“Was the scroll damaged when the safe was blown?”

“No, it’s in good condition, thanks to Allah.”

“Let’s take a look.” Sami stood.

The priest rose with some reluctance and led them to the back of the synagogue.

At the foot of a whitewashed stone staircase, he opened a heavy metal door and entered a small office. A tall green safe the size of a refrigerator stood in one corner. “A moment, please. The combination,” he said, working his fingers to mime the twisting of a dial. He shut the door behind him.

When the priest allowed them to enter, he beckoned to Omar Yussef. On the desk, beside a pile of ragged prayer books, was a box with three curved sides covered in dull, blotchy hide and less than two feet in length. Omar Yussef bent close and saw that the case was overlaid with silver panels, oxidized to a dark gray tone. He lifted his hand toward it and glanced at the priest. Ben-Tabia nodded and Omar Yussef touched the box. He felt a thrill of electricity pass through his hand. He smiled at the priest. “It’s one of the most beautiful objects I’ve ever seen,” he said.

“The box was made several hundred years ago on the orders of one of my predecessors in the priestly caste,” Ben-Tabia said. “Inside is the ancient scroll, but I cannot show you that today. Only on Passover may it be seen.”

“The workmanship is wonderful.” Omar Yussef ran his hand over the raised silver. Under its grimy coating, it was decorated with scenes from biblical stories. At the center of one of the plates was an image of a building that looked like a castle with high walls surrounding a courtyard and a central turret. Omar Yussef stroked a fingertip around the outline of the building.

“That’s our temple, which once stood on top of Mount Jerizim.” The priest inclined his head toward the place where Omar Yussef’s hand rested. “The Jews say the temple was in Jerusalem, where your famous Dome of the Rock now stands. But we know it was on Jerizim.” He swallowed hard. “May I return the Abisha Scroll to the safe? It makes me nervous even to have it here on the table.”