Entry Twenty-Seven: Proverbs 18:24
In the morning, I seek out Benjamin’s friends in the marketplace. I cannot find them. Where are they? I dare not ask for fear of betraying their confidence.
The townsfolk do not speak to me. They turn away…some uncomfortable, some aggrieved at my reluctance to follow their Rabbi’s callousness. I was once a respected member of this community…all in Jericho knew me and sought my counsel…now they turn from me as they would from a leper.
I return home, downcast. Elizabeth greets me and whispers that the young men have been there…how did I miss them on the road? She added, nervously glancing from side to side, that they are at the river waiting for me. I hasten to the pool…the pool that once saved me from insanity…now it is become a meeting place…my Synagogue. They are there…laughing…splashing each other in the shallows where the water is not moving too quickly. Their liveliness resuscitates me. They see me and come to greet me…unashamed…like my own son, Benjamin.
They are garrulous. I sit and listen. At times I hear things about my son that I did not know…not bad things…but things he had not told me about. Perhaps he thought I would not approve. They turn to me…they are concerned for me. I am grateful. I tell them about my experience in the marketplace. They fall silent. One says they have been instructed not to have any dealings with me…the threats are serious…even excommunication. Why do the people hate me so? For hoping? For loving? For not being willing to throw away a life. A life, I say! They agree…and make an innocent pact never to abandon me. Each one is a true friend, who sticks closer than a brother…or an older son…or even a community. My heart is overwhelmed. Is this joy I feel beating within my breast? My sleep is sweet…
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