The prince surprised his father at midnight with a strange request.

“Father, I’ve had a change of heart regarding the Jews. I would like for us to take a royal ride through the Jewish quarter so that I can see just how much they respect and honor you as they rush to greet you in the streets. I’ve arranged that the royal guard will take us there tonight after sunset. It should be a grand display!”

“Very well, tonight it is. You will see how excited they are to greet me and then you’ll finally realize how loyal they are.”

“Yes, Father. I cannot wait.”

Outside the room Mubarak chuckled to himself. The Jews would show no honor to the king that night. They would not chant his praises nor would they even bother to leave their homes and greet him. Tonight, Mubarak knew, was the Jewish Holiday of Pesach and the Jews would be sitting down to their Pesach Seder.

The king, however, did not know of this Jewish practice. His rage would be kindled so greatly that a terrible punishment was sure to be unleashed upon the entire Jewish community of Constantinople, Istanbul.

*****

The news about the holy guest staying with Nosson spread like wildfire throughout the city. People flocked to Nosson’s mansion and pressed their faces against the windows to catch a glimpse of the holy tzaddik.

“It’s Erev Pesach and you are all wasting your time!” A Jew with a large frown across his face barked at the crowds gathered outside of Nosson’s home. “Don’t you realize how distant the Baal Shem Tov is from all of you? He is a tzaddik involved in the loftiest of pursuits, separated from the struggles we all endure daily. He is a king and we are meaningless peasants in his eyes; why should you even try to connect to him?”

“You shouldn’t talk so badly of yourself, friend,” Nosson said as he emerged from his house and faced the man. “If there’s anyone who would disagree with you strongly, it would be the Baal Shem Tov himself. His service of Hashem is all about reaching out to every shoemaker, beggar, and woodchopper, and helping them grow closer to Torah and mitzvos. He is not absorbed in himself at all. Rather, he is obsessed with us, his fellow Jews!”

“I personally feel too lowly to attempt to come close to such a great man,” the Jew insisted. “He is a mighty giant and I am a tiny ant who can barely even read Hebrew.”

Suddenly, the door to Nosson’s home opened and out stepped the Baal Shem Tov. He walked through the crowd until he was directly in front of the man who had been speaking. A hush overcame the crowd and the man’s face turned white.

“The Gemara says that there was once a rich man who was bringing a fattened ox to the Beis Hamikdash,” said the Baal Shem Tov. “This ox was a massive beast and extremely stubborn. Along the way to the Beis Hamikdash, the ox suddenly decided to stop walking. It lay down on the road. The rich owner tried everything in his power to force it to continue, but his efforts were futile.

“A poor person was passing by, carrying a handful of vegetables to feed his starving family. Those few greens were everything that he had. Mustering up all of his faith and courage, the poor man held out his hand before the ox and allowed it to begin eating his vegetables. He then managed to coax the beast to travel all of the way to the Beis Hamikdash.

“That night, the rich man lay down to sleep in his beautiful, comfortable bed and he had a dream. In his dream a loud voice, a bas kol, called out that the sacrifice of the poor man with his handful of vegetables was more desirable before the Master of the World than the rich man’s expensive offering of the fattened ox.”

The Baal Shem Tov’s penetrating gaze pierced the Jew’s eyes, illuminating his very neshamah.

“Hakadosh Baruch Hu desires the lev, the heart. Even the smallest acts we do can have a tremendous impact in Shamayim if they are performed with a happy, joyous, and pure heart. Humans cannot know whose mitzvos are greater, but Hashem can. Many times it is the sincere, heartfelt tefillos of the unlearned shoemaker, or the pure tears shed by a widow during Shabbos candle lighting, that shake the world and move heaven and earth.”

he Baal Shem Tov placed his hands on the Jew’s shoulders and gazed at him with love and warmth.

“Never, ever underestimate yourself. Your avodas Hashem is lofty and huge. Only Hashem can see the heart and discern someone’s truest intentions.”

The Jew began crying like a baby and his body shook with sobs. He had never in his life considered his tefillos or his learning to be meaningful when compared to the great scholars who lived in Constantinople.

“This is the power of chassidus,” Nosson whispered to people next to him. “It uplifts not only the tzaddikim, but even the simple Jews.”

The Baal Shem Tov turned to Nosson with a smile.

“My dear Reb Nosson, there is no such thing as a simple Jew.”

Midnight, the first night of Pesach

The King of Constantinople and his entourage of soldiers and servants trotted on white horses through the empty streets of the Jewish quarter. Crickets chirped loudly and stray cats stared curiously at the royal assembly.

“You see, Father? The Jews don’t care about the honor of their king! Selfish and disloyal, the whole lot of them!”

The prince smiled as a look of anger began to cloud his father’s face.

“The Jews won’t be bothered to leave the comfort of their homes even for one moment! How ungrateful and disgusting!” hissed Mubarak, the evil adviser who had devised this plot. “They should all suffer for this! Kill them all, Your Majesty, or banish them from your land forever!”

(Originally featured in Mishpacha Jr., Issue 731)