The Emissary: Chapter 6
| October 6, 2022The king looked strangely angry and nervous. The Jewish generals glanced at one another. They sensed something amiss
The Jews woke up to the sound of riders on horseback galloping through their neighborhoods. Systematically, as though someone had done meticulous research beforehand, the masked riders went to specific homes and attacked everyone inside. It was a very dark, tragic night and many fell by the sword.
It became apparent that the riders were specifically attacking families that were able to trace their lineage back to Dovid Hamelech. Once the Jews realized who exactly was in danger, they tried to hide these special Jews in their own homes, shielding the remnant of these Jews with the holiest of ancestry.
However, the masked riders were ruthless and meticulous. They already had a list of people to hunt, and if they did not find the person in their home, they went from house to house until they had tracked them down. They had no mercy and spared no one. All night the wicked men pursued their prey, and only when the sun rose did they stop.
The Jewish generals galloped on horseback to the king, their faces white with shock and grief. Their tears had still not dried when they were led into the king’s chambers.
“There has been a terrible attack on our people! Masked riders came in the middle of the night and massacred us! They left, finally, but we do not know if they will be back or not. Please, we need immediate protection and help hunting down these beasts and punishing them!”
“Masked men? An attack in the night? But… why?”
“We don’t know! All we know right now is that we need protection as we mourn those we lost and attempt to comfort anyone who survived. We are here to ask for your assistance at this time of need.”
“Survived? Did anyone indeed survive?”
“The masked men seemed to be after families who come from Dovid Hamelech. We found a list of names and it clearly marked these families for doom because they were from this holy lineage—“
“I asked if there were any survivors!”
The king looked strangely angry and nervous. The Jewish generals glanced at one another. They sensed something amiss. The king was not surprised at all to hear of the attack. Could it be…?
“There were no survivors.”
“Oh.” The king took a deep breath. “Well, then…”
“His majesty expresses no shock at the news of this terrible unprovoked and merciless attack…”
The king was silent.
“At a time when the king was going to fulfill his promise to help us return to our homeland, the worst tragedy strikes. Does the king not feel for his constituents?”
“I suppose I cannot hide my hand in this any longer.” The king spoke slowly. He moved across the room to stare out the open window as his guards stepped closer, hands on the hilts of their swords. “I had a change of heart, you see. I am not the most well-versed in your holy scriptures, but even I know that your Mashiach will one day come and he can only come from the direct line of King David. I will not allow such a thing to take place, let alone hasten it. When the day comes, I will no longer be king, and my rule over so many men will cease as everyone bows to your G-d and recognizes the truth of your religion. So, with the help of many advisers, I decided to not only renege on my promise to allow you to return to your holy land, but also to ensure your Mashiach never comes!”
“Wicked one!” The generals could not contain their disbelief, their utter disgust at this rasha, this sonei Yisrael. “Do you think you can stop Mashiach from coming? It has already been guaranteed by Hashem, and nothing and no one can prevent Mashiach from coming at the time Hashem deems it fit. Your sin is too great for you to bear, and you will pay dearly for spilling the blood of so many Jews! And besides, you failed in your mission, wicked one! There are survivors, though few, whom the masked killers did not get to. And from them Mashiach will one day come forth!”
The king listened to the tirade with obvious glee, his eyes shining with satisfaction.
“I should really have you killed for such insolence, but it gives me too much pleasure to see you so worked up. And it amuses me to no end how you lie about there being survivors! I know there are certainly none! Now leave my presence!”
The generals turned to go, their hearts burning with grief and rage.
When they left the room, the king began to have second thoughts. What if they were right, after all? What if he had not managed to kill out every last Jew from the line of Dovid Hamelech? Once he was doing the job, he had to ensure he had done it correctly.
The king ordered another list drawn up of each family from the line of Dovid Hamelech, and sure enough, after checking the list carefully and counting who had perished in the massacre, they had not managed to kill absolutely everyone.
The king immediately ordered his men to begin hunting down whoever had survived. He was going to complete the terrible mission he had started, no matter the costs to his time and resources.
But a few nights later the king had a frightening dream…
to be continued…
(Originally featured in Mishpacha Jr., Issue 931)
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