Gerald Friedlander

“ I am a demon in human shape. Were it not for the fact that you have been very courteous to me and the Princess my wife, I would not suffer you to return at all. I should keep you here in my kingdom as prisoners and slaves. I went to your lord the King to punish him for his abominable pride. He loves money more than anything else. Virtue, character and true nobility do not count in his eyes. He prefers appearances to reality—and for once in his life he has got his preference. ”

“ Let me, Thy servant, be chosen to defeat the enemy. With Thy help one man can defeat a million. Then will I be able to teach Israel and all men that the Lord delivereth neither by the number of men nor by the strength of horsemen, but by Thy power. Let it come to pass when I draw my sword that it shall glitter and send forth sparks in the eyes of the Amorites who refuse to worship Thee as the only true God. Let it also be a sign unto me that Thy spirit is on me, so that when the Amorites see me they will say 'It is Kenaz.' Be with me, Lord, and save Thy people. ”

“ Now before I explain the nature of my lamp, I think it my duty to assure your Majesty that the Jewish religion is utterly opposed to magic and witchcraft. What we are, however, permitted to do — nay, we are even commanded to do it — is to study nature and to subdue it. Man is the King of all things in the universe. If my lamp can give light without oil, it is because nature has provided a substitute. People have imagined that I have this magic lamp because I do not buy oil. They do not pause to think and to ask themselves. ”

“ When a poor noble Prince came to woo her, she would refuse to listen to his heart's cry; telling him that his rank was not good enough, or that his money was far too little for her ideas. In fact, she thought that money was the only thing worth having in life. Her father, instead of rebuking her and correcting her, encouraged her to look for rank and wealth as the first qualifications in any suitor. In fact, he used to say that he would never allow her to marry any one unless he happened to be a Prince who had as much money as he had. ”

“ You are not my slave. You are a perfect stranger, and it would be far more reasonable to reverse the proposition. We will go to the slave market and you shall offer me for sale. Whatever I am worth will suffice to keep my poor wife and children from starvation. Come, let us do as I say, and I shall be ever so grateful to you for obliging me in this way."
"No, no," cried Elijah, "you are to sell me as your slave, and within twenty-four hours you will see me again. When you receive the money from the buyer in the market, do not forget to give me a coin. You do not know who I am. ”

“ Do ye Jews dare to enter our palace and to come before our divine presence? Think ye that ye can work miracles better than the Roman physicians?"
"Tell us, mighty Cæsar, have the imperial physicians been able to cure the beautiful princess?"
"Thus far they have not been successful."
"We shall be successful even this very day. Know indeed that life and death are not in the hands of man, but only in the power of God in whom we believe. He has sent us, this is our belief, to heal the princess. Was not your Majesty's daughter so happy and well but yesterday? ”

“ She is now twenty years old, and it is not good for a young woman to remain a child. We must let her see just a little of the world, and if the call of love comes to her—why! let her answer; even as you did when I sought your heart and found it."
"Good husband! have you not noticed how very fond our dear daughter is of her cousin Jacob, my sister's only son?"
"Yes, I have seen that they like one another as cousins usually do, but I have also noticed that she seems to prefer her other cousin, David, my brother's only son." ”

“ God has given me wisdom and understanding. I am sure I can help your Majesty to be restored to good health."
"If it be as you say, I will give you half my kingdom, and fifty thousand pounds. Should you fail, mark you, you will lose your head."
"I agree," cried Jacob, making an obeisance.
"One condition do I make," said the King, "and that is—you must not have recourse to any species of magical art or sorcery. I will not allow you to use any charms or spells."
"Your Majesty has already heard that I am a Jew. Our holy religion has always forbidden us to practice sorcery." ”

“ As soon as they were all seated in the royal council room the King told them what the King of Egypt had dared to write. "How shall I act, what advice do ye give?"
"O Lord, great King!" said one of the stargazers, "know that there is none in thy kingdom who could deal with King Pharaoh except the wise Achikar, the royal secretary. Alas! he was put to death at thy command. Why ask us to advise thee? Who is able to build a castle in the air between heaven and earth? We cannot help thee."
Now as a matter of fact it was unknown to the King Sennacherib that Achikar was not dead at all. ”

“ But pleasant places are not to be bought with money. It is not all gold that glitters. The love of money is a terrible spell that casts misfortune and unhappiness upon all those who love it above all things. When people are ready to sell body and soul for gold and silver there is no hope for them. Your King has sold his daughter to the Devil and there is no hope for either of them."
When the Princess heard these terrible words she screamed in fright and fell to the earth in a dead faint. She was quickly raised up from the ground by the harpist, who was so sweet and gentle in all his ways. ”

“ He then went his way, knocking off the heads of the little daisies and buttercups along his path.
"Well, I never," cried David in surprise, "thought that the world was as funny as I now see it is, I was delighted but a minute or two before with all the wonderful and beautiful things made by God. Now I find that in this lovely world there are also such useless creatures as I have just seen. What earthly use is there in a madman who knows not what he is doing, ever bent on destroying whatever he sees? ”

“ Elijah's blessing was indeed something worth having. On and on did he tramp for the best part of the day, for he stopped neither to eat nor to rest, so fiercely did the desire to see the face of his beloved burn within him. At last his feet refused to carry him any further. He was also very faint; hunger and thirst began to claim attention, and he did not know how to satisfy them. He looked about and saw on his left a fine tree with very large apples, as bright as silver. He dragged himself to the tree and picked off an apple. ”

“ I knew not that you were at my door. I crave your Majesty's pardon."
The King smiled and gave him his hand. The King was more than surprised, in fact he was rather terrified, as he did not know what next to expect. Such a strange experience as he had just gone through was more than enough for one evening. Here indeed was more to be wondered at than at any magic lamp.
"Well, good Rabbi," at last the King managed to say,—
"Do you not call this witchcraft and magic? Here I and my attendants have been descending into the earth as far as our hips and up again we come; what does it all mean? ”

“ Solomon continued his journey betwixt heaven and earth. On and on he went, over hill and dale, across rivers and mountains. At last he came to a vast desert and noticed a huge mound. Coming nearer he saw that it was a large building almost entirely covered by the sand of the desert. He called to the wind to slacken its speed, saying that he wished to descend to the earth. His magic carpet glided down to the earth and Solomon stepped upon the sand. He at once summoned Ashmodai and bade him fold up the carpet. ”

“ He also read in the stars that his daughter and her future husband would be blessed with children. King Solomon turned his eyes from the heavens in shame and anger. This outlook for his daughter's future happiness was not at all to his liking. "I wish I had not been so inquisitive," said he to himself. "Why did I try to read the future? Now I know what is her destiny I am wretched and unhappy. I will take steps to prevent such an unfortunate marriage. It's not fair that marriages should be arranged in heaven." ”

“ Is it likely that he will consent to cancel his own law? To do such a thing is unheard of in mighty Rome. Well do we know how the Romans rule the world. They rule according to their own ideas and not according to the wishes of their subjects."
"True, indeed," replied Eleazar, "are thy words. Perhaps the good God will help us. Whenever Israel is in distress He also grieves with them. Their sorrows are also His. Come what may, we will present ourselves, if God will, at noon to-morrow at Cæsar's palace. The rest we will leave in the hands of our Heavenly Father. ”

“ I will turn to the crew and cry aloud: 'See how I now punish my rebellious son. This box is full of jewels, it is all our fortune. I had rather be a beggar than allow such a wicked son to go unpunished. Into the sea I cast our wealth, which I earned with the sweat of my brow.' I shall then throw the box into the sea, and whilst I am about to do this I will open the lid and let them see the jewels, as otherwise they will imagine that I am bluffing them. ”

“ At length we grew weary of life, for we were faint in our souls and bodies and we laid ourselves down to sleep in the dust. We told the eagles to say to all comers, who might ask them about this wonderful palace, 'We found it already built. Let no man enter unless he be a King or a prophet. If he desire to enter let him dig up the sand on the right side of the portico, where he will see a crystal box. He must break this box open in order to get the keys of the palace.'"
Solomon told his Princes and attendants that he would inspect the palace by himself. ”

“ On his journey home King Solomon smiled and said to himself: "I will now see if my plan will be a success. I think I shall for once in a while have my own way. After all this lovely girl is my child and I can surely arrange her marriage as I like. I am not satisfied with the choice of the bridegroom made by the stars. A beggar should marry the daughter of a beggar but not the daughter of a king. ”

“ He had a neighbor who was a heathen, very wealthy and selfish. They often met and conversed with one another. This was especially the case on Saturday when Joseph abstained from his business. They would talk about religion, especially about the Sabbath. Joseph would dwell on the value of the Holy Day, pointing out that of all the gifts bestowed by God upon humanity the most precious was the weekly day of rest. Man is not a mere machine, he needs rest and recreation. To those who observe the Sabbath and call it a delight, its weekly advent is like the arrival of a dear and intimate friend. ”

“ Thou dost not really know who and what I am. I am Solomon, son of David, of blessed memory; I rule all things on earth, in the air and in the sea. I have a magic ring and a magic carpet, and what hast thou?"
"O Solomon! thou wilt one day be the food for the ants; they will feast on thy body in the grave, therefore boast not."
At that same moment Solomon fell upon his face and was put to shame by the truth spoken by the little queen of the ants.
He then commanded Ashmodai to remove all the ants to their former haunts, and calling to the wind to carry his carpet on high he said: "Away!" ”

“ Do not be in too great a hurry, thou hast little that is really thine, for the world takes from one to give to another. Take provision with thee on thy last journey. Prepare whilst it is still day what thou mayest require when it grows dark. Thou also wilt pass from the light into the darkness where is the shadow of death. Thou knowest not the day of thy last journey."
Solomon read and re-read the strange words. When he came to the end of the room he was somewhat startled to see in front of him a life-size image of a man seated on a throne with a crown upon his head and a scepter in his hand. ”

“ My religion permits me to drink water but not wine. The wine is forbidden because it very often happens that wine used by Kings is also used by priests for religious purposes." Whereupon to the great surprise of all present Jechiel drank the rose water and resumed his seat.
The wise King saw all this and understood.
"Now I know," cried he, "how greatly this good Jew loves me, and I rejoice to think that he loves his God and his religion with all his heart. Happy am I to have such a friend; would that all my servants were as zealous and as faithful." ”

“ This we certainly shall not be able to do if we quarrel and stand apart. Then each one of us will be very easily washed away by the waves. Now let us all promise one another to remain always united. Union is strength. Then we need have no fear of the raging waters. Their roaring and foam will not frighten us."
The Holy One blessed their union and to this day the golden sand holds the proud waves in check. ”