– Like what? And can we keep it simple and… human.

The Rabbi thought silently for a moment, then sighed and nodded in response.

– Here is the story," he began, "a mother and her seven sons were imprisoned because they would not leave their Jewish faith. By order of the king, they were beaten, tortured and tormented, demanding that they perform Hellenic rites, but neither the mother nor the children were willing to change their faith. When the king demanded that they eat pork, the oldest son declared, "We would rather be killed than break the law of our ancestors!" The king ordered the boy's tongue, hands and feet to be cut off and thrown into a boiling cauldron in front of his mother and brothers. But the brothers were not afraid, they too refused to comply with Antiochus' demands. They were all painfully executed. When the six brothers had already been executed and the turn came to the youngest, the king said to the boy's mother: "Persuade at least this son to obey me and thus save his life!" After such a suggestion the heroic mother said to her son: "Do not fear this villain and die willingly, as your brothers died, for God and our faith!" The boy was immediately executed, and afterward, so was the mother. Such were the actions of the Syrians, and they were the invaders at that time, the Hellenes of Syria…

– I'm sorry," Rutra interrupted him, "could you please explain how this story relates to our previous discussion?

– For that, you have to listen. Human history takes many intricate turns. So, such atrocities have broken many, but they have also spurred many to rebellion and resistance. And most importantly for our story, one of the leaders of the struggle was the great grandfather of our Mairam. This is the name of one of our goddesses, the most important woman. We consider her a prototype of Mary from the Gospel… or vice versa. And you need to know this story to understand what genes she carried within her and what environment influenced her worldview. Although many speak of her meek character, she was actually a rebel at heart, and in life had a fiery, impulsive temper that often threw her into anger and rage. She was also willful, narcissistic, and adventurous.

– That's quite a personality you're studying. What happened next?

– It would be good to know the backstory first.

– I take it it's supposed to be the same here. Or rather, this world is identically parallel. So it's supposed to be the same as yours?

– Yes. And I take it it's the same as yours.

– Hell, yeah.

– You use that expression too," the "Bedouin" smiled, "so, what's the chronology there?

– Actually, what happened there," Ruthra paused a little, "was that somewhere around 167 B.C., Antiochus' decrees led to the Maccabees' revolt. They fought a guerrilla war, which was successful – in 164 B.C. they liberated Jerusalem and the Temple. This day is celebrated as the consecration of the second Temple – the Feast of Hanukkah. The revolt lasted at least twenty years, and in 140 B.C. the independence of Judea was proclaimed. But not for long on the historical scale they enjoyed their freedom. Did they enjoy it? They fought such brutal wars among themselves that Pompey's legionaries, who came in 63, were more a salvation than a punishment.

– At this time, as far as I know, Pompey's armies captured Israel. This was the beginning of Roman rule.

– Yeah. It wasn't very interesting. But after 23 years began the reign of Herod the Great, which lasted until the 4th year of our era.

– Well, yes. It was during the reign of this king that the major events took place.