CHAPTER 9
The Bible
I can no longer resist what my ancestors are calling me to do.
I want to tell you about something that remained quietly hidden for a long time, waiting for the right moment.
I hope you will read this carefully, paying attention to what you are about see.
I will write down everything my grandmother left behind, because I feel that I simply have to tell you about it.
My grandmother was a remarkable woman. She knew the Word of God, and today I am passing on to you what remained after her.
I am opening our family Bible before you.
My grandmother’s Bible.
It is a pre-revolutionary Russian edition, dating approximately from the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. This book survived the war. It was restored by hand. On its old pages, my grandmother’s personal notes and underlinings can still be seen.
I do not know what she thinking each time she took this Bible into her hands. I do not know why she passed over one passage but stopped at another.
So I will not speak to her.
I will do something else.
I will follow only the places her hand touched.
The chapters and lines where she left her mark.
The First Book of Moses
The First major markings appear in the story of Jacob and Laban, in chapters 30-31.
Work. The division of property. Agreements. The gradual gaining of independence. Conflict. Departure. protecting what belongs to you. And finally, establishing a boundary between two families.
Among the words she marked:
“God has seen my affliction and the labour of my hands.”
Nearby is the covenant establishing a boundary between the two sides.
In chapter 31, the same themes appear again: fear, pursuit, conflict, God’s protection, and boundaries.
Then comes Jacob’s meeting with Esau in chapters 32-33.
Fear of his brother. Preparation for the meeting. Caution. Diplomacy.
And reconciliation.
Chapter 34 tells the story of Dinah.
Violence. Its consequences. The brothers’ reaction. Family honour. The danger to Bethel.
Purification. Turning away from foreign gods. Renewal. The death of Rachel.
But then another story begins – one to which my grandmother gave an especially large amount of attention in her markings.
The story of Joseph.
Chapters 37-50.
It begins with dream.
Joseph has dreams. Then come the plot against him, the betrayal by his brothers, his sale, and the lie told to his father.
Later – prison.
And once again ,dreams.
In chapter 40, there is the cupbearer and the interpretation of dreams.
In chapter 41 come Pharaoh’s dreams.
Seven cows. Seven heads of grain. Famine.
The need to see danger before it arrives, to prepare for it, and to preserve resources in order to survive.
Then the testing of the brothers begins.
In chapter 42 – silver in their sacks, fear, and accusation.
In chapter 44 – the story of the cup.
The brothers are tested. The cup is found. Responsibility.
And only then, in chapters 45-46, is the truth revealed:
Joseph is alive.
The family moves to Egypt.
In chapter 48 – Ephraim and Manasseh.
Children. A blessing for the future.
In chapter 49, Jacob blesses his sons and speaks prophetic words over them.
Among these passages, my grandmother especially marked Judah.
And then comes chapter 50.
The return to the ancestors. And at the end of the entire story – forgiveness.
Joseph says to his brothers:
“You intended evil against me, but God turned it to good.”
And then:
“I will provide for you and your children.”
Betrayal does not have the final word in this story.
Forgiveness does.
Here ends the great line of passages marked by my grandmother in the First Book of Moses.
But another begins.
Exodus
When I began looking at the markings in the Second Book of Moses as a whole, a spiritual map gradually started to appear before me.
In chapter 17 – water from the rock.
The wilderness.
A place where it seems there is nothing left to draw from.
And yet, a recource appears.
For me, the meaning of these lines is simple:
when it seems there are no resources left, they appear.
In chapter 18, my grandmother stopped at Jethro’s advice to Moses.
Do not carry everything alone.
Appoint people to help you.
Delegate.
Separate the important matters from the small ones.
Create a system of justice.
When I read this today, it comes down to one simple thought for me:
do not carry the whole world on your shoulders.
Then comes Sinai.
In chapter 19, a boundary is drawn around the mountain.
The people must prepare themselves. Purify themselves. They must not cross the boundary that has been set.
And once again, I see a theme that appeared earlier.
not everything should have access to you.
In chapter 20 come the Ten Commandments.
My grandmother marked:
Honour your parents. Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Do not desire what belongs to another.
A simple moral structure of human of justice.
In chapters 21 – 23 come laws of justice.
Responsibility for harm caused. Compensation for damage. The responsibility of an owner. Honestly. Judgement.
And one remarkable detail – helping even someone you consider an enemy.
If you see your enemy’s donkey – help him.
Justice does not cancel humanity.
In chapter 23 come the festivals, the first fruits, and thanksgiving.
And among all passages about work, danger, law, and survival, something else appears:
joy.
Because life is not only about survival.
Then comes a warning:
do not make an alliance with what brings destruction.
After this, my grandmother’s marking enter a large section devoted to the Tabernacle.
Chapters 25-30.
The Ark. Its cover – the place of meeting with God. The altar. The courtyard of the Tabernacle. The ordering of space. The garments of the priests. Stones bearing the names of the tribes of Israel.
Memory. The breastplate. Purification. Consecration. Sacrifice. Service. Incense. Oil.
The purification of sacred space.
Everything has its place here. Norhing is created by accident.
In chapter 31, another theme appears.
God chooses people and gives them wisdom and ability to create sacred things.
And then something becomes clear:
a gift, a talent, and a craft can also become a way of serving God.
In verses 31:13-17 – the Sabbath.
A sign of the covenant between God and His people.
And then, in 31:18, Moses received the tablets written by the finger of God.
The law comes dicectly from God. But almost immediately after this comes the fall.
The Golden Calf.
Chapter 32.
The people lose patience. They do not wait for Moses. They create an idol for themselves. And for me, another thought appears here:
when a person loses patience and trust, they begin to search for false support.
But Moses plays for the people.
In verses 32:11-14 – intercessory player.
A plea for mercy for others.
Then Moses breaks the tablets.
Breaking the covenant has consequences. And suddenly these words are heard:
“Whoeven is for the Lord, come to me.”
A moment of choosing a side.
A little later come words that are impossible to read without feeling their weight:
“Forgive their sin. But if not, blot me out as well.”
Moses’ sacrifical love for his people. He does not merely lead them. He is willing to stand before God for them.
In chapter 33, Moses asks:
“If I have found favour, show me Your way.”
A request for God’s guidance.
Then:
“My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
For me, this is one of the most powerful verses about the presence of God.
But this is not enough for Moses.
He asks: “Show me Your glory.”
He wants to know God more deeply.
And God reveals His glory to him – but only as much as a human being is able to bear.
A human being cannot contain the fullness of God.
In chapter 34 come the new tablets.
After the fall. the story does not end.
God gives us the possibility of restoration.
And then come the words that reveal the character of God:
merciful, patient, abundant in mercy, true.
One of the key passages of the entire Bible.
And Moses ance again asks forgiveness for the people.
Then the building begin again.
Chapter 35-38.
The Tabernacle must be completed.
But now, among grandmother’s markings, one thought becomes especially clear:
an offering must come from the heart.
The people bring their gifts freely. Willingly. God once again gives people abilities for service. And everything must be carried out with precision.
In chapter 39 come the stones in remembrance of the sons of Israel.
And for me, these words seem to say:
God remembers His people.
Then comes another almost unnoticed but remarkably precise detail:
everything must be joined of order and responsibility.
And finally, chapter 40 arrives.
Everything is prepared.
The Tabernacle is set up.
Every part has taken its place.
The work is complete.
And then comes what all the previous pages have been leading toward:
the glory of the Lord fills the Tabernacle.
After the entire jiurney – the work, the law, the buondaries, the fall, the prayer, the restoration, the service, the willing offering, and the careful fulfilment of what was required – comes the presence of God.
I close this patr of the old the Bible and look at the traces left by my grandmother’s hand.
I do not know whether she understood all of this in exactly the same way.
I have no right to speak for her.
But I know something she read.
These are the places where her hand left a mark.
And now, so many years later, I am reading those marks.
And among them, the same things appear again and again:
work and justice, family and betrayal, boundaries and responsibility, dreams and the ability to see what has not yet happened, survival and the preservation of resources, the memory of our ancestors, forgiveness, willingness, gifts, service, falling and the possibility of rising again, and the presence of God.
Perhaps my grandmother was simply reading her Bible.
Perhaps she left these markings only for herself.
But the book outlived its time.
It survived the war.
It outlived those who once held it in their hands.
And one day, it found its way to me.
That is why today I am writing down what I hound on its pages.
Not to decide for you what all of this means.
But to preserve it.
And to pass it on.
Remember who you are.
Remember where you come from.
Build your life consciously.
