The Precept of Precepts

When a friend of mine travels abroad, to pursue his studies, for example, if he asks for advice, I advise him to strengthen his friendship with “the righteous Joseph the All-Comely” (read his biography in Genesis 30…). This is the precept of precepts that we learn, in the company of the saints, to remain, wherever we are, free in and from the world. I would not be waiving this precept if I told you about something I learned from my friend George Tayyar who, a few years ago, had left Al-Shahba' city to travel abroad. When Tayyar told me he was traveling, he did not ask for advice, but provided me with a testimony that remained with me. He said that, when he was pursuing his university studies abroad, what kept him from slipping into estrangement, were the faces of the brethren in Aleppo. The loyalty of history is greatly magnified when it is revealed to us in the present.