A Simple Cup

A Simple Cup is an allegorical story that tells of the relationship of a father, Josef, and his son, Joel, as the son learns the skill of pottery making becoming a master potter like his father. On his eighth birthday, Joel receives a gift: a cup made by his father. When he turns eighteen, Joel’s father is injured, obligating Joel to assume the responsibility for the family business. His first task is to complete, on his own, a large order for dishes placed by an innkeeper for use in his recently renovated inn. Even before the inn is open for business, the innkeeper receives his first reservation: A group of men traveling to Jerusalem for the Passover want to celebrate the Passover Seder in the inn. The innkeeper is elated, but disaster strikes. In the final stages of filling the innkeeper’s order, a cup is broken. Joel, honoring the commitment he made to complete the work begun by his father, decides to replace the broken cup with the cup given to him as a gift. The inn and the dishes are ready for the Seder, and the cup, passed by father to son, is used by the rabbi, the teacher, Jesus, officiating at the Seder table. A Simple Cup provides the reader with an understanding of Passover traditions and its foundation to the Christian understanding of the Last Supper. A Simple Cup is a work of fiction written for ages 10 and older.