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Hanukkah

Oil for the Temple, Part 1

Oil for the Temple, Part 1
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 3 to 5
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   4.47

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    pathway, stony, blessed, pressing, rushed, grove, onto, possible, miracle, priest, sight, pure, aside, press, bless, properly

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Oil for the Temple, Part 1
By Mary Lynn Bushong 		  
1     David skipped over the stony pathway as he rushed from the threshing floor down to the hillside where the olives grew. Ahead, he saw the work crew. He was still a little distance off when he warned his father.
 
2     "Papa!" he shouted. "Papa, there are men coming this way."
 
3     Judah looked up at his oldest son. He had been stationed there at the top of the hill to watch for possible trouble. Who could these approaching men be? Were they Syrian soldiers bent on causing more trouble before they were chased completely from the land, or were they relatives looking for help?
 
4     Judah signaled for the others to continue harvesting the last of the ripe olives from that group of trees. The fruit on this side of the hill was always the last to ripen. He didn't mind. It meant he often had fresh olives for a while after other groves were done.
 
5     He followed his son up the hill, listening to the resumed sound of sticks beating the fruit from the trees onto blankets stretched over the ground. Judah trudged after David and focused his mind on what was before him.
 
6     He stood beside the olive press next to the threshing floor. He did not have to stretch his sight to see that it was neither soldiers nor family who approached. It was the high priest. What could he possibly want with Judah's olive grove?
 
7     Judah rushed forward and met the priest.
 
8     "Is this the olive grove of Judah, ben Simon?" asked the leader of the group.
 
9     "It is," said Judah. "I am he. How may I serve? May I offer the hospitality of my home?"

Paragraphs 10 to 16:
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