An excerpt from my first lesson with my oud teacher in an Arab town far north in the Galilee. Stories of redemption, we need them now. Here is a glimpse. A glimpse may be what we have in the orbit of awe.
I had never been to an Arab town before. My teacher’s directions were precise but none of the turns were marked with the names that he gave them. I had found my way by intuition and a pretty good road map tucked into my sun visor. I found the town easily, not one wrong turn, and it was only when I entered the town did I get lost. I would later find out that there are two entrances to the town, I had taken the wrong one. I was in the Galilee, a lot of open space.
We had scheduled to meet each other at the gas station; there were several gas stations in the town and I had found the wrong one. I drove out in search of the other. I got hopelessly lost in the dirt roads. Soon I was driving among shepherds with herds of sheep and goats, nothing was paved, the roads were barely wide enough for a single car to pass.
I ran out of road and precisely then a shepherd with a herd passed in front of me. I got out of my car and showed him my instrument thinking he might direct me to the famous music teacher.
He sat down on a rock and gestured for me to play. What the heck. I was ruined. I was missing my first lesson with a world class teacher, so I tuned and sat on another rock and serenaded a flock of sheep,
I was an hour late and I went looking for a phone to call him. I finally found a pay phone and just at the moment when I was about to exit my car to use it, I saw T in his car at the very same moment he saw me. I don’t know which one of us was more surprised. He had been looking for me, had given up and was on his way home; we exchanged stories, and I followed him to his house.
He lived on the edge of the town (the other edge), overlooking a meadow below and the Galilee spread out in the distant East. It was a beautiful view. All the windows were open and the air rustled our papers on the music stand. His wife served me cola and some fresh figs and other fruit, I assumed that she spoke no English. Later I learned that she taught English in a school in Acco.