Novel
In this section we present our english translation of ‘Jesus of Nazareth’. It is the first such translation of this unique novel.
In the days of Herod, King of Judaea
Herod awoke at dawn and summoned Trypho the barber, who had been in his service for many years and who – knowing his master’s capricious way of life – had always been ready, regardless of the time of day or night, to answer his every call; and he was even able to conform his nature to the demand of faithful and constant vigilance, so that even when awaken from his sleep – and it was not really sleep, but rather a torpid vigil – Trypho could instantly answer every royal command, and do so with clarity and vigor. So only a few moments had passed until the barber appeared and began to rub the oil into the king’s cheeks; the king, lost in thoughts, closed his eyes, tired after the last night’s bad sleep, and, having tilted his head back, he was trustfully offering his neck to the hands and to the razor of the loyal servant.
He was used to considering his personal matters while being shaven, as the monotonous motions of the brush, and the scent of the nard-infused oil were spurring his imagination, so sensitive to all external stimuli. This time, he pondered – with utmost attention – the dream that, after many years, came to haunt him yet again tonight. […]
The Incident Before The Altar of Incense
At the same time as Herod was wiping his face with a towel, Zechariah, a priest from Abijam’s shift, arrived in Jerusalem after several hours of journeying on his faithful donkey, Midbar. He’d left his home in Ein Karem at midnight, hoping to be in time for the opening of the gates of the Temple of the Lord at dawn – his spirit was always deeply moved by the Levites’ calls announcing the sunrise from the temple towers – where he was to begin his divine service on the next day, to the glory of the Invisible One. He felt brisk and vigorous. Before the city, he dismounted his donkey and, as a sign of his profound reverence for Jerusalem, walked the route from the valley upwards to the city without much fatigue, despite his advanced age. He entered the city center through the Garden Gate, left Midbar with the caretaker at Xystos, and proceeded to the Court of the Gentiles, a wide square that served as a place of commerce, meetings, and strolling for Jerusalemites and visitors from all over the country. [..]
Old Man's Joy
It was a moonlit night when the mute was returning from Jerusalem to Ein Karem. Descending into the ravine between the olive orchards and the terebinth forests that grew on its slopes, he looked back (it was his custom to stop here whenever he left Jerusalem to embrace the vista of the city with his intent and blessing gaze) and he saw the heaped-up houses of Zion and Acre in the moonlight above, and above them the golden-fawn body of the Temple, with which he so far had always parted with regret, but this time – with embarrassing relief and an unusual haste. But the closer he was to home, the greater was his excitement, and so, to wise Midbar’s dismay, as she was rushing towards the tasty fodder, he would tighten her bridle again and again, forcing her to walk slowly. Though it was in accordance with the donkey’s contemplative personality, it ran against the needs of her empty stomach. […]
Yosef the Carpenter's Morning
Having awakened early in the morning, the carpenter Yosef ben Yaakow got up from a reed-made mat with some difficulty and, stumbling over the carpentry tools scattered around, he went outside his house (which he inherited from his deceased parents; his older sister lived with her husband on the other side of town), as he wanted not only to get rid of the remnants of the sleepy stupor with which his body was still filled, but also to delight his eyes with the spring landscape – a vivid opposite of the grey and dour interior of his mud hut standing there on a lonesome hill. From here there was a view of the mountains of Naphtali, Tabor and Gilboa, of the valley of Jezreel sloping down towards the sea, of Sepphoris, a bustling pagan city, reluctantly frequented by the Galileans; the view of the olive and fig groves surrounding tiny Nazareth, a town akin to an amphitheater, lying below on several hills and blending into one colorful and pastel whole with the landscape. […]
The Annunciation
The world of Nazareth, where little Miriam lived, was a tiny place. It consisted of mud huts, caves, a town well, and a synagogue on a hill. Even if we expand it to include a dozen more mud huts and caves located a little further away, it was still very small. The imagination of its inhabitants, although undoubtedly vibrant and passionate, did not extend far beyond their rooms, hills, and gardens, beyond poverty and even misery, for sometimes only a handful of broad beans and barley groats were the fruit of their labor and the object of their deepest desires. All year long, they lived dreaming of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Celebrations of the Great and for this purpose they diligently saved money. In order to save some money for Passover, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in the distant Holy City, they sat in the dark unlit rooms on weekday evenings, ate dried locusts or denied themselves wine. These holidays could not be imagined without the presence at the Temple of the Lord at the foot of the Shekhinah. […]