Bethlehem

The year is the year 747 from the building of Rome... So did people reckon their dates, not knowing that a poor child would be born in that year, and that his birth would overturn the established order... People would forget the date of the building of Rome, to keep the date of the child's birth.

The season is the beginning of winter, and the little world, from the farthest end of Galilee to the farthest end of Judea, is astir, mounted or afoot, moving from one city to another. Every man makes for the city where he was born, to register his name... Such were the orders of Augustus Caesar, whose object was a census of the country's inhabitants.

It was the enchanting hour of sunset, and the little town lay down in majesty on the shoulder of the valley that slopes toward Kidron... surrounded by fig trees and peach trees, pomegranates and vines, so that it seemed a nest shaded over by branches.

The sun sent out its golden threads in farewell, flooding the small house of two rooms joined by a portico, in whose corner crouched the wheat mill, and the water jar, and a colored mat rolled up and set behind the door, and a few low seats, all of them shaded in some measure by the great fig tree whose branches overhung the interior, and around which hovered the white milking goat... In the outer courtyard of the house stood the daughter of the master of the house, stirring the burning sticks of firewood beneath an earthenware vessel that held the supper; and when she had finished her task she stood shading her eyes with her hand, peering hard down the narrow, rugged road that joins Bethlehem to Jerusalem, bordered on either side by grape vines and fig trees bare of their leaves...

The caravans were traveling the road, coming toward the town, some riding horses, but most riding donkeys or mules, or going on foot; and when they reached the small house — the first of the town's houses — they would stop to rest, or to ask a sip of water for a thirsty child or a weary old man, and then go on their way. The girl grew absorbed in what she saw, and the mother's voice echoed from within, saying: Susannah, watch the food; your father will come back from his work and find supper not ready... So the girl set to and stirred the sticks, and the smoke rose up, carrying with it the appetizing smell of the food... And in that very minute the small caravan stopped before the house...

Susannah gazed at the newcomers: a young girl riding her donkey, heavy of movement in the last nights of her months with child, accompanied by a man of middle years holding the mount's halter... The man was quiet in his movements, walking leaning upon his staff, wrapped in a rough cloak; as for the rider, she covered her head and neck with a white veil that fell over her warm woolen dress... The young woman drew aside her veil as she greeted the girl in a musical voice, saying: The peace of the Lord be with you... The girl stammered, and stared at the young virgin, over whom the rays of the setting sun had cast their threads, so that she seemed a living statue of beauty — that beauty which the painters portrayed centuries afterward, and by which they were immortalized... Then she collected herself and returned the greeting in kind, saying: Upon you, and upon whoever takes shelter with you, be the peace of God... And Joseph spoke, as though addressing himself: Shall we find a place to spend the night in the town, I wonder? The girl said: The crowding is great; but perhaps you may yet find a place... And Mary whispered: May it be so. Then she bowed her head to the girl and went on with her companion.

And the two entered Bethlehem, city of love and of music, city of Ruth and of David. No threshing floors of golden wheat met them, rising here and there — those threshing floors in whose ears of grain Ruth found food, and then love... Nor did music resound through its quarters... the music of the beautiful shepherd, that music which used sweetly to soothe the nights of troubled Saul... There was nothing of all this; the little town was packed with newcomers, its corners ringing with the echo of their feet and resounding with their clamor and the clamor of their beasts.

Had an unknown hand, then, guided them to the city of David, that they might welcome the awaited newborn?... And were the clouds — the white clouds of autumn — hiding behind them the angelic choir, making ready to play its music in the stillness of the night, announcing the birth of the messenger of peace?...

The caravan stopped at the door of the only khan in the town... It was a square building of rough stone, of a single story, divided into sections, each section with a door through which the light entered; and around the building was a wall enclosing the travelers' beasts... Joseph greeted the master of the khan, who sat there on a wooden bench, and asked for shelter... It was no easy matter, for the khan was filled to twice the number it could hold; but the daughter of Joachim had her station, and so the man offered her the grotto adjoining the khan...

The grotto was like the other natural caves that abound around the town; heaps of grain were piled up in it, and mangers and feeding troughs stretched along its sides. The gatekeeper bent his head to be able to enter, and the two travelers did as he did... The man made his apologies, and the travelers thanked him — on a cold night, such a shelter was not to be despised...

Drowsiness settled over weary eyelids, and everyone in the khan surrendered to his dreams... Even the shepherds on the plain stretching below the high cliff on which the town and its khan lean... even the shepherds on that plain gathered round the fire, telling their tales; and when it died down they drew closer to it, and each wrapped himself in his cloak, yielding to a pleasant sleep.

And suddenly the world was lit with a strange light... The universe shone until the sheep, the shepherds, and the field with its trees appeared as if in broad daylight... One of the shepherds cried out, his heart melting with terror: Comrades, wake! The sky is on fire!... And all awoke, and the sheep bleated, and the dogs howled, and the shepherds threw themselves down on their faces in terror... And behold, a calm, musical voice saying: Fear not; it is good tidings: born to you and to mankind is a Savior — a child lying in a manger... And heaven played its melodies, and the angels sang their airs, and the rustling of wings faded away; and the shepherds stirred. One said: It is good tidings. A second said: A Savior is born to us. A third said: Here in Bethlehem, in a manger — come, let us see; there are no mangers except in the one grotto, the grotto of the khan... Come, let us see.

The shepherds passed the little house on their way to the khan... Their voices rose high, for the vision had stirred their feelings, and the anthems still rang in their ears... Susannah heard the talk — her feelings too had been stirred, and she had been kept sleepless by the image of the young woman riding her donkey, the sun's rays casting their golden threads upon her so that she seemed a holy thing descending from heaven... She listened to the shepherds' talk, then drew near her mother and cried out: Mother, a miracle has happened this evening — the Messiah is born!...

Moments later the little family was following the shepherds, and everyone in the khan was gathering round the child in the manger, singing: A Savior is born to us — so peace upon the earth.