Chapter 3. Regret and Repentance Begins.
Author's note: I am NOT JEWISH, I am meaning no offense to any Jews, I needed to verify elements of that faith- maybe I got it wrong… and if I did, I ask forgiveness and correction.
About 5 min later, Rabbi Micah was walking to Willow's right on the upper floor of the Magic Box, which he had learned to be sort of a 'community armory' "though I'm not entirely comfortable with the kind of equipment it specializes in… I'm not the one in any real danger here- no, Willow's the one in danger- due to her addiction to this kind of stuff." he thought. He's maybe a good eight inches taller than she is, clean shaven, common civilian outfit, straight black hair, relatively lean face… and very strong- physically. She was walking to his right, near the railing, about 2½ feet away and about a foot to his side, step for step, her head was down as they spoke quietly: "I sort-of got mixed-up in the occult, Rabbi, at first it seemed OK- like calling up people, then I just couldn't stop… anyway, it, this relationship began with trying to save each other from monsters- a not so uncommon occurrence here in Sunnydale. My relationship morally devolved from that point on- I just realized that I had been abusing her almost all along, Man, was that a mess-up! Anyhow, she seemed to get the idea that I got addicted to casting spells, we fought, and, long story short, I forced her to forget… wrong, I know, but it got way worse within a few hours- for while she was under the influence of my" she paused to find the right word "mysticism, we slept together." Rabbi Micah was now truly realizing the disorder his parishioner was in "Was that the beginnings of the rapes?" he asked her. Her head was down in shame *Gulp* she responded, then answered "Yes, Rabbi." "I see" and after a few seconds, he continued "and how many times, and how many people did you do this horror to?" "Her- about 78 times, other girls 24 of them, once apiece." she knew well the trouble she was in. "I understand… in the old days- the days of the Temple- you'd have to make a number of sacrifices at the Temple, and it would probably take years to make up for all these felonies! But, with the temple destroyed, things are a bit harder for us to follow our faith." "I may be somewhat out of practice, Rabbi, but, don't we call our synagogues temples?" "Willow, I was referring to the one in Jerusalem, anyway, as I was saying, in addition to the civil results: criminal charges, possible jail time, et cetera, you'll have to devote several years to community service- I've already learned of your love of defense of your neighbors… and that's great, but, and I cannot emphasize this enough: NO MORE RAPES!"
During this conversation, Tara had been showing Mr. and Mrs. Rosenberg the picture of the flower that their daughter had used in the violations (which had so utterly enraged her), and telling them about it.- they were rather shocked, to say the least.
"It's unbelievably clear to me now that I've got a lot to correct in myself" Willow thought, then to Micah, said "Rabbi, I am very interested in this program that you were talking about… please do tell me more about it." "It's kind of a rehab facility- sort of a behavioral hospital, don't be afraid, I also have a duty there to the inmates of our faith." "So, it's kind-of a mental hospital?" "Yeah, sort of- but it's not affiliated with the state… that much." "I can take you there myself- your folks and friends can bring your gear, of course it'll have to be checked, but they can visit at any time… your problem is addictions, not insanity- so once you've clearly overcome them, you'll go home." they were near the religious icons on the shelf near the table. "Excuse me, Willow, I need to make a little devotion.:" He was now to the right and walked up to the icons and kissed the index and ring fingers of his right hand, then placed them on one of the pictures of the Holy Family.
This was quite clear to Willow "You're a Messianic, aren't you?" she asked him once he'd returned to her side. "I became convinced that the Messiah was the Rabbi from Nazareth who died some 2000 years ago, while researching theological teachings to help you out, His arguments matched the Law completely if not more practically than the leaders of His time would have wanted." - "I always did have a sneaking suspicion that He was the one we were waiting for, just that the fall that you underwent was the final impetus that got me researching."