The Kabbalist by Yoram Katz Page B

cousin. I will thank you for my regular coffee, and it will be muddy
black with no sugar whatsoever for Aryeh,” said Luria.
    The bearded man smiled
and shook his head in appreciation, his side locks dancing around his face.
“Well done, Yossi. You remembered.”
    “That I should not
remember how my cousin likes his coffee…” laughed Luria. “This is one of those
things that do not change. It goes back to the times you used to be a sinner
like me. New costume does not change old habits.”
    Aryeh burst into
laughter and slapped his cousin’s shoulder. “You misguided lamb... this costume
is already ten years old, but you still call it new… OK, have it your way.”
    Luria hugged his guest’s
shoulder with his arm, and the two stepped into the office. Luria led his
cousin to the small round table in the corner, which he used for informal
meetings, and the two sat down on opposite sides. They were silent for a
moment, looking at each other affectionately.
    *    *    *
    Aryeh was five years older
than Yossi. As a boy, the strong and bold Aryeh was a role model for his
younger cousin. The families were close and lived in the same Safedi neighborhood,
so the kids got to spend a lot of time together. Occasionally, Aryeh would let
Yossi take part in the adventures of the gang of kids he led.
    In time, Aryeh joined
an elite crack unit in the IDF [xvii] and soon
found himself in commanding roles. Yossi naturally followed him there and trod
a similar path, becoming a company commander. In the year Yossi joined the
army, Aryeh returned from a long journey around the world and started studying
history at the University of Haifa. Two years later, during a visit to his
parents in Safed, he met by pure chance Esther, his future wife. She was a girl
from a Hassidic family, and his whole world turned upside down. Yossi Luria
never forgot the shock he suffered upon finding out that his beloved cousin had
crossed the lines into an alien world. The Hassidic wedding he was invited to,
while joyful and lively, was for him a nightmarish farewell party from his
cousin, commemorating his departure from the sane world. The dancing Hassidim,
the women watching from afar, his Aryeh being carried on the shoulders of the
moving, dark human mass… it all seemed astrange,
weird ritual. The whirling black circles of dancing men were like a carousel
tossing Aryeh away from reality into delirious realms.
    Eventually, Yossi learned
to live with his loss. He had to acknowledge that it was, after all, Aryeh’s
choice to make. He knew their relationship would never fully recover from this
blow, and did his best to preserve something of the old bond they had once
shared. But it was becoming harder. Aryeh, always the leader type, became a
pillar of his Safedi community. He was constantly busy with one public activity
or the other. They saw each other much less frequently than they used to, but
they did try to keep in touch, however forced it felt. Yossi was invited to the Brith – the circumcision ceremony of each of Aryeh’s sons, who seemed to
emerge into the world at regular intervals of about a year, but the vast
distance between their worlds proved a considerable barrier. Luria was never at
ease with Esther, Aryeh’s wife. Although not admitting this to himself, he could
not forgive her for hijacking the soul and friendship of his beloved cousin and
best friend. She, on the other hand, was not keen on a relationship with
someone she considered a malignant remnant of her husband’s previous life, which
she abhorred and preferred to ignore and forget altogether.
    *    *    *
    “It’s a nice place you have
here,” said Aryeh. “I am glad you invited me. It was about time I visited your
office.”
    Luria smiled. “Thanks. I
am really happy you could come. I have a case where I can use your help, and I
wanted to discuss it with you. Anyway, what’s new in Safed? How is the family?”
    “Thank god, everybody’s
healthy. Esther is