Josh sniffed with pleasure at the foul odor of burning animal flesh permeating the air.

“Joshua.” Sam stopped dead in her tracks. All around them, a commotion arose. Mothers shouted after children. Traders hawked their wares at narrow stalls like the shuk in the Old City they visited several days before. Thick, dark smoke filled the air. Onion, garlic, and rank oil reeked in the narrow alleyways. Sam’s nose wrinkled.

“Something is wrong. There’s a fire and, frankly, it stinks to high heaven. I’m not going any further.” She dug in her heels and stood with her arms folded over her chest, the way she saw Josh stand when he made a firm decision.

Josh bent to her ear. She could barely hear the words over the shouting going on around them.

“Princess, it’s the Temple sacrifice that you smell. We must be near.” Josh’s face reflected the ecstasy he felt. His eyes were like candles burning in a dark night. “The prayers that are said in synagogue three times a day in our time were the times of sacrifice here.”

With a sigh of impatience and an increasing feeling of dread, Sam allowed herself to be dragged down the narrow lanes. “Just like a man,” Sam muttered in disgust. “Not at all concerned with the mess we’re in. He wants to go sight-seeing like we’re on some school excursion. Sacrifice.”

Sheep, cattle and humanity from all over the Roman empire thronged the cramped streets. Armed men moved among the crowds, making Sam shiver.

Yigal whispered to the pair in a narrow niche of the stone walls. Sam was nearly sure this was the same place they had bought ice cream a few days before. What she could do with an ice cream cone now!

“The Temple can be a dangerous place today. You know the history, Joshua. Zealots against Romans, Pharisees from the lower classes against the Saducee upper class. The less you say about yourself, the better.”

He led the way through the throng, elbowing and shoving others. Sam trudged, her heart sinking as her feet shuffled along the stone streets.

“Princess, look.”

Josh’s command made Sam lift her downcast head. She stood dumbfounded, eyes wide, mouth open. A golden roof stood before her. Pillars of white marble spread into a sort of porch paved with stones of various hues. In a daze, the trio made their way down through rows of pillars. Sam’s fanciful reverie was interrupted by the loud shouting, much like the hurly-burly of the marketplace they had passed through.

Birds in wooden cages beat their wings. Sam briefly remembered a trip with her father to Hong Kong and their visit to the Bird Market. She jumped quickly over a pile of fresh pungent animal droppings, left by a beast to be sacrificed. She followed the two men into a second court. Her mind reeled at the immense size of the complex. The one crumbled western wall where she had left her wish between the cracks was all that was left of this magnificent splendor.

“No foreigners may enter the Temple precincts.”

Yigal whispered to Sam. “No women may enter during their menstrual period.” Silver-grey eyes studied her questioningly. Flushed, she vigorously shook her head. “You can enter as far as the Court of Women.”

Yigal beckoned with a finger, and the couple followed behind him, eyes wide at the sight. They climbed the steps and entered through enormous double doors. Gold and silver covered the entryway. Sam would have to be left here among the throngs of women beseeching the Lord. Men’s voices raised in song carried through the court. Josh strained on the balls of his feet to listen. Instinctively, he pressed forward to the huge gate leading from the Court of Women on to the Court of the Israelites.

“Remain here, Samantha. Don’t talk to anyone,” warned Yigal in an undertone as he made his way through the crowd after Josh. Josh climbed the steps at the western end of the courtyard to a platform. The men’s voices came from the inner court. Yigal remained outside, forbidden to enter unless he was a Cohen, a priestly descendant, or a Levite, a traditional Temple guard. Joshua ben Reuven, HaCohen, son of a Cohen, edged forward to watch the ancient sacrificial rites of his people. Somewhere, hidden from sight, was the Holy of Holies, housing the Ten Commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai. The sanctuary was entered by the High Priest once a year.

Josh’s eyes followed the rite of sacrifice, noting the animals led to an altar. He thought back to the origins of the Jewish people and the sacrifice God asked of Abraham with his son, Issac, here on this very place. Sacrifice. The key to understanding his stubborn obstinate people. Everyday sacrifices proscribed by the rabbis to set his people apart from others. Sacrifice of the comforts of the Diaspora to live in a Jewish country. The sacrifice of young lives like Avi’s to keep them safe. Josh watched the rest of the sacrifice in a dreamy daze, almost oblivious to the hide taken from the dead animals, the fat and organs on the fire, and the removal of the tithe due to the priests. In another time, in another place such as this, Joshua could have been performing the sacrifice himself. Son of a Cohen, he was entitled to the priestly tithe. He kept this information to himself, not revealing it to Yigal or Sam.

Dreamy-eyed, he allowed himself to be shoved along with others as the sacrifice came to an end. Mind lost in thought over the incredible events he had witnessed, he wandered back in the direction of the outer courts.