A child growing up near the Mikdash
Scene 1 of 5
Friday
Every Friday afternoon you hear the trumpets from the Temple: three to stop work, three to begin Shabbat. Your mother puts down her work.
Scene 2 of 5
The smoke
From your roof you can see the column of smoke above the altar. Your grandfather says the wind never scattered it.
Scene 3 of 5
Pilgrims in your room
At festival time strangers sleep in your house. The Mishnah says no one ever complained that Jerusalem was too crowded to stay the night.
Scene 4 of 5
Sukkot night
In autumn the light from the Women's Court fills your courtyard so brightly that your family says you could sort grain by it.
Scene 5 of 5 · The Azarah (inner courtyard)
A thank-offering
When your grandmother recovers from illness, your family brings a thanksgiving offering and shares its meal with neighbours that same evening, as the law requires.