THE FEAST
Vegan assistants
The group's Passover Seder took place on Saturday night, Not on Friday as most Israelis. Howshua ask me to arrive to Tel Arad (zion)on Saturday . I arrive at noon, so i will not miss the action. After all this is the first time that I'm making the commandment of pilgrimage. But when I arrived to Tel Arad(zion) there were just some of the believers and i did not found Howshua. Because he keeps the commandments ,and also its impossible to call him
I call Ashira and he tells me that Howshua is in his house in the city. I go there, knock on his door and he did not answer. I am dismayed and nervous, afraid that i had lost the story . Fortunately, I meet a believer and he suggest to knock louder. Finally he comes out,sleepy, and shakes my hand in the triple way, muttering "respect,peace,love". Chief explains that it is rare that he comes out the house on Saturday and ask me to come back at six o'clock.
The article is very important for him. Despite the benefits of the religion, the media did not particularly interested in it, its usually not be interested in remote stories .In Howshua's Folders there is almost no Hebrew publications about the group. I came to them because I spent two weeks in the beautiful city Residence. He is proud of his wife interview in a radio program where listeners interviewed at night, in a local weekly newspaper clipping in a small ad pages he offers teaching the ancient Hebrew. "This story is not only about us," he explains. "This story could stop the coming war. I interviewed in order to stop the Third World War. the Jewish need to stop the war. Why the Jewish are hatred? Because they do not keep the Sabbath year". He asks Eli the photographer if he promises to help to stop the war. Eli promises they embrace.
We arrive at six, while Chief is immersed in organizing the transportation from Arad to Tel Arad(ZION), he will ride with us to save on a taxi ride that cost 70 shekels. Although he has a facade and passion of the high Priest, he is more resemble to Brian of Monty Python than to a standard Biblical prophet, For example, a mother and her child were forgotten in Arad and we had to go back and take care of her ride.
Ola is in a bad mood , and they argue like a normal couple . "that what happen ,when you married an Israeli woman," he said nervously as she scolds him. maybe also in the Bible, Amos's wife was angry at he excavator husband, but it was deleted from the book of the books .Still, Howshua, wearing black clothes, full of euphoria and get an militaristic spirit. He reiterates that he is as a soldier of the army, and requires military precision to kill the poor lamb.
We are approaching to Tel Arad(ZION), but we turn left before the entrance to the point where he claims that he spotted ancient slaughter . I think the reason was that they did not to let him to slaughter in the mound. Sunset began to fall and the lamb that was purchased with several thousands of dollars was brought from the cave, after he tried to escape today. He emerges as a lamb succulent and juicy.
Finally,they toke the lamb from it legs and flip it in front of a hole in the ground. Howshua says a Prayer in an African language(ancient Hebrew) which I do not understand,every body around start calling "Halleluyah" and he asks his eldest son to bring the knives, which he said were his ancestors. This section is magical, also because of the darkness and the of all of them, that are praying out loud, their faces lit by the stars and the lights of the jeeps, waiting for the moon to rise.
"bless the children of Israel", he blesses then begins to explain that the word Hebrew is not spelled correctly and the Hebrew word should be Obara. Then they all repeated again and again the strange word .He started going into a trance ,the audience too. "Only we can stop the Third World War. together with the Jewish. We are the head and they the tail," he said.
With all the commitment and the faith, ola stayed in the car,she prefer not to see how they killing the lamb, and occasionally asked if it's over. After a lot of speeches, when the moon rises, the knife cut through the lamb, and blood start fouling to a pan. Howshua shows the red liquid to the attendees and explains that the matter is not eating the meat ,it is about the blood. Slowly by slowly the lamb got cut and the children of Ola and Howshua Placed the pieces of the meat in a metal on the fire. One of their children (Palaa) is vegan but still wasn't pleasant for him to say no to his prophet father. But when he was asked on how he felt when he held the bloody flesh,he said "yuck".
After they finished with the lamb ,the wailing stage started while all of them walking from the slaughter to Tel Arad, men were praying and women wailing to God about the destruction of the Tabernacle of David and the slavery as they scream in pain "father" . the strange procession pass in front of the visitors who came to camp in the nature with their family and waved over the barbecue.
One of them protested to me "this is primitive, they just killed a lamb in there."
Finally, we reached to the stone hall that was assigned for us by the site manager. Howshua unveiled the stone which is written on it "learn as". "This is not a religious movement, this is global movement to change the world," he said, and smeared the blood on the doorstep of the Visitors Center, under the doorpost.