I was out of the house before dawn, dressed like I was going to the well, but then I remembered that I had left a piece of my cover behind- my water pot. The anticipation of seeing Kish must have made me forget about the water pot. Still, that was not going to stop me. If only I had the freedom to dress exactly how I fantasized for Kish. Anyway I found comfort in knowing that I somehow still made his jaw drop even in my plain clothes. I giggled as I moved quickly towards the inn, knowing Kish was waiting for me. It had been six months since he first caught me staring at him. Six months since he winked back. Six months since the night I felt his breath next to my face and helplessly fell into his embrace.
As I rounded the corner of the street to turn into the inn, I took a last whiff of my clothes to be sure my perfume smelled as strongly as I wanted. I entered the inn and was led to a room at the back. I thanked the inn keeper and took a deep breath before I knocked. Immediately I finished knocking, the door opened and my face broke into a smile as I fell into the embrace of Kish, my lover- my husband’s best friend!
We did not have a lot of time. So we let our bodies communicate how much we had missed each other. The room was dark, but I was on cloud nine and loving it. At some point, I thought I heard a creak. I guessed it was coming from the bed. So I ignored it, like I had learnt to ignore my conscience. Yet the creak grew louder and suddenly, the door was flung open, and a group of men stormed into the room.
Immediately, Kish and I sprang apart from each other. Next, I felt a hand pull me up and hit me on the head. What just happened? I realized I was being dragged out of the room, half naked. So I quickly grabbed Kish’s tunic. Speaking of Kish, where was he? I tried to look around for him, but I could not make him out. He seemed to have camouflaged with the rest of the men. How foolish was I to think Kish would stand by me, stand up for me or at least stand with me. Our law was on his side as a man, but how naïve I was to think that he would choose me over his privileges.
Dawn had just broken, but out under the rising sun, I could see the faces of the men. They formed a circle around me and continued hitting me. Prostitute! Shameless! Disgrace! were just a few of the names they called me. I could tell by their dressing that they were Pharisees and Scribes. Then I realized my marriage was as good as over. It was only a matter of time before the news got to my husband. Well, I only had to worry about that if I made it out of this alive.
At this point, a crowd had formed around me. A few men started gathering stones and I knew my life was about to be over, but I was too overwhelmed by pain and shame to process what was happening. One of the Pharisees suggested taking me to some Rabbi who typically disobeyed the law. The Pharisee finished by saying his idea was going to kill two birds with one stone. Whoever the Rabbi was, the Pharisees must have hated him because they all eagerly agreed to the plan. I was led towards the temple and the walk of shame only got worse as we drew nearer. The crowd grew bigger and the name-calling louder. Whether I would be killed or not, my life was over.
When we got to the temple, the Pharisees found the Rabbi and dragged me towards him. I was made to stand in their midst. The shame was overwhelming. I tried to look at the Rabbi but he seemed unperturbed by the agitated crowd. Maybe that was why he was hated. One of the Scribes spoke up to bring the Rabbi into the conversation. As though I had not suffered enough shame, he recounted that I was a married woman caught in bed with another man. I remembered Kish again and I began to sob. How could I have been so stupid? I felt used and cheated and then I remembered that I had cheated too.
I was jolted back to reality by the Scribe who opened a scroll as though to educate the Rabbi about the law that any woman caught in adultery should be stoned to death. My heart began to race even faster. The crowd looked to the Rabbi for his response. I closed my eyes, ready for the end but after a few minutes of waiting, I opened my eyes and saw the Rabbi, bent and writing on the ground. I was confused. Maybe he decided to write his judgment on the ground. So I tried to make out what he was writing but it was upside down because he was opposite me.
The crowd kept asking the Rabbi to respond but he kept writing. Yet they persisted. Soon after, the Rabbi stopped writing and stood up. My life hung on whatever this man was going to say next. I shut my eyes again, expecting the worst.
“He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first”, he said. What? I did not see that coming. I opened my eyes to look at the Rabbi and saw he was back to writing on the ground. For some reason, I started to shake even more vigorously. Too many things were happening at the same time. Did this man know the law at all? Was he even Jewish? At the same time, I remembered the crowd was full of Pharisees and Scribes. So if there was any group of men that would consider themselves to be without sin, it would be this one. I began to panic as I looked and waited for the first stone to be thrown.
Suddenly, I heard movement from the oldest man in the crowd. He held a stone in his hand. Maybe he was a good old man without sin, but to my surprise, I felt impact- the stone had hit the ground and with that, he left. What happened next was unbelievable. One by one, from that old man to the youngest, the crowd dropped their stones and left, till it was just me and the Rabbi, who was still bent, writing on the ground. When they were all gone, the Rabbi stood up again and looked at me “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” I shook my head with tears flowing, “No one, Lord.”
“Neither do I condemn you. Go and don’t sin anymore”, he replied.
Wait! What? Just like that? Was this Rabbi even human? To be honest, I deserved to be punished and according to the law, I was supposed to die. Yet this man had just chosen to give me a new lease on life with the instruction to not sin anymore. I did not know my immediate future, following the public disgrace I just experienced, but whatever it was going to be, I had to obey this Rabbi. It was the least I owed him.
Reference- John 8:1-11
