Judas the Apostle
Geo Lally
Judas the Apostle
Published by Geo Lally at Smashwords
Copyright 2009 George Lally
ISBN 978-1-4523-8150-3
Preface
This work of fiction is the result of a conversation that occurred years ago. A friend who happened to be a cleric told me (and some others), “There is a little bit of the Judas Iscariot (Judah ben Shimeon) trait in each of us. Hopefully not too much that can’t be overcome.”
Do we really know much about this man whose name is synonymous with treachery? Was he that horrible or was his traitorous nature created by writers several hundred years after his death? This story takes an alternate look at a possible Judas doing what he had to do without evil intentions.
Consider the name Judas Iscariot. Where did the word “Iscariot” come from?
It was not a family name as the Jews (or many other groups at that time) did not use this type of family name. It could have been a corruption of a village name (Kerioth-Jeariam) where Judas may have lived. No other apostle was identified with this type of village affiliation. Some scholars believe it was a corruption of the Greek word “sicarsios” which meant assassin or knife wielder. This word was shortened to “scarsi” and was the name of a Jewish guerilla movement early in the common era.
It should be noted that Jesus Christ is referred to as Jesus of Nazareth. People have lived in that area of Galilee since prehistoric times, but the town called Nazareth was not named until many years after Christ. This was about the time when western scribes were documenting the New Testament. European people often referred to people using their given name and the town or area where they lived. Middle Eastern people to this day refer to people by their given name and the name of the persons father or in some cases the name of a tribe.
Over the years that memory of what the cleric said has stayed with me, at times troubling me and at other times causing me to try to understand why Judah would even consider betrayal of the savior of his race. Perhaps Judah ben Shimeon felt he could save the Jewish race by forcing Yoshua’s hand to lead a Jewish revolt. There is no doubt in my mind that many of the Jews wished for someone, anyone, to perform in the role of King David, a warrior king, and expel the unwanted invaders restoring Jewish sovereignty.
Jesus Christ is considered by Christians as the most remarkable and intelligent person ever on earth. This being the case, was Jesus Christ such a poor judge of character that he would choose one of his twelve apostles not knowing what task this man would eventually perform? Christ treated these apostles as family, and I believe there was mutual love and respect. I find it inconceivable that Christ did not know Judah’s future.
Was the betrayal an attempt to force Jesus’ hand to lead a Jewish revolt. Judah’s act of betrayal was foretold. Did he act freely? To know the answer to that we would have to know exactly what was in the minds of all of the persons involved at that time. Many people use Judah as an excuse for many things, reasoning that at least they are still better than Judah. My response to that is ---perhaps.
Judah was a character in a story written beforehand, and his best efforts could never change the predetermined outcome. He has been vilified for betraying Jesus. He may not have had a choice in this; his fall from grace occurred because he did not repent. According to biblical accounts none of the apostles acquitted themselves too well on Holy Thursday; however, most of them appeared to reconcile themselves with Christ.
To this day there is a continued vilification of Judah because he betrayed and thus hurt God. To me, God was, God is, God will be. Man cannot hurt God no matter what man does. Man can harm his fellow man or himself, or man can imperil his relationship with God.
This book is how I explain Judah and his relationship to God, man, me.
G. T. Lally, Sr.
Holly Springs, N.C.
“Chapter 1 199th Year of Hasmonaean, (the Hasmonaean calendar began at the time of the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem), 6th of Iyar (Common Era year 34)
The relationship between the Roman conquerors and the Jews had never been trouble free. The main causes of trouble were the Roman arrogance and the Jewish obstinacy. Of course most people of conquered lands remain obstinate and these two peoples were continually testing one another.
For several years the Romans had honored an agreement to keep what the Jews referred to as craven images out of the holy city of Jerusalem. But while working on the fortress of Antonio in celebration of a construction milestone, the Romans had a parade. In that parade they carried several different images of imperial eagles and images of several other animals. This parade of images angered most every Jew and embarrassed the Jewish officials who thought the Romans would honor their promise prohibiting craven images in Jerusalem.
As a result many of the zealots felt this incident would cause more Jews to support their cause. They also felt that this was the time to increase their attacks against the Romans. They needed to show that the Romans were vulnerable to determined Jewish resistance. Armed attacks inside Jerusalem had proved suicidal, but outside the city it was possible to attack a Roman patrol if they could find out in advance where and when a patrol would be leaving Jerusalem and traveling through the hill country for the sea coast.
The zealots made these attacks to accomplish several goals: show the Romans that they were vulnerable, obtain whatever armament the Romans lost in the battle, and retrieve whatever cargo was being transported, (most likely goods confiscated from the Jews).
These Roman caravans did not travel on a set schedule, and it was difficult for any Jewish group to know in advance when they would occur. But now with Jewish tempers inflamed Judah, and his group felt that if they could find out the possible departure time of a caravan, this was the time to strike the Romans.
Judah and Aram had often discussed the feasibility of an attack on a Roman caravan. During one of these talks Aram said, “Several conscripts who were stationed at the fortress Antonio and frequented prostitutes in a mean neighborhood outside the walls of Jerusalem were talking about soldier’s duties. They mentioned an upcoming caravan to take something of importance to be shipped to Rome.”
Judah, ”Did they talk about a specific date when this would happen?”
“No, but I asked my source to get more detailed information. I feel we will hear from him soon. Meanwhile we need to step up our own preparations. Inventory and repair any arms that we have. Also we need to put our zealot friends on alert while keeping our preparations confidential.”
They gathered more than eighty able-bodied Jewish fighters in and around the farm at Kerioth and rehearsed scenarios for an attack on a Roman caravan. Aram, Judah and Yaakob gathered armaments. They had over fifty spears with leather thongs wrapped around the shafts, sixty iron-headed javelins with elder wood shafts to be used in the opening of an attack, slings to hurl an avalanche of stones, forty polished goat-horn bows with at least three hundred arrows. They had twenty olivewood battle clubs studded with several types of metal spikes. Best of all they had thirty, short cut-and-thrust swords made of superior iron. The latter were as good as any possessed by the Romans. These swords were superior to the two-handed swords with which a large number of Roman conscripts were equipped.
Early on the fourth of Iyar word came from an informant in Jerusalem that several drunken Roman soldiers were discussing a caravan that was to leave Jerusalem for the seacoast on the sixth of Iyar at the hour of cockcrow. Although this was short notice Aram and Judah felt this was a good opportunity, and they would act. Aram picked a place a short distance west of Kerioth where the road to the coast ran though a rather narrow defile with steep walls on both sides. There was also an even narrower valley on a tangent off to the right of the road. Aram felt this would be a good battle site.
The plan was to wait until the Roman caravan was completely in the defile but before it reached the narrow valley off to the right and then shower the horsemen with javelins, stones, and arrows. At this same time a small squad of guerillas would appear in front of the caravan and fire arrows at the head of the Roman column. The small squad would then quickly retreat into the narrow valley hoping to draw the lead riders into the valley after them. This valley was not suitable for cavalry as it was strewn with many good size boulders and was only wide enough to permit passage of one horse at a time. The guerillas entered the narrow valley, armed with short swords, spears, and axes. They would position themselves on the right side of the valley and attempt to cripple the cavalry horses. This part of their attack would last but a few moments, then these guerillas would retreat up the walls of the small valley. It would be difficult for armor-clad cavalry riders to follow. Also, above this small valley would be a dozen archers, who, as soon as the guerillas cleared out of the valley, would rain down arrows on surviving horses and cavalry men.
At the same time above the main body of the caravan, other guerillas would shower the Romans with javelins, stones, and arrows to disable the animals pulling any vehicles along with targets of opportunity. When he felt the time was right, Aram would signal with the blast of a horn, and at that point all of the guerillas would descend into the defile and the small valley to finish off the Romans with swords, clubs, and spears.
On the sixth of Iyar, when Judah and Aram saw the caravan approaching the defile, they were surprised by the size of the escort. There was a turma (thirty two cavalrymen) and almost as many infantrymen. Ten of the cavalrymen were in the vanguard, a like number in the rearguard and the balance as outriders. Once they entered the defile the riders could only move at most three abreast, and would have little room to maneuver. The caravan consisted of the soldiers, two small horse drawn wagons of civilians and a large covered wagon pulled by a team of oxen.
When the caravan was finally in the defile, Yaakob under Aram’s direction signaled with a ram’s horn, and the guerillas rained projectiles on the Romans. The primary goal was to disable horses at the head and rear of the column so to freeze the column in place and restrict its maneuverability. Aram had selected five archers to concentrate their fire on the Roman commander, the lightly armed soldiers carrying the signal standards, and the soldiers with the signal horns. These soldiers were all courageous fighters, but very few of the lower ranks were actually highly trained Romans. Most of the lower ranks were conscripts from the various countries around the great sea that the Romans had conquered. Aram hoped that disrupting the Roman communications and taking out the Roman leaders could eliminate the Roman discipline and turn the fight into a brawl.
At this same time, three Jewish horsemen accompanied by several archers came out of the small tangent valley. They set loose a volley of arrows at the head of the column and then pulled to an abrupt halt. Then this attacking group turned as though hesitant and retreated rapidly into the narrow valley. The main attempt here was to draw the members of the vanguard who survived the initial attack into this area where their movements would be severely restricted. About seven cavalrymen did follow the Jews into the valley, and five of their horses were disabled. The guerillas on the sides of the small valley then rained arrows and stones on the surviving soldiers, and almost all of them were wounded. Several were killed.
A second blast on the ram’s horn signaled the entire force of guerillas to descend into the defile and fall upon the caravan escort. Due to the limited space the Romans were unable to maneuver but the Jews used a Maccabean tactic and sent teams of fewer than ten guerillas to attack even smaller groups of soldiers and annihilate the smaller group. The conscripts were mostly trained to maneuver in open areas. When they were caught in a narrow defile they were unable to assume one of their classic defensive positions. Also, the initial guerilla volley disabled two Roman officers eliminating their command structure. Soon the conscripts were without leadership and were not able to fight as a cohesive trained unit. The guerillas, on the other hand were stronger fighting for their families, their very existence.
Judah and Yaakob led the squads who were slaughtering the surviving Romans. These last groups of soldiers knew they had no chance to surrender or survive. The last portion of the battle was ferocious with no mercy from any of the participants.
Suddenly Judah heard the guerilla next to him scream and turned to see his comrade had been pinned to the ground by a spear that went through his stomach and exited his left side. Judah knelt beside the wounded guerilla and said, “I will not to try to remove the spear. But I will break the shaft of the spear on both sides of your body.”
If he attempted to pull the spear free, he knew it would drag all of the entrails from the body. Judah also noticed that there were not major amounts of blood and fluids from the wound which meant they were escaping internally. The wounded man remained conscious, and he suddenly cried out, ”Behind you”.
Judah spun and tried to move out of the way as a Roman struck at him with a spear. Judah lurched to his left as the soldier lunged and missed his head, but the spear struck just below his right shoulder. Judah felt tremendous pain. He was aware that the spear had shattered and then he lapsed into unconsciousness.
Yaakob rushed to the area struck the soldier in the neck, who had attacked Judah. The Roman fell atop the man Judah had tried to aid and the Roman and the wounded guerilla died in each others arms with both of their body fluids mingling in the dirt.
Now, the slaughter of the caravan escort was complete, but at least one Roman cavalryman had escaped and had ridden back toward Jerusalem.
Aram now appeared next to Yaakob and said, “Have some men get one of the small Roman wagons, hook up two horses and take Judah and the other wounded to Kerioth. We may not have much time. Have the rest of the men gather up as much armament as they can carry and disperse to the four winds. We cannot take the large wagon as the escaped rider may meet a Roman patrol. We are in no condition to fight another battle today. If the rider must go all the way to Jerusalem, it will be tomorrow before the Romans can get forces here. We must leave the area. We took on a superior force and defeated them, but these damn Romans seem to have an inexhaustible number of soldiers.”
Yaakob asked, ”What shall we do when we get to Kerioth?”
Aram replied, ”I think Judah is the most seriously wounded. See if the midwife can tend to him. Also, see what she can do for the others. The wounded must be moved from the village as the Romans will come looking.”
Yaakob inquired with concern, “What are you going to do?”
“I will keep a few men here for a short while. We will make sure all our wounded are moved. I will see you later in Kerioth.”
“Can we use the Roman wagon to move the wounded from Kerioth?” asked Yaakob.
“No, anything that we take from the caravan such as weapons must be hidden. The wagon is too big and too easily recognizable for the Romans. It must be taken to the wilderness and burned. Leave no trace of any loot in Kerioth as the Roman revenge will be horrid.”
Yaakob took Judah to the village of Kerioth. The only medical assistance was the midwife, as the doctor who had been here for years had recently died.
After a perfunctory examination, she bandaged the groggy Judah’s wound with a clean wool bandage. She also mixed a dose of poppy and wine and said, “Yaakob, hold Judah’s head while I pour this poppy mixture into his mouth.”
Yaakob frantically asked, “Can you fix his wound?”
“No, I am not capable of treating this severe an injury. You must take him to Jerusalem to a surgeon. The wine mixture will keep him unconscious and keep him from moving too much and aggravating his wound.”
“I can not travel to Jerusalem. Too many Romans there. They will be watching for any wounded guerillas.”
“The only other remote location where he might find a skilled surgeon was with the Essenes in En-Gedi (the City of Salt).
By this time Aram had arrived and when he heard the news he said, “Yaakob take Judah, and the midwife to care for him, and go to En-Gedi. Take the oxcart from the farm, avoid the main highways and travel only after dark. I will send several of the guerillas to shadow you and to protect you from bandits.”
Yaakob said with a look of extreme concern , “That long a trip may aggravate the wound.”
“He can’t stay here. If the Romans come searching, they will more than aggravate his wound.”
“You are right. I will leave at once.”
“When you get to En-Gedi do not tell anyone that you or Judah were involved in an attack on the Romans. Tell whoever you talk to there that Judah is a close friend of Gamaliel of the Sanhedrin. About how he was injured, merely tell them that Roman soldiers assaulted him. The Essenes are pacifists and would feel that treating a guerilla would threaten their neutrality.”
Chapter 2 199th Year of Hasmonaean, 8th of Iyar (Common Era year 34)
Yaakob and his group traveled for a day and a half over little used back roads, avoiding main roads on the trip east from Kerioth to En-Gedi. They
Traveled only about three parasa (approximately five miles) the first day to get into a desolate area of the mountains north of Jerusalem, away from any main road. Here they hid and rested until the following day. Just before dawn the next day they traveled a short distance to a road leading east to Jericho and then once traffic on that road increased in daylight they slipped in behind a caravan going toward Jericho. On this road there were few patrols as Aram had predicted the Romans would concentrate their searches west of Jerusalem.
Yaakob was thankful for the presence of the midwife from Kerioth as she constantly tended Judah, administering her concoction of poppy and wine keeping him in a stupor. Else the ride over rutted trails may have killed him.
There were many people from the Essene commune tending animals a distance from En-Gedi as this area had little grass and the herders had to range far and wide to feed their charges.
When they came to the immediate vicinity of En-Gedi, they moved in among the hundreds of tents surrounding the communal complex of the Essenes. Yaakob inquired about the location of a doctor and was directed to the tent of Mattija ben Sirach.
Mattija appeared to be in his late forties; he was tall and lean; his face long and angular; his eyes dark and piercing. His beard was mostly grey. He was wearing a long white robe, the same type worn by all of the Essenes.
Yaakob introduced himself, “I am Yaakob-ben-Boezer. I have brought my very best friend Judah-ben-Simeon. He was injured in an attack by Roman soldiers. He is a close friend of Gamaliel. I think they may be related, though I am not sure of that.”
“Why did you not take him to Gamaliel in Jerusalem?”
“These same soldiers are rampaging in and west of the Holy City. We felt it was too dangerous to go near Jerusalem.”
Mattija replied, “Gamaliel is one of the good people in the temple. I will be glad to see what I can do to help any of his friends. I will examine Judah. We can carry him from the cart into my tent.”
After helping to carry Judah and laying him on a pallet, Mattija said, “It is best if only one of you men remain in the area. Too many strangers around our commune raises questions that I do not have time to answer.”
Yaakob said, “I will remain and help with Judah’s care.”
After Mattija conferred with the midwife about her treatment of Judah, she and the other guerillas took the oxcart and left the area.
Mattija then removed the upper garments from Judah and examined his wound. He told Yaakob, “As you know your friend has suffered a severe trauma. It appears he has lost a fair amount of fluids, his wound appears to contain foreign matter, and he may have further internal injuries. I will have to reopen the wound and the area around it and then decide on the best treatment. He is a strong young man and should recover.”
Judah gratefully replied, “I appreciate anything you can do for him. He has not only been a friend, he and I are like brothers.”
“I will have to move him to a surgery that I have inside the communal walls. However I must first check with the Righteous Teacher (the leader of the Essenes) and tell him what I am doing. Unfortunately, Yaakob, you will not be welcome inside the communal walls. You can remain in my tent, but try to be as inconspicuous as possible. I will return shortly and bring food and water.“
“I am obligated to you for your willingness to treat Judah. I will do as you say,” responded Yaakob.
Mattija left and returned after a short while with two young novitiates clad in the brilliant white Essene robes. One of these men carried the promised food and water, and a clean, white robe.
Mattija told Yaakob, “Don this robe over your garments, and then you can help carry Judah into the compound walls.”
Yaakob quickly donned the robe, and the group lifted the pallet with Judah on it and walked the short distance to the main gate in the northern wall of the compound.
Despite his worry about Judah, Yaakob looked all around and was amazed by the compound itself. Near the main gate was a massive tower of undressed stone that appeared to be at least twenty cubits (cubits range from 19 to 23 inches) high and about fifteen cubits wide. There were windows in the upper reaches of this tower, and it seemed to have a flat roof. The entire compound was surrounded by a wall that varied in height but was no smaller than five cubits at any point that he could see. The massive gate, which was open at the time, was a heavily reinforced wooden structure with numerous metal bolts imbedded in the crossed wooden beams.
Immediately inside the gate several more white clad young men, appeared to help with the pallet, and Mattija instructed Yaakob to return to the tent.
Mattija and his assistants carried Judah to the surgery. Mattija found that his apprentices had thoroughly cleaned the room as instructed.
He told them, “Remove the patient’s clothing and discard them. Then wash and rinse the entire body taking special care in the area of the wound.”
They then placed Judah on the clean stone table in the middle of the room.
Mattija looked over his spotless instruments on the small side table.
He said, “I will be using the small sharp knives, several forceps in fingerbreadth (fingerbreadths range from .8 to.95 inches) and handbreadth (handbreadths range from 3 to 4 inches) sizes, slender metal probes, metal hooks, and a stack of clean, wool squares to be used for soaking up fluids from the wound area. Ready the charcoal fire in the brazier. I will be using a cauterizing iron. Remove the other instruments as they will not be needed.”
His assistants followed his directions.
Mattija told them, “The patient has had a wine and poppy mixture to keep him sedated. For this surgery I will use mandragora (an ancient anesthetic) to sedate the patient. Give him two beytza (.06 to.1 liter) of the mandragora mixture; then we will proceed. If you look closely, the redness and swelling in the area of the wound tells me it may well be severely infected with foreign matter.”
Each of the assistants moved close to examine the wound.
“I want three of you to hold him should he awaken and struggle. You can stand on the left side of the table. One of you hold his legs near the knees, one hold his arms and torso and one hold his shoulders.”
After the three holders took their places across from him, he said, ”After surgery, we will use a mixture of wine and poppy, the ratio we always use, to keep the patient sedated for a day or two.”
Mattija made all of this known as he hoped that some, if not all of his novices would become medical doctors. He encouraged his novices to be inquisitive, but he did not encourage extraneous talking or questions during surgery. Afterwards he would give them full explanations of all of his actions.
After a short prayer for the success of the operation, he started by pouring wine over the wound area, hoping to wash any foreign matter from the area. Holding a pad of washed dressing wool in is left hand, he took a knife with a one fingerbreadth length blade, and he elongated the almost vertical wound beneath the patient’s shoulder. He then used the point of the knife to make a small outward cut. Then he quickly repeated this cut on the other side of the wound. Judah groaned and tried to move, but the assistants held him in place.
The assistant standing at Judah’s head asked, “Can you not remove the foreign matter now?”
“Not yet. It is deeply imbedded, and I need room in case there is extensive loss of fluids. Also I think I can see what might be a piece of cloth in the wound. This must also be removed, or there will be a dangerous fever after surgery.”
Holding the wound open with the pad in his left hand, he carefully inserted hooks to hold back the muscle on each side of the spear point. He next rinsed the wound area with a mixture of wine and water, and then, using a pad of washed wool, he soaked up the mixture plus any body fluids and any foreign matter from the area. He repeated this same cleansing action several times during the surgery.
The assistant standing at the patient’s head wiped the perspiration from Mattija’s face and neck so that he could continue with the surgery.
“Ready some packed wool for packing the wound, in case the fluids should gush when I finally remove what looks like a piece of metal,” ordered Mattija.
At this point Judah, still asleep, began to struggle again, and the novices who had been assigned to hold the patient took careful but strong hold of his head, his left arm, his right hand, his stomach, his hips, and his legs.
Mattija continued to cut deeper into the muscle with a smaller, hooked blade knife holding back the tissue with more hooks. He next saw a slender piece of metal about two fingerbreadths long imbedded in the muscle next to a vessel that carried the patient’s vital fluids. He could not see if this metal had actually ruptured the vessel. He used the smallest probe to try to determine the furthest entry point of the metal piece. He could not tell, so after more rinsing and cleansing, he cut away some more of the muscle careful not to cut the vessel, and applied some more hooks holding the muscle back.
He told the novice who was tending the cauterizing iron, “Be ready in case fluid spurts from the vessel.”
Next with forceps he gingerly took hold of the piece of imbedded metal and tried to pull it straight out. At first, the metal piece stayed in place, but with more pressure it came out along with darkened blood and other fluids. He used the same forceps to remove two small pieces of cloth that had been imbedded with the spear point.
He said, “Iron quickly.”
The novitiate handed him the cauterizing iron.
He carefully cauterized the vessel and the blood stopped flowing out. He then removed all of the restraining hooks, rinsed the open wound with wine and clean oil and then pressed it closed. He next cauterized the surface opening of the wound and covered it with a clean wool dressing.
Mattija announced, “I have done what I deemed best. The wound was infected. If the patient is strong enough, his body will overcome the infection, and he will live. Give him a beytza of the wine and poppy”
The assistant who had prepared the mixture with the help of the man who had held the patient’s head and shoulders poured the mixture into the Judah’s mouth. He then gently massaged the patient’s throat to assist the swallowing.
Mattija announced, “I want to thank all of you for your help. You did well. The room and the instruments are in excellent shape. You are to be commended. Now if you will put a clean robe on the patient and clean his pallet, we will carry him back to my tent.”
Mattija returned with the assistants carrying Judah to the tent. After the assistants had left, he talked for some time with Yaakob.
He said, “While here you must be careful as all Essenes are distrustful of anyone who does not follow their very strict practices. Also, Judah’s wound is infected. I think his body can fight the infection. Certainly at this time any additional travel would aggravate his condition; not a good thing.”
Yaakob responded gratefully, “I can’t thank you enough for what you have already done.”
“As a physician I was doing my duty. Now until he recovers he needs continuous care, and I have other responsibilities in our community. I cannot ask any other members of our community to tend to him as this would raise questions for which I have no time or energy.”
Yaakob promised, “I will do whatever you think best.”
“You must tend to all of Judah’s needs for some days to come. He is still sedated, and we will keep him sedated for at least another day. He will need fluids. We have water in the tent, and I will bring some light broth that you can feed him when he awakens. He will probably have a fever as his wound contained a great deal of foreign matter. So he must remain covered to avoid a chill. I have some potions that I can give him to counter the infection, but mostly he will recover because he is young and strong.”
Yaakob tended Judah as he was directed. For a week there was little change. Judah ran a high fever; he would wake for brief periods of time and he was quite restless. Then one morning Judah awakened Yaakob with his stirring, Yaakob realized that the fever appeared much worse.
Judah was perspiring very heavily, and he was even more restless. When Yaakob wiped Judah’s face with a wet cloth, he awakened with a start and was delirious. Yaakob called to a man in a neighboring tent to summon Mattija who had left earlier for the synagogue.
Soon Mattija returned to the tent and examined Judah.
Mattija pronounced, “Either the fever will break, and Judah will recover or Judah’s life could be in peril. Keep him comfortable, and give him plenty of fluids. When his condition is stabilized, you and I need to have a discussion.”
With that Mattija left the tent.
Yaakob was extremely worried and intensified his efforts in caring for Judah. He gave him water, wiped the perspiration away, and prayed.
About the seventh hour Judah seemed to suddenly relax, and the coloration of his face faded from a deep red flush. Yaakob again wiped Judah’s face, but he was no longer perspiring.
Judah wakened with a start and was very confused. He asked, “Where are we? What is happening?”
Yaakob explained the events of the past days from the time of Judah’s injury, the trip to En Gedi, his surgery, and to the present time since he awakened.
Yaakob explained, “ We came to En Gedi because it was not safe to go to Jerusalem. Since your surgery, you have wandered in and out of consciousness for days. You have had a high fever, and now at last you are awake if extremely pale. A surgeon named Mattija has treated you. He removed what must have been a portion of the spear from your wound.”
Judah, “Can I have something to drink? I am thirsty.”
“Let me help you sit up. Move very carefully as Mattija does not want you moving around too much. Drink a little water. Water and a little broth is all you have had since your surgery.“
At that moment Mattija and four of his assistants entered the tent.
Mattija told Judah, “ I am Mattija, your doctor. You look much better than you did a few hours ago.”
Judah replied, “I feel weak.”
Mattija said, “That is to be expected. You have completed a long and arduous journey. You are fortunate to be alive. Now seeing you as you are, I expect you to recover fully.”
He then said to his assistants, “Wash Judah completely, change the dressing on his wound, put a clean robe on him, and carry him to the cave with the other recovering patients.”
Mattija turned to Yaakob, “Take a walk with me. I have information for you.”
When they were a short distance from the tent Mattija glared at Yaakob and began, “You came here and told me a story that turns out to be false. I accepted your story and treated your companion. I do not regret treating Judah.”
Yaakob tried to respond, but Mattija quickly told him to be silent. “You have misled me once. I doubt I could accept any explanation from you now. Although we Sons of Light live in a wilderness, area we are near a main trade route. From this trade route many people in passing tell our people some of the happenings in what is your part of the world.”
Yaakob replied, “I am sorry. I was afraid to tell you the truth.”
“Let me finish. Reliable information we received recently tells me; two days before you and Judah arrived here, there was a guerilla attack on a Roman caravan west of Jerusalem. In that attack most all of the Roman soldiers were killed along with civilians riding with the caravan and some of the guerillas. Shortly after that; Roman soldiers retaliated in the area of the attack; I believe it is called Kerioth. They killed scores of Jews, men, women, and children. Perhaps some of the men carried guilt for the original attack. The Romans obliterated farming and trade in that area by salting the earth and destroying housing.”
Yaakob bowed his head and began to weep.
“Hold your false tears. Your violence begets violence. Now because you have not been truthful with me, you have placed me and my brothers in an untenable position. Therefore, you must leave this area. The only reason I let you remain until today was so that if and when Judah woke, he would see a face he recognized.”
Yaakob apologized again, “Once again, I am sorry. I am also grateful for your care of Judah.”
“Because Judah is so weak he will stay here until he is physically able to travel, perhaps a week. Today we moved him to a cave where we have other people recovering from maladies. When he is fit to travel, he must leave this area.”
“Thank you.”
“You, Yaakob, may return to my tent, retrieve your sandals and some water for your trip. Then immediately leave the area of the City of Salt and do not return.”
Chapter 3 199th Year of Hasmonaean, 29th of Iyar (Common Era year 34)
Judah was awake but felt extremely tired. Three young men were tending to him when Yaakob reentered the tent and said, “Mattija has ordered me out of the Essene area because I lied to him when first arriving in this area. I acknowledge my error and will leave immediately so as not to further jeopardize your chances to stay here and recuperate. I will return to Kerioth.”
With that said, Yaakob left the tent.
Soon Mattija returned to the tent and said, “Yaakob has imposed on and abused the hospitality of the Sons of Light by not being candid about how you came to be injured. Would you care to explain what really happened?”
Judah said, “I am having some trouble remembering the last moments of the battle and the time since then.”
Mattija acknowledged “This is reasonable.”
Then Judah related that he was part of a group of guerillas who attacked a Roman caravan in retaliation for a massacre of Jewish people. He added that he was in fact a leader of this attack.
Mattija said, “Thank you for your candor. You never told me where you lived.”
Judah replied, “I live with my parents on a farm near Kerioth, west of Jerusalem.”
“Rest and my assistants will take you to a cave not far from here where others of our commune are recuperating from various types of non-contagious maladies. You must take as much nourishment as you can to rebuild your strength. But I hope you will stay there until you are strong enough to return to the outside world. Hopefully you will give up your guerilla activities as your violent ways have cost you and will continue to bring you only sorrow.”
When Mattija left, his assistants carried Judah to a large cave in the nearby cliffs where there were several other bedridden patients.
Judah’s next days saw continuous improvement in his health.
Judah was attended to by novices from the Essene commune, who helped him bathe each day. The Essenes put great stock in personal hygiene. They administered various potions supplied by Mattija. They also had him doing as much exercise as his body could tolerate.
In less than a week he was up and walking, shaky at first but stronger each day. Mattija came to see him several times. Then one day when Judah felt he was quite strong and feeling able to take care of himself, Mattija came to see him.
“Judah, you and I need to take a walk. I have things to tell you.”
Judah was led to the commune itself while Mattija questioned him about his strength and how mentally fit he felt.
Mattija said, “You have already been inside the walls of our commune although you were not aware of it at the time.”
He led Judah on a short tour of some of the areas pointing out an elaborate cistern system, a refectory, the library and writing room, the pools for bathing, and the pottery area.
Then he led Judah to an outdoor area in the northwest section of the commune where there was a pool, a few small trees, and several benches.
Sitting Mattija said, “You knew about the Sons of Light before you were brought here and you may or may not appreciate our beliefs and our lifestyle. However, in your present state of mind you would not be an ideal candidate to become one of us. But that is not what I need to talk about. Now that you seem stronger I have some bad news. After you were wounded in your skirmish, the Romans took revenge in the area where the attack occurred. The nearest settlement was, as you know, Kerioth. The Romans massacred scores of people in that area. You have told me that your family lived on a farm in that area. Your family may have been among the victims. I am very sorry to tell you this, but now that you are much stronger I felt that I could not keep this news from you.”
Judah turned ashen when he realized what he had heard. He turned and looked at Mattija and tried to speak. But the only word that he kept repeating was no. He was racked with sobbing. He tried several times to tell Mattija how badly he felt; the words would not come. The phrases that he did mutter were incoherent.
Mattija put his hand on Judah’s shoulder and said, “Do not try to explain away the past but remember only the good things you can recall about your family. If you find they were killed, keep them in your heart and your prayers. You must pray that you receive the mental strength to continue your life and I hope you can renounce your violent path. Remember that all Jews look to a Messiah. The Sons of Light are convinced that we are entering the long awaited Messianic age. This is hard for me to say but the time has come for you to leave our area. You leave stronger physically that you arrived. I hope morally you are better also. There is a holy man in this area. He just completed a lengthy fast in the desert north of us and he stopped here to break his fast. We gave him food and drink, and he rested for a night.”
Judah asked, “Is he also one of the Sons of Light.”
“No, he is from the Galilee, and many of our elders feel this prevents him from being a suitable candidate. He is to journey west toward Jerusalem. I thought you might walk with him for several reasons. I feel you should have someone to accompany you, and he is, as I said a holy man and quite charismatic. You may well enjoy his company. His name is Yoshua ben Josef ibn Daoud.”
At this point one of the novices approached with the various things the Essenes had given Judah.
Then Judah gathered up the white cloak and the sandals and walked to the area of the main gate. There he saw Mattija talking to a tall thin man with shoulder length hair and an uncut beard. The man was wearing a striped cloak and was holding a staff.
Judah approached, and Mattija introduced him saying, “This is the man I told you about, Yoshua ben Josef. He is traveling to the Jerusalem area. You might travel with him.”
Judah immediately noticed the high forehead, the dark piercing eyes, and the almost gaunt face, no doubt accentuated by the recent fast that Mattija had described.
Judah said, “I am Judah ben Shimeon. I have been here for many days and owe much to Mattija and his community. I was injured, and the skillful Mattija saved my life. I will appreciate having a companion as I leave this area.”
Yoshua smiled, ”It is my pleasure to meet you. The Essenes have treated me well also. I admire them greatly and their continuing quest for the correct interpretation of the law. To you Mattija, I say farewell and bless you and the members of your community.”
Judah turned to Mattija; he would have like to embrace him, but because he was always so formal and reserved, Judah simply said, “Thank you sir. I do not know how I can ever repay you and your community for what you have done for me.”
Mattija smiled at him, “You can repay me and mine by foregoing violence and living a righteous life. Farewell, Judah.”
With that Judah and Yoshua turned and began walking through the tent area and away from the commune at En Gedi.
Yoshua asked, “How did you come to be here? How were you injured?”
Judah noticed that Yoshua’s Aramaic had a slight Galilean accent but told him, “Because of my injury I cannot remember every detail that happened from immediately after our battle up until I awoke here at En Gedi.” But then Judah went into great detail describing the events that led up to the battle itself.
Yoshua listened to the lengthy and sometimes convoluted tale with few comments. When Judah finished, he asked Judah about his life and what he had done prior to this assault on the Romans. Judah related that he still lived on the family farm, and although the farm belonged to his parents, he had been effectively managing it for several years. He also added that his life was a shambles because of his frustration with the Roman occupation. Judah added he had never married because he felt it was too dangerous and uncertain a world to consider raising a family.
Yoshua said, “Mattija has told me that perhaps your family was among those massacred in the Kerioth area.”
Judah answered, “I am fearful that may be true. My plan is to go to Kerioth and find out what happened. If they are dead, I am not sure what I will do. My family is all I had.”
“This is indeed a heavy burden for you to bear. I will go with you. I can help you. You will need something in your life. At present you are at a loss. You may feel your actions may have resulted in the death of innocent people. Perhaps this is true, and if it is, your heavenly Father is capable of forgiving you. Many people have done worse things; then they have repented and were forgiven. Your attack against the Romans was ill advised as is most violence.”
“Ah, Yoshua, I appreciate your words, and somehow I feel better just having talked to you. Mattija said you were a holy man. I feel he is a an astute judge of character, but there is something I must do.”
“Yes, there is something you must do, and that is you must not allow your feelings of guilt to overwhelm you and cloud your mind. You have blundered, but you are alive. If you heed my words, I can help. Right now you are thinking only of things that will destroy your very soul.”
Hesitantly Judah replied, “I don’t know how you know what I am thinking, but you are right. Ever since Mattija told me that my family may have been massacred, I have felt more and more that they are dead because of my actions. I do not know if I should go on living. There is nothing worse that I could possibly have done.” He lowered his head in sorrow and pain.
“Listen to me, Judah. Your heavenly Father loves and will forgive you. You must not decide to end your life. I know that your work in this world is not complete. Stay with me. I can save you. I have a group of followers and with them I travel throughout the land teaching all those who will listen. The path to eternal peace.”
“My teacher, may I call you Rabbi?”
“If you wish.”
“I don’t know how, but after our talking just in this short time, I feel stronger. I think my family is really dead, but I must go to Kerioth and see for myself.”
“We will go together.” As they walked together, Joshua counseled Judah. Judah felt the clouds seemed to lift above them. The words especially eased his guilt about how his guerilla activities may have caused the massacre in the Kerioth area.
When they approached the village of Kerioth they saw wide spread damage.
The market area, outside the village, was gone. The market had been composed mostly of open-sided tents. The market area now consisted only of scorched patches of earth, indicating the tents and their contents had burned. There also had been many tents used by herders and other nomads.