TOM’S TALMUD TISCH: Episode Two Tractate Shabbat, Page 33 b After 12 long years of safe solitude, study, and spirituality a still voice breaks the silence. The storm clouds have lifted, and the Decree of Death is rescinded. The Holy Fugitives may now Emerge from the dark cave into the sun-drenched fields. Yet their intense otherworldly spiritual pursuit and miraculous experiences has exacted a heavy toll. The attempted return to normative life and society proves to be destructive. Like strangers from a different galaxy, they cannot relate to people's pedestrian pursuits. They lash out in frustration, and then things get too heated when their blazing gaze causes fiery destruction. Directed by Heavenly voice, they return to the Cave. Finally, after another full year of isolation comprising many months of rehabilitative introspection a more constructive re-emergence ensues! Fiery damage is swiftly undone, as they move into a constructive state of being. Ultimately, a surprise whimsical encounter with a myrtle-bearing man on the cusp of Shabbat serves to ground them and a healthy balance is restored. Rabbi Mendel Kaplan