Jewish Folklore 3

Jewish suffering at the hands of Christendom was a given from at least the time of Constantine. Stories of Jews being martyred always gave pride and hope. If there was Divine retribution against the perpetrators, so much the better for the frustrated and helpless Jewish minority. In 1753, a Croatian man named Raphael Sentimany, who had taken the name Abraham Isacowicz was executed in Vilna by Church authorities for apostasy. He had, at a very young age, converted to Judaism. He sought to hide among the Jewish community in Vilna. He was discovered, and, with great fanfare, burned at the stake. The event was reported all over Europe, bringing disgrace to the Catholic Church. By 1800, the story had undergone vast embellishments, taking its final form in a historical novel by Józef Ignacy Kraszewski, Now, the hero was a Polish nobleman, named Count Valentine Pototzki. In some versions, he was the heir to the Polish throne. Potocki had gone to study in Paris, where he encountered Jewish scholars. He was so impressed that he went to Amsterdam (the only place in Europe at that time with complete religious freedom), and converted, taking the name Abraham ben Abraham. He returned to his native Vilna. His attempts at "fitting in" proved unsuccessful. After a lengthy trial, he was sentenced to be burned at the stake. His parents urged him to publicly renounce his Judaism, and they would build him a great palace, where he could practice his Judaism in secret. He told his mother "I love you dearly, but I love Truth more". Elijah of Vilna sent him a message, that he could get him out of prison by means of Kabbalah. He refused, preferring a martyr's death. He was burned at the stake in a huge public ceremony in 1749, on the very same date as Isacowicz had died; the second day of the Feast of Shavuot. The town from which the wood had been brought for the execution soon burned down. Buildings around the public square where the execution had taken place became stained with soot, which could not be cleaned away or painted over. A Jew secured his ashes, which were buried in the Jewish cemetery of Vilna. Abraham ben Abraham was subsequently known as "the Ger Tzedek"; the "true and righteous convert" and has been the subject of numerous novels ever since. How do we know that this story is merely an embellishment of the Isacowicz story? First, there is no contemporary written record in either  Jewish or Non-Jewish sources of these events. The Catholic Church in Poland had very outspoken critics at that time, who wrote extensively about Church excesses, including crimes against the Jews. We find nothing. The Potocki family is very well known, with extensive genealogical records. There is no Valentine at that time. We have correspondences from family members. There is no mention of these events. Moreover, although Poles could be executed for apostasy, this was not the case with the nobility. They enjoyed the right to live by any religion they might choose. We may see this story as expressing Jewish pride, the love of Torah so great that it is worth dying for, as well as hope for people born among the oppressor, finally acknowledging the Truth, and even happy to die for it. The encouragement that this story gave Eastern European Jews cannot be overestimated. The true story is perhaps not as spectacular, but nevertheless carries the major elements of the legend. In any case, it is a story born of pain, which provided inspiration and hope. A legend that can do that, is far more than just folklore, even if it never happened..