Kabbalunch: "If Holiness, Holiness: If Defilement, Defilement"...

A friend and colleague of mine, Adam Zagoria-Moffet, recently posted an excellent piece on the nature of exorcism in Judaism, that connects nicely with my own take on it in my fantasy novel Radiance. Check it out!

Radiance 14 - Lamentations, Dirges and Woe

Whatever happened to Asher's father? Back in Chapter 1 Asher learnt that he was dead but never found out how. Read on to find out, in the final chapter of Netzach/Victory.

    Through strange eyes, Asher saw his father sitting in a hotel lobby, sipping at a glass of water and reading the New York Times.
    “Dad?” he tried to call, but no words emerged. This was only a memory, though not his own.
    His father took out a pen and began to fill in the crossword puzzle - that had always been a hobby of his, something Asher had never understood the appeal of. He had struck that familiar pose, chewing the end of his pen while he scanned the clues through his black-rimmed glasses. His father was just as he had been when Asher had last seen him - old, tired but alive.
    “Eliav, what are you doing here?”
    A warm familiar voice rang across the marble lobby. The eyes Asher was borrowing danced across leather sofas to the source - a dark-skinned woman in a red and gold dress, carrying a wooden sceptre at her side. Asher felt his eyebrow raise, though he wanted to inhale sharply - what was Virgo doing with Dad?

Radiance 13 - You sit upon Scorpions

Today we begin the fourth section of Radiance - Netzach/Victory. In case you're wondering, Hod was indeed only 2 chapters long as is Netzach. I hope to write a Behind the Scenes to explain why I've made that decision. In the mean time, enjoy the latest chapter of Radiance:
 

6] And you, Son of man, do not fear them, and their words do not fear - though thistles and thorns press against you and you sit upon scorpions; do not be afraid of their words and do not be dismayed by them, though they are a rebellious house. 7] But speak My words to them, whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious.
8] And you, Son of man, hear what I say to you: do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I am giving you. 9] As I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me, holding a scroll of a book. 10] He unrolled it before me, and it was inscribed on both the front and the back; on it were written lamentations, dirges and woes.    -Ezekiel, Chapter 2

    “Asher Grunfeld! What are you doing?” Mrs Blackstone thundered across the classroom, peering over the rims of her thin grey spectacles, pursing her lips like a raisin. She stopped writing the Hebrew letters she had been tracing on the board, still holding the chalk.
    Asher froze in horror. His right hand remained outstretched and unmoving, still holding the tiny slip of paper that held the damning note he had just written. And somehow, he could not pull his hand back - could not speak - or move at all. With grim horror, he watched Mrs Blackstone turn around from the blackboard and march down the row of desks towards him. All eyes turned towards him now, fifteen small children fixating upon him.
    “Drop it” hissed one of them, Big Jonny behind him, but his arm muscles refused to work.
    “What is the meaning of this?” she barked, snapping the note out of his hand.
    Asher felt all the blood and life draining from his face. Had he been able to see a mirror, he was certain that he would have seen the reflection of a ghost or spirit; hands shaking, heart sinking into the depths of his stomach.
    Mrs Blackstone read the note. She said nothing. Turning back to her desk, she folded the paper carefully and placed it in her pocket, walking slowly back to the front of the classroom.
    Shame like he had never known before burned into Asher’s ears, burrowed and gnawed at his bowels; a shame so deep he had no name for it, so all-consuming it drove all other thought from his mind.
    Please don’t read it out, he whispered inside his head, not certain if he said it aloud or not. Please don’t read it. Perhaps he was praying.
    Mrs Blackstone reached her rickety wooden desk, strewn with papers, adjusted the grey sack of a dress she wore, and sat down. She took Asher’s note and put it down in front of her.
    Please don’t, please don’t, please don’t.
    A black grin spread over her face, a vile, skeletal, thing like nothing Asher had ever seen. Black and dripping.

Radiance 11 - A spirit entered me

Today begins the third section of Radiance - Hod, meaning Splendour. If you missed it, check out the summary of part 2 and its corresponding behind the scenes.

Real life is catching up with me and so I may need to take a week off from posting Radiance in the near future so I can actually write some more. But have no fear, for some content is sure to be posted next Monday as normal, even if it isn't directly related to Radiance.

1] And He said to me ‘Son of man, stand on your legs that I may speak to you.’
2] As He spoke to me, a spirit entered me and set me upon my legs and I heard what was spoken to me.
3] He said to me ‘Son of man, I am sending you to the people of Israel, that nation of rebels who have rebelled against Me - they as well as their fathers have defied Me to this very day. 
4] For the sons are brazen of face and stubborn of heart - I send you to them, and you shall say to them: ‘Thus said the Lord God’. 

5] Whether they listen or not - for they are a rebellious house - they shall know that there was a prophet among them.
    -Ezekiel, Chapter 2

    New Yorkers really are an amazing breed, Asher couldn’t help thinking as he struggled to keep his footing while parrying lightning-fast claws. Anywhere else in the world they would probably be running screaming, or calling the police - even the army - when two strange figures attack a random person with sticks. Anywhere else it would be a major event.
    In New York they just assume it’s a flashmob, Asher thought miserably to himself as he stumbled backwards.