Several days later, when the king was alone, the Cardinal dropped in. He began to speak about the former, lost greatness of the Jewish people. "In days gone by they had great men of wisdom and prophecy. Where are they now?" "Quite so," agreed the king. "There are no great Jews today."
The Cardinal, happy to have the king's ear, began to defame the Talmud. "You see, Your Majesty, ever since the Jews have been studying that Talmud, which is filled with all kinds of foolishness, they have become fools themselves! These books prevent them from accepting the true faith."
The king listened closely and then asked, "How could they be convinced to give up this study?" "They will never do it! The Jews are a stubborn people. The only chance is to forbid the study of Talmud on penalty of death!"
The king began to believe the Cardinal. He agreed to ban the Talmud, never suspected that this was a clever plot to destroy the Ramban.
When the king's new law became known, the Jews were panic-stricken. Immediately, Ramban sent messengers to all the Jewish communities, telling his fellow Jews that his yeshiva would remain open for anyone who wished to come. Hundreds of young scholars flocked to the Ramban' yeshiva.
The Cardinal now set his plan in action. Summoning two of the king's closest ministers, he asked, "How long has it been since the king has requested your advice on any matter?"
"Since the king befriended Ramban, he never calls for us," they replied. "And why is this?" asked the Cardinal innocently. "The rabbi is the wisest man in the kingdom," the two answered. "I'm going to tell you a great secret - the secret of his wisdom," the Cardinal whispered. "Every night angels come to him and reveal heavenly and earthly wisdom. I am going to sprinkle you with holy water. Then you will also see and hear the angels speaking to the rabbi and you, too, will possess this wisdom."
That night, after being sprinkled with the water, the ministers stealthily made their way to the Ramban's house. They stood for hours, but they saw no angels, only the many young students who went in and out of the rabbi's home.
The next day the Cardinal summoned the two men and asked what they had seen. "Your Grace, we saw not even one angel, only many young men going in and out. They spoke, but we couldn't understand one word they said."
"It seems you didn't merit to see the angels. But you did see the rabbi's students coming to study with him in open defiance of the king's law. It is your duty to report this breach to the king at once," the Cardinal said sternly. "When the king hears how his so- called 'friend' disobeyed him, he will be very angry, and you will regain you position in the court."
The two rushed to tell the king what they had seen. "What! My trusted advisor disobeyed my order!" the king cried in shock. But he could not bring himself to punish the rabbi without first allowing him to defend himself.
He summoned the Ramban to the court. "My friend, is it true that you disobeyed my law?" the king asked.
"Yes, your Majesty, I did, but with your permission. I will explain my reason by means of a story. In a distant kingdom, the king's daughter fell gravely ill. All of the doctors gave up hope. "Only G-d can help," they admitted sadly.
"The king proclaimed a three-day fast for the entire realm, during which time everyone would pray for the princess. On the second day of the fast, a Jew was caught eating and immediately arrested. He was brought before the king and questioned : "Why did you eat? Don't you desire the recovery of the princess?"
"Why, Your Majesty, I have not ceased praying for her, but, in our Talmud we have a rule: Where there is a certainty against a doubt, the certainty takes priority.
"I had a serious doubt in my mind whether my fasting for three days would save your daughter. I was sure, however that fasting for three days would kill me, because I have a weak heart and my doctor forbade it. Therefore, I decided to follow the rule of the Talmud, and I ate.
"Your Majesty, this is a similar case. I could not believe that the King, my good friend, would issue a law which would hurt me so much. I was certain, however, that if I ceased to study the Talmud, which is the very source of my life, my life would no longer be worth living. So, I followed the path of certainty. I hope that Your Majesty will understand my actions and forgive me. I am sure that Your Majesty would never have issued so cruel an order, unless you were ill-advised."
"My friend, you are correct. To my regret, I acted on the Cardinal's advice. The law is henceforth repealed." When the ban was revoked, the Jews rejoiced greatly. Ramban remained a favorite of the king, who now not only appreciated his great wisdom, but his great courage as well.
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