roasted vegetables. There was plenty of rich red wine and pitchers of water to mix it with.
I knew Esther had been worried that a Jew from Sepphoris might not serve the meal properly, but we followed all the rules of ceremonial cleanliness. We washed our hands before the meal was served and after every course. The water the servants offered was taken from the stone jar in the corner of the room, so we knew that nothing had been mixed with it. I could see the relief on Esther’s face when she realized she wasn’t going to have to eat with unclean hands.
The men talked business, and we women savored our food and were silent. I could see that Esther was trying to assess what kinds of spices had been used in the dishes. When the men’s conversation finally began to peter out, Esther ventured a comment. “This is a very beautiful house, Aaron bar David.”
He looked down at her from his place at the head of the table. “My main house is in Sepphoris, but this is useful for when I stay in Jerusalem.”
He has two houses? I thought in amazement. Then Aaron spoke my name and inquired if I had ever visited Sepphoris.
I was so surprised that I almost couldn’t answer. Things must be very different in Sepphoris if it was proper for a man of Aaron’s stature to speak to a young girl like me. “N-no, Lord,” I stammered, “I haven’t.”
“None of us women has been to Sepphoris,” Esther said pleasantly. “Will you tell us a little about it?”
Aaron bar David was happy to oblige. He told us that when Herod Antipas had decided to make Sepphoris the capital of Galilee, he had rebuilt the city in the Greek style he so admired. All the public buildings, the king’s palace, and the homes of the residents had been inspired by the Greeks. Aaron’s pink lips stretched in a smile. “Some say that Sepphoris looks almost as Greek as Athens,” he said.
Daniel’s eyes met mine across the table. His face was expressionless, but I knew what he was thinking. We were Jews, not Greeks. We shouldn’t be copying the ways of a pagan people.
When we had finished dinner and were ready to leave, Aaron bar David did something else that surprised me. He took my hand, held it, and wished me well.
My first impulse was to snatch my hand away from his, which was hot and damp, but I let him have it for a moment before I withdrew it as gracefully as I could. I stuttered some kind of a thank-you and was very glad to follow the others out.
The family remained at our campsite on the Mount of Olives for two more weeks. Then, when everyone else left for home, Aunt Leah and I went to Bethany to stay for a month with my family as we always did after Passover.
Even though I was still furious with my father, I pretended that all was well so I could see Daniel. I managed to get into Jerusalem to visit him several times during my stay, which was both wonderful and frustrating. We had to meet in front of his teacher and fellow students, and it was awkward to speak to him as if he were just an ordinary cousin, when I wanted so much to throw my arms around him and kiss him.
I spent most of the time in Bethany with my little brother and sister. Lazarus and Martha were growing up, and we had lots of fun when we were together. The children had developed definite personalities. Lazarus was smart and amazingly kind for a young boy. And Martha was devoted to him. She was turning into a pretty girl, and her disposition was as sweet and kind as her brother’s. It confounded me how such lovely children could have parents like my father and Judith. Sometimes I wondered if the two of them had been switched at birth for Judith’s real babies.
I last saw Daniel the day before Aunt Leah and I were to travel back to Galilee. He took my hand before I left and said he looked forward to seeing me again in ten days when he came home for Shavuot. The touch of his hand made me tremble all over, and I squeezed his fingers and said I was looking forward to it as well. We parted with glowing hearts, full of hope and joy for our future together.
Leah and I traveled with a caravan of people from Bethany going to visit relatives in Tiberias. Two of Daniel’s brothers met us in Tiberias and escorted us the rest of the way to Magdala.
Galilee looked beautiful. The hillsides were covered with hyacinths, gladioli, narcissus, and the red anemones I particularly liked. It seemed to me as if all of nature was rejoicing with me, and I skipped into the front room of the house with a big smile on my face.
Miriam was waiting for us. She greeted Aunt Leah and then told me that Lord Benjamin wished to see me in his office. Of course, I thought, he would want to ask me how Daniel was doing. I walked into his room ready to report on how brilliant his teacher thought Daniel was.
Lord Benjamin was sitting on his bench, in the same position as when he told me that he would allow Daniel to marry me. I felt Daniel’s absence as sharply as a knife in my heart. I stopped before Lord Benjamin and said, “You wished to see me, my lord?”
He gave me a genial smile. “Yes, I wished to see you, Mary. I have wonderful news—you will be astonished at your good fortune. Aaron bar David, with whom you dined in Jerusalem, has asked for you in marriage.”
The words bounced off my brain without sinking in.
Lord Benjamin continued in the same genial way, “He’s one of the richest merchants in the country, and he has no heir. He’s been married twice, and now he is looking to you to give him what he wants more than anything in the world: a son. You will live like a queen. You saw his home in Jerusalem, and it’s nothing compared to his house in Sepphoris. I’ve been there many times, and I cannot even begin to recount to you its marvels.”
As he began to talk about marble hallways, tortoise-shell tables, and plastered walls, I stared at him as if he was speaking a foreign language.
Finally I broke into his discourse. I took a step closer to where he sat in his lordly solitude, his broad cheeks creased with his fake smile, his big ears sticking out under his skullcap. I said in a loud voice, “What are you talking about? I’m going to marry Daniel.”
All of Lord Benjamin’s geniality vanished.
“This is a once in a lifetime offer. Aaron is giving a tremendous amount of money for you, and Daniel won’t be ready to marry anyone for years. You will take Aaron bar David’s offer and be grateful for it. The only things you have to offer are your youth and a pretty face. For that, you will live like a queen.”
“But I love Daniel! And he loves me! I won’t marry anyone else. I won’t!”
He folded his hands on his big stomach. “Do you think you have a choice? Your father put you into my care. I’m your father now, and I say you will marry Aaron bar David, and that is the end of it.”
If he had been angry, I would have been less frightened. It was his cool composure that scared me the most.
“Daniel won’t let you do this,” I said.
“Daniel will know nothing about it. You will be married and away from Magdala before Daniel hears a whisper of what has happened. Aaron bar David will be here in two days’ time, and the wedding will be held the following day. It’s all arranged.”
All arranged. This . . . outrage had been planned from the time of the dinner party. This was why I had been invited to meet Aaron bar David. I stiffened my back and lifted my chin. “I won’t do it, and you can’t make me.
I’ll go to the rabbi. He’ll stand up for me.”
Lord Benjamin’s face set like stone. “I’ve heard more than enough from you, Mary. You will wed this man. Refuse Aaron, and I’ll disown you. Your own father will disown you. And if you run to Daniel and he marries you without my permission, he’ll become an outcast from his family and his religion. He’ll never be a scribe. He’ll be a pariah, and the only work he’ll ever know is that of a day laborer—if he’s lucky enough to find someone to hire him.”
His words struck me like physical blows.
“Do you want to do this to Daniel, Mary? Daniel whom you say you love?”
I struggled to find words. “But you told us we could marry!”
He shrugged. “This is the way things have always been. Why should you be different from any other girl?”
I felt my stomach heave.
“Go to see Esther. She has been making the arrangements for your wedding. And let us have no more of this rebellious talk.”
I stared at Lord Benjamin and knew I was beaten. I couldn’t rob Daniel of his future. I would have died for him. I wished I could die for him but it seemed all I could do was to marry someone else.
I ran all the way from Lord Benjamin’s room to the tiny cell I shared with Aunt Leah. I was shaking all over as if I had a fever, and in truth I did feel sick. My stomach heaved, and I thought for a moment that I might vomit all over the floor. I collapsed on my sleeping mat and buried my face in my trembling hands.
I began to weep, deep wrenching sobs that wracked my body.
The door opened, and Aunt Leah came in. “Mary? Miriam told me to come to you. Are you ill?”
I looked up, and she cried out when she saw my face. She dropped to her knees and took me in her arms. “What has happened?” she asked.
Through my sobs I managed to tell her about my interview with Lord Benjamin.
“My poor lamb.” Aunt Leah pressed my head to her breast and cradled me with her arms. “It was wicked of him to let you think you could marry Daniel when he had this in mind. I thought better of him.”
