A Midrashic description of the biblical Rivka/Rebecca in the house of Lavan/Laban before marrying Isaac is “Like a Rose Among Thorns.”
I thought of this phrase a number of times during my stint at Grand Jury duty on 8 Fridays this summer. While we are not allowed to speak of any specifics regarding these cases, which have not yet gone to trial (the whole purpose of Grand Jury is to ensure the prosecution has enough evidence to go to trial altogether), there are some takeaway lessons and impressions which do not give away details that I presume are safe to share.
Why did I think of “Like a Rose Among Thorns”?
In several of the cases (and we heard many cases!) we encountered a type of testimony (either by the victims themselves or others related to the case) that showed me a person of (some) character and courage and decency, but enmeshed and ensnared in unhealthy and unpleasant life situations. Their life circumstances in general, or the setting of the case, are deeply troubling and disturbing, but despite all that, and between all of it, the image of a good person with positive potential and possibility shines forth. They seemed to me to be a rose among all those thorns. It’s hard to see people entrapped in such a complexity of thorns. And you can’t help but silently wish for them that their future be less thorny and more rose, that they be able to emerge from all this with enough of that rose intact and not torn to shreds by all the surrounding thorns.
And in one case or two cases, we also saw something quite unusual – perplexing at first. We heard self-incriminating testimony from a person who seemed to have no need to do so. But as the story unfolded, and we heard more of the case, we realized they were attempting to protect someone, they took it upon themselves in an effort to spare another. It occurred to me that this is a different twist on “A Rose Among Thorns”. In this case, it is the thorns, and the thorny situation they were in, that allowed this rose of noble character to blossom. The person seemed far from innocent, but this act of (perceived) selflessness brought out a type of rose in them.