Chapter 11

‘That is one of the things we will discuss with him,’ said the Rabbi. ‘He makes pretence of being a holy man; talks to the multitude about holy things; and then associates himself with all manner of profane and uncouth people. Some of our men saw him, a few days ago, sitting in the Revenue Office chatting with Levi—that abominable Collector of Roman tribute!’

‘Maybe he was trying to talk Levi into a reduction of his taxes,’ chuckled Jairus. ‘I must ask him how he got on with it.’

‘It is not a jesting matter, my son,’ said the Rabbi sternly.

‘Sorry,’ mumbled Jairus. After a moment of constrained silence, he asked, ‘Did your young men have any trouble getting the Carpenter’s consent to come here today? Of course they couldn’t command him to come.’

‘They did command him,’ declared Ben-Sholem. ‘By the authority of the Synagogue!’

‘Then he needn’t come unless he wants to,’ said Jairus brusquely. ‘He probably knows—as well as you do, sir—that the Synagogue has no power to arrest him—or subpoena him.’

‘Be that as it may,’ said Ben-Sholem testily, ‘he is coming. He had the effrontery to say that he would be free to come because it was going to be too stormy this afternoon for the people to turn out.’

Jairus’ jaw sagged a little and his brows contracted.

‘You say he made that forecast yesterday—when there wasn’t a cloud in the sky? He must be a weather prophet.’

‘Not a very good one,’ remarked the Rabbi, with a brief smile. ‘It will be fair this afternoon.’

‘Apparently,’ agreed Jairus. ‘By the way—did your bright young men invite the Carpenter to come early enough to have dinner with us?’

‘Certainly not!’ snorted Ben-Sholem. ‘He is not coming here as a guest! I must say, Jairus,’ the old man continued hotly, ‘I am surprised at your attitude toward this matter. Here you are, a Regent of the Synagogue, the most influential man in this region, supposed to set a good example—but not caring what manner of doctrine is taught to the people. You even talk of having this blasphemer in your home as a guest, when it is clear that the fellow consorts with the ungodly, dines with Simon the brawler who openly reviles the Synagogue and hasn’t attended its services for years!’ The Rabbi’s voice was trembling as he finished his impassioned speech, and Jairus reproached himself for permitting the unhappy episode to develop. Perhaps good old Ben-Sholem had some grounds for his indignation. As a Regent of the Synagogue, Jairus was expected to take more than a casual interest in the community’s religious beliefs. To atone for his intimations of indifference, he made a long face and showed concern for the reclamation of Simon’s wayward soul.