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Page 4
That Russo-Poland should have elected a Jewish king on two occasions, a
certain Abraham Prochovnik in 842 and the famous Saul Wahl[9] in the
sixteenth century, sounds legendary; but that there was a Jewish queen,
called Esterka, is probable, and that some Jews attained to political
eminence is beyond reasonable doubt.[10] Records have been discovered
concerning two envoys, Saul and Joseph, who served the Slavonic czar
about 960, and an interesting story is told of two Jewish soldiers,
Ephraim Moisievich and Anbal the Jassin, who won the confidence of
Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky of Kiev, and afterwards became leaders in a
conspiracy against him (1174).[11] Henry, Duke of Anjou, the successor
of Sigismud August on the throne of Poland and Lithuania, owed his
election mainly to the efforts of Solomon Ashkenazi. Ivan Vassilyevich,
too, had many and important relations with Jews, and his favorable
attitude towards them is amply proved by the fact that his family
physician was the Jew Leo (1490). Throughout his reign he maintained an
uninterrupted friendship with Chozi Kokos, a Jew of the Crimea, and he
did not hesitate to offer hospitality and protection to Zacharias de
Guizolfi, though the latter was not in a position to reciprocate such
favors.[12]
In addition there are less prominent individuals who received honors at
the hands of their non-Jewish countrymen. Me�r Ashkenazi of Kaffa, in
the Crimea, who was slain by pirates on a trip from "Gava to Dakhel,"
was envoy of the khan of the Tatars to the king of Poland in the
sixteenth century. Mention is made of "Jewish Cossacks," who
distinguished themselves on the field of battle, and were elevated to
the rank of major and colonel.[13] While the common opinion regarding
Jews expressed itself in merry England in such ballads as "The Jewish
Dochter," and "Gernutus, the Jew of Venice," many a Little Russian song
had the bravery of a Jewish soldier as its burden. In everything save
religion the Jews were hardly distinguishable from their neighbors.
There are--writes Cardinal Commendoni, an eye-witness--a great
many Jews in these provinces, including Lithuania, who are not,
as in other places, regarded with disrespect. They do not
maintain themselves miserably by base profits; they are landed
proprietors, are engaged in business, and even devote themselves
to the study of literature and, above all, to medicine and
astronomy; they hold almost everywhere the commission of levying
customs duties, are classed among the most honest people, wear
no outward mark to distinguish them from the Christians, and are
permitted to carry swords and walk about with their arms. In a
word they have equal rights with the other citizens.
A similar statement is made by Joseph Delmedigo, who spent many years in
Livonia and Lithuania as physician to Prince Radziwill.[14]
In his inimitable manner Gibbon describes the fierce struggle the Greek
Catholic Church had to wage before she obtained a foothold in Russia,
but he neglects to mention the fact that Judaism no less than paganism
was among her formidable opponents. The contest lasted several
centuries, and in many places it is undecided to this day.[15] The
Khazars, who had become proselytes in the eighth century, were
constantly encroaching upon Russian Christianity. Buoyant as both were
with the vigor of youth, missionary zeal was at its height among the two
contending religions. Each made war upon the other. We read that Photius
of Constantinople sent a message of thanks to Archbishop Anthony of
Kertch (858-859) for his efforts to convert the Jews; that the first
Bishop of the Established Church (1035) was "Lukas, the little Jew"
(Luka Zhidyata), who was appointed to his office by Yaroslav; and that
St. Feodosi Pechersky was fond of conversing with learned Jews on
matters of theology.[16] On the other hand, the efforts of the Jews were
not without success. The baptism of the pious Olga marks an era in
Russian Christianity, the beginning of the "Judaizing heresy," which
centuries of persecution only strengthened. In 1425, Zacharias of Kiev,
who is reputed to have "studied astrology, necromancy, and various other
magic arts," converted the priest Dionis, the Archbishop Aleksey, and,
through the latter, many more clergymen of Novgorod, Moscow, and Pskov.
Aleksey became a devout Jew. He called himself Abraham and his wife
Sarah. Yet, strange to say, he retained the favor of the Grand Duke Ivan
Vassilyevich, even after the latter's daughter-in-law, Princess Helena,
his secretary Theodore Kuritzin, the Archimandrite Sosima, the monk
Zacharias, and other persons of note had entered the fold of Judaism
through his influence.
The "heresy" spread over many parts of the empire, and the number of its
adherents constantly grew. Archbishop Nikk complains that in the very
monastery of Moscow there were presumably converted Jews, "who had again
begun to practice their old Jewish religion and demoralize the young
monks." In Poland, too, proselytism was of frequent occurrence,
especially in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The religious
tolerance of Casimir IV (1434-1502) and his immediate successors, and
the new doctrines preached by Huss and Luther, which permeated the upper
classes of society, rendered the Poles more liberal on the one hand, and
on the other the Jews more assertive. We hear of a certain nobleman,
George Morschtyn, who married a Jewess, Magdalen, and had his daughter
raised in the religion of her mother. In fact, at a time when Jews in
Spain assumed the mask of Christianity to escape persecution, Russian
and Polish Christians by birth could choose, with little fear of danger,
to lead the Jewish life. It was not till about the eighteenth century
that the Government began to resort to the usual methods of eradicating
heresy. Katharina Weigel, a lady famous for her beauty, who embraced
Judaism, was decapitated in Cracow at the instigation of Bishop Peter
Gamrat. On the deposition of his wife, Captain Vosnitzin of the Polish
navy was put to death by auto-da-f� (July 15, 1738). The eminent "Ger
Zedek," Count Valentine Pototzki, less fortunate than his comrade and
fellow-convert Zaremba, was burnt at the stake in Vilna (May 24, 1749),
and his teacher in the Jewish doctrines, Menahem Mann, was tortured and
executed a few months later, at the age of seventy. But these measures
proved of little avail. According to Martin Bielski, the noted
historian, Jews saved their proselytes from the impending doom by
transporting them to Turkey. Many of them sought refuge in Amsterdam.
For those who remained behind their new coreligionists provided through
collections made for that purpose in Russia and in Germany. To this day
these Russian and Polish proselytes adhere steadfastly to their faith,
and whether they migrate to America or Palestine to escape the
persecution of their countrymen, they seldom, if ever, indulge in the
latitudinarianism into which many of longer Jewish lineage fall so
readily when removed from old moorings.[17]
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