Weekly Chasidic Story #1166 (s5780-29/ 17 Nissan, 5780)

New Jews from Transylvania

What could do they do to us? Put us in jail? Our ancestors had also been imprisoned. Maybe we would be forced into the very same cells.'

Connections (3): Seasonal-Passover is mentioned in the story once (briefly)
Weekly Reading of Shemini-Keeping Kosher is mentioned in the story once (briefly)
Weekly Reading begins "On the eighth day"-Circumcision is a theme in the story.

Story in PDF format for more convenient printing.

New Jews from Transylvania

About 600 years ago a religious movement began in Transylvania whose adherents, although not Jewish, observed certain Jewish commandments. In addition to keeping the Sabbath and the laws of kashrut, they celebrated Passover and had their own prayer book, an almost literal translation of the Jewish siddur into Hungarian.

For many years the group was persecuted and its leaders imprisoned, tortured and even killed. Some of its members escaped to Turkey, where they formally converted to Judaism. The most bloodthirsty enemy of the "Sabbath Observers," as they were called, was Queen Maria Teresa, who was known for her hatred of anything Jewish. Nonetheless, the sect stubbornly held on to its beliefs.

In the times of Kaiser Franz Josef the members of the sect underwent mass conversion and became full-fledged Jews. The following was written by a Jewish journalist who visited their village shortly before the outbreak of World War II:

"We entered the converts' synagogue. There we found a congregation consisting of a few dozen men praying the afternoon service, reading intently from small prayer books. Their appearance is dignified and serious, and they pray with great devotion. The person who led the service appeared to be the embodiment of the words, 'Know before Whom you stand.' These were never common people, as their lineage goes back over 1000 years to the founding of Transylvanian society. Today, however, they all have long beards and long side curls...

"At the end of the service they clustered around us and gave us a hearty 'Shalom Aleichem.' It did not take long until the conversation turned to a subject that is obviously very dear to them, their conversion to Judaism. This story is a glorious chapter in their history, and they do not conceal their pride in their ancestors' decision, in the times of Franz Josef, to join the Jewish people...

"'And not only that,' they add modestly, 'many of our forefathers were already quite old when they willingly underwent the mitzva of brit mila (circumcision). Surely that in itself is no trifling matter!'

"As they tell it, the first member of their group to be circumcised was over 60 years old. He insisted that the Rabbi and the mohel (ritual circumciser) promise that if he died during the procedure, they would bury him as a Jew. In fact, everyone was clamoring to be circumcised first, as they all wanted to become Jewish as soon as possible. Even the youngsters were impatient...

"The new Jews suffered greatly because of their faith, but to them, all the pain and anguish was welcome. 'We knew that we had done a great thing,' they say, 'and we waited patiently for the reaction of the non-Jewish community.'

"The reaction was not long in coming. 'We were ordered to assemble at the courthouse. We were not afraid. We thought, what could do they do to us? Put us in jail? Our ancestors had also been imprisoned. Maybe we would be forced into the very same cells...'

"The date of the court appearance arrived. Everyone in the entire village put on his finest Sabbath clothing ...

"The chief magistrate turned to an elderly gentleman and demanded to know what had gotten into his head. The man replied that as his family had already been observing the Sabbath and eating kosher for several hundred years, the time had come to complete the process and not be satisfied with halfway measures. The judge then asked if anyone had felt compelled or coerced to convert, to which they all answered no, they had become Jews of their own free will. The judge then declared that he would announce his verdict in two days. The fledgling Jews were ready to accept whatever punishment he decreed...

"Two days later the verdict was announced: Whoever wished to remain a Jew would be obligated to turn over all his property to the royal treasury!
"A vast sigh of relief filled the courthouse. That was to be their punishment? Joyfully they went home and returned to the courthouse with all of their cows and oxen, jewelry and fine clothes. Everything was piled into a huge mound in front of the building. The judge, who had been watching the proceedings, then declared, 'In the name of the Kaiser Franz Josef, you are hereby granted permission to embrace your new faith. I just wanted to see how much you were willing to sacrifice on behalf of your beliefs...' "

For the next 75 years the community flourished. Jews from the surrounding areas built them a synagogue, and sent them a Rabbi and a shochet (ritual slaughterer) to attend to their needs.

Unfortunately, the Holocaust perpetuated by the Nazis, may their name be erased, did not leave these righteous converts unscathed. When the time came they entered the ghettoes and concentration camps with the rest of their brethren, where they publicly sanctified G-d's Name.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source: Reprinted from LChaimWeekly.org (#693) with permission

Connections (3):
Seasonal-Passover is mentioned in the story once (briefly)
Weekly Reading of Shemini-Keeping Kosher is mentioned in the story once (briefly)
Weekly Reading begins "On the eighth day"-Circumcision is a theme in the story.

Yerachmiel Tilles is co-founder and associate director of Ascent-of-Safed, and chief editor of this website (and of KabbalaOnline.org). He has hundreds of published stories to his credit, and many have been translated into other languages. He tells them live at Ascent nearly every Saturday night.

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