Judah, found Shabbat, to be long and boring. It looked like the whole country went on holiday, one day every single week. All around the streets of Jerusalem, the street venders didn’t come out and the shops stayed locked. Everybody walking around the streets was dressed n their finery, the woman in particular traipsed around in long flowy dresses that made impractical to do anything. It was as if they were all playing at being idle aristocratic gentlewoman. The people in the streets, didn’t, visibly, carry anything with them. No sacks of food or supplies ventured with them beyond their courtyards. They only went as far as they could go with the ability to return back home for anything they could need.
Judah noticed that -presumably, due to this prohibition against carrying - for the first time he saw the populace walking around unarmed. Did the streets magically become danger-free because it was Shabbat, he wondered?
This observation, held true for everyone, except the armed soldiers from the different factions. They still roamed the streets, toting along their weapons, wherever they went. Judah asked Abba about this, "Do we not have to keep the Shabbat too?
Abba hesitated.
"Of course we do,” he finally said, “but it’s complicated. First of all, the Sadducees, don’t even believe in keeping Shabbat, the way everyone does, publicly. Some of them keep it in a strange way. They stay home in the dark with no fire or oven lit and won’t even leave their house! They keep those two parts of the commandment because those are written in the literal text of the scripture. Everything else they don’t keep. What's interesting is that, while in the privacy of their own homes, they end up having no other laws they need to keep. So they do what ever else they want. Albeit in the dark with no flames even in the cold of winter. This way of keeping Shabbat, is especially popular with large number of the priests.
" Other Sadducees, have a different practice, they don’t believe or keep many of the traditions and specific practices that have been handed down by our forefathers. They just make sure to keep the spirit of the law. They would say for an example, you carry minor things, just never go out on a long journey laden with goods. They do close their business’ and generally stay home on shabbat, but still, they do everything else they want. Especially if they feel it's something which enhances their day of rest.
Abba paused, to check whether Judah was following. “following me so far?”
Judah smirked, “I think so. Basically there are two groups of Sadducees, what they both have in common is they both, do away with the detailed laws. Some stay locked up all day in the dark and others cut out any hard work and basically do whatever they want, if it enhances their holiday-
"So these groups would carry but not in public?…why?...becasue of what you said that the silent majority won’t tolerate it?”
Abba nodded, “exactly, so-“
“But what does this have to do with anything? We, the fighters, are Saduducees?”
“No, precisely the opposite in fact, we are zealots. I just figured I would give give you the general backround. the more you understand about our mentality in this city, the more likely you are to be able to fully become one of us. Come my friend, we will turn you into a full zealot yet."
Now it was Abbas turn to smirk at Judah.
I don't need any changing, thank you very much, Judah thought sourly.
Thankfully Abba quickly moved back to his point.
"We carry for a different reason. We carry, because we say, that it is a necessity. We are soldiers. It’s a matter of life and death to have our weapons with us. Everyone agrees there is a contingency to allow anything in matters that can affect death.”
Judah stared back at Abba a bit mystified. “Your telling me we carry weapons because why? Because we might need to fight? I don’t see any Roman attackers nearby. The Rabbis' accepted that argument?”
Judah noticed with some small amount of satisfaction, that Abba looked a bit miffed to have defend himself.
“Well, yes. Some people like my uncle, the Grand Rabbi, Yochanon ben zakai, of course, don’t accept that argument. But there are some rabbis who would. Our rabbis do. The enemy could attack. They would, especially if emboldened by the thought that we were weaponless.
"Besides we need our weapons, to keep our power. If we betrayed even a moment of weakness, there are forces, in this city, who would try to take advantage of that to destroy us. So yes the entire rebellion would be in danger of collapsing and that will lead to lots of death. That is why we choose to always carry our weapons.”
Judah didn’t really follow the argument to the conclusion that Abba wanted, but he also didn’t really care. Until the talk of Abba changing him, he was just fascinated to be learning about a whole new way of life. Even in his childhood he hadn’t really experienced The city life of a Jew. He had grown up on an olive farm a two hour walk from the nearest village. He’d never seen Jewish law practiced by an entire population of a large metropolis. He wondered whether he even ever knew the details of all these laws in the first place, straining futilely to try and remember what the scope of his shoddy rural education had even consisted of. He had scantly any memories left.
Towards the end of Shabbat, Abba updated him that after Shabbat ended, he had a war council with Eleazer' faction to attend.
"With him? From everything I've gathered so far, that man is a fool. I didn't know we take his counsel at all?"
Judah was joking around, he was bored from doing nothing all day and he had spent a significant portion of the day, idling it away, listening to Abba's soldiers crack jokes at Eleazers expense. However Abba was in no mood for it.
"Look here,” Abba growled, placing both hands on the table and leaning in to get his attention, “this is serious. I want to take you with me -to the meeting tonight. It can be your first real participation in our war, but first I need to you realize that no one is playing games here. I need you to have your soldier's discipline about you tonight. No mistakes.”
“Discipline? No one in this city has it so why do- “ Judah broke off at Abba's look of sheer frustration. He sighed, “tell me again about this council meeting, why is it so important?”
“Its with Eleazer ben Shimon, we told you all about him already. He’s a priest, a young hot head who has the largest faction in the city right now.”
“And you intend to join up with him?”
“Basically correct. But I never actually said that.”
That was true, Judah had merely surmised all that, from what Abba had mentioned about who he believed would end up being the strongest.
“Umm hmm, what am I missing? I don't care if he is stronger then us at the moment. In my past experience with you, you never choose to play second fiddle!”
“While that’s true, I’ve also never actually made it very high up in the chain of command,” Abba pointed out. He sighed, “I’ve finally learned success takes sacrifice. In this case the cheshbon Is simple really.
"Eleazers men outnumber my own men and he is a brutal man who will stop at nothing to maintain his power. He would have no qualms about massacring us. The only rational choice I have left, is whether to humble my self fully for a time or continue to operate even now, from the shadows. Open resistance however, mm mm, not an option.”
Judah grinned wolfishly at his friend. “Maybe that's why I'm here. Want me to kill him for you? I’ve been relishing just the perfect opportunity to try out my new sicarii dagger.”
Abba suddenly looked very frustrated. Out of nowhere, he lifted his hands right under Judah's nose, and smashed them together in a giant thunderclap of anger. Judah startled, jerking up sharply and blinking rapidly totally taken aback. “What in heave-“
“You have not been listening,” Abba snapped back, savagely, “to a word I’ve been telling you. Do you have a death wish? That’s what you will get for trifling with this man. I don't care how powerful you think you are. Overhere you are no longer a centurion.” Abba shook his head, “nevermind that, I know you could kill him. Just focus on me. I’M telling you I want him as an ally, that should be good enough a reason for you. Don't mess this up.”
Judah nodded grudgingly, his breathing slowly returning to normal. “Aye man, but what I don’t get is, if its so important a council meeting and I’m such a liability, a newcomer, why do you even want to take me along in the first place?”
Abba smiled back, a smile that showed no teeth. “Ahh, so now you get it. This is serious. That is good. The answer to your question is, that in order to join forces with him – no under him - I need to bring to the table something he wants. In this case you are that something. I have promised him that I am bringing to the meeting a soldier with siege experience, a true veteran. You my friend are my gift in exchange for the bargain I strike with him.”
Judah scowled. It wasn’t a surprise to him that Abba was using him as he would a pawn. It was what Abba did and he could rely on him to make sure they both came out on top in the end. What was bothering him was that he was new to the whole set up of the politics in the city. He was quickly realizing he didn’t even know the half of it.
Later, in the black of night, Judah found himself slinking through the streets of Jerusalem together with Abba and his five of captains. The streets were dangerous and there was an eerie silence as they moved around, the only sound being the occasional clank of metal weapons. The council was going to be held deep in the bowels of the Antonio fortress. The bastion which guarded the north side of the Temple. Its impressive visage was the reason why many people claimed there was hope, the city may well turn out to be impregnable to even the mighty Roman legions. Judah didn't believe anything was ever impregnable, however he was eager to finally see it up close.
As they arrived, a night guard held up a torch, spilling light over the members of their entourage. Judah's eyes turned away from the sudden flush of light, his gaze falling instead on the the dark shadows which played along the giant stone mason work that formed the base of the fortress. He let out a small gasp of surprise at what he saw. There were many ways to build a strong fortress, but the one before him had to be one of the most indomitable structures he’d ever seen; built in the true spirit of the finest Roman technique.
The most basic way to build a secure fortress was to give it a height advantage; build it on the top of a bluff or a hill so that the approach needed to be made by those low down and exposed to attack. Now, hills can still be scaled and heights climbed, if the enemy is strong enough. So the next thing an engineer tries to do, is prevent an approach entirely.
What Judah found himself looking at, was fifty cubits of sheer smooth rockface - totally unapproachable! Sleek and smooth, the stone gleaned back at him under the shadowy torchlight, causing him to marvel at the engineering.
The sheer size of the rocky outcrop, told him he was looking at a natural bank of rocky hilltop that they specifically chosen for the fortress. Yet the smoothness of the rockface looked so sharply chiseled, it spoke volumes, attesting to the fact that it was manmade. This should have been impossible! He’d never be able to tell the truth of the matter in the dark, but by his best guess, he was that he was looking at a natural rock formation bearing an outer layer that was man-made.
Abba bantered a bit with Eleazers guard, while he waited on permission to let them in. After that, came an interminable walk through the massive halls of the fortress. It was confusing, keeping track of the winding passages, and the most Judah could tell about their direction, was that they kept going up and in. Up and in. They walked with muted steps past many different porticos and opulent rooms, all of which Judah took in with interest, realizing that the fortress was a veritable city. It held mainly barracks used previously for Roman soldiers, but also, all sorts of rooms for politics and diplomacy and daily life.
Eventually they came to a large weapons room which had been repurposed for their council meeting. All the weapons had been pushed against the back wall and the rest of the room cleared for their meeting. In the dead center someone had set up a giant cushioned chair and around it was placed six regular, empty chairs which formed a semi circle. The other three walls were lined with hard wooden benches, extending in each direction and running three rows deep.
“It seems we are the first to arrive,” Abba mused.
He motioned the six of them to take up positions along the wall and then headed himself to take a seat in the semicircle. The other captains, turned to head towards the nearest wall behind Abba's seat, however Judah put out a hand to stop them. He shook his his head no, motioning only three of the men to proceed on to their original destination, while indicating that the remaining three, should follow him to the other side. He did this all silently, for despite the empty room, he knew walls could have ears.
He arrived at the spot he'd chosen for himself and plopped himself down on one of the hard benches facing Abba. Willing his companions to understand his intentions, he pointed two fingers at his own eyes and drew a line towards Abba. He passed his fingers, with the same pointing motion, between the other three men and Abba. Three people left behind Abba to guard his back and the rest placed over here, where we can watch his facial expressions at all times.
Abba, seeing the pristine logic, gave a small smile,turning up the edge of his lips in satisfaction. That was enough for Judah. He could careless whether the other men understood the wisdom of his set up.
Bit by bit, the rest of the people came filtering in, until the room was filled to the brim with dangerous looking men. Eventually Eleazer himself showed up. First four guards came barging in, clearing a path forward and then taking up stations around the luxurious throne in the center. Then Eleazer himself followed, meandering through and peering at the crowd as if sizing them up. He was youngish looking man with broad shoulders, on top of which he had a large round face with large bushy eyebrows that swooped downwards sharply. The only thing which Judah noticed, that belied the outward appearance of a stout fighting man, was the beginning of a drooping belly that his clothing failed to hide.
Just after he was seated, Eleazer's gaze fell on Yehuda’s unfamiliar face, before he turned back to focus on the council sitting before him. Judah had a suspicion that Eleaer had been unable to place which faction Judah was part of – yet another side benefit of his not sitting bunched together near Abba.
“We have much decisions to discuss,” Eleazer began, “however I always say it is best to do so in comfort, for that will best bring forth our wisdom.” With that pronouncement, Eleazer snapped a finger and serving people began streaming in with barrels of wine and decanters. “Some of the best wine Cyprus has to offer. I dare say older than anyone here tonight in attendance.” Here he smirked, “A thank you from Jerusalem's finest.”
Hearing that, and watching the crowd relax with their drinks and settle down to do business with Eleazer. Judah felt an initial loathing, for the smug mocking look on Eleazers face. A real charming man he thought darkly.
“How goes the gate keeping, what sort of people are coming in,” Eliezer inquired?
“Have we managed to bolster our supplies? From who have we Pillaged today?”
Who knows where Ben Giora has got to today?”
As Eleazers inquiries ground onwards, Judah found the onslaught of unfamiliar news wearisome and gradually began to tune out of the proceedings. Growing bored, he shifted his eyes between the council members in the inner circle and tried to occupy himself with guessing what they were like as commanders. Soon tiring of that too, he switched to trying to guess which of the attending warriors would prove hardest for him to take down in a fight. He studied them all, finally deciding that probably he could take down any of them pretty easily.
Then suddenly, though lost in his thoughts, he sensed that there was a change in the tone of the proceedings. He hastily tried to refocus on what was happening with the council.
“I see a real problem with the peoples willingness to fight,” he heard someone complain.
Eleazer nodded. “We’ve dragged them kicking and screaming into this war and we will just have to continue tugging them along through it, The ignorant fools just don’t know what's for their own good.”
“One day they will thank us,” somebody called.
Inwardly Judah cringed. These people didn’t seem to know the first thing about withstanding a Roman siege, if they thought an unwilling city could hold up more than a day.
Caught up in his thoughts and still not taking the proceedings very seriously, Judah was totally unprepared for what happened next. Out of nowhere Abba stood up and the entire council swiveled to focus on him.Silence fell.
Curious, Judah waited along with everyone else wondering what Abba planned to say.
“Fellows,” Eleazer declared, indicating towards Abba, with a challenging glint in his eye, “We have here a man, who thinks he wants to be one of our leaders. Lets hear what he advises. How he would manage the people of Jerusalem.
Abba held the silence for a moment, unfazed, still in complete command of the situation. “Chevra, I have been carefully monitoring the attitudes of the people who appose us. Their faith is being placed fully on our stores. We have legendary storehouses with stockpiles maintained by the cities wealthiest citizen. I have heard the city folk claim it can feed the entirety of Jerusalem for over twenty years! My feeling is that while those storehouses exist, our people will never truly join the fight. They will only halfheartedly take up the sword and wave it feebly in the air. The war will drag out and then at some point – I say this as confident as in a prophecy- they will seek peace. At some point they will weary of the affairs of war and they will undercut all our efforts and sue for peace. That is the problem that vexes me.
“Chevra, My idea is we burn those storehouses down! I tell you, once that bulwark is gone, people will suddenly feel jeopardized and compelled to fight. Then they will fight, the true bloody fight, of those whose back is up against the wall. Of one who claws forward, desperately clinging to his life's blood. With those blasted stores gone, the soldiers defending this city will be utterly transformed into ferocious, indefatigable warriors. Our walls would be… nigh impregnable!”
Abba rampaged through his presentation, enthusiastically getting swept up in the power of his own words. Then, realizing he’d reached a cresendo, he paused, allowing the effect of his words a moment to sink in before he finished off his speech. “Gentleman, I tell you, what we need to do, is tear down those storehouses brick by brick; it’s a favor to everybody!”
As Abba sat down, somebody whistled and a swell of approval swept through the crowd. Throughout the hall a clamoring arose as men piped up, to give their ideas about how to go about planning such a thing. Eleazer, himself, seemed to embrace the idea with jovial enthusiasm.
Judah alone sat stunned, he could not believe what he was hearing. He had a sinking feeling in his heart that Abba knew what he would think of this idea and that was why he hadn’t actually informed him of this proposition he was going to suggest in advance.
Had the the entire city completely lost their mind? Did no one see what a terrible plan this was? It seemed he’d joined his fate with a sunk cause. He could picture in his mind eye the quick slaughter the Roman Legions would make of the city, that had no food to hold out under siege. The invaders, camping outside like kings, waiting expectantly for their upcoming easy conquest. When the day finally came that they break through the starved defenders, Judah predicted to himself, the halls of this very fortress, would ring with the sound of dying men groining in agony; red blood bathing everything.
Judah couldn’t fathom how the city's generals could be so incompetent. It was the blind leading the dumb. Worst of all he couldn’t understand how Abba could be the very one to propose such a thing. Abba who had fought with him for five years beside him within the Roman legions and knew their tactics?! Judah personally had seen Abbas skills and knew that Abba knew better. Could the man forgotten everything he’d once known about the art of battle and siege warfare?
Without realizing what he was doing, Judah felt himself stand up unbidden and move off his seat by the wall towards the rooms center. It was as if his body moved on its own accord. He didn’t know when he had decided to speak up, but only that he had to. Abba would be furious with him, yet he felt compelled to try and restore some sense of sanity to the proceedings.
Once again the clamor in the room subsided as everyone turned their focus onto him. He watched them wondering who he was and what he had gotten up to say. He tried to look confident. He kept his gaze steady, looking Eleazer right in the eye.
Eliezer stared cockily back at him, “Well, well, whos this new soldier here, interrupting our council meeting,” he demanded?
Judah stared back at him impassively; even a bit scornfully.
Seeing he made no impression, Eleazer raised his glass of wine, thoroughly enjoying himself, “I think a new face needs to earn the right to speak at this gathering first. Are you willing to face my chosen man in combat, to earn the right to speak? Do you have confidence in your ability to beat the man that I choose?”
Judah let out a short staccato bark of laughter in response. “Do you really seek to scare me with this? I already am certain that my military acumen exceeds all others in this room and I have little doubt that it is likely the same when it comes to strength of arms.” Judah grinned broadly, “I will gladly give your man a wallop.”
He glanced around the room pretending to size up all the men, before continuing. “The truth is, that I can’t be bothered with your test, because such a fight is a waste of my time. Being so, I tell you this warning: After I take out your best man you will have no one left to stop me from continuing on to challenge you. And oh how I will relish giving you a wallop as well.”
The men in the audience were frozen in shock by his audacious blustering, however Eleazer himself had mastered the art of masking his innermost thoughts. He was much harder to read.
Out of the corner of his eye Judah noticed Abba getting to his feet with a frigid look on his face. It was only just dawning upon him what an obstacle Judah was turning out to be.
Immediately Eleazer noticed the eye contact they made and astutely, put everything together.
“Ahh,” he said looking over at Abba for confirmation, “This is the man you promised to bring? Your expert in siege warfare?”
Abba nodded in mute anger.
“Did you know you were bringing in someone so insubordinate to the war effort?
“It seems,” Eleazer continued, with a tinkle of grim mirth, "that your expert disagrees with your plan to destroy the storehouses of grain. Shall we hear him out?
Judah interrupted. He'd made a mess of everything already and so he was determined to finish his piece, permission or no.
“My fellow defenders of Jerusalem,” he began, addressing the entire room at large and not merely the commanders. “Do you know what the first rule of siege warfare is? I take that back -what the only rule of siege warfare is?
“The outcome of a siege depends on one thing and one thing only: morale. A city that doesn’t want to fight may as well open up their sealed gates and let the enemy right in for all the good their sealed gates will do them. Know, that I tell you this, as a soldier who has fought in battles on both sides of a siege. Within and Without. With all my experience in this area, I tell you now. In a few months time you will wish terribly for all the food in these storehouses. You will dream of it, night and day. Don’t do this terrible deed. Don't put your storehouses to the flame. My Compatriot Abba is well meaning but everything I’ve ever learnt of warfare screams in my ears to do the exact opposite. If you maintain your large supply of food that’s what will improve morale. That is what will give your men the confidence that you can achieve victory. That, and only that, is what will encourage the men of this city, to fight the ferocious, inspired fight that you so desire.”
Not wanting to appear weak, he added, “I do support forced collection of food. That may be bad for the city' morale in the short term, but in the long run they will thank you for collecting their food, when all the rest of their food is gone.”
Abba interrupted, amending his earlier stance “While I still disagree, for now I will change my recommendation to be that leave the stores alone. Regardless, my main point still stands. We need to do something more, to ratchet up support for this war.
Eleazer waved them both down. "Quit grandstanding, I would be a fool to listen to either of you when you are on the same side yet cant even agree on what to present to the council. We will think on it all and decide another time. Abba I will have have words for you about this some other time."
Judah wasn’t sure why Abba gave in so easily without putting up an argument, but then again he didn’t know what Abbas true motivation in the first place. There had to be something more to what Abba intended. The man he knew couldn't be this naive. So he decided to leave things as they were. he had already gotten himself into enough trouble for one night. So he made his way back to his seat and the conversation moved on to other things..
Maybe we should make some public show trials?” somebody suggested later, “It will be fun and the public show of support will only egg more and more of the mob onto our side.
Eleazer realy liked that idea, “It would be nice to finally behead Chananyah the low.” He was referring to Chananyah the former high priest but apparently he liked to remake the moniker so it was the opposite ‘the low’. Later someone would explain to Judah, that it was do to the aged fellows stooped back.
Quite base of Eleazer, in Judah opinion.
Towards The end of the meeting a name came up that Judah hadn’t heard of.
“What do we do about Yochanon of Gush Chalav,” Abba asked?
Somebody hooted, “Who cares about him why do we need to do anything?”
Eleazer quickly shushed the fellow. “Oh we care about him. He’s dangerous. I can’t tell what his goal is. He reached out to me offering to help us keep an eye on the Preists. He said he will procede carefully making as if he stands against us. He will try to get in tight with the rich elite. See if he can draw out their secret plans. He thinks it will help us.”
Somebody else spoke up to remind everybody about how duplicitous Yochanon could be. "Just remember this is the man who by his own account, tricked Titus into a cease fire for the duration of Shabbat and then fled. This man then, marched proudly into the city a month ago at the head of two thousand fighting men, proud of his escape. He neglecting to let anybody know, about the couple of thousand wailing woman and children who could not keep apace - the family's of his own soldiers - he abandoned on the road. That he left behind to face the Roman vengeance. A coward if there ever was one. You can't trust him farther than you could spit!"
Eleazer shook his head, “he holds his own council tight to his chest and right now has a lot of men. Abba I will leave this to you. You have that kind of animal savvy to you. Watch him for me and when he is weak we will strike."
with that Eleazer had had enough. He stood up and swept imperiously out of the room, bringing Judahs first formal participation in the war to an abrupt close.