Entry Forty-Seven:
The royal chariot of Cleopatra arrived sometime during the night I am told by Elizabeth. Where was she that she was able to get here so quickly, I wonder. In Jerusalem? Herod’s loyalty to Mark Antony has clouded his judgement, it seems. Roman soldiers are posted everywhere in and around Jericho, making sure there is not trouble. The Queen and the General are apparently being entertained in the Royal Hasmonean Palace. Elizabeth tells me the Egyptian is not the striking beauty many have claimed she is. How does she know this? I ask. The servants of Herod have been talking, she replies. Will they be coming to inspect Benjamin’s land? I enquire. She does not know, but she will ask. She has quite a network, this Elizabeth.
I send a message to Levi. Would he favour me with his presence? His conversation is a source of comfort to me. He comes. We sit on the balcony, listening to the moderated sounds of the disgruntled people of Jericho. They are not pleased, but they are afraid of the soldiers and of Herod. I would expect Levi to feel uncomfortable with me especially since I am the target of many hostile glances from those passing by…but he is not. He seems resilient and unaffected by the opinions of others. How is it that he has managed so well?
He tells me of our communities’ reaction to the death of Asaph. I am embarrassed to hear him tell the story as, while I was not involved, I failed to comfort him then as he is seeking to comfort me now. I was too busy living my own life. He tells me that in spite of their needing to grieve, he and his wife were vilified by the so-called righteous. His brotherhood of priests rejected him…he was no longer fit to serve as a priest, they said. Asaph was denied a proper burial. The crowd would have cast his body on the dung heap had Levi not taken care of the arrangements himself. He and his wife washed and prepared his broken body. Alone. He weeps afresh.
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