Amnon and the Duke of Hessen

It is told that in the city of Mayence (Mainz), more than eight centuries ago, there lived a scholar named Rav Amnon. Jews and non-Jews alike loved and honored him for his piety, and word of his learning had travelled widely. The Duke of Hessen, who governed that land, valued his wisdom as well, and again and again summoned him to the palace to ask his opinion on affairs of state.

Rav Amnon never took a reward for such service, from the Duke or from the state. Only now and then did he make a request, and it was always the same: that the Duke ease the lot of the Jews, repeal some of the harsh decrees and restrictions placed on them, and let them live in safety and calm. The Duke always granted it, and for many years the Jews of the land lived in peace.

Other courtiers grew jealous. The Duke’s secretary was the most envious, for he could not stand watching the rabbi gain such honor and such closeness to the Duke, a bond that was fast turning into real friendship. He started searching for a way to ruin Rav Amnon in the Duke’s eyes.

At last the secretary spoke. “My lord, you could try to convince Rav Amnon to convert, as we have. Given everything he has gained from your kindness, surely he would abandon his religion willingly and take on ours.”

The Duke found the suggestion appealing. When Rav Amnon came to the palace the following day, the Duke said, “My friend, you have served me faithfully for years, and now I want something from you personally. Turn away from your religion and become a Christian like me. Then I will raise you above everyone in the land, with honors and wealth no one else has, and you will stand second only to me in power.”

Rav Amnon’s face went white, and for a moment he could not speak. Then he said, “Great lord, for years I have been your loyal servant. Being Jewish has never weakened my devotion to you or to the realm; my religion commands me to be faithful to the country where I live. I would give all I have for you and for the land, even my life. Yet my faith I cannot give up. It is the unbreakable covenant of my ancestors. Do you want a man at your side who would betray what he holds holiest? If I could betray my God, what assurance would you have that I would not betray you? Surely you are only joking.”

“Not at all,” said the Duke, though he did not sound sure of himself, since in his heart he was pleased by the reply. Rav Amnon hoped that was the end of it, but when he came to the palace the next day the Duke made the same demand. Rav Amnon became deeply troubled, and kept away from the palace except when it could not be avoided.

Eventually the Duke lost patience with his stubbornness and spoke plainly: convert or suffer for it. Pushed to answer on the spot, Rav Amnon asked for three days to think it over, and the Duke agreed.

Hardly had Rav Amnon left the Duke’s presence when he realized what he had done. “What have I done?” he thought. “Am I so short of faith and courage that I needed time to think? There is only one possible reply. How could I be so weak, even for an instant? Gracious Hashem, forgive me.”

He went home brokenhearted, locked himself in his room, and passed the three days praying for pardon. When the third day came and he had not shown up at the palace, the Duke flew into a rage and sent his men to bring him in chains.

The Duke scarcely knew the man standing before him, so much had Rav Amnon altered in those three days. Still, he put aside any compassion for his old friend and said coldly, “How dare you ignore my order? Why did you not come with your answer when you were supposed to? I trust you will now do as I say, for otherwise it will be the worse for you.”

Rav Amnon’s body was broken, yet his spirit had never been stronger. “Your Highness,” he replied calmly, “my answer can only be one. As long as I draw breath, I remain a faithful Jew.”

The Duke shook with fury. “Now it is no longer just about your changing religion. You defied me by failing to come and answer on your own, and you will pay for that.”

“Your Highness,” said Rav Amnon, “in asking for three days to think, I committed a serious sin against my God.”

These courageous words made the Duke angrier still. “If you have sinned against your God, let Him take revenge,” he snapped. “I will punish you for defying me. Your legs refused to bring you here, so they will be cut off.”

Rav Amnon, barely alive, was carried back to his grieving family, on the eve of Rosh Hashanah. As the news spread, the whole city was shaken with horror, and the Jews of Mainz gathered in the shul the next morning for a Day of Judgment more tragic than any they could remember.

In spite of his agony, Rav Amnon remembered what day it was, and asked to be carried to the shul. At his request, they laid him before the Aron Kodesh. Men, women and children alike wept to see their beloved rabbi suffering so, and no tefillos had ever been said with greater anguish than those of that Rosh Hashanah.

As the chazzan started Musaf, Rav Amnon gestured for him to stop, because he wished to say a special prayer to Hashem. A hush came over the congregation, and he began to say Unesana Tokef (“Let us declare the mighty holiness of this day”). The worshippers repeated each word after him, pouring out their hearts in prayer and tears. Kedushah followed, and then Aleinu. When they arrived at the line “He is our God, and there is no other,” Rav Amnon shouted it out with all the strength he had left, and his soul left him.

Today Unesana Tokef stands among the weightiest tefillos of the Yamim Noraim. It says that on Rosh Hashanah it is inscribed, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed, who will live and who will die, who at his appointed time and who before it, who by fire, by water, by sword or by wild beast, who by famine or thirst, who by earthquake or epidemic, who by strangling or stoning, who will find rest and who will roam, who will be calm and who will be pursued, who will know ease and who suffering, who will be impoverished and who enriched, who will be brought low and who raised high. And it ends with the words that cancel the harshness of the decree: teshuvah, tefillah and tzedakah.