The Sleep of One Hundred Years
- The first temple in Jerusalem is being destroyed due to war
- Rabbi Onias is our main character
- He mounts a camel and begins his journey
- He is on his way to the unhappy city that is now crumbling away
- He traveled many days
- During this time, he had no food or water in case he may encounter someone who needs it more than him
- He never met anyone along the way because the land around him had become deserted
- All of his plants and vineyards had been destroyed and he must plant new ones
- He came up to a hill and looked out to his now dead city
- There were no people and all the buildings had been burned due to the war
- He watched the sun set over what looked like a city for the dead
- He asks if the city can ever rise again (perhaps in 100 years)
- Onias becomes exhausted so he decides to lay his head upon his camel to sleep
- He continued to sleep for longer than intended
- He slept for days, then week, and months, and many years
- The city eventually was rebuilt and replenished while he slept
- He then awoke in confusing after 100 years
- He comes to the realization that he slept for a long time period and now has a white beard and aching bones
- He is in awe of what surrounds him now because it is not how he remembers it
- He makes his way to Jerusalem
- People point at him and children call him names because of his appearance
- He asks people which is the house of Onias (the rabbi)
- He gets to the house and meets his great grandson who has taken over his name
- The old Onias realizes that he slept for too long and his time on earth is over
- He goes back to his hill where he slept and prayed to go back to sleep but to not wake up in this world
(Onias Awakes)
Bibliography:
Sleep of One Hundred Years
Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends by Gertrude Landa (1919).
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