Living Stones by Lloyd Johnson

Author:Lloyd Johnson [Johnson, Lloyd]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Koehler Books
Published: 2013-06-30T21:00:00+00:00

On a walking tour in the late afternoon, the group passed through the Armenian Quarter of the Old City, entering the larger Jewish quarter. A column of young men strode by in their black suits and white shirts, with broadbrimmed black hats. Their long sideburn braids swung forward and back with each step. Each proceeded head-down, reading from his book and chanting while hurrying along the street.

Ashley looked at them and then turned to Ben with a quizzical frown.

“These guys are Hasidic Jews, a branch of the ultra-Orthodox community. I won’t go into all the other Jewish groups, but there are lots of divisions and subdivisions.”

“What about Zionism?” Ashley ventured. “How does that fit in with Jewish beliefs?”

“That’s a political movement that brought us back to the land and established Israel as a nation.” Ben swept his arm around toward a nearby synagogue. “For some, it’s part of their religion. For others it’s against their faith. For most of our founders in the 1900s, Zionism was strictly political and not religious at all.”

“Now we’re approaching the Temple Mount. We’ll bypass that for now to go through the Muslim Quarter, the Souk. We share this large piece of the Old City with them. It’s big. Follow me so we don’t lose you.”

Ashley noticed more confined alleyways and shops only ten feet wide, open to narrow and sometimes covered walkways. Colorful bazaars filled with jewelry, clothes, beautiful scarves, and wall hangings seemed to fascinate all the women of the group. “Souk” must mean market, Ashley realized. In adjacent areas, from connected stone houses people gazed down through open windows.

Amid the crowd, Ashley glimpsed a man with dark glasses looking at her. Her mind flashed to Bethlehem and the wall. She shuddered. He quickly turned away. She mustn’t start seeing bad men in every venue. No, she wouldn’t start getting paranoid—it could be anyone. She dismissed the thought.

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