Psych - HIATUS

אחד

You roamed the streets of Tel Aviv, Israel until you found the hotel you were staying at. You were an archeologist who studied specifically the Middle East and North Africa. After your stays in Cairo and Jerusalem, you went to Tel Aviv. Just outside of Tel Aviv was the site of the digging of an old Hebrew civilization. You arrived late Friday, so you'd wait until Sunday, knowing Saturday is the Jewish Sabbath. Several Israelis in the area were going to help, and you weren't about to force them from their synagogues.

After a relaxing Sabbath, you and the aiding Israeli archeologists set to work digging up the site.

"Azriel! A little help!" you shouted to one of the Israelis as you struggled to lift a slab of rock. Azriel came to help and with your combined strength, the slab was moved to reveal the inside of the archaic building.

You peered inside the ancient room that was seeing sunlight for the first time in centuries. Sweat beaded down your face as you shone a flashlight. "This is some serious Indiana Jones crap," you said as you pointed at the floor. Azriel's gaze followed yours and he gasped as he saw what had you amazed.

"Scorpions," he said as he frowned. "They shouldn't be too bad though. We can get rid of them, and it's only a few."

When the majority of the scorpions were killed, you, Azriel, and a British companion, Samuel, climbed down into the Hebrew ruin. You carefully walk to the center of the room, Azriel and Samuel close behind. In front of you stood a small box with intricate designs. Around them stood destroyed statues of old Jewish idols.

"Good God," said Samuel in amazement.

"That's what the Hebrews thought," you said.

"And still think," added Azriel. Azriel brushed dust off the Box.

"Azriel, was it it?" Samuel asked.

"There's an old Hebrew myth. The Israelites were disobeying Yahweh, which is Hebrew for God, by worshipping idols. So Yahweh sent a prophet to preach the people the everlasting gospel, but no one listened to the prophet. So Yahweh gave this box to the prophet and told him He had put His power in it. The prophet used the box to destroy the idols and the Israelites once again worshipped the one true god. Later, the prophet used it to help some Israelites in a battle. The Hebrews won," Azriel explained.

"Which prophet was it?" you asked.

"The records were incomplete. We don't know who was the hand of Yahweh. It could've been Elijah, or Isaiah, or anyone else. No one knows. Your guess is as good as mine."

"You really think this has God's power?" Samuel asked.

"I do, but I doubt it would work now. It would need to be wielded by a prophet of old," Azriel said.

"These idols are probably the ones destroyed by this prophet," you said, ignoring the argument of God's divinity. Let the philosophers and priests figure that out! All you wanted was to learn what the Israelites did and believed in the past.

You stepped forward to the Box, and Azriel stepped back so you could study it. "Does it have a name?"

"מנגנון"
Azriel said. "It means Apparatus in Hebrew."

You continued to brush sand off the Apparatus until all its intricacies were revealed. "Let's take it out. Give it to that museum in Tel Aviv."

The Apparatus was surprisingly heavy. It was three feet long and one foot wide, with handles on either side. It was two feet deep, and it looked almost like the Ark of the Covenant from Indiana Jones.

"What the heck is even in here, Azriel?" Samuel asked. "It sure as heck isn't hollow!"

"Oh, I dunno. The power of God, I suppose," you said in a joking matter.