3756 AM (4 CE) – JOSEPH AND MIRIAM
Miriam felt her belly. It was swollen, and the skin felt dry and tight. Clouds of sandy dust kicked up with every step of the donkey she was riding.
The dust and sand painfully chafed at her belly and thighs with every step her animal took. Sand and dust were everywhere. Of course, it was always everywhere; they lived in Israel! Only the dust and the sand outnumbered the rocks, if they could be counted!
Miriam opened her eyes, and they moved to the kippah sitting on the top of Joseph’s head as he walked, holding her animal’s lead. They had just broken camp a few hours earlier, wanting to make as much progress as possible before the heat of the day slowed them down. At first they had talked for a while, but to conserve water, they now traveled in silence. Miriam had insisted that she could walk, but of course Joseph had insisted that it would be better for her to ride.
As her body rocked silently on the donkey, thoughts wandered through Miriam’s mind. She thought about the sacrifice Joseph made for truth and God, even though it cost him everything – friends, work opportunities, social standing. She thought about how Joseph had changed his position after his dream.
She also thought about this new, uncertain love she felt for her new husband Joseph. Joseph did not seem to care what the community would think. His conscience was clear, thanks to Hashem. Joseph loved truth and he loved Hashem more than life itself. Joseph even told Miriam once that outside of truth and Hashem, there was no life.
Miriam and Joseph had been traveling along the road a long time, and they were so far from Nazareth. Miriam was not sure if they would ever make it back there. The community there was more than relieved, happy even, to see them leave.
Community is everything! For a Jew, it is often stronger, closer, tighter than even family. To lose one’s community is like losing a close family member – a parent or a sibling or a child. Joseph, a man of integrity, was the only one in the community willing to accept the truth — the truth about Miriam, and the truth about her baby.
Miriam remembered how Joseph protected her from those accusing them of scandal. Some questioned why he would not just denounce her and have her stoned. Stoned! Even before the dream, Joseph could not even conceive of such a thing. Life is sacred. Hashem teaches that. That is why Hashem has always allowed us to repent from our evil ways and get back on the path of truth.
As Miriam continued to think and ponder, alone with Hashem and her thoughts, she was no longer distracted by the sand in her tunic or thinking about the dust in her eyes. She was no longer bothered by her aching back or her terrible thirst. In a world of her own, reflecting on the goodness of Hashem, she had peace, if only in that moment, peace.
Then Miriam looked up and saw Jerusalem – Tsion, Zion, a sign unto the nations. Then further up on the horizon, she could see the Temple, standing out above everything around it, majestic and beautiful. The Temple was the center of Jewish life in Israel, where the presence of Hashem sometimes comes to rest. And of course, the Torah was the center of the Temple.
As they got closer, she noticed the numerous temporary shelters that the Jews were preparing to live in. The Feast of Sukkot, the feast of shelters, was just a few days away. She hated to be traveling for the census. One should be home to entertain guests, not traveling.
The first day of Sukkot, regardless of what day of the week it fell, would be a Shabbat, so they would need to reach their destination before then – for traveling on Shabbat is bound by the Rabbis. Luckily, they would be in Bethlehem by the end of the day, where they would be able to shelter with their own relatives on this day of shelters.
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Three days had flown by since Yeshua’s birth. Shepherds had come to pay their respects to the Messiah. These were the lowliest of those living in the land of Israel, and they were given the highest of honors, which was to be the first to see the arrival of the Messiah.
Miriam held little Yeshua. She was still in quite a bit of pain, but at least he was finally nursing. Yeshua was a healthy baby boy – ten fingers and ten toes – one for each of the 10 Commandments. Miriam smiled as he nursed, and she began whispering Torah in little Yeshua’s ear.
Life in Beit L’chem was starting to look up. They were already making plans for the b’rit milah, the circumcision, as commanded by God in the Torah for when Yeshua turned eight days old. They did not need to go to the Temple in Jerusalem to have this done. The b’rit milah would be done at the local synagogue, by one of the local Rabbis, surrounded by those from their new community.
Beit L’chem was truly a house of bread, a land of prosperity and opportunity, not like Nazareth. Joseph was already working. He said he would make enough so that he could purchase a lamb for Yeshua’s dedication, but she knew they would be lucky to get two young pigeons. They would have to find a more permanent place to stay. For now, they had been graciously offered a Sukkah from a relative of Joseph in the spirit of Ushpazim, the spirit of hospitality.
The family’s house was full, and this was the only place left. With it being the festival of Sukkot, several shelters had already been set up. And, with the census mandate, Joseph’s family’s home was already breaking at its seams. But they were comfortable because it was early fall, and the winter rains had not yet started.
A few months passed. Joseph and Miriam took Yeshua to the Temple, and, along with two young pigeons, presented him and the offering to a priest, as was commanded in the Torah. Their priest was very, very old. It was said that he would not taste death until he had seen the Messiah. The priest’s name was Shim’on the Tzaddik, who held Yeshua and immediately began shouting to the crowds, and it was Jerusalem, so there were always crowds:
“Adonai, according to your word, your servant is at peace as you let him go; for I have seen with my own eyes your Yeshuah, which you prepared in the presence of all peoples – a light that will bring revelation to the Nations and glory to your people Israel.”
Miriam and Joseph, a little surprised, just looked at each other bewildered. They already knew this was bigger than either of them, but they never ceased to be amazed at what Hashem was always up to. Yet, they were happy. Maybe this would not be such a bad place to raise little Yeshua. Prosperous town of Bethlehem, blessed to be so close to the Temple, peaceful.
There was always plenty of work, and they were finally able to rent a small room. But it was not to last. A year or so after that, Joseph had some strange visitors bearing expensive gifts from the East, followed by a terrible dream.
Joseph, Miriam, and little Yeshua would have to flee from Bethlehem in Israel to hide in Mizraim, Egypt, in the city of Alexandria.
Used with permission by the author. Find the author’s complete works online: Complete Works of Mack Samuels
