The Earthquake and the Answer

In Spain a king wanted to protect his favorite minister, but the church had accused the man of secretly practicing Judaism, and the king had no authority over the church. He could only delay the execution for a year, so that the minister could settle all his affairs, and then for one more month.

On the day of the auto-da-fe a huge square was filled with spectators. But as the minister was tied to the stake, an earthquake threw the crowd into panic. In the confusion the minister escaped, helped by the king, who had his servants carry him across the border.

The minister was a thinker by nature. Was the earthquake a coincidence, or a miracle? He decided that if it was coincidence he would go on practicing Judaism in secret, but if it was shown to have no natural explanation, he would openly convert. He wrote to many Jewish scholars in Germany without telling them that it had happened to him, and none gave him a clear answer. Then he heard of a saintly scholar, the Baal Shem Tov, and travelled to him.

At the Baal Shem Tov’s court he asked the first Jew he met where the Baal Shem Tov’s study was. It was Rav Ze'ev Kitzis, who pointed the way. The Baal Shem Tov greeted the stranger at the door: “Welcome, honored minister from Spain.” The man stepped back in fear, since no one yet knew who he was. The Baal Shem Tov told him, “As for your question, go and ask that man in the courtyard. He will answer you.”

The minister went back and found Rav Zev Kitzis near the gate and told him his problem. Rav Zev answered, “Even if that earthquake had been ordained from the first day of Creation for that time and place, the very fact that your execution took place then and there is an open miracle.” This was the answer the man wanted. He converted openly and kept a strong bond with the Baal Shem Tov for the rest of his life.