They were wed in a grand Catholic ceremony, during which the Jewish man formally converted to Christianity, cutting himself off from the Jewish people.
He lived as a non-Jew for many years, raising children with his noble wife. These children became prominent young dukes. The holy Rav Avraham Yehoshua Heshel, the Ohev Yisrael of Apta, deeply grieved upon hearing of this Jewish soul that had fallen into the depths of impurity. He continually prayed and pleaded on behalf of this lost soul, beseeching Hashem to return him to the fold of Yisrael.
One year, as Pesach approached, a terrible blood libel arose in the region. The non-Jewish nobles accused the Jews of murdering a Christian boy to use his blood for matzah. This libel, fueled by anti-Semitic hatred, placed the Jewish community in grave danger.
According to local law, such accusations required the signatures of all the regional nobles to proceed. Only then could the decree be submitted to the king for approval.
When the nobles gathered to sign the decree, the Jewish poritz, now entirely estranged from his heritage, shocked everyone by refusing to sign. Questioned about his refusal, he rose with fiery passion and declared:
“My fellow dukes, listen well! You all know me. For many years, I have been a non-Jew like you in every way, and my family are all non-Jews. However, in my distant past, I was born a Jew, and I know their ways well. I can swear to you that this libel is nothing but a baseless lie. The Jews have never, and would never, use Christian blood for their matzah. They abhor blood, which is strictly forbidden by their law. This is nothing more than a vile fabrication by bloodthirsty conspirators seeking to harm innocent people!”
His heartfelt and sincere words, coupled with his respected status among the nobles, convinced them all. The libel was dismissed, and the decree was never enacted.
In Heaven, great commotion ensued over the mitzvah this Jewish poritz had performed in saving the Jewish people from disaster. The merit of this act reignited the dormant spark within his soul, buried for years beneath layers of impurity.
As explained in the holy sefer Kedushas Levi by Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev zt”l (at the beginning of Parashas Vayikra):
“When a person performs a mitzvah, that mitzvah leaves an impression above, and this impression inspires him to fulfill the will of the Creator continuously.”
Thus, his great mitzvah created a strong impression above, which began to stir and ignite within the pure soul of the Jew, awakening him from spiritual stagnation and drawing him closer to his Divine origin to fulfill the will of his Father in Heaven.
Sparks of repentance and holiness kindled in his heart, prompting him to reconsider his entire life. He repeatedly asked himself, “What is happening to me? How is it that I, who was privileged to save all the Jews here from destruction, have fallen to such a lowly state? How did I abandon the living waters of the chosen and sacred nation, only to dig for myself broken cisterns of debauchery and abandon among impure non-Jews?”
His conscience tormented him day and night. One late night, after restless hours of soul-searching, he quietly left his grand estate and went straight to the holy home of the Ohev Yisrael, Rav Avraham Yehoshua Heshel of Apta.
When the man, still dressed in his noble attire, presented himself to the Rav and asked to be guided in repentance, the Rav initially feared that this might be a ploy. Perhaps the apostate sought to frame the Jews with false accusations of trying to bring the poritz back to Judaism. Thus, the Rav initially rejected him to verify the sincerity of his intentions.
However, the man, whose inner flame of repentance burned fiercely, did not accept this dismissal. He began to cry bitterly, imploring the Rav to guide him on a path of repentance so he could abandon his sinful ways and return to his people and the holy nation of Yisrael.
The holy Rav remained unsure of the man‘s sincerity and deliberated on how to respond.
Suddenly, during their conversation, the Rav pointed to his staff, which stood in the corner of the room, and exclaimed: “If grass were to grow from this staff, then I would know that your intentions are pure and sincere, and this is not some ploy or scheme!”
Minutes later, grass miraculously sprouted from the Rav’s staff, just as he had declared. The incredible wonder revealed the deep sincerity of the lost and anguished soul before him, who genuinely sought complete repentance.
The Rav immediately laid out a path of rectification and complete repentance for the man. He gave him a sign: “The day you hear that the noblewoman and her children have died, you will know that your repentance has been fully accepted.”
The man disappeared from his estate and went to the Rav‘s beis midrash in Apta. There, he changed his clothing, restored his Jewish appearance, and integrated among the talmidei chachamim and chassidim. He dedicated himself to the teshuvah regimen set out by the Rav. Not long after, news reached him that the noblewoman and her children had passed away, confirming that his repentance was complete. The man went on to become an adam gadol.
This story teaches us the extraordinary power of repentance. Even if, chas veshalom, a Jew falls to the depths of spiritual degradation, the inner spark implanted in his soul—a part of Hashem above—will ultimately awaken him to return. As it is written (Shmuel II 14:14), וְלֹא יִשָּׂ א אֱלֹהִים נֶפֶשׁ וְחָשַׁב מַחֲשָׁבוֹת לְבִלְתִּי יִדַּח מִמֶּנּוּ נִדָּח - God devises ways so that he who is banished will not be cast from Him. The holy sefarim explain that even the most distant souls, including apostates, will eventually return to their Divine source, and their repentance will be fully accepted.
As the Gemara (Yoma 86a) states: “Great is repentance, for it reaches the Throne of Glory.” Amen.
