Jacob's Trouble

Chapter Two Breaking All the Rules

Shortly after they arrived home, Joseph sat at the table studying his Hebrew grammar textbook. His teacher taught them about parallelism and its importance in writing proper prose. Most importantly, he stressed that readers need to understand the main point quickly.

Joseph tried to concentrate on his work. Yet, he kept thinking about the peace agreement and what it might mean for him.

Suddenly, a loud knock startled him. He jumped and rushed to open the door.

Standing outside was a young couple. The male introduced himself as Eli Yishai.

Joseph recognized the girl's name. She used to live next door to him in Mishmar HaEmek. She often came over to visit her cousins and Eliyahu, whom she affectionately referred to as "Yaakov."

She greeted Joseph warmly. Her smile reminded him of the night they had spent at their friend Avraham's house on Yom Kippur eve a few months earlier. They had eaten a traditional holiday meal together and listened to stories being told about the origins of the holidays. They played games until the sun came up.

After a brief breaking of the ice, the girl spoke to Joseph. "It is crazy around here. Do you have any idea why our army suddenly deployed hundreds of tanks in this little village?"

Joseph didn't really want to talk about these issues with strangers. "Well," he answered carefully, "I've noticed something strange happening lately. I think our army is preparing for something big. But I don't know anything else. Why do you ask?"

"Because my parents and I just returned from Ramallah," the girl replied. "We wanted to buy supplies for the holiday. But the shops are empty. When we got back home, I talked to my parents, and we decided that we needed to get away before something terrible happened. Eli and I thought you or your father might know what's going on."

At this point, Eli Yish, Mishmar's boyfriend, stepped forward and introduced himself.

Joseph knew the family well. Both parents were farmers. Their house always smelled like fresh bread.

Eliyahu's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Shimon Lavi, had lived next door to him and his family for twenty-five years. They moved into the village when their son Eliyahu was only a baby. The elderly couple still worked in their garden and tended their chickens daily. Although old age had begun to slow them down, they remained active in community affairs. The whole village looked to the Levite couple as wise counselors and respected elders.

Their neighbors noticed a decline in their physical health recently. Many of them worried about how much longer the elderly couple could live. Perhaps, it was the stress of everything that had been happening in the region lately.

But Joseph had other reasons to worry about the aging couple. The road to town was long and dangerous. If the old folks became sick or injured while traveling, they could die. He prayed every day that they would remain safe.

Meanwhile, both men enjoyed talking about school and religion. Eli's parents were believers in Jehovah. As Eliyahu explained, his father helped lead services in the local synagogue and taught a class on the Old Testament.

This had become especially important since most of the Jewish population was becoming less observant in recent years. As a result, they no longer studied the Scriptures as often as they should. Eliyahu wanted to help preserve the traditions that they learned from their forefathers.

After a few minutes of pleasantries, Joseph turned the conversation to the topic of a recent peace agreement between Israel and Jordan. Both young men expressed concern over the implications of the treaty. They both believed that although there was general agreement that the agreement would benefit Israel economically, it was not clear what impact it would have on Israel's security.