Chapter 14 – Advent’s Way to the House of Bread: Sabbath Day on the Road – Morning with Miriam
Updated: 5 days ago
Advent’s Way to the House of Bread
These days, there are countless ways to find out just about anything. You can pick up a book, ask someone who is an expert in a particular field, or simply go online and, within seconds, find an answer to almost any question.
But things were very different in the time of Jesus.
In that distant world, there were no phones or internet, and books were rare and far beyond the reach of ordinary people. Not everyone could read, and the scrolls of Scripture were precious, carefully preserved, and available only to a limited number of people. That is why people’s lives depended so much on the spoken word.
People listened to one another. They told stories. They repeated what they had heard from their parents and grandparents. They learned through conversations, in the synagogue, while working, during festivals, and at gatherings. You could say that back then, a person was a little like a book.
If you wanted to learn something, you often had to find someone who already knew it — then sit beside them, listen, and remember. And sometimes I think that, in a way, we are beginning to return to something like that. Except that instead of sitting beside a living person, we increasingly sit beside… a screen.
Instead of listening to a story told by a grandmother, grandfather, teacher, or friend, we scroll through one short video after another. Instead of a face-to-face conversation, we have little clips appearing one after another. Our brains simply cannot keep up with everything we are seeing, process it all, put it into place, and remember it.
TikTok has, in a way, taken the place of the living person.
And perhaps that is exactly why this story of Shabbat is so interesting. Because that morning, Miriam does not give the children a phone or a book.
She gives them her time.
She sits with them, shows them the letters, tells them stories, explains things, and teaches them how to listen. And Marcel and Gabi discover that we can learn something important not only from a book or a screen, but also from the person sitting right beside us.
In Chapter 14 of “Advent’s Way to the House of Bread,” you will read about how the children spent their Shabbat morning with Miriam and what they learned from her. But there is one more little mystery waiting for you.
Do you know what the children used to draw in their notebooks?
Today we have crayons, markers, and colourful pens. But what kind of “crayons” could children have used in the time of Jesus?
You will discover that too during our Shabbat journey. Because sometimes, if we really want to understand the world of long ago, we need to do more than simply read about it. We need to step into it for a little while, together with the characters.
So… let’s sit beside Miriam. The Shabbat morning is just beginning.
Sabbath Day on the Road - Morning with Miriam
When the sun had climbed high in the sky, everyone sat down together for a simple meal. There was bread, olives, dried fruit, and a little honey. The children were surprised by how differently time seemed to pass in such peaceful surroundings - as if everything had slowed down, as if the day had somehow become longer and brighter.
Around noon, an unexpected visitor appeared: the woman who lived on the farm up on the hill, together with her two children.
“Marcel, look! We have company! What a surprise!” Gabi cried happily, running toward the children without even looking back.
Marcel quickly followed, just as surprised. After all, they hadn’t called ahead - there were no phones to let anyone know they were coming.
The woman from the hilltop farm walked toward the shelter with her two children, who were already chatting cheerfully with Marcel and Gabi. The innkeeper soon joined them with her three children, and together they welcomed Miriam and Joseph.
They carried baskets filled with fruit, raisin cakes, bread, and olives - all prepared beforehand, before Shabbat had begun.
“Shabbat Shalom!” the innkeeper said with a warm smile. “May the peace of Shabbat be with you. We are so happy to have you as our guests today.”
The children immediately gathered close to Miriam, while the adults made room around the low table. No one was in a hurry that day. There was time to rest, to talk, to share a meal, and to tell stories.
Marcel noticed something. The hosts didn’t treat hospitality as another task to be checked off a list. It was an obvious part of the celebration. On Shabbat, people could stop, open their doors, share what had already been prepared, and simply enjoy being together.
And Gabi began to understand that perhaps this was what true hospitality really meant - not only feeding someone, but making room for them at your table and sharing whatever you have in that moment.
The children took turns reading psalms from small parchment scrolls, while their mothers, moved and proud, could not take their eyes off the sight. The scrolls were thin and delicate, and each letter was carefully written.
At the time of the Nativity, books as we know them today did not exist - people mainly used parchments or, more rarely, papyrus. Parchments were rolled scrolls made from animal skins, on which prayers, psalms, and important religious texts were written. Papyrus was rarer, imported, and less durable. Clay tablets were mainly used for learning letters and writing short notes. The form of the modern book - a codex with many pages - would appear only several centuries later.
Miriam explained to Marcel and Gabi:
“Every letter has meaning and power, and repeating the words of prayer helps strengthen memory and teaches respect for God.”
The Hebrew children showed Marcel and Gabi what their alphabet looked like. Miriam pointed to the letters on the parchment. Some resembled simple strokes, others loops and angles:
“We write the letters from right to left, and each of them has not only a sound value but also its own symbolism. For example, the letter ‘Alef,’ the first one, represents God, the beginning of everything, while the letter ‘Bet’ signifies home and family.”
Marcel took out his notebook with sketches and notes.
“These are my own ‘signs’ that I invented to remember the travel route and mark important places. And this is what our alphabet looks like,” he explained enthusiastically. Marcel loved calligraphy and was very good at this “craft.”
His grandmother in Poland often wondered if it was handwriting or printing. So he eagerly tried to copy the Hebrew letters into his notebook, while Gabi enthusiastically drew colourful illustrations. This way, they created their own “children’s travel books.”
The Hebrew children admired Marcel’s signs - the words he wrote - as he quickly realized that his own drawings and notes could tell stories just as well as words on parchment.
Gabi presented her colourful drawings and crayons, which amazed and delighted the other children. In this way, learning, play, and creativity blended into one day, and the children discovered the joy of exploring the world of other cultures and customs. There was no time for boredom.
But the Sabbath wasn’t over yet. Perhaps now you could try drawing, using your own signs, the way from your home to school or church, or to a friend’s house. Do you say it’s far and your parents drive you by car? That’s fine. Draw it anyway. Practice some kind of “craft.”
This, too is part of Advent’s Way to the House of Bread. And now, as the sun moves slowly across the sky, follow us into the next part of the day… Who knows what small wonders, hidden paths, or quiet surprises await Miriam, Józef, and the children just around the corner?
Let your imagination walk with them, and see what comes next.
The Psalms have accompanied people for centuries on journeys, escapes, returns, and nights spent “on the outskirts.” They were the prayers of pilgrims, families, exiles, and those who had no temple -
only the road.
Prayer on the road with the Psalms means allowing God’s Word to go with us, exactly to the places where we are.
Psalm 92 has been recited on the Sabbath for centuries. It teaches gratitude, brings comfort, and invites joyful communion with God.
“For it is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your steadfast love in the morning and Your faithfulness at night.”
← Continue the journey: If you missed the previous chapter, step back onto the road and discover what happened before.
A może wolisz czytać po polsku?
🌿 Postcard from the Journey
At the end of the day, Marcel took out his notebook and wrote down:
SHABBAT
to stop • to cease • to rest
zatrzymać się • odpocząć • być z Bogiem
💛 What does this mean?
Shabbat means: stopping long enough to remember that God is near.
Shabbat means stopping long enough to remember that God is near.
In the biblical sense, Shabbat is not simply a “day of rest,” but a time to stop our daily work and turn our hearts toward God.
Similarly, Sunday is, for Christians, a time to pause from the busyness of everyday life and turn our hearts toward God and His presence.
The difference is that Shabbat reminds us of God’s rest after creation, while Sunday reminds us of Christ’s Resurrection and the new creation.
🌟 A Question for the Little Pilgrim:
What could you do on Sunday to truly slow down and draw closer to God?
What would your travel page look like? What would you like to write, draw, or glue onto it? Share a photo of your page in the comments as your very own travel page. 💛 See you in the next chapter!
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