The Devil in Jerusalem: A Novel
Naomi Ragen
Language: English
Pages: 320
ISBN: 1250109434
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
An ambulance screams through the Jerusalem’s quiet streets. Inside, a toddler fights for his life, his parents nowhere to be found. With profound shock, an emergency room doctor realizes that the child’s mother―a young American―is already at the hospital, sitting at the bedside of yet another child with traumatic injuries. Devoutly reciting Pslams, she stubbornly refuses to answer any questions, cautioning her children to say nothing.
Brought in to investigate, Jerusalem detective Bina Tzedek―herself a young mother―carefully peels back layer after layer of secrets and lies, following a dark, winding path through Jerusalem’s Old City, kabbalists, mystical ancient texts, and terrifying cult rituals, until she comes face to face with the horrifying truth which has held a young American family captive.
Based on true events, The Devil in Jerusalem from internationally bestselling author Naomi Ragen is an eye-opening look at the dangerous predators lurking around the watering holes of those who come seeking spiritual enlightenment.
the money she wasted on my tuition? Forget it! I can’t ask her for the time of day.” “I don’t know why not,” he said, peeved. “It’s a mitzvah to support Torah learning.” “Damn it to hell, you’ve got to get a job!” she shouted, out of control for the first time in their relationship. She felt enraged, all the accumulated tiredness and work and disappointments falling on her with a crushing blow. She felt as if she were being squeezed through a very narrow tunnel with hardly room to breathe and
daughter she felt she had coming to her after so determined an investment of time and money. She was glad when the horrible awkwardness of High Holy Days dinners, split between her parents, was finally over and her first semester began. Her father offered to drop her off at campus. He looked weary and gray as he struggled with her suitcases. “Try to have a good time, not just study all the time,” he told her as they walked side by side through the campus. “Oh, Dad!” “Yeah, glad your mother
apart, she thought. Any idea of having another child had to be put on hold. “I can’t even think of nurturing a new life with all this ugliness inside me,” she insisted to her husband. It was not only the case that was on hold, but her life. “Johnny, we have got to get all the children to talk.” He nodded, his long fingers pressed together, roof-like, touching his lips. “It’s a catch-22. As long as he’s out there and they think he can still harm them, they likely won’t talk. And as long as they
around her shoulders and made animal noises. Sound familiar?” She saw Daniella’s eyes drop down to her fidgeting fingers. “One fourteen-year-old girl was kept for weeks in a plywood box with only two holes for air and a can for a toilet, while adults taunted her. A boy—whose ‘crime’ was that he took time out to rest at work and argued about the amount of fertilizer to add to the earth—had his teeth knocked out. Another boy was stretched by four adults, who pulled on his arms and legs until he
back until they almost broke.” Tears filled the boy’s eyes. “And there was someone else there, Bannerman…” Johnny and Bina exchanged glances. It was the first time they’d heard the name. “He was then put in charge. He was supposed to ‘neutralize’ me, to make sure I didn’t lift a finger without permission. He made me—” he stopped, breathing hard “—suck his thumb. He made me drink water after everyone in the yeshiva had spit in the cup. To drink coffee they filled with paprika or salt, to drink