Education in the Temple

An excerpt of From Whence They Came by Arlene Colver

All Rights Reserved

“But Mary continued in the temple as a dove educated there, and received her food from the hand of an angel.” The Protevangelion 8:2

Mary was delighting in her new home and family. Surely she did not fully understand the nature of this sisterhood to which she had been committed, but just as surely she knew in her heart that it was good. Three-year-olds may not comprehend destiny and the workings of fate but they know when they are loved. Mary’s joy and bubbling laughter were proof that she was doing exactly what God had intended for her.

There was so much to explore within the palace and temple complex and her new sisters were eager to share it all. Although she was not allowed to be alone even for a minute, there seemed to be few places except the Holy of Holies and the Leper’s Court that were forbidden territory. She was the youngest of the twelve Temple Virgins and the older girls made sure that Mary had more than good care. They wanted her to have a good time.

Mary loved the temple gardens that hung from every wall and divider. The green trailing vines and the rose, yellow and violet flowers softened the marble and bronze pillars and columns, decorating them with nature’s glory. She would often stop and ask a taller girl to pick a flower for her hair or reach across the wide knee-wall that served as a planter to get just the right posy for one of her sisters.

The Court of the Gentiles was her favorite. It was like a huge market place and everyone was welcome there. Jews and Gentiles alike sold their wares to be used for offerings. Food vendors often handed her a piece of fruit or a small cake as she rushed by them in her attempt to experience it all. People from all over the Roman Empire came here: black-skinned and brown-skinned people, Caucasians, Indians whose skin glistened with a much deeper olive tone than her own; blue-eyed, light-haired soldiers bowed low to her passing. Sometimes a poor leper or wretched beggar would plead for her prayers.

Inside Herod’s Basilica with its tremendous pillars and hallways, Mary felt like she could run forever. She loved darting through the tall columns of the porches that surrounded the temple mount, letting one of her sisters chase and eventually catch her, usually just in time for lunch.

The Women’s Court was not solely for women. It was so named because it was here that the women prepared meals, tended to the children that lived in the temple complex, and performed so many of the tasks that were women’s obligations. It was also here that Mary and her sisters attended classes and received their education. 

Attending these classes was the only responsibility the little girl had for awhile. She learned quickly the history of Rome as well as Israel. Her writing and reading skills came easily too.  Soon she was scribing as well or better than some of the royal secretaries.

Within the Women’s Court were other, smaller courts. There was a great storehouse for wood, grain and oil. Her sisters were responsible for keeping and taking inventory of these stores, but Mary was considered too young for such duties as yet.

There was also a great room dedicated to the lepers, those poor souls set apart by their illness. Though they were thought to be unclean, those who chose sanctuary in the hopes of healing were kept here in isolation so that they might bathe before purification by the priests.

The Court of the Nazarites was home. It was here that those, like Mary and her sisters, who had been consecrated to God, had their communal living space.  Although Nazarites could be of either gender, the majority were women. During the period of their consecration all were bound to abstain from wine, in fact, all products of the vineyard in any form. Their hair was allowed to grow as a mark of holiness. The Nazarite was forbidden to approach any corpse, even those of close relatives, under pain of defilement and consequent forfeiture of his or her consecration. When the term of consecration was over the Nazarite brought offerings to the sanctuary. Shaving off their long locks of holiness and burning the hair as a peace offering, the High Priest would release them to their former liberty.

Mary didn’t have a problem with these vows that had been taken for her. The bit of wine that Anna and Joachim had shared with her before her commitment was not so tasty; therefore, abstinence was not a sacrifice at all.  Being sure that she would be old enough to be released before either of her parents died, it seemed senseless to worry about attending funerals or viewing corpses. In truth, for a girl so young, the rules seemed almost frivolous velvet tethers. Her actual lifestyle was one of the wealthy and she received gift after gift from visitors to the temple.

Within the Women’s Court was the beautiful Golden Gate of Nicanor. Not actually made of gold but of polished brass, the gate stood at the top of the fifteen stairs that Mary had ascended on her arrival. On these stairs the Levites would stand to sing in choir, chanting hymns and psalms. Mary loved the sound; for her the pageantry of such an event challenged that of the theatre in the upper city. Behind the great gate were the Inner Court of the Temple, the Men’s Court and the Priests’ Court.

She - or any Jew - was allowed to enter the Inner Court of the Temple. Here great discussions of philosophy and religion ensued among the men. Sometimes one or another of them, usually a Rabbi, would set himself upon an elevated place to answer question after question from the devout. Although women were allowed to speak or to ask questions, seldom did they. Following the older women’s example, Mary, listening intently to every remark, held her tongue.

Women were segregated in the temple only during the Water Drawing Ceremony held on the Feast of Tabernacles, when dancing went on all night. At this celebration, men watched from the Women's Court and women watched from specially erected galleries surrounding them as "men of piety and good deeds" danced while holding torches in their hands. That was one of Mary’s favorite feasts and her little feet danced with the entertainers as she watched.

With all her freedom and fun, young Mary remained curious and inquisitive. One day within the women’s quarters of the Nazarite chamber she sneaked away from her doting sisters. She was going to explore as many nooks and crannies as she could. First on her agenda was the bathhouse with its wonderful pool. As she entered she noticed something she hadn’t seen before. There was steam and heat pouring from around the doorframe of one of the stone cubicles on the far side of the baths. She was sure that it was not smoke or a sign of fire, but what caused such heat and steam to rise?

The little girl knew she wouldn’t be able to move the stone door so she watched for her opportunity. When a young woman pulled the door open to enter, Mary scooted in along with her. As she rose to her feet, her eyes opened wide, her jaw falling. In front of her stood something right out of the Dianic mysteries. Like a Goddess of the Dark Side, a large woman, naked but for a head towel, was about to scoop up the little girl. Mary fought with the mounds of flesh that wanted to envelop her.

In desperation she pleaded to be set free. “Mother of the Dark, I am not dead yet. Leave me here to offer sacrifice to you and your sons and daughters.”

The woman burst into hysterical laughter. Every ounce of fat jostled and jumped. Her face, already reddened from the steam room, now became purple with amusement. The louder she laughed, the more embarrassed Mary became. She had entered, not the tomb of the Dark Mother, but the matrons’ sauna. Like it or not, she would have to ask permission to remove herself and return to her place in the Nazarite quarters.

“I do apologize Mother. May I go home now?”

“Do not apologize for having given me the greatest joke I have ever had, little one. I think you will one day make a fine priestess. You have the courage for it as well as the spirit.”

The laughter subsided, replaced by a warm smile. Reaching for the linen table, she covered her nakedness. It took three towels to do the job. Mary wondered where this woman would fit when she slept or dined. She didn’t ask. Exchanging polite goodbyes, the little Nazarite headed back to her home in the temple with haste.

She would have some explaining to do, but at least she was sure of not being suffocated by her sisters’ embraces as she might have been by the fat lady in the baths.

As Mary grew, explorations waned and study became her priority. Her quick mind and sound memory soon put simple history, mathematics and astronomy behind her. The theories of Pythagoras, Plato and Socrates gave her mind more exercise. Spending long hours on the roof observing the stars, Mary’s thoughts went from astrology to mythology, religion and the romantic visions typical of a young woman.

When she began asking her sisters about Shekinah, the presence of the Holy Spirit, and the Roman and Greek gods and goddesses, they knew it was time to explain the arts that would soon be open to her. Becoming a full priestess was, of course, a choice. Mary was a Nazarite and her time of commitment would be over with the onset of menstruation. No virgin was obligated to perform sexual ritual or rite until after menarche. Mary’s choice would be her own, but it was up to her virginal sisters to explain the importance of these rites and the position of a priestess within the temple.

Part of Mary’s education had been learning about the Sacred Blood Mysteries of womanhood. She cherished the thought of one day having her first mense and moving to the Cabana of Creation with some of her sisters. This custom had been all but phased out in the normal Jewish life of Jerusalem and her hometown, but within the temple it was a sacred occasion and had not lost its value for the men and women who called themselves Nazarites. She had seen the High Priestess slap one of her sisters on each side of her face and then anoint the stinging red skin with fine oil just before she entered the Cabana. They had told her that the slap was an awakening to her womanhood and new sets of responsibilities set down in the Torah. The anointing, they said, was a blessing that would assure life went smoothly and that her beauty would be preserved even to old age.

Mary had no idea what the women talked about in the Cabana of Creation, but she was sure that it involved men, sexuality and of course the sacred arts. Her sisters saw Mary’s curiosity as both a virtue and a detriment. Just as it had taken her to the baths when she was three, her insatiable desire for exploration took her to eavesdropping outside the tent of the menstruating virgins. They had shooed her off more than once. Still, without this constant urge to know more, Mary would not be the bright and learned young woman they had come to admire.

They had taught her about the laws regarding menstruation, but most of these only applied after a maiden wed. Mary thought little of marriage for herself. She had always thought that she would ever remain a virgin, that is, an unmarried woman remaining whole in her endeavors to grow and please God.  Household chores, raising children, keeping a husband happy: these were things that separated a woman from her true self. Mary preferred the communal life of the temple, or so she thought.

The young woman of Israel was not shy, but she did savor self-imposed solitude for long hours of prayer and meditation preferring it to the frivolous antics of the virgins. When coaxed by her sisters to play games or visit the Jerusalem marketplace, she often simply nodded in decline and retired to the roof of the temple to be alone. The little Mary filled with excitement and laughter when she first entered their gates was now reaching womanhood and a maturity that had nothing to do with chronological age. Mary was holy and wholly belonged to God.

Today her lessons would be those of an aspirant to the priesthood. The virgins would have to sit her down and explain the repercussions of whatever decision the maiden made. Today she would have to hear, to question and, they hoped, have a true conversation regarding her future.

Liraz, the oldest, whose name meant, “I have a secret,” was chosen to be the spokeswoman for the virgins. Her long hair fell in front of her covering her bosoms, but the neckline of her gown was decidedly revealing. She did indeed look as if she held a secret that she wanted to impart.

“Mary, you are coming of age and we have a need to share some things with you. You know that you will soon be entering the Cabana of Creation and right after that you will have to be wed or take your vows of priesthood.” Liraz paused waiting for an answer.

Mary could see that this was not a rhetorical question. “I am aware that my destiny has already been written. I know what a shekel buys here but why is what I do not understand. I believe my decision has already been made, but enlighten me all the same.”

“Why is something that we can explain but that you will only understand after you have experienced it, darling.” The virgin looked to the others for some verbal support.

Devorah, the industrious bee, couldn’t help but move about as she spoke, gesturing rapidly with her hands to give emphasis to her contribution. “Mary, it is a wonderful thing to share a moment of climax. It is a release of spiritual energy that ignites a great light in your body and in your lover’s body. It is that spark that brings new life into being. It is an honor to the Goddess to achieve this kind of union. It is the union of the sexes the makes up the Great Source. God without Goddess cannot create. Goddess without God cannot create. When man and woman come together for this spiritual purpose the energy is tremendous.”

“When they shout, ‘In honor of the Goddess,’ they truly mean it, Mary. They aren’t using the priestesses here as they use the harlots in the marketplace.” Elisheva stated her truth as if she stated her name: “God is my oath.” The set of her jaw said she was not to be corrected or taken lightly.

Mary now felt that she might have insulted the aspiring priestesses. “I see none of you or the priestesses of the temple as harlots, Elisheva, truly I don’t. I love you all as my dearest sisters but some say that the practice is against The Law. Aren’t you afraid of that?”

“We know that you love us, Mary. Don’t fret about being fearful or having concerns about your decision. We all go through that before we take the vow and the training. None of us really know how powerful the act can be until we are consumed by it. The three of us have decided to go on. We’ve taken our vows and now the priestesses are teaching us the art, but only Liraz has really felt the presence of the Divine Spark. We are all a little frightened by the thought, but we believe that we are serving the nation and the Divine Mother by what we are about to do.”

“I don’t want to influence you, Mary,” Liraz spoke again. “I can only say that I am whole and complete after such a union and my heart is compelled to pray and to give offerings of gratitude when I am alone again.”

“If you leave after your first mense, Mary, another virgin will be selected to take your place. We are always twelve for the twelve tribes and for other secret reasons that you cannot know yet. When one of us is initiated and takes her place as a priestess, the same thing will happen. Another will be chosen to keep the number constant.”

“I am not afraid of copulation, or of spending my time in the Cabana of Creation, or of the training, or any of that.” Mary seemed to be defending her apprehension. “I am afraid that if I choose to go I will be wed and my soul will be separated from my body. On the other hand, if I remain I will be forced to release something of myself every time that I perform the rites.”

“You lose nothing during the rite, Mary, but only gain a great surge of the Mother Goddess’s essence. You become the personification of the Divine Feminine and unite with the man who personifies the God so that together you complete the Sacred Union that assures procreation and abundance on earth. The Mother and the Father both bless the union, for it is by our human act that they manifest their presence on earth.” Liraz was persuasive in her argument, but Mary was still doubtful.

“Not having known a man, I would choose neither of these alternatives. I would prefer things remain as they are.”

“Well, that is not an option for much longer, my dear.” Lior, too, was true to her name, “enlightenment.” She spoke as if she did indeed have important light to shed on this subject. The young virgin had only two options and it was time to get used to that idea.

Mary remained soft-spoken and even-tempered, but it was apparent by her furrowed forehead that she did not appreciate this bit of light with its condemnation to change. “First I will take it up with God and Goddess, and then with the High Priest himself if need be. Then and only then will I choose. Besides, I have yet to have my menarche. The decision should come after my first time in the Cabana of Creation. Don’t you all agree?”

Every one of the eleven smiled and nodded. Mary would be spared any hasty decision. After all, this was, to be sure, a choice that could only be made by a mature woman.

“Are we finished? May I go to the roof now to consult with the oracles of the sky?” Mary wanted to escape to her privacy and was now becoming a bit irritable. They could all hear it in her tone and released her from the conclave with warm embraces.