Jacob gives the man a cold embrace. ‘Was that all, sir, because I have a jujitsu lesson in half an hour, and I really should-’
‘Jujitsu can wait. I want to talk to you about Ju-daism.’ A nerdy smile.
No reaction.
‘You know, your paternal grandmother was Jewish, so were your mother’s parents.’
‘Actually, sir, my mother was adopted. Her real mother was Quiche Mayan. Her father was-’
‘Never mind. What’s important is history. Your mother tells me you’re interested in the Mayan Popol Vuh.’
‘Yes, sir. It’s a sacred parchment.’
‘Yes, sir, yes, sir… call me Rabbi or Uncle Rich, okay, tattala? Anyway, yes, I suppose the Popol Vuh is a sacred parchment, but it only dates back what… about five hundred years? The Bible, on the other hand, dates back thousands of years.’ He swivels in his chair to face the computer’s microphone. ‘Computer, access Torah, Hebrew text.’
The screen fills with Hebrew characters.
‘Your mother says you can read and speak several languages. Can you read Hebrew?’
‘No, sir… er, Rabbi.’ Blue eyes dart to the holographic display clock above the computer monitor. ‘I’m not really interested in-’
‘Not interested? I’m surprised at you. Here I thought you were someone who sought knowledge, who sought the truth.’
‘The Popol Vuh is-’
‘The Popol Vuh isn’t accurate, Jacob, it was written long after that Koo koo fella-’
‘Kukulcan.’
‘Uh, right… after Kukulcan’s passing. Now the five books of Moses
… they were written more than three thousand years ago by Moses himself.’
A whisper of thought teases Jacob’s brain. ‘Moses wrote the Bible?’
‘Most of it. And did you know that every single Hebrew Bible that exists or has ever existed was transcribed in exactly the same way, word for word, letter by letter. If even one letter is out of place, the Bible can’t be used. Did you know that?’
‘No… Rabbi.’ Jacob touches his temple and closes his eyes.
‘ Tatt-ala, you okay?’
The boy nods. ‘I just had a strong deja vu. I’ve lived this moment before.’
‘Excuse me?’
‘This moment. I’ve lived it before. We both have.’
The rabbi looks startled. ‘Now who taught you that?’
‘No one. It’s just the way things are.’ The boy climbs onto the rabbi’s lap and peers at the screen.
Jacob Gabriel cannot read Hebrew, yet he stares at the words, transfixed. ‘Something’s here.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Letters are jumping out. But it’s hard to see.’
Steinberg leans closer to the screen. Reads a passage. ‘It seems fine to me. How about if we set up a time to study together. I can teach you the Hebrew alphabet and-’
‘It’s the spaces between the words. It’s screwing everything up, scrambling things, making it harder to see the patterns. Computer, close all spaces between words and sentences.’
The text on the screen recycles.
‘Whoa…’ Jacob’s brilliant azure eyes widen as three-dimensional patterns form among the letters in the text. ‘See! Things jump out better now!’
Steinberg’s heart races. ‘What things?’
The boy points to a line. ‘Like these letters. Does this say anything?’
‘ .’ The Rabbi looks at him, slightly pale. ‘It means, “End of Days.” How did you manage to select-’
‘Now these letters.’ Jacob points his index finger at a letter, then skips down three lines and one to the left, then continues the pattern until he forms a word. . Atomic holocaust. Jacob, how did you-’
‘And these letters here.’
‘I get it, you’re playing one of your famous mind games on me. Very clever.’
‘Just tell me what these four letters mean!’
The rabbi looks at him, unsure. He squints at the screen. . It’s a year: 5772.’
‘In the future?’
‘No, in the Hebrew calendar. The date equates to the year… 2012.’
Jacob closes his eyes, reciting, ‘End of Days. Atomic holocaust. 2012. It’s all here…’
‘Okay, Jacob Gabriel, fun time’s over. Who put you up to this?’
‘No one.’
‘You read about the Bible Code in class, didn’t you?’
‘The Bible has a code?’
‘That’s enough, I’m not falling for this nonsense.’
Jacob jumps off his lap. ‘Tell me!’
The rabbi sees desperation in the boy’s eyes. He’s serious…
‘Hidden within the original Hebrew text of the Torah is a cryptogram-encoded messages that pertain to man’s history. Isaac Newton was the first one to suspect it, but it wasn’t until the late nineties and the advent of the computer that an Israeli mathematician was able to figure it out.’
‘Then the Bible Code’s real?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘You’re lying. Tell me the truth.’
‘I don’t lie. According to code breakers-yes, it’s real. According to religious scholars, it’s all nonsense.’ Steinberg searches the boy’s face. ‘You really didn’t know, did you?’
‘But if it predicts the future, then why don’t-’
‘It doesn’t predict the future. According to the Talmud, “everything is foreseen, but freedom of action is given.” In other words, what has been encoded within the Bible’s text may be a warning about a possible future. What we do, what action we take is what determines the outcome.’
‘But still-’
‘But nothing. The challenge of the Bible Code is that you have to know the specific words or phrase you’re searching for in order to establish whether a pattern exists or not. Now confess, how did you really know what to look for?’
‘I didn’t. Certain letters just sort of jumped out at me.’
Rabbi Steinberg feels the blood drain from his face. If he can really look at the text and recognize patterns, then… my God.
‘Teach me to read Hebrew, Uncle Rich. Teach me now.’
9
Don’t get me wrong, Reverend Morehead, your granddaughter is a remarkably gifted child-’
‘Foster granddaughter,’ corrects the minister.
‘Yes, of course.’ The guidance counselor makes a mental note. ‘Lilith tested as the brightest girl in her class, perhaps the entire school.’
‘Then why she gettin’ all Cs and Ds?’
‘In my opinion, it’s low self-esteem. On the second day of school, she locked herself in the bathroom for almost an hour after a teacher’s aide yelled at her for talking.’
‘Yeah, she’s always talking. Yap yap yap yap yap.’
