A glance at the past

Jewish king of a Christian state in 16th century? 

Does it sound incredible? Probably, the story about the Polish prince undertaking his expiation pilgrimage around Italy as a beggar sounds incredible as well. Indeed, it is just a legend but one of the most importnt legens of Polish Jews - community once counted in millions.

According to the story, in the 16th century prince Mikołaj Krzystof Radziwiłł the Black came to Rome, to the Pope, to plead for remission of his sins. Strange was his expiation: to wander as a beggar from one city to another. When he reached Padua without neither food nor money, nobody wanted to help him, nobody believed in his princehood, except one Jew - Samuel Judah Kaztenellenbogen, the rabbi of Padua.

His help was not disinterested - Samuel asked Mikołaj to find his son, Saul, who had gone to Poland to study in one of numerous yeshivas (schools for future rabbis). The prince fulfilled the request - he not only found Saul, but also took him to his court, where Saul became famous because of his brilliance. In fact, Samuel Kaztenellenbogen was a banker of the house of Radziwiłł.

Finally, when (in 1586) during the election of Polish king noblemen got divided into two parts supporting different candidates and could not reach the agreement, Mikołaj proposed Saul as temporary king (rex pro tempore) since the Polish throne could not be left unoccupied. Jews believe it really happened despite the lack of any evidence. In their memory king Saul remains as one who issued many laws enhancing their situation.

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in times of Saul Wahl life
Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Rzeczpospolita.png

In fact, the previous king - Stefan Batory - established in 1580 something rather unique in Europe: Jewish Parliament, called the Convent of Four Lands (in Polish: Sejm Czterech Ziem, in Hebrew: Waad Arba Aracot). After that Jews became the second society state after noblemen that had its own representation. The Convent worked till 1764 when was disbanded because of its ineffectiveness in collecting taxes.

By that time, the Convent became a top institution of Jewish self-government in Poland dealing not only with matters of Polish Jews but also counselling issues of Jewish communities around the Europe. Moreover, they even established their own court: Tribunal of the Four Lands' Waad (in Polish: Trybunał Waadu Czterech Ziem), which was the higher instance to Jewish courts in local communities.

Documents of Waad Arba Aracot
Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Council4lands.jpg

It was no revolution when regarding situation of the Jews - they were under the protection of law since 1264, when the Polish ruler, Bolesław the Pious, allowed Jewish self-governance and Jewish courts and gave them several liberties as well (i.e. personal freedom or freedom of movement). With time they were even given the title of servants to the Treasury (servi camerae) for they had helped Polish king with raising money.

Also noblemen protected Jews. According to law each nobleman would lose his nobility after dealing wih trade - in result, many Jews were asked to deal with trade instead of noblemen. Moreover, in private cities Jews had even better legal position than in cities that belonged to the king - for instance while in royal cities they were excluded from municipial powers (they lived under their own governance), in some private cities they were allowed to be a members of municipial council. 

General overview on Jewish situation in former Poland needs to be supplied with the fact that, as in any other place in Europe, there were legaly established Jewish quarters among some Polish cities. But as long as the Christian part of city used to receive privilege de non tollerando Judaeis, the Jewish part received privilege de non tollerando Christianis, what established some kind of equality between both communities. Moreover, these privileges were not obeyed strictly. 

The position of Polish Jews allowed Gavri’el ben Yehoshu‘a Schossburg, a Hebrew chronicler, to sum it up with words: “a delight to all the lands of the Exile for its Torah, honor and greatness” (Petaḥ teshuvah, 1651 4a). Unfortunately, that situation had gone with the fall of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, when Germans, Austrians and Russians destroyed and conquered it. But still the memory of former Poland and the Polish king Saul remained alive among Polish Jews who many times accompanied Poles during their struggles to regain independence and their own state. 

The other side of the coin - the Czech Brethren
 
'Si non iurabis, non regnabis' (should you not promise, you shall not rule) heard a French prince in the cathedral Notre-Dame in Paris in 1576. It had little to do with France - these words were said by Jan Zborowski who was a member of Polish legacy announcing that the French prince won the election for Polish king. But there was a condition - he had to promise to obey Polish laws including guarenteed religious tolerance. The election agreement also demanded the end of religious wars in France.

Some years later, in 1656 in Lwów Polish king, honoured by the pope with title of rex orthodoxus (orthodox king), entrusted Poland under the Blessed Virgin Mary's protection, whom he announced as The Queen of the Polish Crown. It was almost a copy of similar act made by cardinal Richelieu in France after defeat of his enemies. Since that time Poles started to become more and more fundamental Catholics.

What a change! The questions is: why? And here the issue of Czech Brethren emerges. It was a pacifist social-religious movement that used Arian theology what was the reason why its members were hated and persecuted by Catholics and Protestants in equal measure. Forced to flee from Bohemian kingdom they found the shelter in Poland where they were even allowed to run their own university: the Racovian Academy (1602-1638).

But in times of religious madness the state of tolerance wasn't what they wanted. Under leadership of Jan Amos Komenský they participated in organising Swedish invasion on Poland later known as "deluge". During that war Polish state actually disappeared (king was forced to leave the country). At the same time Poland was attacked by Sweden and Prussia-Brandenburgia (Luteran states), Russia and Ukrainian Cossack (Orthodox Christians), Transylvania (representing Arianism) and Polish Calvins. Aim of all these people was the same - to create their own, intolerant state in which their religion is the ruling one. No one wanted the State of Golden Freedom as Poland was called in that time.

The only Polish neighbour that did not participate in that war was Austria, which was Catholic. Among long list of people who betrayed the Poland there is only one who was Catholic - the rest was of other religion. Somehow (some say it was miracle - the turning point was siege of Częstochowa Monastery) Poland managed to win this war, but it was fatally wounded and its agony lasted over a hundred years untill 1795 when Polish state was finally destroyed by Germans, Austrians and Russians.

Since "deluge" many Poles believe (even now) that a true Pole has to be Catholic and non-Catholic Pole has to be a traitor. Since that time traditional Polish tolerance started to cease.