A Son and the French Ambassador

It is told in the second part of Megillas Eivah, attributed to Rav Heller's son Shmuel, that Shmuel wrote it to show how much harm machlokes can cause, so that people would keep far from it. In 5385 (1625), while his father was still Av Beis Din in Vienna, Shmuel was sent to learn in Metz, France, in the yeshiva of Rav Mordechai ben Rav Moshe Luria, Av Beis Din of Worms. He learned there four years, until 5389 (1629). On Rosh Chodesh Sivan he received a letter from his father, now in Prague, asking him to come home, and he travelled on foot with other yeshiva students.

Shmuel reached Vienna cheerful and carefree, with no idea that his father sat in a cell in the same city awaiting judgment on a charge punishable by death. Before entering the city he lay down on the grass to rest near a forest where Viennese families went on outings. That day it was empty, because a great parade and festival were taking place in the city.

As he rested, he heard a cry for help. A wild bull was chasing a young noblewoman and a nursemaid carrying a child, enraged by the red kerchief the nursemaid wore. Shmuel ran forward, pulled off the kerchief and threw it down at the bull's feet. The bull tore at it with its horns while the women hid behind a tree.

A carriage then arrived carrying the woman's husband, a nobleman in silk, with a coat of arms woven on the carriage as well. The women pointed to Shmuel and introduced him as their rescuer. The nobleman explained that he was the French ambassador, apologized for not speaking German, and asked Shmuel in French for his name and identity. Shmuel had learned French during his four years in Metz, and he answered that he was a Jew and the son of a great rabbi. The ambassador invited him home and wished to reward him handsomely, but Shmuel declined. When the ambassador asked how else he might repay his kindness, Shmuel answered that his reward would be if the ambassador would think well of the Jews and know that they do good without hope of reward.

The nobleman insisted that he would remain at Shmuel's service. "Since the Jews are often persecuted and downtrodden in this country, perhaps one day you will need my services. As the French ambassador I have power and influence. If you ever need anything, come to see me, so that I can thank you and repay your kindness." He asked where Shmuel had learned such good French, gave him his address and his thanks, and regretted that, being a Jew, he could do nothing more to better his station. The ambassador, his wife, the nurse and the child went on to the festival in Vienna, and Shmuel took up his bundle and went to the Jewish quarter.

He went to his mother's brother, Rav Baruch Zatruner, and his relatives began to cry. It was not long before the whole matter was told to him: the false accusations of slander and libel against his father, and his imprisonment. Shmuel sat dazed. He visited his father and met with the community leaders to learn how things stood, and then went straight to the French ambassador. "I beg your honor to repay my heavy debt," he said, "for I only saved three lives, and I am asking you to save the lives of my father and of all the members of the Jewish community." As he spoke he fell at the ambassador's feet, soaking them with tears. The ambassador answered, "I praise and thank the Creator that I shall not remain long in your debt. Your father shall live and the community shall be saved."

Shmuel sent word to his father through the defense counsel, Rav Hena, who was permitted to visit him at any time. None of the Jews of Vienna slept that night, fearing for the Rav's life and for expulsion and exile. The ambassador appeared after a wait of half an hour that felt like a lifetime. "Dear son," he said, "your father shall live and your community will not be expelled. They have shown mercy. Not one person will be forced to leave his home, and your father's death sentence has been commuted to a fine."