13 - Day of Atonement

A royal caravan winds its way through the streets of Jerusalem, and everyone, young and old, rich and poor, have abandoned their homes to look on the wonder. Housetops are filled with spectators, and every street and alley overflows with people.

What is this marvel? Why, it’s the wealth of the East on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. In the riding basket that rocks at the head of the procession sits Queen Helena of Adiabene, which is on the banks of the Tigris. For weeks now the caravan of camels and donkeys has been traveling across the wilderness so that the Queen can come to the house of God, to bring her offering to the Holy One of Israel. For His sake she cast aside the idols of her native land and made this long and burdensome trek so she can bow in worship before Him.

Her face is unveiled and she is dressed in black, in the Persian style. A heavy guard of ringleted eunuchs surrounds her camel and holds back the crowd. Her train of attendants trails behind, followed by the camels and donkeys, laden with bags of golden dinars and silver drachmae. But more importantly, they carry little jars filled with the most marvelous oils and perfumes of Arabia. The myrrh and frankincense of the Arabian wilderness are legendary, more precious than gold, more rare than the costliest stones. These will be burned on the golden pans of the sanctuary, or be ground and mixed with oil for the eight-branched candelabrum. All these are gifts for the House of God.

They say that before she turned her heart to the God of Israel, she married her brother, King Manobaz, according to the custom of her people. Now, she comes to purify herself before the altar of God for these sins committed in ignorance.

When the caravan stops at the Temple entrance, the first camel crouches, and the eunuchs lift the Queen out of the riding basket. She is small and walks with rhythmic steps. She signals, and the ladies of her court approach and take off her sandals. She walks barefoot across the bronze and yellow weave of the carpets her servants spread out at the entrance to the Court of the Gentiles, on the northern side by the vestibule of King Solomon. As she draws near the beautiful gate of the Court of the Women, the leading figures in Israel are assembled in waiting. Beyond them are the “noble and pious women of Jerusalem,” carrying perfumed veils to throw around the Queen. They place two twin doves in one of her hands and a branch of incense in the other for her to offer for purification before she can enter the Court of the Women. Before passing over the threshold, the Queen falls on her knees and touches her face to the ground.

The men crowded in the Court of the Gentiles cry out in exaltation at this sight, for it fulfills the prophecy that the Gentiles “shall seek out Your light, and kings shall seek out the rays of Your brightness.”

Saul of Tarsus is one of these witnesses, and his heart is filled with joyous pride.

* * * * *

Saul of Tarsus was no longer under the authority of his rabbi, nor did he try to find another. He had no regrets over what he’d done, but for some reason his conscience still bothered him. His nights were haunted by the vision of the angel, and he kept seeing the eyes of the stoned preacher and the hands lifted to heaven. But his rational mind told him that it was unthinkable that “they” could be right. For if they were, he was a murderer and it was the utter end for him. And so all the pious words of his rabbi did nothing to swerve him from his path.

In order to salve his conscience, though, he held on to any little sign he could. The visit of Queen Helena, for instance, he saw as a sign that the nations had seen the light. The kings of the east were beginning to come, and soon the kings of the west would also.

So let a thousand Gamaliels reproach him; he would never give up the struggle against those who would do away with the Law of Moses. If there was no one besides him filled with the zeal of the Lord, then so be it. Though he perishes, he will endure.

Now the Day of Atonement was near, Saul’s favorite because of how it stirred up the passions of the zealots and their hatred for the disciples. This was not only due to its solemnity, but also because of the leading role played in it by the High Priest.

Now while it was true that the High Priest had the right to perform the Temple services any day of the year, he normally didn’t; he left that to the regular priesthood. But on the Day of Atonement, no one but the High Priest could perform any part of the ritual.

On this particular Day of Atonement, the new High Priest, John, would be performing the ceremony for the first time. John was Caiaphas’ younger brother-in-law, and he had purchased the exalted office when Caiaphas went to Rome with Pontius Pilate after the latter was removed from being governor.

To prepare for this day, the High Priest spent eight days confined to a special chamber in the Temple in the company of the oldest scholars of the Sanhedrin. They read the sacred books to him and instructed him in all the details of the service. Then the day before the festival, the old members of the Priesthood replaced the scholars. They led him into another chamber, where he made the most solemn oaths to conduct the ritual according to ancient and accepted tradition.

The night before the ceremony, he was not allowed to sleep, but had to listen to more readings from the sacred books, and if he nodded off, the young priests roused him by snapping their fingers in his ears. Not that there was much chance of that, for much tumult could be heard as the whole city stayed awake that night preparing for the festival.

Now the first glimmer of dawn begins to appear in the sky, and the High Priest is led out to begin the ceremony.

After being led behind a curtain to be bathed and sanctified, he puts on a coat with golden bells and pomegranates, a hat, and a golden plate with twelve jewels on which are inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. He performs the daily sacrifice and fills the sanctuary with the smoke of incense, carrying the burning spices on golden shovels. Then he takes a cruse of oil with which to light the golden candelabrum.

And now the great moment approaches. The High Priest changes from the robe into a linen garment and is led by the Chief Officer of the Temple and by the oldest members of the Court to the two goats on which he casts lots. One goat is “for God,” and the other is “for Azazel.” The two goats are the same size, young, strong and washed white. One of them is now privileged to give its blood for sprinkling into the four corners of the Holy of Holies. The High Priest then places his hands on the head of the goat destined for “Azazel” and confesses the sins of the people. The goat is then led out to be thrown down a slope of rock to wander away into the wilderness of Judea.

The High Priest now enters the most sacred place in the world carrying the blood and the incense.

In the first Temple, many years ago, the Holy of Holies contained the tables of the law that Moses brought down from Sinai. Now it’s completely empty, although it’s built around the stone on which Abraham had prepared to sacrifice his only son Isaac. The High Priest places the burning incense on the stone and says a brief prayer for his house and for all the sons of Israel.

Out in the courts the congregants, faces pressed to the floor, can hear the High Priest making the count as he sprinkles the blood on the walls of the Holy of Holies. In that moment, all the bitterness they feel towards him through the year is forgotten and forgiven. Whoever he might be and whatever he might’ve done, he is at this moment the son of Aaron, the delegate of Israel to the Lord, and the people are one with him.

In the mind of one particular congregant Moses descends from Sinai carrying the tables of the covenant. Aaron stands before the Ark where the tables are placed. The minds’ eye looks back farther to see Abraham tenderly laying his long prayed for son on the sacrificial stone. This is why Israel is the elect among the peoples. And this was why God spoke to Abraham afterwards, “Because you have done this thing and have not withheld your only son, therefore in blessing I will bless you, and in your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed.”

For a moment Saul agonizes as he remembers that Israel is bound like a sheep all right, not on God’s altar, but under the feet of the world’s people. God said that Israel would suffer under Pharaoh for four hundred years, and then he would deliver them with a mighty hand. But the four hundred years never end. Their suffering goes on forever.

But the moment passes, for Saul knows that Israel is not cursed, but blessed. Israel must endure this for the salvation of the world. God’s redeemer, created even before the world began, is to be born into this bed of sorrow. He will bind the beginning from the end and will bring in the Kingdom of Heaven in that great day. The ram’s horn reminds us of the sacrifice of Isaac. It will also be blown when Messiah comes.

The trumpet of Messiah! Even now, Saul hears it, the great pealing of the eternal Redeemer.

But no, those aren’t trumpet peals Saul hears. They are cries of exaltation as the High Priest comes out of the Holy of Holies. By custom the people accompany him to his home in a joyous tumult. Strangers greet each other warmly, friends embrace, and there is a single spirit of happiness and affection that binds them together. Priests, Levites, Pharisees and Sadducees are all one.

That night all the gardens and orchards of Israel are filled with youth, dancing and singing. They’ve come from Palestine and all over the Diaspora to make the acquaintance of the youth of Jerusalem. Young men walk along the rows of young girls seeking their destined ones.

But Saul walks alone in the streets of Jerusalem. He doesn’t visit the gardens to find a wife, for only one thought consumes him. He mustn’t take part in the joys of life; he must dedicate himself to the cause of God. He dares to say it to himself. He is chosen. His life will be one great sacrifice for the cause of God.

The next morning Saul went to the Chief Officer of the Temple and briefly stated that he wished to serve the High Priest in the Temple.

Old Annas himself accepted the offer. He remembered the young man’s zeal and repeated what he’d said before. “There are few Phineases among us because of our many sins. The honor and glory of the Temple are trampled underfoot and the priesthood is shamed. There is no one to play the Phineas. You are a true son of Israel, Saul. May your like be greatly multiplied in Israel.”