Passover! A holiday of liberation! Remember, Jew, that you were once a slave in Egypt. Great Moses brought you out of slavery. Soon a new Moses will come and lead the people to new freedom! Shema Yisrael!

All day people offered prayers and smoke wafted above the holy city. All day there was wine drinking, singing, and dancing. But come night, Jerusalem fell asleep. On the dark empty streets only ripped baskets were left, with piles of rotten vegetables and fruits, and flour spilled everywhere.

 

Chapter 5

 

In the Sanhedrin the trial was in progress for the arrested Jesus, while the Sicarii, armed with sicae and other blades, gathered in one of the buildings under construction in the Upper City.

The plan was the following: Esau, Eleazar, and two other Sicarii will wait in hiding for a signal, as Simon—dressed as a Nazirite monk—sits not far from them by the road. When Jesus is arrested and led from the Sanhedrin to Pilate for questioning and sentencing, Simon will get up from the ground and go to the guards. He will start to yell and cause confusion. Then the Sicarii will come out from hiding. In a few minutes everything will be finished. They decided to attack only in the event that the guards have no more than five soldiers.

They had chosen a future court building as the place of ambush. The old building was recently demolished and a new one was being built. It was the only accessible place in the Upper City, where the nobility lived. It was very convenient for attackers since it was located close to the road, making a turn at this spot so the enemy was within reach in a few jumps.