Episode 17: A Jew Named Gershon Yitzchok Gets into Trouble

00:01 We continue our story about a Jew in the town of Shari named Yaakov Karpil. The reason we’re talking about him is that he and his wife were the parents of Yosef Yitzchak, who married Devorah Leah. Yaakov Karpil went through a number of trials in his life that were connected with the teachings of Chassidus, and that is how his story relates to the history of Chassidus. Today we’ll tell of a very interesting and significant incident that happened to him. Thanks to his studies with Hirsh Leib, Yaakov Karpil was now considered one of the learned men of Shari. And because he was also generous in giving tzedakah, he became one of the town’s respected figures. Then something happened that had a profound effect on his life. In a village not far from Shari lived a Jew named Gershon Yitzchak. Yaakov Karpil had known him for many years. Gershon Yitzchak leased the fishponds and rivers on the estates of a wealthy landowner so that he could fish in them, paying for the privilege. He also had an inn and a shop in the remote village where he lived. Gershon Yitzchak was a good Jew, but he did not know how to study or even read. He had many children, most of them boys. He did not hire a melamed for them, nor did he send them to study in the nearby town. As for his daughters, given the attitudes of those times, it never occurred to him to arrange schooling for them; hardly anyone then thought girls needed to study. Still, when it came time to find matches for his daughters, Gershon Yitzchak specifically sought learned young men as husbands and promised them a handsome dowry and room and board at his table. The old landowner, from whom Gershon Yitzchak leased the ponds and rivers, handed the management of his estates over to his eldest son.

03:14 The old man was very cruel; his son was kindhearted by nature. This change could have worked in Gershon Yitzchak’s favor, but unfortunately a new priest settled in the village around that time. He hated Jews and began inciting the non-Jewish villagers not to visit the Jew’s inn or buy from his shop. He said that any dealings with a Jew, an enemy of the Christian faith, were contrary to Christianity. Naturally, the income from the inn and shop plummeted until it reached zero. Well, Gershon Yitzchak still had his livelihood from fishing, or so he thought. But at that same time, the fish catch dropped drastically, as though the fish, too, had listened to the priest’s incitement and were avoiding the Jew’s nets. Of course, with no income, he had no money to pay the lease on time. Gershon Yitzchak hurried to the young landowner, whom he had known since childhood, and told him of his dire situation. The young man immediately agreed to defer payment of the debts, but meanwhile Gershon Yitzchak’s debt kept growing. One day the old landowner decided to examine the accounts of his estates and discovered that Gershon Yitzchak owed a great deal of money. The wicked old man flew into a rage and summoned the Jew. His son’s explanations did nothing to calm him. “I will not let this debt keep growing,” he told Gershon Yitzchak. “You must pay it all within a month.” When the month passed and Gershon Yitzchak had no way to settle the debt, the old landowner informed him that unless he paid what he owed immediately, he would throw him and his wife into prison and confiscate all their property. Winter was at its height. Bitter cold gripped the outdoors, and no one could be seen on the roads. Gershon Yitzchak had no income at all, and there was no sign of any Jew from whom he might borrow money. Meanwhile,

06:10 the Jew-hating priest intervened and proposed a diabolical plan to the landowner. Imprisoning the Jew and his wife would do him no good, the priest said, because then the Jew would have no way to get him the money. “Better to take one of the Jew’s children as collateral. Then he will have no rest. He’ll sell even his own head to raise the money to redeem his son. And if he fails to bring the full amount on time, you can have the child converted to Christianity.” The priest even pointed out which child would best serve the purpose: the Jew’s twelve-year-old son, David. The wicked landowner liked the suggestion. He promptly took twelve-year-old David to his home and set an extremely short deadline for redeeming him. At Gershon Yitzchak’s home, of course, there was wailing and weeping. The family was at a loss. Where could they find such a large sum to redeem their son? Because of the harsh winter, not a single visitor appeared for weeks from whom they might seek any help. Meanwhile, the cruel landowner sent for Gershon Yitzchak and his wife. When they came, he greeted them with insults and shouted at them for delaying payment. He also told them that David, their son, covered only the interest that had accumulated on the debt; for the principal, Gershon Yitzchak and his wife themselves would be taken as slaves. Assuming they would not have the required sum in the coming days, he informed the stunned parents that he had already sent David, who now belonged to him, to the priest’s house to prepare him for conversion. The father and mother burst into heartbreaking tears and began pleading with the landowner not to take their child from them. “I’ll do anything to get the money, both the principal and the interest,” Gershon Yitzchak begged. “Please, take our son

08:46 out of the priest’s house.” The landowner mocked them. “You still have one last chance to save yourselves from slavery, but your David has already been taken in payment of the interest. He must become a Christian now, since he is too good to remain a Jew.” To show how firm his decision was, he began whipping them mercilessly. Blood flowed from their wounds, and they fled for their lives. Life was no longer life for the couple. They would gladly have sacrificed their own lives if only they could save their David from conversion. Gershon Yitzchak went to the young landowner, who received him with warmth and understanding. He wept and pleaded with him to help save his child from conversion. The young man promised to do everything he could, though he expressed doubt that he would be able to soften his father’s hard heart. They did agree, however, that the young landowner would find out what was happening to David, who was now in the priest’s custody. They knew nothing of his fate. The news the young landowner brought the parents a few days later comforted them on the one hand and deepened their pain on the other. He told them that the priest had first tried persuasion and then force to make David accept Christianity. But although David knew very little about Judaism, having never studied with a melamed in cheder, he stubbornly refused to obey the priest. He showed true mesirus nefesh. The priest ordered him to eat pork, and he flatly refused. The priest beat him severely, but David held firm. The priest beat him even harder, until the boy fell to the ground, tortured, battered and bruised, unable to move. Only then did the priest leave him alone. The young landowner told them, “The priest will have to wait several days for David to recover. In the meantime, I’ll have a chance to do something. In any

11:08 case, it appears the priest will not succeed in his scheme to convert David.” Although David’s condition pained his parents deeply, they found comfort in his steadfast resistance, and hope began to stir within them. Gershon Yitzchak set about urgently thinking of a way to obtain the full amount for the landowner, both principal and interest, so that he could rescue his son David from his hands.