Jewish

Once upon a time there lived a very wealthy man in the city of Jerusalem to whom a son was born in his old age. When the boy had attained the age of six and was old enough to grasp the meaning of things and to distinguish between good and evil, his fond father, noticing his gifts, decided to keep him away from the idle ways of the world, from frivolous things, dreams and illusions, and to bring him up in the study of the Divine Law which alone vouchsafes happiness to the pious, both in this world and in the next. "My offspring," thought the fond and God-fearing father, "shall be the joy and honor of my old age." Thereupon the old man locked up the boy in a special apartment which he shared with a famous and learned master whom he had engaged as a teacher to his only son.

Day and night master and pupil studied the Holy Law. And in order to prevent the boy from being attracted by the world outside, all the splendors of the world were gathered in the sumptuous apartment to gladden the youngster's heart. Nor was the master forgotten, for all his wishes were promptly fulfilled. And thus master and pupil remained in seclusion for ten years, studying all the time the Holy Law, in which the pupil made rapid progress. He soon acquired vast knowledge and knew all the books of Scripture by heart.

Years passed; the father had reached an advanced age, whilst the son had become a mature youth. And one day the old man said to himself, "My end is near and soon the day will come when I shall be called upon to return to my Maker the pledge that I have received; what shall I do with all my possessions that will be left after my demise? Should all the toil of my hands be lost? My only son is quite ignorant of the ways of the world and unacquainted with the intricacies of commerce, of mart and exchange of goods. Should my wealth be lost and one day my dear son be driven to the necessity of stretching out his hands, begging for alms and living on charity?"

These thoughts greatly troubled the old man, and he now began to enlighten his son on worldly affairs, told him the exact amount of his possessions and acquainted him with the ways of commerce. Accompanied by his son, the father visited places of business and markets and initiated his heir into the knowledge of commerce, so as to enable him to take care of his possessions.

"Be circumspect, my son," said the father, "and thus you will gladden my heart. Abandon not, however, the Law of God, for happy is he who is able to combine the ways of life with the ways of the Law." Thus spoke the father, and the boy proved a receptive pupil, intelligent and docile even in these things. Shortly afterwards the rich man died and went the way of all flesh.

As soon as the days of mourning were over, the son collected all the treasures and money which his father had left and went forth to see the world. Many cities and countries did he visit where he gathered knowledge and experience, until he finally reached the capital of Turkey. One day, when he was walking through the streets and market places of the capital, he suddenly found himself in an open square and was surprised to behold an iron coffin suspended from an iron chain between two pillars and guarded by a soldier. The traveler's curiosity was aroused and he tried to elicit some information from the guard, but the latter only told him to mind his own business.

"Get hence," he shouted, "and do not meddle with forbidden things that do not concern you."

The youth, however, was not to be shaken off so easily and by bribing the soldier with a handful of silver, he at last succeeded in obtaining the explanation he desired.

"This coffin," said the now friendly guard, "contains the body of a Jew who in his lifetime was the financial adviser of the sultan and manager of his treasury. The sultan trusted and respected him highly, but one day the enemies of the Jew, and they were many who were envious of his success, calumniated him and finally convinced the ruler that his financial adviser had been guilty of maladministration and malversation. They said the Jew had robbed his royal employer of vast sums and thus enriched himself, and the slanderers succeeded in poisoning the mind of the sultan, who had lent a willing ear to their words. Summoning the Jew into his presence, he commanded him to produce a detailed account of all the sums that had passed through his hands in the course of the twenty years that he had been in his master's service.

"A great fright now seized the Jewish banker, for how could he remember all the sums that had passed through his hands in the course of two decades? In vain did he assure the sultan of his honesty, in vain did he plead innocence, the irate ruler would not listen to his words, his prayers and supplications. Convinced that the Jewish banker had robbed him of vast sums, the sultan condemned his former adviser to death and decreed that the body of the culprit should be embalmed, placed in an iron coffin and deprived of decent burial until his co- religionists should have paid the sum of which the unhappy banker had defrauded and robbed him.

"And thus," concluded the soldier, "this coffin remains here in the square until such time as the Jews shall have collected the money due from the executed man only then will the sultan permit the body of his former banker to be buried according to their custom and ritual."

The youth was greatly affected by this story and learning from the soldier the amount of money the sultan was claiming, he betook himself to the royal palace where he craved an audience from the ruler on a very urgent matter. Admitted to the presence of the sultan, he acquainted him with his request in humble words which greatly pleased the potentate.

"I have come from a distant land," he said, "and if it please your majesty I am ready to pay the sum claimed as ransom for the body of the poor banker so that his body may be set free and buried according to the custom of the Jews."

Well pleased with the words of the stranger and glad, too, to receive the money, the sultan at once set the body free and gave instructions that it should be buried. But the generous youth was not yet content and asked for a further favor from the well disposed sultan.

"If it please your majesty," he pleaded, "may it be decreed that all the inhabitants of the city, old and young, be present at the funeral of your former treasurer." The sultan graciously granted the request and issued such a decree, and thus a great concourse of people accompanied the body of the unhappy banker to his last resting place.

On the following day the sultan summoned the stranger into his presence and offered to return his money in exchange for the celestial reward awaiting him in the next world for his noble deed.

But the young Jew refused the bargain and thus he spoke, "My lord and master, I am your slave and owe you obedience, but this I cannot do. What is man and what good to him were his life upon earth if he did not use all his endeavors to fulfill the commandments of the Lord? All my life I have been craving for an opportunity when I should be allowed to perform such a deed, and shall I now bargain away the reward that is awaiting me in the world to come?"

The sultan admitted that the stranger was right, and having shown him all his treasures he let him go in peace. The young man left the capital of Turkey and after visiting many foreign cities, he finally boarded a ship that was to bring him back to his home. But lo! as soon as the vessel had reached the open sea a terrific storm arose and sunk the ship so that all the passengers were thrown into the sea and drowned with the exception of the young man, who was the only survivor. Perceiving a plank, he seized it and was safely carried to the shore. Here he sat down and burst into tears, for deprived of all his possessions, poor, destitute, and far away from his home, he despaired of ever reaching it.

Suddenly a white eagle swooped down from on high and seemed to address the traveler in the language of the birds. The poor boy, although he could not understand the eagle's instructions, guessed that the bird was a messenger sent by God to save him, and as the eagle had spread out its wings, he mounted on its back. It brought him to Jerusalem in the twinkling of an eye -- and disappeared. In the darkness of the night the returned traveler, beholding a man wrapped in a white shroud, was greatly frightened, but the apparition spoke in the language of man and told him to be comforted.

"Fear not," said the man in the white shroud, "I am the dead banker for whom you did perform a noble and generous deed. It was I who appeared to you as a plank and as an eagle and saved you from certain death. And now be of good cheer, for you will be happy in this world and a glorious reward awaits you in the next."

And indeed the honest boy was happy until the end of his days; he never gave up or neglected the study of the Law of Moses and performed good actions all his days.