Abraham ben Abraham
Encyclopedia
Abraham ben Abraham, also known as Count
Valentine (Valentin, Walentyn) Potocki (Pototzki or Pototski), is a legendary figure who is claimed to have been a Polish nobleman
of the Potocki
family who converted
to Judaism
and was burned at the stake
by the Roman Catholic Church
because he had renounced Catholicism
and had become an observant
Jew. According to Jewish traditions he is regarded as someone known even to the revered Jewish Talmud
ic sage, the Vilna Gaon
(Rabbi
Elijah (Eliyahu) Ben Shlomo Zalman (1720–1797)). Some historians who have studied his story have stated that surprisingly little evidence of Potocki's existence has yet been discovered other than several 19th century sources citing earlier oral histories, and they therefore consider that he most likely did not exist.
, Poland
and Russia, who know and still refer to Potocki as the Ger Tzedek ("righteous proselyte") of Vilna (Vilnius). Virtually all Jewish sources agree that he was a Polish nobleman
, who converted to Judaism
and was burned at the stake
by the Roman Catholic Church at Vilnius on May 23, 1749 (6 Sivan 5509) because he had renounced Catholicism and had become an observant Jew.
Multiple oral histories, backed up by several 19th century and later printed versions of the story, from many Jewish communities over the past two hundred and fifty years, serve as evidence of Potocki's story. Jewish oral tradition teaches some most interesting details as well as outcome of Avraham ben Avraham's life and death.
Polish author Józef Ignacy Kraszewski
, who is acknowledged as the oldest verified source citing this story (and thus perhaps its creator) relates that young Potocki and his friend Zaremba, who went from Poland
to study in Paris
, became interested in an old Jew whom they found poring over a large volume when they entered his wine-shop. This Jew might have been their own countryman Menahem Man ben Aryeh Löb of Visun, who was tortured and executed in Vilna at the age of seventy (July 3, 1749). Tradition has brought this Jewish martyr into close connection with the Ger Tzedek, but fear of the censor has prevented writers in Russia from saying anything explicit on the subject. His teachings and explanations of the Old Testament
, to which they, as Roman Catholics
, were total strangers, so impressed them that they prevailed upon him to instruct them in Hebrew
. In six months they acquired proficiency in the Biblical language and a strong inclination toward Judaism
. They resolved to go to Amsterdam
, which was one of the few places in Europe
at that time where a Christian could openly embrace Judaism. But Potocki first went to Rome
, whence, after convincing himself that he could no longer remain a Catholic, he went to Amsterdam and took upon himself the covenant of Abraham, assuming the name of Abraham ben Abraham.
After residing a short time in Germany
, a country he disliked, he returned to Poland, and for a time lived among the Jews of the town of Ilye (Vilna Governorate
), some of whom seemed to be aware of his identity. He has become close to the revered Gaon me'Vilna. When finally apprehended by the authorities, and placed in prison awaiting his death - it was decreed he would burn alive at the stake - the Vilna Gaon sent message offering to rescue him using Kabbala. Avraham ben Avraham refused, preferring instead to die 'al kiddush Hashem' and inquired of the Vilna Gaon which blessing he should make immediately before his passing. The Vilna Gaon answered "...M'Kadesh es Shimcha be'rabim" (who sanctifies His name in public) and sent an emissary to hear and answer "amen.". The entreaties of his mother and friends failed to induce him to return to Christianity
; and after a long imprisonment and a trial for heresy
he was burned alive in Vilna, on the second day of Shavuot
. It was unsafe for a Jew to witness the burning; nevertheless one Jew, Leiser Zhiskes, who had no beard, went among the crowd and succeeded by bribery in securing some of the ashes of the martyr, which were later buried in the Jewish cemetery. A letter of pardon from the king arrived too late to save the victim.
Potocki's comrade Zaremba returned to Poland several years before him, married the daughter of a great nobleman, and had a son. He remained true to the promise to embrace Judaism and took his wife and child to Amsterdam, where, after he and his son had been circumcised, his wife also converted to Judaism; they then went to Palestine
(Eretz Yisrael).
It is Jewish tradition that following Avraham ben Avraham's death, the Vilna Gaon believed that the spiritual constitution of the world had become altered in such a way that a Jew was no longer bound to wash his hands in the morning within four amos (cubits) of his bed, as explicitly taught in the codes of Jewish law such as the Shulchan Aruch
and other halachic works. Rather, a Jew's entire house would be considered as though four amos for this regard. This custom, born at Avraham ben Avraham's death, commenced with the Vilna Gaon and later became the practice of the Slobodka yeshiva in Europe, becoming today the routine of many leading Israeli Rabbis who follow the Slobodka tradition.
As to why there are few full sources, the Jewish view is reflected as in the views published on the Shema Yisrael Torah Network
website:
s - encyclopaedias of Jewish culture, history and religion - include an entry on Potocki, a Polish magnate
and member of the powerful Potocki
family, who converted to Orthodox Judaism
in 18th century Netherlands and who, after his return to Vilna, he was tried by an Inquisition
court which sentenced him to burning at the stake. Polish (ex. Janusz Tazbir
and Jacek Moskwa
), Lithuanian (Rimantas Miknys) and Western (Magda Teter) historians who have studied the story of Potocki however believe it to be invented, although it is unknown when or by whom (Moskwa points to a possibility that the author was Kraszewski himself, who is known to have invented some tales he claimed were true). Teter mentioned that the story ("a carefully crafted tale of conversion") was likely created and developed as a "response to a number of challenges that the Polish Jewish community faced from the mid-eighteenth century".
Polish historian Janusz Tazbir
notes that the story - he uses the term "legend" - originated at the turn of the eighteenth century, was published in a Jewish periodical issued in London as "The Jewish Expositor and Friend of Israel" (vol. 8, 1822). He notes that the literary version of the legend was created by Józef Ignacy Kraszewski
, a well known Polish writer of the 19th century, author of numerous historical novels, who included the story about Potocki in the third volume of the history of Vilna (1841), Wilno od początków jego do roku 1750 (1840–1842), in which he claims to have followed a Hebrew
original, thought by some to be from Ammudei Beit Yehudah (Judah Hurwitz
, Amsterdam 1766). (Extant copies of Ammudei Beit Yehudah contain no reference to the story other than a brief mention of the execution of the elderly Rabbi Mann in Wilno). The story was then popularised through Russian translations, and there is evidence that a cult of Potocki's grave in Vilna has existed until the Jewish graveyard (at Pióromont
also known as Snipiszki
quarter) was destroyed by Nazis
during World War II
and later by the Soviets. Some sources claim his remains were rescued along with those of Vilna Gaon
, though there is no modern monument or grave clearly identified as Potocki's in Vilna or elsewhere.
Tazbir notes that the tragic fate of Potocki, passed through Jewish oral tradition, remains unconfirmed by eighteenth–century Polish or Jewish primary source
s and that there is no evidence in any archives or genealogy tree that Potocki existed. He also notes that Polish szlachta was guaranteed the freedom of faith (by acts like Neminem captivabimus
and the Warsaw Confederation
), and capital punishment
was extremely rare. He argues that the described fate should have caused an uproar among szlachta (consider, for example, the case of Samuel Zborowski
), and would be the only historical example of execution by burning
of szlachta member - yet no contemporary source from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
mentions this event in even a passing reference. In addition, it is difficult to believe that the death at the stake of a Polish aristocrat, from one of the most powerful Polish magnate families
, charged with a religious crime, was not echoed in any of the diaries or polemical writings concerning religion and tolerance, topics in which the szlachta, and the entire European Enlightenment
were particularly interested. Tazbir has concluded that "the court trial and death of Walentyn Potocki should be recognised as an historical legend deprived of all source–material foundations".
There is some evidence that the Potocki legend is an embellishment of a true story. A report published in the July 1753 edition of The London Magazine describes the story of a very similar execution. The correspondent dated his report June 11, two days after the end of the Shavuot
holiday. It describes "an apostate named Raphael Sentimany, a native of Croatia
" who converted to Judaism and adopted the name Abraham (thus making his religious name Abraham ben Abraham). The report describes his imprisonment and execution in Wilno as the Potocki legend describes. The report also states that he was executed on June 9, which was the second day of Shavuot, just as in the Potocki story. The only important differences between the Sentimany execution and the Potocki legend are that the martyr
was killed in 1753 rather than 1749, and that he was a Croation immigrant rather than a Polish noble.http://books.google.com/books?id=j_0qAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA342&dq=%22raphael+sentimany%22 Raphael Sentimany is also mentioned in the anonymous British work "Admonitions from the Dead, in Epistles to the Living", published in 1754, in a manner suggestive of the wide exposure of the original report of Abraham ben Abraham's execution.
, in Jewish law a convert to Judaism receives the name ".... son of Abraham" seen by many as the first convert. As all converts are considered the children of Avraham, a convert who chooses the first name "Abraham" as well, would become Avraham ben Avraham. There are several semi-famous converts with the same name, including one from Japan and one from Germany.
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
Valentine (Valentin, Walentyn) Potocki (Pototzki or Pototski), is a legendary figure who is claimed to have been a Polish nobleman
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
of the Potocki
Potocki
Potocki is the surname of a Polish noble family.-History:The Potocki family is a great artistocratic family originated from Potok in the Kraków Voivodeship; their family name derives from that place name. The family is heavily entwined with the cultural development and history of Poland's Eastern...
family who converted
Conversion to Judaism
Conversion to Judaism is a formal act undertaken by a non-Jewish person who wishes to be recognised as a full member of the Jewish community. A Jewish conversion is both a religious act and an expression of association with the Jewish people...
to Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
and was burned at the stake
Execution by burning
Death by burning is death brought about by combustion. As a form of capital punishment, burning has a long history as a method in crimes such as treason, heresy, and witchcraft....
by the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
because he had renounced Catholicism
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
and had become an observant
613 mitzvot
The 613 commandments is a numbering of the statements and principles of law, ethics, and spiritual practice contained in the Torah or Five Books of Moses...
Jew. According to Jewish traditions he is regarded as someone known even to the revered Jewish Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ic sage, the Vilna Gaon
Vilna Gaon
Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman Kramer, known as the Vilna Gaon or Elijah of Vilna and simply by his Hebrew acronym Gra or Elijah Ben Solomon, , was a Talmudist, halachist, kabbalist, and the foremost leader of non-hasidic Jewry of the past few centuries...
(Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
Elijah (Eliyahu) Ben Shlomo Zalman (1720–1797)). Some historians who have studied his story have stated that surprisingly little evidence of Potocki's existence has yet been discovered other than several 19th century sources citing earlier oral histories, and they therefore consider that he most likely did not exist.
Jewish legend
There are several versions of this story, especially among the Jews of LithuaniaHistory of the Jews in Lithuania
The history of the Jews in Lithuania spans the period from the eighth century to the present day. There is still a small community in that country, as well as an extensive Lithuanian Jewish diaspora in Israel, the United States and other countries. For more detail, see Lithuanian Jews.-Early...
, Poland
History of the Jews in Poland
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back over a millennium. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jewish community in the world. Poland was the centre of Jewish culture thanks to a long period of statutory religious tolerance and social autonomy. This ended with the...
and Russia, who know and still refer to Potocki as the Ger Tzedek ("righteous proselyte") of Vilna (Vilnius). Virtually all Jewish sources agree that he was a Polish nobleman
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
, who converted to Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
and was burned at the stake
Execution by burning
Death by burning is death brought about by combustion. As a form of capital punishment, burning has a long history as a method in crimes such as treason, heresy, and witchcraft....
by the Roman Catholic Church at Vilnius on May 23, 1749 (6 Sivan 5509) because he had renounced Catholicism and had become an observant Jew.
Multiple oral histories, backed up by several 19th century and later printed versions of the story, from many Jewish communities over the past two hundred and fifty years, serve as evidence of Potocki's story. Jewish oral tradition teaches some most interesting details as well as outcome of Avraham ben Avraham's life and death.
Polish author Józef Ignacy Kraszewski
Józef Ignacy Kraszewski
Józef Ignacy Kraszewski was a Polish writer, historian and journalist who produced more than 200 novels and 150 novellas, short stories, and art reviews He is best known for his epic series on the history of Poland, comprising twenty-nine novels in seventy-nine parts.As a novelist writing about...
, who is acknowledged as the oldest verified source citing this story (and thus perhaps its creator) relates that young Potocki and his friend Zaremba, who went from Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
to study in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, became interested in an old Jew whom they found poring over a large volume when they entered his wine-shop. This Jew might have been their own countryman Menahem Man ben Aryeh Löb of Visun, who was tortured and executed in Vilna at the age of seventy (July 3, 1749). Tradition has brought this Jewish martyr into close connection with the Ger Tzedek, but fear of the censor has prevented writers in Russia from saying anything explicit on the subject. His teachings and explanations of the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
, to which they, as Roman Catholics
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, were total strangers, so impressed them that they prevailed upon him to instruct them in Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
. In six months they acquired proficiency in the Biblical language and a strong inclination toward Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
. They resolved to go to Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, which was one of the few places in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
at that time where a Christian could openly embrace Judaism. But Potocki first went to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, whence, after convincing himself that he could no longer remain a Catholic, he went to Amsterdam and took upon himself the covenant of Abraham, assuming the name of Abraham ben Abraham.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, a country he disliked, he returned to Poland, and for a time lived among the Jews of the town of Ilye (Vilna Governorate
Vilna Governorate
The Vilna Governorate or Government of Vilna was a governorate of the Russian Empire created after the Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795...
), some of whom seemed to be aware of his identity. He has become close to the revered Gaon me'Vilna. When finally apprehended by the authorities, and placed in prison awaiting his death - it was decreed he would burn alive at the stake - the Vilna Gaon sent message offering to rescue him using Kabbala. Avraham ben Avraham refused, preferring instead to die 'al kiddush Hashem' and inquired of the Vilna Gaon which blessing he should make immediately before his passing. The Vilna Gaon answered "...M'Kadesh es Shimcha be'rabim" (who sanctifies His name in public) and sent an emissary to hear and answer "amen.". The entreaties of his mother and friends failed to induce him to return to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
; and after a long imprisonment and a trial for heresy
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
he was burned alive in Vilna, on the second day of Shavuot
Shavuot
The festival of is a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan ....
. It was unsafe for a Jew to witness the burning; nevertheless one Jew, Leiser Zhiskes, who had no beard, went among the crowd and succeeded by bribery in securing some of the ashes of the martyr, which were later buried in the Jewish cemetery. A letter of pardon from the king arrived too late to save the victim.
Potocki's comrade Zaremba returned to Poland several years before him, married the daughter of a great nobleman, and had a son. He remained true to the promise to embrace Judaism and took his wife and child to Amsterdam, where, after he and his son had been circumcised, his wife also converted to Judaism; they then went to Palestine
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
(Eretz Yisrael).
It is Jewish tradition that following Avraham ben Avraham's death, the Vilna Gaon believed that the spiritual constitution of the world had become altered in such a way that a Jew was no longer bound to wash his hands in the morning within four amos (cubits) of his bed, as explicitly taught in the codes of Jewish law such as the Shulchan Aruch
Shulchan Aruch
The Shulchan Aruch also known as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most authoritative legal code of Judaism. It was authored in Safed, Israel, by Yosef Karo in 1563 and published in Venice two years later...
and other halachic works. Rather, a Jew's entire house would be considered as though four amos for this regard. This custom, born at Avraham ben Avraham's death, commenced with the Vilna Gaon and later became the practice of the Slobodka yeshiva in Europe, becoming today the routine of many leading Israeli Rabbis who follow the Slobodka tradition.
As to why there are few full sources, the Jewish view is reflected as in the views published on the Shema Yisrael Torah Network
Shema Yisrael Torah Network
The Shema Yisrael Torah Network is a group of websites dedicated to spread Jewish thought, halakha and other material through the World Wide Web, Email and written material....
website:
- There are a few reasons why there are so few contemporary sources about the ger tzedek story. It can be assumed that the noble Pototzki family, which was a religious Polish- Catholic family, was not happy that one of their sons defected to Judaism. The Pototzki family was said to have generally dealt kindly with the Jews living on its lands. Mentioning the conversion would have been interpreted as an open provocation of the area's ruler, which would have not resulted in any good. In addition, undoubtedly the conversion of one of the upper- class gentiles aroused great interest among the populace, and his refusal to return to their faith caused them great embarrassment...Nevertheless, we believe the words of our rabbonimRabbiIn Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
, which clearly indicate that there was a connection between the Gra (i.e. the Vilna GaonVilna GaonElijah ben Shlomo Zalman Kramer, known as the Vilna Gaon or Elijah of Vilna and simply by his Hebrew acronym Gra or Elijah Ben Solomon, , was a Talmudist, halachist, kabbalist, and the foremost leader of non-hasidic Jewry of the past few centuries...
) and the Ger Tzedek.
Historical evidence
Many secondary sourceSecondary source
In scholarship, a secondary source is a document or recording that relates or discusses information originally presented elsewhere. A secondary source contrasts with a primary source, which is an original source of the information being discussed; a primary source can be a person with direct...
s - encyclopaedias of Jewish culture, history and religion - include an entry on Potocki, a Polish magnate
Magnate
Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man, itself from Latin magnus 'great', designates a noble or other man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or other qualities...
and member of the powerful Potocki
Potocki
Potocki is the surname of a Polish noble family.-History:The Potocki family is a great artistocratic family originated from Potok in the Kraków Voivodeship; their family name derives from that place name. The family is heavily entwined with the cultural development and history of Poland's Eastern...
family, who converted to Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
in 18th century Netherlands and who, after his return to Vilna, he was tried by an Inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
court which sentenced him to burning at the stake. Polish (ex. Janusz Tazbir
Janusz Tazbir
Janusz Tazbir is a Polish historian, specializing in the culture and religion of Poland in the 16th and 17th centuries.-Career:...
and Jacek Moskwa
Jacek Moskwa
Jacek Moskwa is a Polish journalist and writer. He cooperated with many of the most notable Media in Poland, including the Television News Agency, Życie Warszawy, Gazeta Wyborcza, Rzeczpospolita and Radio Zet....
), Lithuanian (Rimantas Miknys) and Western (Magda Teter) historians who have studied the story of Potocki however believe it to be invented, although it is unknown when or by whom (Moskwa points to a possibility that the author was Kraszewski himself, who is known to have invented some tales he claimed were true). Teter mentioned that the story ("a carefully crafted tale of conversion") was likely created and developed as a "response to a number of challenges that the Polish Jewish community faced from the mid-eighteenth century".
Polish historian Janusz Tazbir
Janusz Tazbir
Janusz Tazbir is a Polish historian, specializing in the culture and religion of Poland in the 16th and 17th centuries.-Career:...
notes that the story - he uses the term "legend" - originated at the turn of the eighteenth century, was published in a Jewish periodical issued in London as "The Jewish Expositor and Friend of Israel" (vol. 8, 1822). He notes that the literary version of the legend was created by Józef Ignacy Kraszewski
Józef Ignacy Kraszewski
Józef Ignacy Kraszewski was a Polish writer, historian and journalist who produced more than 200 novels and 150 novellas, short stories, and art reviews He is best known for his epic series on the history of Poland, comprising twenty-nine novels in seventy-nine parts.As a novelist writing about...
, a well known Polish writer of the 19th century, author of numerous historical novels, who included the story about Potocki in the third volume of the history of Vilna (1841), Wilno od początków jego do roku 1750 (1840–1842), in which he claims to have followed a Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
original, thought by some to be from Ammudei Beit Yehudah (Judah Hurwitz
Hurwitz
Hurwitz is a surname and may refer to:*Aaron Hurwitz, musician, see Live on Breeze Hill*Adolf Hurwitz , German mathematician**Hurwitz polynomial**Hurwitz matrix**Hurwitz quaternion**Hurwitz's automorphisms theorem**Hurwitz zeta function...
, Amsterdam 1766). (Extant copies of Ammudei Beit Yehudah contain no reference to the story other than a brief mention of the execution of the elderly Rabbi Mann in Wilno). The story was then popularised through Russian translations, and there is evidence that a cult of Potocki's grave in Vilna has existed until the Jewish graveyard (at Pióromont
Žirmunai
Žirmūnai , is the most populous administrative division in Vilnius. It is also a neighbourhood in the Lithuanian capital city Vilnius, encompassing the city district of the same name, built in the 1960s....
also known as Snipiszki
Šnipiškes
Šnipiškės is a neighborhood in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Located on the north bank of the river Neris, it is the site of Vilnius' new business district. Several skyscrapers and the new Europa Tower business center have been erected since the turn of the millennium...
quarter) was destroyed by Nazis
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and later by the Soviets. Some sources claim his remains were rescued along with those of Vilna Gaon
Vilna Gaon
Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman Kramer, known as the Vilna Gaon or Elijah of Vilna and simply by his Hebrew acronym Gra or Elijah Ben Solomon, , was a Talmudist, halachist, kabbalist, and the foremost leader of non-hasidic Jewry of the past few centuries...
, though there is no modern monument or grave clearly identified as Potocki's in Vilna or elsewhere.
Tazbir notes that the tragic fate of Potocki, passed through Jewish oral tradition, remains unconfirmed by eighteenth–century Polish or Jewish primary source
Primary source
Primary source is a term used in a number of disciplines to describe source material that is closest to the person, information, period, or idea being studied....
s and that there is no evidence in any archives or genealogy tree that Potocki existed. He also notes that Polish szlachta was guaranteed the freedom of faith (by acts like Neminem captivabimus
Neminem captivabimus
Neminem captivabimus is a legal term in Lithuanian and Polish historical law.Short for , ....
and the Warsaw Confederation
Warsaw Confederation
The Warsaw Confederation , an important development in the history of Poland and Lithuania that extended religious tolerance to nobility and free persons within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. , is considered the formal beginning of religious freedom in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and...
), and capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
was extremely rare. He argues that the described fate should have caused an uproar among szlachta (consider, for example, the case of Samuel Zborowski
Samuel Zborowski
Samuel Zborowski was a Polish military commander and a notable member of the szlachta . He is best remembered for having been executed by supporters of the Polish king Stefan Batory and chancellor Jan Zamoyski; an event which caused much uproar among the contemporary Polish nobility.-Biography:Son...
), and would be the only historical example of execution by burning
Execution by burning
Death by burning is death brought about by combustion. As a form of capital punishment, burning has a long history as a method in crimes such as treason, heresy, and witchcraft....
of szlachta member - yet no contemporary source from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
mentions this event in even a passing reference. In addition, it is difficult to believe that the death at the stake of a Polish aristocrat, from one of the most powerful Polish magnate families
Potocki
Potocki is the surname of a Polish noble family.-History:The Potocki family is a great artistocratic family originated from Potok in the Kraków Voivodeship; their family name derives from that place name. The family is heavily entwined with the cultural development and history of Poland's Eastern...
, charged with a religious crime, was not echoed in any of the diaries or polemical writings concerning religion and tolerance, topics in which the szlachta, and the entire European Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
were particularly interested. Tazbir has concluded that "the court trial and death of Walentyn Potocki should be recognised as an historical legend deprived of all source–material foundations".
There is some evidence that the Potocki legend is an embellishment of a true story. A report published in the July 1753 edition of The London Magazine describes the story of a very similar execution. The correspondent dated his report June 11, two days after the end of the Shavuot
Shavuot
The festival of is a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan ....
holiday. It describes "an apostate named Raphael Sentimany, a native of Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
" who converted to Judaism and adopted the name Abraham (thus making his religious name Abraham ben Abraham). The report describes his imprisonment and execution in Wilno as the Potocki legend describes. The report also states that he was executed on June 9, which was the second day of Shavuot, just as in the Potocki story. The only important differences between the Sentimany execution and the Potocki legend are that the martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
was killed in 1753 rather than 1749, and that he was a Croation immigrant rather than a Polish noble.http://books.google.com/books?id=j_0qAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA342&dq=%22raphael+sentimany%22 Raphael Sentimany is also mentioned in the anonymous British work "Admonitions from the Dead, in Epistles to the Living", published in 1754, in a manner suggestive of the wide exposure of the original report of Abraham ben Abraham's execution.
Name
Gerim (Jewish converts) often feel a close identity with AbrahamAbraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
, in Jewish law a convert to Judaism receives the name ".... son of Abraham" seen by many as the first convert. As all converts are considered the children of Avraham, a convert who chooses the first name "Abraham" as well, would become Avraham ben Avraham. There are several semi-famous converts with the same name, including one from Japan and one from Germany.
Jewish
- Potocki (Pototzki), Count Valentine, (Abraham B. Abraham) This article is based on article by Herman Rosenthal and Peter Wiernik from the Jewish Encyclopedia (published circa 1906) . The original text is now in the public domainPublic domainWorks are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
. - Al Kiddush Hashem: R' Avrohom Ben Avrohom (article by Rabbi Dov Eliach)
- Who is buried in the Vilna Gaon's tomb? (By Professor S.Z. Leiman)
- The Haskalah Movement in Russia, by Jacob S. Raisin, 1913 (2005 Project Gutenberg eBook)
- Joseph H. Prouser, Noble Soul: The Life and Legend of the Vilna Ger Tzedek Count Walenty Potocki, Gorgias Press LLC, 2004, ISBN 1-59333-097-9
Modern
- Janusz TazbirJanusz TazbirJanusz Tazbir is a Polish historian, specializing in the culture and religion of Poland in the 16th and 17th centuries.-Career:...
, The Mystery of Walentyn Potocki, Kwartalnik Historyczny, 3/2003, online abstracts from that issue Jacek MoskwaJacek MoskwaJacek Moskwa is a Polish journalist and writer. He cooperated with many of the most notable Media in Poland, including the Television News Agency, Życie Warszawy, Gazeta Wyborcza, Rzeczpospolita and Radio Zet....
, Legenda Sprawiedliwie Nawróconego: Historia zatajona czy zmyslona?, Zwoje 3/31, 2002, online original in Polish - Magda Teter, "The Legend of Ger Zedek of Wilno as Polemic and Reasurance," AJS Review 29 no. 2(2005), 237-263 full text article at www.COJS.org
Historic
- Fuenn, Kiryah Ne'emanah, p. 120, Wilna. 1860
- Gersoni, The Converted Nobleman, in Sketches of Jewish, Life and History, pp. 187–224, New York, 1873
- Judah ben Mordecai Ha-Levi Hurwitz, 'Ammude bet Yehudah, p. 46a, Amsterdam, 1766
- Kraszewski, Józef IgnacyJózef Ignacy KraszewskiJózef Ignacy Kraszewski was a Polish writer, historian and journalist who produced more than 200 novels and 150 novellas, short stories, and art reviews He is best known for his epic series on the history of Poland, comprising twenty-nine novels in seventy-nine parts.As a novelist writing about...
, 'Wilno od poczatkow jego do roku 1750', 1841 (Russian translation: Yevreyskaya Biblioteka, iii., pages 228-236')hy - B. Mandelstamm, Chazon la-Mo'ed, p. 15, Vienna, 1877