The Jews did as they were told and found Yaakov ben Baruch. He was exceedingly old and reluctant to travel. But when he understood that the fate of all the Jews of the village was dependent on him, he disregarded his old age and the bother it would cause him, and traveled to Petersburg.
As soon as he arrived in Petersburg, he wrote a letter to the great minister in charge of all the villages, in which he complained about the ruler and asked that the decree of expulsion be revoked. He signed the letter, Yaakov ben Baruch.
In the normal course of events, under the prevailing conditions of the times, the chances were great that his letter would be thrown into the pile of papers before anyone would even look at the petition of some unfortunate Jew who dared to complain about the ruler of the village. But, in an unusual turn of events, when the minister received the letter, he invited the old man to personally meet with him!
With his heart trembling in fear, Yaakov went to meet the minister. He wondered and was quite apprehensive about how the minister would treat him. He knew that one word from the minister would be enough to send him to the gallows, Heaven forbid, without any trial at all, and with no one to protest.
When he entered the office, the minister gazed upon Yaakov for some time, without saying a word. Yaakov was wondering what was happening, when suddenly some brawny men entered and took him away. They locked him up in the dungeon.
Utterly frightened and unaware of what his "crime" could be, Yaakov sat in his cell and said viduy (confession of one's sins) and prepared nervously for what awaited him. Suddenly the door opened and a priest stood in the doorway. In one hand he held a cross and in the other, a spoon. He said, "You have a choice to either bow to the cross, or die when I pour the boiling lead in this spoon down your throat!"
"I am a Jew, and I will die a Jew," Yaakov said resolutely. He closed his eyes, said Shema with complete faith, and prepared to die al kiddush Hashem [to sanctify the name of G-d]. He opened his mouth and anticipated a quick journey to the next world.
The priest immediately emptied the contents of the spoon into his mouth, but to Yaakov's shock, he discovered that it wasn't boiling lead at all, but honey! Thoroughly confused, Yaakov was brought back to the minister's office. He was received graciously, and asked to sit down. The minister asked his pardon for scaring him nearly to death and explained his actions thus:
"When I was growing up, I lived in the home of a wealthy squire. From time to time, this squire would get drunk and then he would strike anybody who crossed his path. I ran away from the squire's house to the home of a Jew. A teacher sat there teaching his students. When the teacher saw me, he pitied me and treated me well. He gave me food and drink, and allowed me to warm up and rest. He took care of all my needs. I heard him explain to the children the greatness of giving up one's life for G-d, to be martyred for one's belief in G-d. He said there was no one greater or more fortunate than the one who merits this fate.
"I was always grateful to that teacher," continued the minister, "and I waited for the opportunity when I could repay him, though I never thought I'd meet him again. The name Yaakov ben Baruch was signed on the letter. It reminded me of that incident, which I recall as though it had just happened. That is why I invited you here.
"When I saw you today, I recognized you as that teacher from many years ago. I decided the time had come to repay you. Since I heard from you then how precious the mitzva of self-sacrifice is, I wanted to give you the merit of that mitzva. I could think of no other way of doing it than the way I did. Now I ask for forgiveness, for I only did it for your benefit. And I will certainly fulfill your request and make sure that the decree of expulsion is rescinded immediately."
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