Read Online Jacob's Way by Gilbert Morris - Free Book Online

shrunken by work. His face was worn and his hands were hard, the typical peasant. “What would you think, Rabbi? Will you do it?”
    Reisa looked up quickly and saw her grandfather shake his head. “I am not a rabbi. You must not call me that.”
    â€œWell,” Ilya said rather stubbornly, “you are the closest thing there is to a rabbi on this boat. Will you do it?”
    â€œWhat do you want him to do?” Reisa asked as she dished out some soup for her grandfather.
    â€œHe thinks we should have a service—all of the Jews on the boat,” Jacob said.
    â€œI know you’re not a rabbi, but you’re a teacher—a learned man. We don’t need a rabbi to have a service, do we?” Ilya asked.
    Jacob blinked, and as he took the bowl of soup, Reisa saw that he was thinking hard. “It might not be a bad thing,” he said. “I will do what I can.”
    â€œGood. I will tell the others. When would we have it?”
    â€œWhenever you say, but it will not be like being in a synagogue.”
    â€œAbraham was not in a synagogue,” Ilya said. “A synagogue is wherever the chosen people meet.”
    Jacob suddenly smiled. It was the first time Reisa had seen him smile since they had gotten on board the ship.
    â€œI think it would be good,” she said, pouring tea into a tin cup. “Here. Drink this.”
    â€œI think it may be,” Jacob mused. “I will have to ask permission though.”
    â€œThey don’t care what we do down here,” Reisa said.
    â€œYou’re right enough about that. So, right here will be the synagogue.”

    The crowd that gathered for the worship was surprisingly large, at least fifteen men—and since ten men were necessary for any sort of service, that was sufficient. All of them were wearing something that resembled a yarmulke—although some were obviously rigged for the moment. The small caps on the head of every man seemed to bring some sort of pleasure to Jacob, and he noted that many of them were wearing the tallis or prayer robe. His own tallis was made of fine silk, and for the service he had bound a small black leather box to his forehead and another to his arm. They contained small pieces of parchment with quotations from Scripture.
    As Reisa watched, she remembered what he had told her so often. The tefillin on the forehead reminds Jews that they must love God with all their might. The other is worn on the arm facing the heart, which reminds us that we must love God with all of our heart.
    The service itself was rather simple. Jacob began by saying a prayer and was joined by others. “And I, due to your great kindness, will come into your house, and in awe of you I will worship, facing toward your holy temple. How good are your tents, Jacob, your dwellings, Israel!”
    Reisa was sitting back with the other women. In a synagogue they would have been in a balcony, but there was no place for that here. So now she listened and repeated the prayer that she had heard so many times: “And I, due to your great kindness, will come into your house, and in awe of you I will worship, facing toward your holy temple. Lord, I love the dwelling of your house and the place where your glory rests, and I will worship and bow and bend my knee before the Lord, my maker. And as for me, may my prayer come to you in an acceptable time; God, in your great countenance, answer me with the truth of your salvation.”
    It was unlike any Shabbat that any of the Jews gathered below deck in the dim light of the lanterns had ever known. The oldest of the Jewish holy days, the Sabbath was important to all of them. If she had been at home, Reisa would have cleaned the house and draped the table with a clean white cloth before the sun set on Friday. She would have lit two candles, and the meal would have begun when her grandfather recited a blessing called the kiddush . They would have taken wine and sung hymns and