Chapter 67: Reb Nachum and Prince Kombri

00:01 The fascinating story of the city of Vitebsk and its history continues. Reb Nochum returned home, and several weeks later traveled again to Prince Combray. This time, he received a warmer welcome than before. A separate house had been prepared for him, equipped with every comfort. That very day, Prince Combray received him and began discussing the details of purchasing the estates in earnest. At the same time, the prince wanted Reb Nochum to tell him more about the Jews. It was clear that he was eager to hear about them, since he knew very little. Reb Nochum began telling him the whole history of the Jewish people, starting with Avraham Avinu. The prince listened intently and said, “I would very much like you to stay here for a few days. I want to hear much more about the Jews, so you had better send word to your family so they won’t worry about you.” Reb Nochum agreed and sent Reb Sholom, his companion and assistant, home to inform the family and bring back bread, butter and other foods that he did not want to eat on the non-Jew’s estate. He had not brought enough with him to begin with. Prince Combray invited Reb Nochum to see him every day and kept him for hours, asking about the Jews, their faith and their way of life. It was evident that everything he heard from Reb Nochum had still not satisfied his curiosity. Reb Nochum could not understand it. He had never encountered such an interest in Judaism on the part of a non-Jew. When Reb Sholom returned, he brought not only food but clothing as well. He had figured that Reb Nochum would remain at the fortress for Shabbos, so he also brought wine and Shabbos food, along with Reb Nochum’s Shabbos clothes, including his distinctive small, thirteen-pointed hat and his special Shabbos tallis with its gold atarah. He also brought the

02:17 small Torah scroll that Reb Nochum kept at home, together with the little aron kodesh in which it was housed. Reb Nochum was descended from a Jewish family expelled from Spain at the time of the expulsion. The Torah scroll and aron kodesh had come to him as an inheritance from his Spanish ancestors, passed down from father to son for generations. The Torah scroll was kept in a silver case, and the aron kodesh was finely crafted from wood. Every Thursday, Reb Nochum would review the weekly parsha from this Torah scroll, in addition to reading shnayim mikra ve’echad targum on Friday afternoon. When Shabbos arrived, Reb Nochum made himself at home and acted accordingly. On Shabbos, a messenger came from the Swedish prince inviting Reb Nochum to the fortress. Reb Nochum went to the prince wearing his Shabbos clothes and his distinctive hat. As he entered the prince’s room, the prince rose from his seat with unusual reverence. Reb Nochum was astonished. Had his Shabbos clothes made such an impression on the prince? He sensed that there was something significant behind the prince’s great interest in Judaism. That feeling grew stronger when, in the course of their conversation, the prince began asking how Jews observe Shabbos and what it means. Reb Nochum was deeply moved. He saw an expression of profound sorrow come over Prince Combray’s face, and noticed tears gathering in his eyes. Before long, everything became clear to Reb Nochum. An elderly woman entered the room, and Prince Combray introduced her as his aunt, his mother’s sister. Reb Nochum could immediately tell that she was an intelligent woman and particularly interested in getting to know him. She, too, asked many questions about the Jews and their way of life. Reb Nochum sensed that they had a secret she wanted to reveal to him, but that she had not yet made up her mind. Time passed, and on

04:57 the following Monday, Reb Nochum was summoned again to the fortress. The prince and his aunt were waiting for him and greeted him like someone close to them. This time, the aunt spoke openly; it seemed that all her hesitation about revealing her secret had vanished. Reb Nochum now learned that the prince and his aunt were of Jewish descent. They, too, were descendants of Jews expelled from Spain. The aunt told Reb Nochum everything she knew about their origins. They had a portrait of Prince Combray’s grandfather, the aunt’s father, whose name was Yosef Gabrieli and who had been among those expelled from Spain. Yosef Gabrieli had been very wealthy in Spain, and he had married off her and her sister Regina to wealthy young men. When the Jews were expelled from Spain, they went into exile. They wandered from country to country until they reached Moravia, now Slovakia, where they settled. An epidemic broke out there, and the aunt’s husband died. The aunt moved into her sister’s home; her sister had just given birth to a son, whom she named Yehudah. Their material circumstances were very difficult, for they had lost all their possessions. A year later, Regina’s husband also died, making their situation still worse. They were quite literally starving. In the meantime, Regina became acquainted with a young man of high birth from a noble Swedish family, the Combray family. He confided to her that he was Jewish and asked her to marry him. Regina agreed, and after their marriage they traveled to Sweden. Both felt themselves to be Jews and always longed to return to their roots, but they were unable to break away from their wealthy and influential family. Yehudah, Regina’s son from her previous marriage, was given the name Johan and grew up as a prince of the House of Combray. Before her death, Regina asked her sister to reveal the secret of his Jewish identity to her son when he grew up. Two years ago, Johan’s stepfather died, and his aunt finally revealed the secret of his Jewish origins to him. She also gave him the portrait of his grandfather, Yosef Gabrieli. The aunt, who had told Reb Nochum her long story,

07:37 continued, “About a year ago, we decided to leave our former home and settle somewhere we could live as Jews. That is why we came here, near the Polish border. All this time, we have been looking for the right person to help us return to Jewish life. When my sister’s son told me recently that he had met a respected Jew from Poland, he asked me to come and discuss whether we should reveal ourselves to him and seek his guidance. As you can see,” she concluded, “we decided to place our full trust in you.” The story made such a powerful impression on Reb Nochum that he could barely collect his thoughts enough to suggest a course of action. Within a few days, Reb Nochum had a complete plan. According to it, the prince and his aunt would move to Prague for several months. Reb Nochum would put his own affairs and those of the community in order so that he, too, could come to Prague and give them whatever help they needed in making the transition to Jewish life. Until then, he advised them to keep the matter secret. Reb Nochum then returned home and informed the Polish nobleman that he had a buyer for his estates. All that remained was to agree on the prices and sign the contracts. The transaction was completed in a short time, and the estates of Segzesh passed into Prince Combray’s possession. Reb Nochum received a substantial brokerage fee. In addition to cash, the nobleman Zinkovitch gave him an estate near the city and a stable with horses and forty calves. Soon afterward, Reb Nochum gathered the leaders of the community and told them that he and his wife were preparing to return to Prague, from which they had come to Vitebsk twenty-three years earlier. They wished, he said, to visit the graves of their ancestors and planned to stay there for an extended period. He therefore suggested that they choose someone else to take his place as head of the community. Reb Nochum had one son, named Tevel. Tevel had a different character from his father. He had good character traits. His way of life was different from his father’s. Unlike

10:18 Unlike Reb Nachum, who was engaged in trade, Tevel devoted himself to working the land. He had gardens, orchards, and plots of land that he had received as a dowry. Tevel worked his plots himself and was very successful. He said that besides the fact that working the land involves no robbery, theft, or deceit, and generally requires little dealing with other people, it has a special quality: it brings a person closer to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Working the land, Tevel said, creates a partnership with the Creator of the world. Here you need rain, there you need sunshine; sometimes you need wind, and sometimes calm weather. So your eyes are constantly turned toward Hakadosh Boruch Hu. The estates in Segzesh, which Prince Kombri had bought from the nobleman Zinkovich through Reb Nachum, were now managed by an agent the prince had appointed. That agent wanted Tevel to take charge of cultivating the estates’ land, but Tevel did not want to leave his own fields and gardens. Reb Nachum, meanwhile, went to Prague. He stayed there for two years, and when he returned to Segzesh, he began giving charity generously. Every year he sent large sums of money to yeshivos in Poland. No one imagined that Reb Nachum was giving away not only his own money, but also money belonging to Prince Kombri, who had returned to Judaism and was giving charity through Reb Nachum. Time passed, and Reb Nachum grew old. When he felt that his days were numbered, he called his son Tevel to him and revealed the entire secret about Prince Kombri. The prince had settled in Holland, in a palace he had bought not far from Amsterdam, and was now called Yehuda Gabrieli. At first, as we related, he had lived in Prague, where he married a woman from a distinguished Jewish family. Three years later, after they had a son, the couple moved to Holland. Reb Nachum also told his son Tevel

12:58 that Yehuda Gabrieli had become learned in Jewish texts. Reb Nachum made his son swear that he would reveal the secret to no one, never accept any payment from the prince or his representatives, and never take a position in his service. At the same time, he charged Tevel with taking all the income from the Segzesh estates to the prince in Holland after his father’s passing. He was to tell the prince of his father’s passing and ask him to appoint someone to distribute the charity funds in Reb Nachum’s place. Reb Nachum also asked his son to convey his advice to the prince: that he sell his estates in Poland.