Building on Dreams

Chapter 4 - Questions About Faith

            Greg’s sense of astonishment stayed with him through the entire evening, lingering straight through until bedtime. Even after the children were tucked in, and he and Susan were preparing for bed themselves, the evening remained unusual for a number of reasons. The most notable of these was that once Greg himself was ready for bed, he found Susan praying out on their balcony instead of waiting for him on or in their bed. Typically she only did that if she was troubled by something and he immediately concluded it was a result of their earlier dinner-time conversation.

            “Susan?” Greg called questioningly when she came in.

            “You were waiting up for me?” she asked in surprise. “I know you have to get up early for services tomorrow. You didn’t have to do that.”

            “Strictly speaking perhaps not, however given the turn of events this evening, I wanted to,” Greg told her.

            “You’re still worried about my interest in learning Hebrew,” Susan guessed.

            “Shouldn’t I be?” Greg questioned. “Isn’t your request for more information about the educational services available at or through the synagogue a case in point for when I should worry?”

            “You weren’t concerned about it when it was Zackary asking the questions,” Susan reminded him.

“That is different. Zackary is an intelligent, sensitive young man looking for his faith, seeking direction and guidance from those he knows and trusts. Being asked for and providing information in that situation is entirely appropriate and is intended to be supportive of his efforts. You are my wife, my partner, my equal in this life. You have your faith, Susan. It is well developed and you know what it is you believe, however you are asking to learn Hebrew. Zackary is right. Learning it is associated with the Jewish faith … but I suppose as I myself pointed out to him, others do learn it,” Greg said, arguing with himself.

“Yes, they do. And I was considering being one of them, provided an appropriate class or setting can be found,” Susan explained. “Who knows, in addition to gaining a better understanding of the scriptures, maybe it will help me understand you at some newer level too.”

“You do not need to learn Hebrew to understand me,” Greg assured her. “I may be Jewish, but I am not a Hebrew man in that sense. I’m an American, like you. I think, read, dream and pray internally in English.”

“Internally you do? The prayers you say aloud usually are Hebrew,” Susan observed.

“They are, but as you were correct in pointing out earlier, true prayers are not simply recitations of words composed by somebody else, they are communications from the heart to the Almighty. I generally compose mine in English mentally then go through the exercise of translating them into Hebrew before formalizing them as a chant,” Greg explained.

Susan arched her brow. “You see? I’m learning new things about you already.”

Greg furrowed his brow slightly as he studied her expression intently. “Is your purpose to gain insights into me?” he asked.

“I think that could be one of the side benefits, but it’s not the main reason. Jessie wants to learn Hebrew, and already knows some as you’ve started teaching her. Zackary has an interest in learning too, and I would like to allow it. I think he could only benefit from whatever he might learn. I would like to be supportive of both of them, and also to understand as a parent what they are learning. And since as you have pointed out, Christians do occasionally learn Hebrew … knowing the language is not the same as being or practicing Judaism, I see this as an area where we could be in alignment as a family. So, I would like to know a little bit. Learn some, then decide if it’s something I would like to do,” Susan explained. “As for my faith … I really don’t see how it could harm my faith. Do you?”