Satan in Goray - Isaac Bashevis Singer [39]
in his praise. At first the kings and princes of the earth had dispatched hosts of giants with drawn swords against Sabbatai Zevi, that they might take him prisoner. But a torrent of great stones rained from heaven as had been promised for the day of Gog and Magog, and all the giants perished. The world was astounded. The people of Judea were now in high repute. Princes and kings came to honor them and prostrated themselves before them. Earth and Heaven would rejoice on the day that Sabbatai Zevi arrived in Stamboul. All the Jews would certainly celebrate the Feast of Weeks in the Land of Israel. The Holy Temple would be restored, the Tables of the Law returned to the Holy Ark, and a High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies. Sabbatai Zevi, the redeemer, would reign throughout the world.... The bearer of this news was no common person, no ordinary traveler, but Reb Gedaliya, the ritual slaughterer from ZamosC, a man who was held in high regard, an individual of standing; Reb Gedaliya was tall, heavyset, with a great belly and creases in his neck. His coat was of beaver and covered with silk, and the hat he wore was sable. His black, broad, fan-shaped beard hung down to his waist, his curly hair fell over his shoulders. Reb Gedaliya's name was well known to the Sabbatai Zevi sect, for he was renowned as a cabalist; it was because of his belief in Sabbatai Zevi that he had been forced to leave his native town. Reb Geda-liya had come to Goray to rally the believers--perhaps also to take over the office of slaughterer which had been vacant in Goray since 1648. Beasts and fowls could be purchased cheaply in the nearby villages, and all the people of Goray longed for meat. Levi, who now occupied the rabbinic chair in his late father's place, led Reb Gedaliya respectfully into the study house, seated him at the eastern wall, and summoned his sect to a feast in honor of the famous man. The tavern-keeper, who was one of the brotherhood, brought a cask of sour wine that had lain in his cellar for more than fifty years, and Nechele set out cookies, butternuts, and preserves. The guests sang hymns of the new Messiah which he himself had heard in paradise. Reb Gedaliya skillfully poured wine for himself into a tall silver beaker, thrust his huge hairy hands into his embroidered sash, and enumerated the many joyful happenings. He related how on the great German Sea Jews and Christians alike had seen a ship whose sails and ropes were of white silk. The sailors spoke in the holy tongue, and on the ship's flag were inscribed the words: "The Twelve Tribes of Israel." In Izmir, three days in succession, a voice from Heaven had cried: "Touch not my messiah Sabbatai Zevi!" The Fast of the Tenth of Tebet had been turned into a holiday, into a day of rejoicing. Wherever the testament of the Messiah came, there men ate meat, drank wine, and blew the ram's horn. In the great communities of Hamburg, Amsterdam, and Prague, all the Jews--men and women alike--danced in the streets, holding the Torah scrolls, adorned with crowns and precious stones. Bandsmen played, beat on drums, rang bells, and carried a white canopy before them. On the Sabbath the priests blessed the congregations, as in the ancient days when the Holy Temple was still standing, and thrice daily the cantor led the congregation in the psalm beginning, "0 Lord, in Thy strength the king rejoiceth." In every land new prophets were appearing. Ordinary men--even girls and Christians--were throwing themselves to the earth and crying aloud that Sabbatai Zevi, the anointed of the Lord (blessed be He!), had come to redeem God's elect, the Children of Israel. Sinners who until then had openly denied and angered God, had now become penitent, putting on sackcloth and wandering from town to town in atonement and calling upon the multitudes to confess their sins. Rich converts were discarding their wealth and prostrating themselves at the feet of the rabbis, pleading to be readmitted into the fold. Jerusalem was being rebuilt, and rose once more in all her former splendor. In many towns death had