Repentance: A Tale of Demons in Old Jewish Poland
Written by: Barak A. Bassman
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Dovid was a poor man down on his luck in a 17th century Polish Jewish world traumatized by the pogroms of the Cossack chieftain Chmielnicki and reeling from the tragedy of the false messiah Sabbatai Zevi. Eking out a meager existence reading psalms for the sick and recently deceased, his prospects were grim. But then a wealthy stranger comes to town and promises to change Dovid’s luck if Dovid agrees to marry his future son to the stranger’s future daughter. Dovid laughs and agrees. And soon enough his luck changes: Dovid becomes a wealthy man with a son who is a brilliant Talmudic prodigy. However, when the mysterious benefactor comes to claim his son as a bridegroom, Dovid slowly learns the horrible truth of what he has really done and desperately seeks atonement.