First of all, Hadasseh Aragi is the name of the character I have played in Journey to Bethlehem for the last 5 years. Hadasseh means "myrtle" and is the name of a pink flowering shrub/tree which was used as a dye source. Aragi means weaver.
There wouldn't have been just one or two people doing all of the spinning and weaving for the entire town of Bethlehem. Each woman and girl would have been spinning in any spare time she could beg, borrow or steal. All yarn or thread spun would have been meant for either weaving, sewing or embroidery, and almost all women would have been weavers. If they had slaves and were rich, still they would spin and weave, even those in the family of Augustus Ceasar.
It is my privilege to provide a glimpse through a very grimy window into the everyday lives of women at the time of Jesus' birth. We urge people after the angel's and the shepherd's message to "go and see and then come back and tell us how much he weighs, is he healthy, how long is he? Does he look like his mother or father?" These are things every woman asks even of complete strangers with a new baby.
A new life is a reason to rejoice. It sounds hokey, but if even one person is moved to begin a new life in the Messiah because of their experience at Bethlehem, we should rejoice all the more.
Hadasseh Aragi
(Audrey M. DeNeui)
