Baruch's will, a fortress of resolve that had been forged through decades of grueling training and prayer, a relentless shaping of both mind and body, seemed unbreakable. Yet here, in this sacred hall, surrounded by those he had come to know as comrades, his usual calm faltered. His hands, usually as steady as the earth itself, betrayed him with the slightest tremble, a motion so minute it could have been mistaken for a trick of the light. His eyes, typically focused and clear, now flitted across the fac...