The Bull and the Ambassador

The second part of Megillas Eivah, ascribed to his son Shmuel, tells that after four years of learning in Metz, Shmuel set out for home on foot at his father's request. He reached the outskirts of Vienna cheerful and unaware that his father was imprisoned there awaiting judgment. He lay down to rest near a forest.

Suddenly he heard cries. A wild bull, enraged by the red kerchief around a nursemaid's neck, was chasing her and a young noblewoman. Shmuel sprang up, tore the kerchief off and flung it before the animal, which tore it to ribbons while the women hid behind a tree.

Then the woman's husband arrived, and he proved to be the French ambassador. Because Shmuel had learned French in Metz, they were able to speak, and Shmuel asked no reward except that the ambassador think kindly of the Jews. The ambassador promised to help should the need arise.

Shmuel soon learned why his relatives were weeping. He went straight to the ambassador, fell at his feet, and begged him to repay the debt by saving his father and his community. The ambassador answered that the debt would not stand long. That night no Jew in Vienna slept, and when the ambassador returned he told Shmuel that the sentence had been reduced to a fine and no Jew would be expelled.