4-Mincha

MINCHA

It was a hot day. During the hours of noon the streets of Capernaum had been almost entirely deserted. Now the sun’s rays were beginning to incline and were less scorching, especially as on this day the heat was tempered by a soft, cooling wind, from which it could be felt that Mount Hermon, with his snow-clad brow, was sending a friendly greeting to the country of the Tabor and of Gilead. Men, women, and children came in swarms out of the houses, of whose existence now only the masses of ruins give testimony, and hastened toward the synagogue, built in the Herodian style of architecture, whose columns and marble blocks, now lying scattered around in ruins, covered with heavy thorn bushes and burning red oleanders, still tell us plainly that the wealthy little city along the lake could be proud of this building, and grateful to the centurion in the Gospel who had erected it. The city which sloped so gradually down to the sea formed a lengthened square, whose southern edge lay along the water, and the synagogue stood at the water’s edge. "Abba," said a little boy softly to his father, when they were passing the house of Simon, "will Rabbi Jeshu come into the synagogue today?" "It may be," answered he, "but you must not call Him Rabbi; for He is a prophet who is risen again. John was Elias; and He has in Him the soul of Elijah." "If only that man will not bother us today," said a man farther on to his wife, who did not answer him, except to say: "Do not talk in this way!" in order not to excite the wrath of her husband. In one of the streets which terminated on the wharf, an alms-gatherer (gabba) joined one of the officials of the congregation (parnas), saying: "Have you heard of what happened today in the house of Simon?" "How would it be possible not to have heard it," was the answer; "the two Rabbis are raving, and demand satisfaction from the officers of the congregation. And in truth we dare not suffer our teachers to be publicly put to shame in this way by a layman." "But did they not deserve it?" said the other. "He saw very well that they had come as spies, and then He cleaned them out like leaven." "O God of Abraham," said the officer of the congregation, "are you already inclining to two sides? Are you, too, running after the Nazarene? And yet it is written (Pro 6:27): ’Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?’" The alms-gatherer was frightened at himself that he had spoken so boldly. "Mar Lazar," he said, to make good again his lack of wisdom, "we must not leave the uneducated masses to themselves; one of us must be with them. A Gabba must be everywhere in order to know his people." The colonnade of the synagogue and the open place in front of it was swarming with people. The whole congregation, as many of them as had already arrived, was without the house of God. Many were walking up and down by themselves, others by twos or threes, and they were telling each other the news of the day, and looked expectantly for Jesus. For, however often they had seen Him, they could not be satisfied, and always awaited Him with anxiety as though they had never seen Him before. In the vestibule, however, the two aggrieved Rabbis were engaged in animated conversation with several officers, to whom a number of people associated themselves out of curiosity, and whose attention was divided between what was going on without and what was transpiring within. "Excuse us, ye leaders of the congregation," said one of the Rabbis; "but will you soon decide whose honor is more sacred to you, that of your teachers or that of this am haarez (ignorant man)?" "If He had only not selected Capernaum as His abiding-place," answered one of the officers. "We are in a sorry plight." "Not only this," said the other; "but there is One higher than the high (Ecc 5:8), to whom we must give an account, and this it is that makes us hesitate." "How," fairly screamed the second Rabbi, "are you also inclining to two sides? Do you not know what is written in the law (Deu 13:6-8): If thy brother, the son of thy mother, entice thee to serve other gods, thy eye shall not spare him, and thou shalt not pity him, and shalt not conceal him?" Just then one of those that were listening near the door cried out: "By God, He is no idolater; He honors the God of Israel through His works and words." "No; He deserves not only the ban, but something worse; for He makes Himself to be a God," cried the two Rabbis as out of one mouth. "Ye do not understand Him," answered the other; and turning to those standing without, he cried: "Ye men of Capernaum, these Jerusalemites have come down to make us the murderers of innocent blood." The excitement constantly increased, and the two Rabbis withdrew, disappearing into the synagogue, crying woe over the ignorance of the Galileans concerning the law. At the same time the attention of all in the colonnade and on the open place was directed toward Jesus, who was now approaching. A crowd of children were running in front of Him and others followed. Their deportment in all this zeal of curiosity was rather hesitating than bold. They did not venture to touch Him, and spoke to each other rather in signs than in words. But those that ran ahead, when they had come at the open place, cried out triumphantly: "He comes! He comes!" and hastened, as in a race, to the doors of the synagogue, in order to find good places to satisfy their curiosity. The men and the women in the open place also became silent at once, and each one took a stand as though a festive train was expected. And when Jesus turned the corner of the street that led to the synagogue, all eyes were riveted on Him. The crowd of children that followed Him disappeared in the nearest rows of those looking on, and sought to get ahead of the others in order to see Him when He entered the synagogue. The two rows of sightseers formed, as it were, a guard of honor, through which He passed. All of those whom He had passed stepped together, and thus His following grew step by step. He looked neither upward nor downward, but straight forward; and as often as to the right or left He heard a hearty shelam (greeting) or jischar (mayest Thou prosper), He turned His eyes aside and answered by a wonderfully benign brightening up of His countenance. The tongues of many were bound by the power of the impression made. Others remained silent, because they did not want to have any connection formed between themselves and the bold innovator who was endowed with such supernatural power. A venerable old man murmured, when he saw Jesus coming, the Baracha (blessing) which was to be pronounced when a king approaches. "Blessed be Thou, Lord our God, King of the world, who hast given man a portion of Thy glory." And a beggar in rags waited on his knees for Him to pass, and kissed the hem of His garment. Of the larger children, among those that were standing at the portal, some had taken their smaller sisters and brothers upon their shoulders, so that they might be better able to see the wonderful Man. Some, more bold than the rest, had climbed up the columns and upon the window-sills. The nearer He came the quieter the young folks became; but the little ones on the shoulders of the others would not keep quiet or still. "The Nazarene," cried a little girl, pointing her finger toward Him, and almost touching His head-dress. In no wise disturbed by this childish curiosity, and obstructed by nobody, He entered the house of the Lord, but the crowd behind Him became all the more compact after He had entered. The eyes of those pressing in after Him sought Him in vain; for, having entered the synagogue, He at once turned to the left, and took a seat on one of the farthest benches along the wall, opposite the sanctuary, which behind a rich purple and gold embroidered curtain concealed the book of the law. The sun, however, seemed to be better informed as to His whereabouts, for its evening rays streaming through the high windows seemed to seek out His countenance with especial favor, and rendered for those present the same service that the Star of Bethlehem had for the wise men of the East. The "Sheliach Zibbur" (leader in prayer), on the "Duchan" (platform), in front of the sanctuary, prayed with a fervency beyond that which he was wont to do. A power of especial consecration, going out from the person of the great One, permeated the whole service. As is yet the case now, the services were opened with the psalms. "Is He praying, too?" was the question asked by all. Steady, with His eyes directed toward the place where the law was, and in deep contemplation, He sat there; but His lips were moving, and the feelings of the congregation were much heightened by the consciousness of this communion of prayer with Him. When the "Shemone Esre" (the prayer of the eighteen benedictions) was opened, with the benediction Aboth, and the words were uttered: "O Thou that rememberest the grace given to the fathers (Aboth), and bringest a Saviour (goel) to the children of their children, for Thy name’s sake in love," all eyes were turned to Him; for, even if they were far from regarding Him as this Saviour, they nevertheless all knew that He considered Himself to be this Saviour. When the "Tachanun" (prayer of penitence) was to be spoken, and the leader was bowing his head before the sanctuary, He, too, bowed His head, and, like the whole congregation, hid His face in His left arm. When the "Kaddish" (holy) was being chanted at the close, He raised His head and His countenance shone, so that one who believed in Him whispered to his neighbor: "Is not this the glory of the Shechinah?" (John 1:14). "With the words: "May great peace from heaven and life come over us and over all Israel, and speak ye, Amen," the Mincha liturgy drew to a close. His eyes at this point glanced over the congregation, and met the look of hatred on the faces of the two Jerusalemites. He endured the glance firmly, and compelled them to cast their eyes down through the mild fire of His eyes; and one of these men murmured: "The evil eye of this sorcerer kills!"

Up in the women’s gallery, where the women sat, removed from the sight of the men, and took part in the worship, the feeling during the whole service was one of painful anxiety. For it was only a short time ago that the presence of Jesus had been the occasion of an awful and terrible interruption of the service. One possessed of a devil had arisen during the silent prayer, and cried out: "Cease; what have we to do with Thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God" (Mark 1:24). Whoever had heard and seen this episode could never forget the terrible screams, and the contortions of face and members in the afflicted man. Jesus had, indeed, on that occasion, through the word of His power, driven out the demon, and compelled him to silence; but the healing also had taken place amid great and wonderful phenomena, and the remembrance of this was more terrible than agreeable. The evening services in the synagogue on this occasion, however, passed by without any interruption, and the miracle-worker of the morning sat in the midst of the "Kehilla" (congregation) of the city quietly and modestly, and as one of their neighbors, and He would have preferred to have disappeared at once from the midst of the assembly. But, after the services had come to an end, they all remained for a little while yet in their places. Frequently before this, Jesus had arisen to teach in the synagogue at Capernaum, and His manner of teaching had filled His hearers with astonishment; for He taught, as the Evangelists tell us, as one having authority, and not as the scribes i.e. , He did not confine Himself to interpret and apply the different portions of Scriptures according to fixed rules of interpretation, but, in the consciousness of being Himself the Mediator of a divine revelation, He had opposed to the old revelation a new revelation, and had shown from the whole Scriptures that this new revelation was the completion of the old. In this way the people waited yet a while anxiously, to see if He would ascend the "Bima" (the reading-desk), and would begin to teach. But He did not do it. But neither did He leave the synagogue. The two Jerusalemites went out ahead, and stood without on one side, in order to be able to see what would happen now. When, then, the assembly closed, He endeavored to depart without being seen; but this He found impossible. Reverently the people stepped back and made room for Him. A young man, however, stepped up to Him, and asked Him in a subdued and trembling voice: "Lord, Thou hast not spoken any word of God to us this day." "Come down to the sea," He answered, also in a subdued voice, "soon after the setting of the sun." But scarcely had He disappeared from the synagogue, when the word went around from mouth to mouth: "This evening, late, down on the lake front."