The Selfless Sacrifice of the Jews
Near the end of the nineteenth century, in one of those larger
principalities that made up one of the vast multi-ethnic empires of the Eastern
Europe, the long-living royal prince finally died. There was great consternation because, the
ruler, having left no obvious heir to the throne, the country looked like it
was about to plunge into a period of anarchy and chaos. As part of the attempt to maintain peace and
order for as long as possible, the inner council of the nation’s elders, called
upon the religious leaders of all persuasions to attend the funeral of the late
monarch and set the tone for a proper succession, whatever it might turn out to
be. Thus on the appointed day two weeks
after the death, dressed in all their finery and sacramental insignia, the
religious hierarchies came to the square before the national cathedral to make
their pledges of loyalty.
First to speak was the Metropolitan Bishop of the Capital, the most important
priest in the Orthodox Church. He was a
man in his late fifties, tall, portly, and beaming self-confidence and
spiritual pride. He stood before the
marble sepulchre in which the corpse of the ruler already lay awaiting gifts
and then closure. For several days huge
crowds had filed by in a single line, tears in their eyes, but wariness on
their faces. The Bishop pulled three of
the largest rings off his right hand, held them up before the vast crowd, and
declaimed: “Out of love and respect for our late lamented Prince, I cast these
rich objects to show the appreciation of all he had done for our nation.” Then he removed the expensive jewel-encrusted
stole from around his neck, showed it to all, and said, “Now as a pledge of
ever-lasting loyalty to the people and government of this God-blessed land, I
give away this sacred stole.”
The crowd gasped, as what he had just given away was the equal of many
years’ wealth of the entire national treasury.
Next to stand before the throngs was the Roman Catholic Bishop, the
second-most important Christian cleric in the land. He was quite elderly and frail, and yet,
aided to the podium by seven younger priests and acolytes, he made himself
heard clearly and loudly: “Fellow subjects and beloved brothers in Christ, I am
come here to show the sadness of my Church and its love for our lost
leader. I also come to let the entire
world see how much Holy Mother Church sacrifices to the future of this nation.”
Art that, he took off three rings from each hand, removed the holy stole from
around his neck, and took out from a small chest held up by one of the young
priests a magnificent ancient Cross covered with diamonds, rubies, sapphire`s
and every precious stone imaginable.
Everyone standing in the square immediately recognized it as the most
wonderful relic of the nation’s Christian history. “Here,” he said, “placing it
in the sepulchre “is our sacrifice and token of enduring loyalty to the
state.” The crowd roared its approval.
When silence returned, a third clergyman stood up. It was the chief Preacher of the United
Protestant Congregations, a young man with great charismatic powers, though the
head of a minority faith in the land.
“My dear friends, neighbous and fellow citizens,” he said, “ my
coreligionists and I share with all of you the profound loss we have suffered
by the passing of our Great Leader, a man whose foresight and wisdom have
created tolerance for all Christians in this beloved country. In this time of sorrow and uncertainty, all
of us must stand together with faith in the future. I therefore will show deep our feelings
go.” He then took out from under his
long black cloak a large sack, and one by one threw into the sepulchre golden
bars, large ancient coins, rings, necklaces and a hundred other riches. “Everything my brothers in Christ have and
all the gifts the Holy Spirit has bestowed upon us is at the disposal of this
wonderful country.” And with tears in
his eyes, he stepped back, while the great throng of people said a loud amen.
Then, before everyone went home, overwhelmed with profound feelings for
the speeches they had heard and the sights they had seen, a little man, bent over
and somewhat shabbily dressed in his gabardine coat and moth-eaten fur hat
limped to the front of the podium. It
was the leading rabbi of the land. The
stared in wonder and slowly one whisper went to another as those who knew who
he was passed on the information.
“My dear friends,” said the old man, “we Jews also have much to be
thankful for in this land, and especially to the person who lies before us
here, for the final time visible to the people who ruled over for so long and
so well. All around us we Jews have been
subjected to pogroms, massacres and expulsion, but here, thank God, we have
learned to live peacefully with our neighbors.
But now, alas, with this great Prince gone, we are wary and frightened
by what the future might hold. Yet our
faith in God and our belief in the Law of Moses teach us to have hope. And to show you how much hope we have in the
future of this truly great and magnificent country we all live in, I will make
this pledge.” At that, he took out a
cheque book, wrote out the amount for twenty-five billion roubles in favour of
the dearly departed monarch, and showed it to the assembled crowd. “This is our sacrifice for the good of this
land.” He carefully tore the paper into
a hundred pieces and he gently placed them into the sepulchre, while the honor
guard of soldiers closed it over with a huge marble slab, and behind him a vast
choir of boys and girls, monks and nuns all intoned the funeral chant to end
the ceremony. The huge throng crossed
themselves, cried amen, and stared in wonder at the rabbi as he slowly
disappeared into the approaching darkness.
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