“You know what? If there’s any chance of the king granting you an audience, it would be through your daughter”

The aristocrat who welcomed Rabbi Shmuel and his daughter, Rochel, into his home was one of the king’s closest advisers. How had he come to know an elderly Jew from the Jewish quarter in Prague?

“Your father is a saint, do you know that?” the adviser told Rochel. “Many years ago, I had gone on a very big trip and almost all my savings were packed into a bag. Somehow, I lost the entire bag, and your father happened to have found it. Instead of stealing this tremendous amount of money, which almost certainly any other person in this world would have done, he tracked me down and returned the entire sum to me. Truly, there are no people as honest and righteous as the Jewish nation.”

“I’m glad I was able to help,” Rabbi Shmuel said softly. “I have come today to ask a favor. You may know that the king is planning to levy a large and cruel tax upon the Jewish people, which we cannot afford to pay, and we will all be in mortal danger. I want to speak to the king and need someone to help me get into his private chambers. Can you assist me in this task?”

“Ah. You do know that the penalty for a Jew showing up in front of the king without a specific invitation is immediate death, don’t you? Especially if all you are trying to do is beg for mercy and convince him to forgive the tax. There’s nothing I can do for you. I’m sorry.”