“Simon, time to get up,” his mother called, as she looked at her six year-old son still sleeping on the mat. Simon sat up and rubbed his eyes. Still half-asleep, he made his way outside where his mother was roasting grain on the fire. She handed him a piece of barley bread and stroked his dark, curly hair. Bending over to kiss him on the cheek, she asked, “Simon, aren’t you excited? Today is your first day at Bet Sefer!” Simon’s mouth was too full to respond, so instead he nodded in agreement. Indeed, Simon was excited to be going to the local synagogue school called, Bet Sefer or “house of the book.” Along with the other local Jewish boys his age (6-10 years old), he would start attending classes Monday to Friday. After eating his bread and washing his face, Simon scurried off to the synagogue. He joined the other boys sitting on the floor in a semicircle. Rabbi Abraham sat on a stool facing the boys. One of the older boys handed to each student a grey slate for writing. Rabbi Abraham lifted up a clay jar, and getting up from his stool, he walked over to the boys and poured honey from the jar onto their slates. Honey was a sign of God’s favour. “Now class, lick the honey off your slate and your fingers,” Rabbi Abraham announced. As Simon and the other boys obeyed, he continued, “May the words of God be sweet to your taste, sweeter than honey to your mouth.” He was quoting Psalm 119:103. He wanted his students to know that honey was sweet and pleasurable, but it would never be as sweet or pleasurable as the words of God. This was Simon’s introduction to the Scriptures. He would soon discover there was indeed nothing more enjoyable in the entire world than tasting and receiving the words of God and integrating them into his life. Simon happily returned home from his first day at Bet Sefer and told his mother that the rabbi let him lick honey off his slate! His mother assured him that he would not be allowed to do that at home.
By the time Simon was ten years old he had the entire Torah, or first five books of the Bible, memorized. His parents were very proud of him. They were a poor family, living in a one-room house with Simon and his younger brother, Andrew. His father was a fisherman and had good and bad days for catching fish and selling them at the local market. He wanted his sons to have a better life than what he had, so he was very pleased when Simon had graduated from Bet Sefer and would now be attending Bet Talmud—“house of learning.” If he became the ‘best of the best’ at this school, he would then have a chance of being selected to follow one of the great rabbis. Simon applied himself to Rabbi Josephus’ teachings and became very good at answering his questions with another question. “Simon!” Rabbi Josephus would shout from across the room, “What is two plus two?” Simon would shout back, “Rabbi Josephus, what is 8 minus 4 or 16 divided by 4 or 25% of 16?” Rabbi Josephus would smile and reply, “Well done, Simon, you are proof that the highest form of worship is studying.” By the time Simon and his friends had reached 13 years of age, they had memorized the rest of the Hebrew Scriptures all the way to the book of Malachi.
“Simon, wake up!” his father said shaking him. “Today is your big day! You need to get washed and ready to present yourself to Rabbi Samuel.” “I’m awake, Abba,” Simon replied as he got up from his mat. “Abba, I think you are more nervous than I am,” Simon said, as he went over to the table and poured water into the bowl to wash his face. As he was doing this his father asked, “Simon, are you really ready to meet Rabbi Samuel today? You know he is the most well-known, respected and powerful rabbi in Bethsaida. Are you ready to answer his questions?” Simon lifted the nearby cloth and dried his face. He turned to his father and answered, “Abba, I will do my best. I know the other boys also want to be his ‘talmudeen’ (student). I know that Rabbi Samuel will choose only the best of the best of the best. Please pray for me.” With that, Simon got dressed, grabbed a piece of barley bread and ran to the synagogue.
Simon felt the pressure. His father desperately wanted him to follow a rabbi, as it was considered the highest honour in his culture. He didn’t want to disappoint his father. He also knew his own reputation was at stake, and he wanted to be known as, ‘the best of the best of the best.’ Simon arrived at the synagogue finding his fellow students all waiting to be quizzed by Rabbi Samuel. He eagerly joined them on the floor. As he waited, he watched many leave dejected, knowing the rabbi had turned them down. Simon was determined not to let this discourage him. After all, he had studied hard and made it this far; he couldn’t fail now. His name was called and he walked toward Rabbi Samuel. Stopping in front of him, he said, “Rabbi Samuel, I want to become your disciple, your talmudeen. Will you allow me into your Bet Midrash—‘house of study’?” Simon knew this request meant that he desired to give his life to follow this well-known, respected and powerful rabbi. He didn’t just want to know what the rabbi taught, but he wanted to be just like him in every way— imitating both his teaching and his lifestyle...
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