Jordan Kline Series, Book 1: The Taba Convention.
Jordan seeks the advice of the Chief Rabbi of Eilat on Jewish values.
Taken
from The Taba Convention by Stephen W. Ayers.
"Shalom,"
he said, "I need to go back to Eilat before we go to Nof Ha
Arava."
"You must be fucking crazy, Jordan. Are you
out of your mind? We cannot go back now, at least not you," he
retorted.
"They will have figured that I am long gone by
now and will be looking for the Punto. The last place they will be
looking for me is Eilat. Please, I need to get "Okay, call me
an idiot. Here we go," he answered, shaking his head.
Twenty
minutes later Jordan guided Shalom through the industrial park and
into Eilat the back way. Jordan told him where to park and Jordan got
out of the car, instructing Shalom to wait in the darkness, ready to
move.
This was something that Jordan needed to do before they
drove to Nof Ha Arava, someone he needed to see. He had thought a lot
about the events as they had unfolded so quickly. They had affected
him deeply. Beyond the fact that he had become embroiled once more in
violence, it was the first time that a Jew had raised a hand against
a fellow Jew in this way—if Shalom was right about Alex’s murder.
It looked very much like a professional job, one that could easily be
the work of the Mossad. It shook his faith for the first time. He
needed reassurance. He could not grasp the reality that the four had
died and that Israelis might be behind the events, or at least
connected. He was a secular Jew. He respected and loved the
traditions of his faith and observed the holidays. He did not attend
synagogue except when he accompanied Irit on Yom Kippur, the holiest
day on the Jewish calendar. He believed rather that it was important
to be a good human being, to respect his fellow humans. He respected
all faiths and the right to believe in them. It was fundamentalism
that perverted the people, the radicals that preached hatred and
death. There were extremists of all religions and nationalities, no
faith had a monopoly on that. It had been that way down through the
centuries and would probably be for many more.
He believed
fervently in the rule of law. The government was elected
democratically to act on behalf of all the citizens. You may not
agree with some of their decisions, but they were the government.
They decided and you followed. The armed forces acted on their
decisions, as did all the branches of intelligence. Could it be that
someone in the Mossad had taken the law into their own hands and had
decided to act against his own government? It certainly seemed that
way, and yet Jordan found it hard to believe and grasp the full
meaning of his suspicions. That was why he was here to see the Chief
Rabbi of Eilat, Yitzhak Carlebach.
He was standing in front of
the Chief Rabbinate building on The Six Day Street named for the war.
The Rabbinate was an ugly two-story grey concrete building. The same
design flaw could be seen in many other buildings in the town. The
windows faced the town rather than the inviting panorama of the bay
of Aqaba spread out below. He wondered who had designed all these
drab buildings and not taken advantage of showcasing the view. He
focused on his visit and thought about the questions that he needed
to ask the rabbi. He got out of the car. A stray cat was licking milk
from a dirty bowl on the top step. He circumvented it and entered the
Rabbinate.
Rabbi Carlebach saw him as he entered and came over
to him. "Jordan, how very nice to see you on a social visit. It
makes a pleasant change from your weekly visits to discuss
infringements by your chefs cooking on the Sabbath!"
On many
Saturdays the cooks had of necessity broken the Kashruth laws and
cooked food on the Sabbath. They had done so because they had run out
of the food prepared prior to the Sabbat and because they enjoyed
playing a game of cat and mouse with the Rabbinate supervisors. On
most occasions they had been caught, resulting in Jordan being called
to the Rabbinate on Sunday to apologize and beg that the Kashruth
certificate not be revoked. It was a ritual that many managers went
through on a weekly basis. Rabbi Carlebach took these infringements
good-heartedly.
Jordan laughed with the Rabbi. "Yes it does
make a pleasant change, although you receive us with grace and
patience every week. Probably much more patience than I would have in
your place."
The Rabbi smiled. "We are here to correct
wayward ways, Jordan, to teach the correct way and to have patience.
It is our way." The Rabbi was a small man, no more than five-two
Jordan guessed. He was approaching retirement but looked older. His
skullcap sat on his head of white hair that seemed to blend in with
his long unruly beard. It too was white and stretched down to the
fourth button of his waistcoat. The waistcoat was part of the black
suit with the long jacket commonly worn by the religious Jews. His
intelligent brown eyes looked out from behind thick glasses perched
upon a large straight nose. His skin was wrinkled beyond his years,
his complexion pale and white. He was a wise man. Many of the
townsfolk turned to him for advice, religious and secular alike.
"Please come to my office and enjoy a cup of coffee and
cookies with me, Jordan. Then you can tell me what is on your mind. I
will do my best as always to help you in any way, my son." He
took Jordan by his arm and guided him down the corridor past
classrooms full of young men studying the Torah.
Rabbi Carlebach
poured Jordan a cup of coffee, took a sip from his cup, and settled
back into his armchair.
He looked across at Jordan. "Now,
what is on your mind Jordan? What is so important that you seek out
my advice?"
"Well," Jordan started unsteadily,
"first I would respectfully request that our conversation be in
confidence."
"Of that you have my word," answered
the old man.
Jordan collected his thoughts before he spoke.
"Rabbi Carlebach, I served in the Golani brigade and many years
in the service of the Mossad. During those years I saw unspeakable
horrors. Worse, I committed many acts of violence myself, acts that I
am not proud of."
The Rabbi cut in. "Jordan, please do
not speak to me of these acts. I cannot forgive. I am not even a
Catholic priest who can order you to repent with Hail Mary’s."
He smiled and continued, "What I do know is that Israel has to
survive. It is our country, the only safe home for us Jews. In order
to survive we sometimes have to act in ways that are not in our
character. But you did not come to tell me of your past I am sure."
"No, Rabbi, it is for something much more important and
deeply troubling to me. I have learned of a plan to destroy the Taba
Convention. I have learned of the deaths of four Jews that were in
the Mossad." Jordan looked up at the Rabbi who was listening
intently. "I have learned that other Jews may be behind their
deaths, even if they did not murder them with their own hands. I have
been taught that life is sacrosanct. I was brought up believing that
never must one Jew take up arms against another. This is the
cornerstone of our state, of our religion. Rabbi, I do not know how
to understand and grasp this reality. I am lost. I am not sure how to
react to this. It is the reason I came to you for guidance."
Jordan finished and sat back in his chair, a troubled look on his
face.
Rabbi Carlebach sat silently in his chair, his arms folded
across his chest, his gaze on Jordan. Minutes went by, and then
finally the Rabbi spoke.
"Jordan, I do not have all the
answers, they are the property of "Ha Shem," the name. I am
but his servant. I can however tell you this. This world is made up
of many different people. Most live normal happy lives and contribute
to society in many ways, some small, some large. Some are led astray
by their beliefs and some act on those beliefs. The Nazis believed
that we were not worthy to live on this earth and wiped out six
million of us. The Arabs believe that we are living on their land and
have done their best to throw us off this holy ground. In both cases
our faith has carried us through the dark times. Now we have achieved
independence in our own land, a Jewish state for all Jews who care to
come and join us. We have reclaimed the land that is rightfully ours.
The Jewish nation has risen from the ashes of the Second World War
and must not be allowed to fail. It must not be allowed to fail at
any cost, any cost however hard and brutal that may be. The army, the
Mossad, the General Security Service—all act under the government,
all act as one to defend the state." He paused and continued,
"But all this you know. I only tell you to underline that
whatever you did in the service you did for the state, and you did
faithfully. You are not to blame for this service but to be proud of
it. Our land is sacred."
The Rabbi looked at Jordan and
sighed, "I too am deeply affected by what you have told me of
this plan to destroy the peace convention. I am not in favor of
giving land for peace, especially the settlements that have taken so
long to develop and grow. Good people live there Jordan, true
Israelis, true believers. The government has taken the decision to
give back land and we must live with that decision. We can argue, we
can demonstrate, that is our democratic right. What we must not do,
cannot do, is to take up arms against each other. We cannot do this
however negatively we feel.
"As it is we are a diverse
people. Sephardic Jews feel downtrodden and they were right for a
long time. No longer is that true. Some Ashkenazi Jews still feel
superior even today, but this is fading now. We are a complicated
nation, Jordan. We live among each other, the Orthodox, the
religious, and the secular. Many are right-wing, many are liberal,
but we are finally coming together as one people. What you speak of
will lead to civil war, to the destruction of Israel as we know it. I
do not want to know more of what you know but I can tell you this. A
Jew who saves a life is as if he has saved the whole world. Sometimes
we have to take lives to save the state and our world. Yes, it is
against our religion and our inner beliefs, but we do it only in
self-defense. It is saddening and regrettable, but it has been that
way since our forefathers walked this land. We only do what we have
to do. We may not be able to win on the world stage of public
opinion, but we must save our homeland at all costs. While it saddens
me deeply, it is still necessary to defend our way of life. It is
against those that would take it away from us. It is just."
He
paused, thought for a minute, and then looked over his glasses at
Jordan. "I know that I may not have answered your questions
directly with my words, my son. However, please reflect upon them and
let them guide you in the future. I am glad that you have come to me,
and I hope that I have been of help to you."
"Rabbi
Carlebach, I thank you for your time. I believe that you have
answered my concerns. You are a wise man, your words comforting and
clear. Thank you again for your time." Jordan got up and shook
the Rabbi’s hand. "I will see myself out. May you live a long
and healthy life, Rabbi Carlebach. Hopefully we shall not meet this
Sunday."
He could still hear the Rabbi laughing as he went
out into the heat of the night. He glanced at his watch. The visit
had taken longer than he expected. He got into the car and told
Shalom to start driving. The Rabbi had answered him. Jordan knew what
he had to do and was at peace with his decision. The burden had been
taken from his shoulders. Thank God he had thought to go to the Rabbi
for guidance.
Stephen W. Ayers Copyright-
Book
1 of the Jordan Kline Trilogy.
More information on the books at www.stephenwayers.com
(Buy in print or Ebook on site)
Amazon / Kindle link:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_8?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+taba+convention&sprefix=the+taba