Accused!

Tahmari was scared. More scared than even her first time with a man. There she was ― caught in the middle of her sins; her accusers on one side and a strange Man standing alone on the other. He was standing in the center of the raucous crowd outside the Temple courts.

For the past few years she had been prostituting her body with many of the men who were now accusing her of being the obscenities they were now shouting at her. How could they fix their mouths and tongues to call her those words? Such words were not what they called her when they were lying beside her. She knew what she was, but they had never criticized her occupation before.

In reflection, she should have seen the signs. She remembered having seen Teheran, Samtil and others in the alley plotting some strategy to get her into trouble. They were all leaders in the Temple and the town. Those hypo¬critical Pharisees and teachers of the Law had been whispering and talking among themselves for the past few days, even while coming to her area for what they wanted.

Today, they and some of the men from the village came to get her while she was with a man. And now, there they were ― with stones, ready to hurl at her.

She tried to wrap her now torn robe around her body. She slowly sank to the ground, lowering her body and curling into a fetal position while sobbing hysterically.

It had been their plan to take her naked to the center of town for stoning. The man she had been caught with had slowly realized their intent and quickly picked up her robe. She was unable to grab the small knife she now kept near the bed and knew even if she could reach it, there would be little she could do.

Dorit had expressly told her to make sure her knife would always be where she could grab it to protect herself. Her slow-thinking mind eventually grasped she would have been unable to use it among so many men. Even if she was able to use it, the men would have beaten her senseless in retaliation.

She remembered hearing one of the men whispering to Samtil and a few others, “The Rabbi has left the area of Mount Olive and it looks as if he is heading toward the courtyard to begin teaching the masses.”

What did that mean? In all this chaos, why bring a message of that type?

“Right!” she heard someone whisper back, “Let’s all hurry to the courtyard.”

As they had dragged her from the area near the bed and pulled her toward the doorway, her customer had come forward and, to hide her near nakedness, tried to wrap one of her old robes around her shoulders. The other men pulled him away from her and told him to step aside. She could see it in his face – the man was looking ashamed and apologetic.

She quickly understood he did not know he was to be a part of this charade and was innocent of their deceit – Samtil, Teheran, along with a few town officials had also used him. There were even a few formidable Sadducees and minor priests standing outside her home for they had refused to enter her house.

The customer’s name was Aheelim. She vaguely remem¬bered this from her conversation with him before she was pulled from her home. He was new in town and his “new-found” friends brought him to her. It was the middle of the day and she seldom took a customer during that time – they usually visited her in early morning or late at night. She knew that letting them in at that time was nothing but business. She was not so naïve to realize her customers wanted their own sins to take place in the darkness. Most of the men who frequented her house were Jews and married, but that did not stop them from visiting her home.

As she was pulled from the room, she heard the bottom of her robe rip on a piece of loose wood near the door. Being dragged, she stumbled over the small rocks and pebbles that were part of her walkway, for she was barefoot. They dragged her to their destination -- the middle of the courtyard close to the Temple.

It was then she saw Eliah’s face looking as if he wanted to cry. Ashamed for his part, his face turned away from her. It was so sad – he could not even look at her. She noticed his hands were hanging at his side, for he carried no stone.

The townspeople knew there were other prostitutes in the area and also knew where each of them lived. A few of the pagan prostitutes even carried on their business in the very area near the Temple. She saw some of the wives of her customers in the crowd. She knew they were aware their husbands frequented the prostitutes’ houses of sin, just not which ones.

Strange, the women said nothing, just stared. However, the good Jewish men were yelling obscenities at her. Such language should never be repeated, she thought.

She was the one chosen to be the example for the towns¬people, the teachers of the Law, and the Pharisees. This was probably because she was a Jewish prostitute when the majority of the others were not. There were a few Jewish prostitutes who would never reveal which God they worshipped for fear of reprisal from the Jews.