Jacob's Way (24 page)

“Yes. I made them.”

“You good cook.”

Hilda Swenson sat back in her chair, not knowing exactly how to treat this man. She and her mother had few friends although, of course, she knew all the people in the neighborhood. She attended church, but this huge man was different from any man she knew. For one thing, he made her feel small! She was accustomed to towering over most men and being broader than all except the huskiest. As a result she had given up feminine ways long ago.

Now she mostly sat and listened as Dov entertained them with stories of Russia.

Finally Dov stood up and bowed slightly. “I go now.”

“I'll show you out,” Hilda said quickly.

Dov bowed again and said good-bye to Mrs. Swenson. He followed Hilda outside and then stopped as they stepped off the porch. “You have some work I can do?”

Hilda chewed her lower lip. She thought for a minute and then said, “Well, I can do most of the things, but I'm not a blacksmith. My father was, though. There are some metal things that need to be done. I have to take them into town to the blacksmith.”

“Show me.”

Hilda led the smiling giant to the barn, which turned out to be a fully equipped blacksmith shop. It had not been used for a long time, but Dov suddenly laughed. His laughter startled Hilda, for it was booming but quite merry.

“Guess what I do in Russia?”

Hilda's eyes flew open. “You weren't a blacksmith, were you, Dov?”

“Best blacksmith in my village.” He laughed again. “I the
only
one in my village, too.” He looked around and said, “You have good place. I fix what is broken.”

It turned out to be a fine day for Hilda. Dov fired up the forge, and she helped with the bellows. She had the material on hand, and he fixed those small items which she had been unable to do. Finally he shoed both of her horses. He was quick, expert, and so strong that the horses had no chance at all.

Finally it was growing dark, and Dov said, “I go now.”

Hilda did not know how to thank him. Finally she put out her hand as a man would. It was swallowed up by Dov's massive paw, and she felt the power in the grip, although he was holding her hand gently. He did not turn her loose, and when she looked up into his eyes, she saw that they were studying her carefully.

“I thank you, Dov. Anytime your friends need any blacksmithing done, feel free to come and use my father's equipment.”

Dov still held onto her hand. It was firm and hard and muscular. He seemed about to say something, but stopped himself. He squeezed her hand once, then nodded. “Good-bye, Miss Hilda.”

Hilda Swenson watched the big man as he made his way, taking long, firm strides down the road. She watched until he disappeared around the group of pines that marked the road. Even then she stood. “He's so big and so kind,” she whispered. “I've never known a man like him.”

Eighteen

W
ould you have some more tea,
Zaideh?
Or maybe some coffee?”

“Tea would be nice.”

Reisa rose from the kitchen table where the two were sitting, moving quickly to the stove. She heated the water, and when it was boiling she poured it into a pan, added the tea, then came to sit down across from Jacob. “It's so quiet around here. Usually it's noisy, but with everyone gone it seems almost strange.”

Driver and Dov had left early to take the new mules over and get them shod at the Swenson place. Dov had told them about the blacksmithing tools, and Driver had said, “We've got to get those mules shod and right away.” They had left right after breakfast. Phineas had gone to borrow some lime from a neighbor, and Sam had gone fishing down at the river.

As Jacob picked up his tea, Reisa noticed how thin his hands seemed. He had always been a spare man, but now he seemed almost emaciated. A coldness came to her as the thought pressed itself on her mind,
He's going to die soon
. It was a fear that had come to her often of late, and now she shook her head slightly and sipped her tea.

Jacob looked around the room and turned to face Reisa. “We've come a long way from Russia.” He spoke in Russian, for the two often used that language when they were alone.

“Yes, we have. I think often of how strange it is to be in this place.”

“We had little choice, but I still miss our friends back in our village. I fear that many of them have suffered from the government.”

Reisa did not answer. She looked down into the teacup and was silent for so long that Jacob lifted his eyes and studied her. After a moment, he said, “What's wrong, Granddaughter?”

“Nothing.”

“Come now, something is troubling you. Do you think I don't know when my granddaughter is having a problem? What is it?”

“I have been troubled about something,” Reisa said reluctantly. “But I didn't want to trouble you about it. “

“Gai shoyn, gai.”
Jacob lapsed into Yiddish, then shook his head and returned to speaking Russian. “Don't be silly,” he interpreted his own words. “What are we for if not to lean upon one another? You and I, we ought never to hold back anything from each other. Sometimes we take our troubles and put them in a large box and lock them up, hoping they will go away. But we know all the time that they're still there. Now, my Reisa—” And here Jacob reached over and put his hand on her arm. “Unlock the box where your troubles are and give them to me. Does not the Scripture say that two are better than one?”

Jacob's words brought a tremulous smile to Reisa's lips. “You are right, but it is hard sometimes to know when we're being a burden with our troubles.”

“Tell me. What is it?”

“Do you remember I told you of the Christians on the
Jennings
when we came over the ocean?”

“Yes. You've mentioned them many times.”

“I have thought of them often—of their fearlessness. How much faith they must have had to be so joyous even when the storm was at its worst.”

“Yes.” Jacob nodded quickly. “That is something I admire as well.”

“There's one thing I didn't tell you. For some reason, I thought you might be displeased if you knew it.”

“That is not likely, my Reisa.”

“As I was leaving the ship, the leader of the Christians gave me a gift. It was wrapped in an oilcloth for protection, and I barely had time to thank him. He said it had been a great treasure to him, and that God told him that it would now be a great treasure to me.”

“That must have been encouraging to you, and it was a fine gesture.”

“Yes, I was grateful, but after I saw what the present was I wasn't so sure.”

“And what was it?”

“Just a minute. I'll go get it for you.” Rising, Reisa went into her room, picked up the gospel of John, and brought it back. When she sat down again, she put it before Jacob and waited as he picked it up. She saw him look at the first page where the title was and then leaf through it.

“This is part of the Christian New Testament,” Jacob said.

“Yes. It's called the gospel of John. I do not know exactly what
gospel
means, but it was written by a man called John, and it's about Jesus.”

“And why did you think I would be troubled?”

Reisa shifted uneasily. “Because I know that our people have been treated terribly by some who call themselves Christians.”

“And there are some who call themselves Jews that are not what they should be. It is not only Christians who have their evil men and women.”

Seeing that Jacob was not angry, Reisa grew more talkative. “It is a strange book. I do not know what to make of parts of it, but there is one thing that surprised me greatly about the book.”

“I think I can guess what it is.”

“You can?”

“Yes.” Jacob nodded. “You are drawn to the man called Jesus.”

Reisa's eyes flew open with astonishment. “Yes. How did you know?”

“Because Sam has been reading to me from his Bible. Some of the passages concern Jesus, and like you, I have felt a strange admiration for him.”

“But,
Zaideh
, it cannot be, can it? All that this book says?”

“I have been thinking much about this. I think our friend Sam has been a great influence on me, and on you, too, perhaps. He is such a good man! He lives for God. His ways are rough, and his speech is crude at times, but there is a love for God that burns within him like a flame.”

“Yes,
Zaideh
, that is true. I have seen it myself.”

Jacob bowed his head and thought for a moment. A silence fell over the room so all that could be heard was the friendly ticking of the clock up on the mantel. Finally Jacob lifted his head, and there was trouble in his eyes. “The Christians believe that Jesus is the Messiah, and they believe that the Old Testament points to this.”

“Yes. I have read many times in this book of John where the writer would point out that Jesus fulfilled a prophecy concerning the Messiah.”

“Sam knows a great many things about these prophecies, and I have been surprised at how many there are.”

“What have you found?”

“Well, a prophecy said that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, and Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Another prophecy says that he would go down to Egypt, and according to their Scripture the parents of Jesus took him to Egypt. The Messiah, as you well know, was to be born of the tribe of Judah, and both of his parents were born of that tribe.” He continued for some time naming off various prophecies. Evidently Sam had impressed him much, and finally he paused and was silent.

“I did not know all of that, and I am not qualified to judge the Scripture, for I do not have your learning,
Zaideh
. But I know one thing—when I read of how Jesus loved people, and how good he was to them, I cannot help but—“ She broke off and could not finish.

“You were going to say you cannot help but love him?”

“Maybe that is wrong,
Zaideh
. I know many wrongs have been committed by his followers. But I do not believe that Jesus would have done such awful things. Listen to this: ‘And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, no man Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.'”

Reisa looked up, and tears glistened in her eyes. “Is that not wonderful,
Zaideh?
”

“Yes, indeed. I have not heard that particular story.”

“It is so dramatic, this gospel of John! I can almost see it happening. Those awful men with their hard eyes who want to kill Jesus. And they bring this poor woman in, a sinner no doubt. But,
Zaideh
…” At this point Reisa clasped her fists together, and her eyes flashed. “If she was taken in adultery, there must have been a man, no? Where is the man? Why didn't they bring
him
to Jesus?”

“I see your point. Obviously they want to force Jesus to pronounce judgment on the woman. And, indeed, Moses' Law did say that one taken like that should be killed.”

“But that would be so cruel, wouldn't it?”

“The Law is cruel in a way, Reisa. The judgment of God against sin is cruel. We cannot forget that.”

Reisa struggled for a moment, seemingly unable to find the words, then she said, “But Jesus did. He forgave her.”

“Yes, and he was entirely correct when he said, ‘He that is without sin cast the first stone,' for all of us are sinners, Reisa. The Scripture says all have sinned, and that is very plain in the Law.” Then he said, “It is strange how the men who brought that poor woman all left. I wonder what it was he wrote in the dust of the ground?”

“I have thought that perhaps he wrote the names of some of the men that had brought the woman. Perhaps he wrote their sins in the dust.”

Jacob smiled faintly. “It may be. In any case, their consciences condemned them, and they left. It is a dramatic scene, and exactly the sort of thing that would draw any decent man or woman to Jesus.”

Reisa put her finger on a verse. “The next verse says, ‘Then spake Jesus again unto to them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.'”

“What a strange saying! Sam read me a verse yesterday from the Christian Bible in which Jesus said, ‘No man cometh under the Father, but by me.'” He shook his head saying, “How can that be true?”

“It cannot be—unless Jesus was who he said he was.”

For some time the two sat there speaking about the words of Jesus. Finally she said, “I have read the last part of this book many times. It describes how Jesus died.
Zaideh
, I can never read it without weeping! They beat him with a whip. They shoved a crown of thorns on his head. They spit in his face. They mocked him, and yet he never said one word to them.”

“I know. Sam has read it to me.”

“And one verse stays with me. I cannot forget it. As Jesus was on the cross dying, he said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.' That verse rings like a bell in my mind,
Zaideh
. It is not the cry of a man consumed with hatred for his enemies, as most of us would be. It is ultimate love, and that is why I have thought so hard on all of these things. Listen to this: the Bible says that after Jesus was dead, ‘Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs; But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.'”

“Is that true,
Zaideh?
” Reisa asked. “Does the Law say that the Messiah will be pierced and that not a bone of him would be broken?”

“It says so indeed.”

Reisa whispered, “It is strange, is it not?”

“Yes. And even more strange is that which follows.”

“You mean the story that says that Jesus rose from the dead?”

“Yes. That is what I mean. If Jesus rose from the dead, then indeed he must be the Messiah, the Son of God.”

Reisa gasped. “But—that goes against all of our religion.”

“Not against all of it. From what Sam has told me, Jesus honored the Law of Moses always.”

“But how can all this be?”

“I cannot say, but my heart has been troubled for days now. And I see that you are troubled as well, but we must trust God. Whatever the truth is, that is what we want.”

Reisa reached over and grasped Jacob's arm. Squeezing it hard, she said, “But how are we to know?”

“How does any man know the truth? He seeks God, and God will give it to him. That is what I'm doing now, my granddaughter. Seeking God for the truth.”

“Then I will seek the truth also,
Zaideh
.”