Beloved Rabbi

About the Book

Many have seen the rabbi from Nazareth. Many believe. From all over Palestine they flock to hear him speak, to be healed, to witness the miracles. But even as Jesus reaches out his hands to heal, there are those who would put a crown upon his head, who would make him their king. There are others who are outraged by his breaking of the laws, by his healings on the Sabbath, his eating with unwashed hands. They fear he is leading the masses away from the traditions of the Fathers, from the law of Moses, and the divine will of God. It is a time of turmoil, of oppression, as the Jewish nation labors under the occupation of the Roman Empire. Will they ever be free from the yoke of tyranny? Will the Messiah ever come? And is Jesus the Messiah for whom they have waited?

Beloved Rabbi is the story of Jesus—his ministry, his death, his resurrection, and his love—as witnessed by those who were there. Relive these tumultuous times with twenty-two of Jesus’ contemporaries. Hear their stories. Rejoice with them. Weep with them.

Hear the call of the shofar as Tobias of Capernaum gathers at the Temple gates in preparation for the timely sacrifice of his paschal lamb. He is a good man, a good father, recently troubled by the fanaticism of his son, Eli. Already Tobias has lost one son to the Romans, must he lose yet another? Run to the shore of the Sea of Galilee with Tobias= son, Eli, as he seeks to make Jesus king, the military leader of an army of zealots against Rome. Raise your fist with Eli and his fellow zealots, the Brothers, as they cry out, ALet everyone who is zealous for the law and supports the covenant come out with us! To Israel! To Israel!@

From Laban of the Sanhedrin, a pompous, ring-clacking Pharisee who has forgotten what it means to search for truth, to Claudia Procula, the haunted wife of the prefect of Judea, the characters in Beloved Rabbi are rich in spiritual and political insight, and historic detail.

The following is an excerpt:

BERNICE OF CAPERNAUM

A Woman’s Faith

Tirzah entered the house with a jug of water on her shoulders.

“Mother, let me help you with that,” said her daughter. Bernice stopped plucking the chicken and reached to take the earthenware jug from Tirzah’s shoulders.

“Nonsense. My bones are not so brittle that I cannot still fetch water.”

“But Mother—”

“Hush now, there is something important that I must tell you.” Tirzah lowered the jug to the floor and ignored the pain that shot through her back. “Wash your hands while I catch my breath. You cannot go into town with feathers all over your hands.”

“Go into town?”

Tirzah gazed at her daughter, Bernice. Once so vital—plain to look at, yes, but vital and strong—a joy to be around. Now gray hair covered Bernice’s head, a jaundiced gray, so unlike the silver that crowned Tirzah’s head. Bernice’s hands shook as she poured water from the jug into a shallow basin. Tirzah noticed that her daughter’s hands were as gray and pasty as her face, as if she washed them with ashes instead of water. Bernice had suffered from sickness for twelve years. For twelve years Tirzah had been forced to watch her daughter deteriorate into the illness that now clutched her as surely as if a demon possessed her.

Tirzah had been furious when Shobach, Bernice’s husband, had handed her daughter a bill of divorcement. “My wife never ceases to bleed,” he said, too cowardly to meet Tirzah’s glare. “Always she is unclean. And a man must have children or he is nothing.” And so for eleven years, Bernice had lived with Tirzah. Two women, alone, seeing one physician after another, each physician spouting promises of wellness. Money first. Wellness will follow. Tirzah sold her donkey, her wagon, her comfortable home, and took Bernice to Jerusalem, to Damascus, and finally to Egypt, where the physicians were rumored to be the best in the world. Now they lived in a one-room stone house, sharing a parched, used-up courtyard with seven other families.

About the Author

Michele Torrey is an award-winning author of a wide range of literature, including several children’s books. Her Christian articles and stories have appeared in numerous magazines. In addition to her love of writing, Torrey loves to travel, and has traveled extensively throughout the world. As a child and a teenager she lived in Europe for ten years, giving her a love of history and an appreciation for different people, religions, and cultures. A graduate of the University of Washington, Torrey has three grown sons and resides in Auburn, Washington, with her husband, Carl. Torrey serves as a priest at her local church.