In preparation for their assignment to cover the recent disturbances in Israel, Decker and Tom had attempted to adjust to Israeli time but the coffee provided welcome assistance.
“So, Tom, tell us about yourself,” Ilana Rosen asked. “How do you know our Decker?”
“Oh, we’ve been friends for a long time.” Tom scratched his chin beneath his thick brown beard. “We met at a coffee house in Tullahoma, Tennessee. We were both interested in writing, so we hit it off right away.” Tom looked off, as if through time, and added, “We were pretty weird looking back then. You know, long hair, love beads, the whole shtick.”
Ilana Rosen looked across the table at Decker, now age forty-seven, trying to picture him as a hippie, and laughed. “Anyway,” Tom continued, “we lost track of each other. Decker went into the army and I went to work on a construction crew. After a few years I decided I was tired of sweating for a living and went to college. Well, one day I was sitting in a microbiology class the school computer had mistakenly assigned me to, and I looked up, and in walks Decker, as droopy eyed as you see him today.”
Decker had taken advantage of Tom’s story to ‘rest his eyes,’ but now gave his head a shake and forced down some coffee to try to restore consciousness. “I guess I really should try to stay more alert during Tom’s stories,” he said. “There’s no telling what he’ll make up about me while I’m asleep.”
Satisfied that his friend was listening, Tom continued his story. “For the next few years we stayed in pretty close contact at school. After college, I got a job with a newspaper in Massachusetts, and I thought Decker was planning to go to grad school. But the next thing I knew he was publishing a weekly newspaper in Knoxville. After a few years I left Massachusetts and went to work for UPI in Chicago. Then about two and a half months ago Decker got me an interview with NewsWorld magazine.”
Despite his best efforts Decker was again drifting off to sleep, but as Tom finished speaking he felt three pairs of eyes staring at him. Giving his head another quick shake and a roll, he tried to act as though he had been listening intently. Tom ignored Decker’s latest infraction of good manners and asked the Rosens about themselves. “Decker told me a little about you during the trip over, but there’s still a lot I don’t know.”
“Well, in a nutshell,” Joshua Rosen began, “Ilana and I were both born in Austria a few years before World War II. When I was six years old my family left Austria when it became clear that there would be no place for Jews in Hitler’s world. Fortunately my whole family was allowed to leave. Ilana’s family tried to leave just two weeks later and were refused passports. They were smuggled out later by Lutheran missionaries.
“In America, my father was one of more than thirty Jewish scientists who worked in atomic research for the Manhattan Project. At home, he was a very strict taskmaster and insisted that my two sisters and I excel in our schoolwork. I went on to study nuclear physics and then became involved in laser and particle beam research.”
Rosen paused to sip some coffee.
“That’s how you got involved in strategic defense,” Tom said, filling the brief silence.
“Right,” Rosen responded. “Then a few years ago the president decided to cut back on nearly all directed energy research.”
“And that’s when you decided to come to Israel.”
“Well, not right away, but soon after. My father helped build the first atomic bomb to try to end World War II; I wanted to help build a defense against missiles carrying atomic bombs to prevent World War III. When it seemed clear that the United States no longer had the resolve to build such a defense, I decided to come to Israel to continue my work here.”
“Decker said something about your son turning you in to Israeli immigration authorities so that you couldn’t become citizens,” Tom probed.
At this Mrs. Rosen responded in defense of her son. “Scott is a good boy. He was just a little confused.”
“Yes,” Joshua said. “You see, Scott and I have not seen eye-to-eye on most things for quite some time. Our family was never Orthodox in our practice of Judaism: we kept the feast days, but only out of tradition. They didn’t really carry much meaning. Then, just to understand our Jewish roots, Ilana and I began studying the Scriptures. After about a year and a half of study we began talking with some Messianic friends and, to make a long story short, Ilana and I accepted Yeshua as the Jewish Messiah.
“Three months after that my father died. Scott took his grandfather’s death very badly.” Ilana patted Joshua’s hand and gave a supportive look. “At one time, Scott actually blamed us for his grandfather’s death. He believed that my father died as punishment from God for Ilana and I accepting Yeshua and ‘abandoning’ our religion.”
Tom nodded sympathetically, though he didn’t entirely follow what Joshua was saying.
“As a result—perhaps he felt that he was punishing us—Scott left the United States and came to Israel, where he became involved with some of the most Orthodox and militant groups. He was only eighteen at the time.
“When we came to Israel three years ago we had not heard from Scott in more than fifteen years. But when we went to complete the paperwork for our Israeli citizenship—which is granted to most Jews almost automatically by right of aliyah—it was denied. Later we learned that Scott had told the authorities we had renounced our faith, and he insisted we be denied citizenship.
“After discussing it for a few days, Ilana and I decided to fight the charge. We have never renounced our faith!” Rosen’s voice grew both defensive and dogmatic. “Many Jews are agnostics or atheists; and Israel grants them citizenship. But because we believe the prophecies about the promised Jewish Messiah, they say we’re the ones who have denied our faith! Accepting Yeshua is not a matter of denying our faith but rather of completing it! Do you know that over the centuries there have been more than forty different men who have claimed to be the messiah, and no one ever accused the followers of those men of denying their faith!”
It was obvious that Rosen had delivered this defense on numerous occasions, each time becoming firmer in his convictions. Ilana placed her hand on his as if to reassure him he was among friends. Joshua paused and smiled to lighten the mood and to offer silent apology for any hint of virulence.
“I had already talked with a number of officials in the Israeli Defense Ministry,” Rosen began again, getting back to his story. “They were very interested in putting me to work on the Israeli strategic defense program. That’s when Decker called me from America.” They looked across the table at Decker, who was now sound asleep. Ilana softly brushed her fingers through his hair. Joshua continued, speaking more quietly to keep from disturbing their guest. “He was doing a story about the decline of American strategic defense research and had heard about my decision to move to Israel. He called me and I agreed to talk to him about it and suggested that he compare the strategic defense capabilities and goals of the U.S. to those of Israel.”
“So you must have known Decker before that.”
“Oh, yes,” answered Rosen. “We met on the Shroud of Turin expedition in Italy.”
“No kidding? I didn’t realize you were a part of that project,” Tom said. “I’d like to talk to you about that sometime.”
“Please,” said Ilana, “don’t get him started.”
Joshua pretended not to hear his wife’s last remark, but went on with his story. “Anyway,” he said, “where was I? Oh, yes, when Decker arrived I convinced him there were really two stories to be told here. First was the story about the United States’ decision to scrap lasers and particle beams, which is what he had called me about; and second was about Israel’s policy to deny citizenship to Messianic Jews.”
“Decker wrote about what happened to us and how we had been refused citizenship,” Ilana interjected. “He really put his heart into that story. But in the end the editors at your magazine cut huge pieces from our story and ran it as a sidebar article.”
“While Decker was prepa
ring the story he interviewed several members of the Knesset, who are very staunch supporters of an Israeli missile defense,” Joshua added, retaking control of the conversation. “When they became aware of our situation they demanded that the bureaucrats grant us Israeli citizenship immediately. Within two weeks we were given a hearing that went so quickly we were not even given a chance to speak. Before we knew what was going on, the judge found in our favor and soon after we became citizens. You see,” Rosen explained, “without Israeli citizenship, I would not have been allowed to work on classified defense programs. We were trying to draw attention to the law against Messianic Jews. That became moot when we became the exception to that law.”
“So have you seen your son since then?” Tom asked.
“Yes, at the hearing,” Ilana answered. “He was very upset about the way the case was rushed through. But apparently, seeing us there, fifteen years older, made him think. He called us two days after the hearing and asked to see us. He has never exactly apologized, but he has learned to accept us. And it turns out that, at least in one way, he has followed in his father’s footsteps.”
“Yes,” Joshua said, continuing Ilana’s thought, “Scott has proven himself to be a first rate physicist. That’s how he found out that we were in Israel and seeking citizenship: he too is involved in strategic defense research.”
“Now we see him every few weeks,” Ilana interjected.
“We’ve even worked together on a couple of projects,” Joshua added.
Each paused and took another sip of coffee, signaling the apparent close of the subject. Tom had one other thing he wanted to clear up, and so took advantage of the silence. “Joshua and Ilana, you’ve mentioned ‘Yeshua’ several times. I’m afraid I’m not familiar with who or what it is you’re talking about.”
“Yeshua ha Mashiach,” Joshua Rosen answered in Hebrew. “You are probably more familiar with the Anglicized pronunciation of the Greek form of his name: Jesus, the Messiah.”
Tom raised an eyebrow in puzzlement. “You mean that Yeshua is the Jewish word for Jesus?”
Joshua and Ilana both nodded.
“But how can you be Jewish and Christian at the same time?”
“Well, there are a great many people here in Israel who would ask the same question,” Joshua answered. “But surely you know that all of the earliest Christians were Jewish. For most of the first century, Christians—who at the time were called ‘Followers of the Way’—continued to live among their Jewish brothers as equals and became a rather large sect within Judaism. In fact, the first real disagreement among the followers of Yeshua was whether or not Gentiles had to convert to Judaism before they could become Christians.”
“I guess I never really thought about that,” Tom said. “So the reason that your son turned you in is because you’re Christians.”
“We prefer the name ‘Messianic Jews,’” Joshua answered. “But to answer your question: yes.”
Tom nodded thoughtfully as he considered the Rosens’ story. The conversation seemed to have reached a conclusion, the coffee had all been drunk, and the bagels had all been eaten. Tom reached over and shook Decker from his sleep. Joshua had taken the day off so he could take Tom and Decker into Jerusalem for some sightseeing. Decker drank the last of his coffee, which was by now quite cold, and the three men left for the city.
Joshua took his guests on a whirlwind tour of some standard tourist stops, all of which shared one thing in common: Israeli police and military. Jerusalem is a city where the people have grown accustomed to such things.
Tom Donafin was particularly interested in the Wailing Wall, which was the western wall—and all that remains standing—of the ancient Jewish Temple. As they approached the wall, they were handed black paper yarmulkes to place on their heads. The Israeli government allows tourists to visit the wall but requires men to wear the traditional covering for their head. Near the wall, dozens of darkly clad men formed a constantly moving mass as they rocked back and forth, in a practice called dovening, while they prayed or read from their prayer books. Some of the men had ropes or cording tied around their arms and wore small boxes called phylacteries tied to their foreheads like headbands. Inside the boxes, Joshua explained, were pages from the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament.
As he had at their other stops, Joshua gave a brief history of the site. “The original Temple,” Joshua began, “was built by King Solomon and was destroyed during the Babylonian captivity. It was rebuilt beginning in 521 B.C. and later went through major renovations under King Herod. In about 27 A.D. Yeshua prophesied that the Temple would be destroyed again before all of those listening to him died. Just as he predicted, the Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. when Titus invaded Jerusalem to put down a Jewish revolt against Rome.
“An interesting point of disagreement exists among biblical scholars on the extent of the destruction Yeshua was prophesying. What he told his disciples was that the entire Temple would be destroyed before the last of them died. But, as you can see, this portion of the wall is still standing. Some say that he meant only to include the structures within the walls of the Temple. Others say that the western wall was merely part of the foundation and therefore, by their reasoning, was not included in Yeshua’s prophecy. But according to Josephus, who was present at the Roman siege of Jerusalem, Titus ordered that parts of the city be left standing as a monument to his accomplishments. 12 He wanted everyone to be able to see the kind of fortification he had to overcome to defeat the Jews.”
“So, which interpretation do you hold?” asked Tom.
“I am reluctantly forced to side with those who say the prophecy only included the buildings of the Temple and not necessarily all of the walls.”
“Why do you say reluctantly?” Tom asked.
“Because Yeshua seems to have gone out of his way to make the prophecy all-inclusive, saying that ‘not one stone will be left standing upon another.’ 13 Since the wall is still standing, there are only two other possibilities that I can think of: Either Yeshua was wrong—a hypothesis which I cannot accept—or,” Joshua concluded with a strained chuckle, “at least one of those who was with Yeshua when he prophesied about the Temple two thousand years ago is still alive.”
“Joshua, forgive my ignorance of such things,” Tom said, “but this is the Temple where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, right?”
“You are correct,” Rosen said. “Of course this wall is some distance from where the Ark was. Why do you ask?”
“Oh, nothing really. It’s just that I must have seen the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark14 about half a dozen times over the years and I was just wondering if anyone knows what really happened to it.”
“Well, there are a number of theories. The Bible doesn’t mention the whereabouts of the Ark after the Temple was destroyed in the Babylonian invasion. It’s assumed that when the invaders plundered the Temple they took the Ark with them. But the Bible says that when Ezra returned from Babylon to rebuild the Temple, he brought back everything that had been taken. 15 Some people have speculated that the Ark may have been taken from the Temple when it was destroyed by Titus in 70 A.D. and that it was either melted down or perhaps locked away and later hidden in some secret treasury room in the Vatican. However, there is some evidence to dispute that theory. In Rome there is an arch which was dedicated to Titus in honor of his successful siege of Jerusalem. Carved into the arch are scenes of the Roman destruction and looting of Jerusalem, including a detailed carving showing the treasures taken from the Temple. The Ark is not among the treasures depicted, even though, as the most highly valued item, it surely would have been included had Titus taken it.
“Some people believe the Ark is in Ethiopia, though there are a number of major weaknesses in that theory. Another theory, based on one of the apocryphal books of the Bible, is that to prevent the Babylonians from finding the Ark, the Prophet Jeremiah hid it in a cave on Mount Nebo in Jordan.” 16
“What do you mean, ‘apocryphal’?�
� Tom asked.
“Well, of course you know about the Old Testament and the New Testament, or—as we Messianic Jews prefer to call them— the Old and New Covenants.”
Tom nodded.
“Well, not all religious writings were considered worthy of inclusion in the Bible. The other books make up the Apocrypha. Some are simply flights of fantasy, others are obvious fakes written hundreds of years later than their texts would lead you to believe. But there are a few where the question of authenticity is not quite so clear. A number of the apocryphal books appear in the Catholic version of the Old Testament. But these are books that neither the Jews nor the Protestants consider to be inspired by God. The Greek Orthodox Bible also includes the Apocrypha, but the Greek Church does not consider them to be inspired. Today, even the Catholic Church downplays their importance.”
“So, where do you think the Ark is?” asked Tom.
“Actually,” Joshua answered, “I have my own theory. I think that whether it was hidden on Mt. Nebo or taken to Babylon, the Ark was probably returned when the new Temple was rebuilt.”
“But then where is it now?”
“I think it may be somewhere in southern France.”
“France? Why France?”
“Well,” Joshua began, “like I said, this is just a theory. I never gave it much thought until a few years ago when they announced the results of the Carbon 14 dating of the Shroud of Turin.”
A puzzled look came over Decker’s face. “What does all this have to do with the Shroud?” he asked.
“Decker, you remember how impressed we all were with the Shroud,” Joshua said. “It really isn’t important to my faith whether it’s real or not, but from a purely scientific point of view, it’s just too good to be a fake. But until recently the Carbon 14 dating seemed conclusive. Then one day I was reading some of the writings of St. Jerome, who lived in the fourth and early fifth century and was the first to translate the Old Testament directly from Hebrew to Latin. In the piece I was reading, Jerome quotes from a book he called the Gospel of the Hebrews, a book which unfortunately either no longer exists or is lost. He doesn’t quote from it very extensively, but the small piece he does quote reveals a very interesting piece of information about the Shroud. Of course, there’s no way of knowing how authentic this gospel really was. It may have been as spurious as some of the other apocryphal writings, but it says is that after Yeshua rose from the dead, he took his burial shroud and gave it to the servant of the high priest. 17 That’s not very much, but it’s the only record we have that indicates what happened to the Shroud following the resurrection.”
In His Image Page 7