He was and is the fulfilment of a dreams, hopes, and longings, yet my rabbi had an uncanny knack of seeming to make things harder. We lived with lots of ritual to protect us from breaking the law. Many had forgotten by the idea of publicly enacted ritual was part of the civil disobedience promoted by the Maccabees. It frustrated our enemies. I laugh at that fact until I remember it is now burdensome to all and excludes those whom the heroes of our faith would not have dreamt of doing. It had become more than ritual. It became part of the fabric of our identity. Using separate utensils, wearing special clothing, eating differently may have started in the desire to declare the holiness of God but now had become a weapon. Jesus knew all of that. He seemed to want to set it all aside, and then on the other reshape it and make the demands of God firmer. In many ways this how we Jews decide things, we debate, argue, even wrestle with each other to establish the truth. I would argue that my rabbi was doing just that.

It was in his dealings with people that he challenged that was he was doing. On one occasion, we had entered deep into an area that was foreign to everyone of us. We were made more uncomfortable when someone shouted after him calling him, ‘Lord’. Pagans called lots of people, ‘Lord’, but she added, ‘Son of David’. That is what we call the Messiah, and her use of the term unnerved me more. Jesus acted like he had not heard her, but she kept drawing attention to us by repeatedly calling out. Her daughter was unwell. It was unlike him just to be silent. We asked him to send her away, and all he said was that he was sent to the lost amongst the house of Israel. He merely repeated what we were thinking. Indeed, we wondered why were even in this area.

Then she was right in front of him, kneeling before him. Help me, she simply said. Our rabbi said simply that food could not be taken from children and given to the dogs. That was brave, we were in hostile territory. They called us things too. There was a cold war between us. Yet, her eyes remained on him as she agreed with him and said even the dogs eat crumbs that fall from the table. That is true. Jesus smiled and his eyes danced in the way that they did when he was teaching something. It was not her that he was teaching, but us. The woman’s daughter was healed and her faith greater than some of our own leaders who hectored rather than honoured the man who we delighted to be with.