Satan in Goray
morning, at the Feast of the Rejoicing of the Torah, a band of idlers gathered together and to begin with took over the tavern, like bandits, consuming a whole barrel of aqua vitae. Then they went from house to house singing and snatching up geese, pots full of fat and preserves, and anything drinkable that they found. Nor did they spare Reb Gedaliya. They hastened to his house also, but he was too cunning for them. He came out to meet them, and opening his closets and pantries bade them take whatever their hearts desired, for it was proper to rejoice on such a day. Thus he won favor in their eyes and they showed him respect, calling him "Rabbi." Then they departed drunkenly to the back streets where the common people lived and desecrated the holiday in other ways.
From that time on, not a day passed without incident or affliction. In the middle of the night, at the end of the month of Cheshvan, the earth was heard to rumble and the houses quaked. Everyone ran terrified into the street, unclothed; although the noise stopped, they remained outdoors for hours, afraid to return to their homes. Several developed colds from this and inflammation of the lungs. A few days later a fault was discovered in the prayer-house wall, extending from the roof to the foundation, and it was rumored to be unsafe to worship there, since the walls might collapse; this produced a new furor in the town.
On the fifteenth day of the month of Kislev, in the midst of the morning prayer, the door of the study house suddenly opened, revealing two unexpected visitors: the emissaries, Reb Mordecai Joseph and Reb Itche Mates. Their abject appearance caused universal distress. Reb Mordecai Joseph's feet were bound with rags, his loins covered with a sack, and one of his coat lapels was rent, as though he were in mourning. Reb Itche Mates was barefoot, his body smeared from head to foot with dirt, and his face pot black. The people of Goray were completely taken aback. They were too shocked to open their mouths; they seemed to have lost the power of speech. Finally, some of the worshipers greeted the newcomers; but Reb Mordecai Joseph and Reb Itche Mates did not respond, remaining silent until the whole congregation had gathered around them. Only then did Reb Mordecai Joseph pound his crutch on the floor and beat his breast with his left fist, screaming: "0 Jews, rend your garments! Sprinkle ashes on your heads! A great disaster hath overtaken us! A bitter calamity!"
He fell against the wall, gasping until the foam be-gan to ooze out of his mouth; everyone recoiled from him. Then Reb Mordecai Joseph rose to his full height and began again: "He has become a Turk! An apostate! Woe to us that have lived to see this thing! Alas for our souls!"
"Who do you mean, Reb Mordecai Joseph?" many voices implored him, with an anxious presentiment.
"That foul liar!" Reb Mordecai screamed. "That seducer and inciter, Sabbatai Zevi, and his whore Sarah! May they be blotted out! May they be flung from the hollow of the sling! May every curse in the chapter of curses fall on their heads and every plague that afflicted the land of Egypt plague their bodies!"
Reb Itche Mates seated himself on the floor and hid his face. His kaftan was full of holes and his swollen feet were covered with clay. Large yellow tears dripped down his beard, and he swayed to and fro, as though keening over a corpse. Reb Mordecai Joseph's eyes were inflamed, his thick eyebrows prickly, his fiery beard bristled, and he resembled one of the wrathful lions carved in the woodwork above the Holy Ark. He coughed and spat at great length, beating the air with his hairy hands, and sobbing spasmodically, as at a funeral oration.
"He has put on the fez, the mad dog! He worships idols! A great multitude was converted with him! Woe to the unclean! Shame and disgrace for us all!" All of the congregation bowed their shoulders, as under a heavy burden. They looked exactly as they had that day in the year 1648 when messengers brought them the evil news that Cossacks and Tartars encircled Goray. A young man who fainted easily turned chalk-white, and his neighbors had to hold him by the arms to keep him from slipping to the ground. Even the children froze in their places. Powerless to move, they all stood where they were on quaking feet and with open mouths. Then suddenly the door was violently opened, and Reb Gedaliya rushed into the study house. He had apparently heard all, for on the very threshold he
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