Post by Elixir on Apr 24, 2008 22:01:31 GMT -5
After an unsuccesful attempt to find Ms. Frost at her office, Sara headed to the library to do some research on how to care for her new charge, but first she tied Amos to a tree in a spot she hoped would be visible from the library as she dared not take him into the school again given Shadowkat's instructions. Once in the library she went straight to the card catalog to discover, to her dismay, that it was a tremendous mess, having not been reorganized in years, having missing cards, and with what organization ther was a sad mockery of the Dewey Decimal system.
Thus, she resorted to wandering through the aisles looking at row after row of shelves in the hopes of finding something relevant. While she did so she made a note in her mind to come back here and get things in proper order. She had worked in the beis midrash (house of study = religious library) at her seminary (girl's religious school, equivalent to a boy's yeshiva) before her grandmother's funeral and her expulsion from home and community. After what seemed like forever, but probably was not too long, she found an old book, covered in dust, sitting on a broken shelf way in the back of the library. The book had an inscription on it in Hebrew...the book was exactly what she needed. It was the Sefer HaYetzira. To have found it in this goyische place was a real nais (miracle).
Written thousands of years ago the Sefer HaYetzira is the foundational work of kabbalistic mysticism and contains in it the secrets of Jewish magic that the great rabbis of old could harness though the strength of their holiness and prayer. The Zohar, the central book of kabbalistic doctrine, is derived from the Sefer HaYetzira. To actually hold a copy in her hand was envigorating and awe-inspiring. It was an experience only surpassed by the time she touched the Kotel (the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, the last remaining remnant of the Second Temple) when her family went to Israel for her cousin Micah's bar mitzvah.
Carefully turning through the pages she looked for something about a golem. True, Amos, was not a full golem. He had a mind of his own, even if it was the mind of a baby, while a golem obeys its master and does nothing else. But he came alive like a golem, turning from a man of dust to a create of flesh and blood. Her tears, which had brought him alive, had to, she thought, either be a gift from G-d or a great temptation to test whether she would give in to the yetzar hara (the evil inclination). She was inclined to believe the later as her community had reacted with horror firstly, and secondly she did not have the religious learning and piety to be a tzaddik (righteous one, sort of like a saint). More likely she was mumar l'mishkav zachor, one who transgresses the laws of G-d so frequently and flagrantly that it has become a habit. Indeed, she had long ago stopped davening (praying) the three daily prayer services, keeping Shabbos properly, or doing any other real religious observance so the fact that her powe remained was not a good sign.
Still somehow she had to be a good mother to Amos. She had to protect him. She had to feed him. And she probably had to instruct him in Judaism. If she was really his mother, despite not having given birth to him in the traditional way, than he was halachically Jewish and obligated to perform mitzvot, and thus she needed to teach him.
But first she needed to focus. She needed to find out what he would eat and how to care for him. While a very holy book the Sefer HaYetzira said absolutely nothing about the care of a golem once he had been created. So reluctantly Sara put it down and looked for other books. Thinking that as Amos had a bear's body he might have the diet of a bear she looked for books on wildlife. She found one after some searching and flipped through it. Thankfully, the book said that bears had very diverse diets, being omnivores who thrive when they have plenty of meat but also green plants, and berries. She should thus be able to keep feeding Amos from the kitchen. But then she read the next line and it almost made her heart stop. A bear needs between 70 and 90 pounds of food a day! Her poor Amos was starving. All she had given him was a bowl of cereal and maybe 5 pounds of chicken the night before. Moreover, to feed him for just a couple days would easily mean cleaning out the school's entire larder. Finally, it was winter so a bear really should be hibernating as there would not be abundant food available in the forest until Spring.
Sara needed to find Ms. Frost pronto. She needed to make sure Amos was fed. She could not let her child starve. And that's what he was. He was just as much her child as if she had given birth to him. With that thought in her mind she looked out the window to check on Amos and saw him curled up on the ground sleeping. Thank goodness. She would go find the headmistress, figure out his food situation, and then rush back to him, hopefully all before he had time to wake up.
Thus, she resorted to wandering through the aisles looking at row after row of shelves in the hopes of finding something relevant. While she did so she made a note in her mind to come back here and get things in proper order. She had worked in the beis midrash (house of study = religious library) at her seminary (girl's religious school, equivalent to a boy's yeshiva) before her grandmother's funeral and her expulsion from home and community. After what seemed like forever, but probably was not too long, she found an old book, covered in dust, sitting on a broken shelf way in the back of the library. The book had an inscription on it in Hebrew...the book was exactly what she needed. It was the Sefer HaYetzira. To have found it in this goyische place was a real nais (miracle).
Written thousands of years ago the Sefer HaYetzira is the foundational work of kabbalistic mysticism and contains in it the secrets of Jewish magic that the great rabbis of old could harness though the strength of their holiness and prayer. The Zohar, the central book of kabbalistic doctrine, is derived from the Sefer HaYetzira. To actually hold a copy in her hand was envigorating and awe-inspiring. It was an experience only surpassed by the time she touched the Kotel (the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, the last remaining remnant of the Second Temple) when her family went to Israel for her cousin Micah's bar mitzvah.
Carefully turning through the pages she looked for something about a golem. True, Amos, was not a full golem. He had a mind of his own, even if it was the mind of a baby, while a golem obeys its master and does nothing else. But he came alive like a golem, turning from a man of dust to a create of flesh and blood. Her tears, which had brought him alive, had to, she thought, either be a gift from G-d or a great temptation to test whether she would give in to the yetzar hara (the evil inclination). She was inclined to believe the later as her community had reacted with horror firstly, and secondly she did not have the religious learning and piety to be a tzaddik (righteous one, sort of like a saint). More likely she was mumar l'mishkav zachor, one who transgresses the laws of G-d so frequently and flagrantly that it has become a habit. Indeed, she had long ago stopped davening (praying) the three daily prayer services, keeping Shabbos properly, or doing any other real religious observance so the fact that her powe remained was not a good sign.
Still somehow she had to be a good mother to Amos. She had to protect him. She had to feed him. And she probably had to instruct him in Judaism. If she was really his mother, despite not having given birth to him in the traditional way, than he was halachically Jewish and obligated to perform mitzvot, and thus she needed to teach him.
But first she needed to focus. She needed to find out what he would eat and how to care for him. While a very holy book the Sefer HaYetzira said absolutely nothing about the care of a golem once he had been created. So reluctantly Sara put it down and looked for other books. Thinking that as Amos had a bear's body he might have the diet of a bear she looked for books on wildlife. She found one after some searching and flipped through it. Thankfully, the book said that bears had very diverse diets, being omnivores who thrive when they have plenty of meat but also green plants, and berries. She should thus be able to keep feeding Amos from the kitchen. But then she read the next line and it almost made her heart stop. A bear needs between 70 and 90 pounds of food a day! Her poor Amos was starving. All she had given him was a bowl of cereal and maybe 5 pounds of chicken the night before. Moreover, to feed him for just a couple days would easily mean cleaning out the school's entire larder. Finally, it was winter so a bear really should be hibernating as there would not be abundant food available in the forest until Spring.
Sara needed to find Ms. Frost pronto. She needed to make sure Amos was fed. She could not let her child starve. And that's what he was. He was just as much her child as if she had given birth to him. With that thought in her mind she looked out the window to check on Amos and saw him curled up on the ground sleeping. Thank goodness. She would go find the headmistress, figure out his food situation, and then rush back to him, hopefully all before he had time to wake up.
