The Bronze Bow

On Sabbath morning, Simon arrives to take Daniel to the synagogue to listen to a preacher visiting from Nazareth. When Simon asks how it feels to be home, Daniel snaps that his grandmother sleeps all day and that his sister is possessed by demons. Daniel says that Leah hid herself in the house when she was five years old and has never stepped outside since. Simon then shares that Leah is good enough at weaving that her work is sold. The man they are going to see is named Jesus, son of Joseph—a carpenter who has left his work to preach about the coming of the kingdom.

The synagogue is more crowded than Daniel has ever seen, with the townspeople seated in order of their trades. The congregation waits restlessly for Jesus to come to the platform as verses from the Torah are read. The narrator describes Jesus as Daniel first sets eyes on him:

He was slight, with knotted arms and shoulders of one who has done hard labor from childhood. He was not regal or commanding. He was dressed simply in a plain white tallith […] Yet when he turned and stood before the congregation, Daniel was startled.