To Tell Their Children by Rachel L. Greenblatt

Author:Rachel L. Greenblatt [Greenblatt, Rachel L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780804786027
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Published: 2014-02-26T00:00:00+00:00

Six

“In the Language People Understand”

Print and Manuscript; Vernacular and Sacred; Women and Men

In Ayn sheyn mayseh’s second subplot, Gumpricht approaches the emperor with a request to marry. In paraphrase:

The emperor declared that Gumpricht could marry any Jewish woman in his realm, and Gumpricht already had somebody in mind. The emperor gave him leave and money to travel to Buntsla [Bumsla in contemporaneous Hebrew usage, Jungbunzlau in German, and Mladá Boleslav in Czech], where the beautiful woman lived with her father. There, Gumpricht spent the Sabbath with the father and learned of the young woman’s ideal qualities. He sat in the family’s home the entire day on Friday, but she did not so much as come out so that he could see her until it was time to light the Sabbath candles. In her father’s words, “there [was] none like her in beauty, virtue, [she knew] how to do various crafts and play all kinds of instruments.”1 The father hypothetically expressed his willingness to arrange her marriage to the famous young man who had won the emperor’s favor through his wisdom—another ideal quality, this one applying to men. At the end of the Sabbath, Gumpricht revealed himself and the match was duly made. Gumpricht then ordered a gift of velvet shoes, one with the initials of each of their first names, for his bride-to-be, and returned to the emperor’s court at Prague.

There, Gumpricht sang his fiancée’s praises, speaking of her beauty, her endless skills, and above all her piousness and modesty. He aroused the jealousy of one of the king’s close advisors who challenged Gumpricht to stand before the emperor and wager on his very life that the advisor would not be able to charm the young woman into “lying by [him],” i.e., engaging in sexual relations.2 The emperor feared for Gumpricht’s well-being, but trusted that his wisdom would protect him, and the bet was made. The advisor set off for Bumsla with plenty of money. When the bride’s father heard that someone was in town asking about her, he sent her away. Nevertheless, after much advice-seeking, conniving and plotting the advisor was able to bribe the family’s Shabbos goye [a Gentile woman close to the family], who brought him an object belonging to her, the velvet shoes, and reported that she had a mark on her shoulder. He returned to Prague triumphant and used his “proofs” to report on his “victory” to the emperor. Gumpricht was jailed, but convinced the emperor to allow him fourteen days to prove his innocence before being hanged.

Gumpricht sent to his future father-in-law, asking him to come to Prague at once (apparently Gumpricht thought the older man would be able to offer advice or prove the younger’s innocence in some way). The older man, however, inexperienced in matters other than the constant study of his holy books, was frightened and sent the messenger back to Gumpricht empty-handed.3 So he sent to his bride, reporting all that had happened and requesting that she herself come to Prague immediately.

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