On The Worship of an Ass, VI

…A JEW, ALTHOUGH HE HAS SINNED, REMAINS A JEW



It goes without saying, that Amichai ben Dovid did not come out and utter such a blasphemy, but as usual, his deeds carried more weight than his subtle words. Most cloak their sins in darkness and lies, but Amichai ben Dovid paraded his around in the light of day. He ate pork on Yom Kippur. He fasted on joyous festival days. He turned the very world upside down, by toppling its foundation stone, the Holy Torah.


The anti-Dovidic rabbis, upon seeing these abominations, immediately excommunicated him and his followers. Some of his followers returned to the Jewish fold, but most remained with their Messiah. They explained away his “sin” bit by bit, one supporting quotation from the Torah at a time, until after a while they had constructed an edifice of lies which, like a house made of sand, they believe to be as solid as stone.


For a while, the Dovidic community and the Torah true Jews existed side by side in Demblin and beyond, but there was great tension, and even some violence. On several occasions, the Gentile authorities had to restore order in the streets, the study house, even the synagogue.

Amichai ben Dovid was little seen in public, but rumors about him spread wildly, both among his supporters, and the loyal Jews of Demblin. He had supposedly married a young Christian woman of dubious repute, and the outrage did not end there. It was said that he “married” her to his immediate followers under mock wedding canopies, to appease the Heavenly Couple, God the King, and his Bride the Shekinah. He also took the wives of his immediate followers for the same nefarious purpose. And of course, the old calumny pursued him: his true god was the head of an ass, in some tellings gold, in some silver or copper.


The final outrage occurred one Yom Kippur, about a year after the Red Heifer was born to Issur’s herd. Some the Dovidic Jews flung pig’s dung into the Great Synagogue during the chanting of the Kol Nidre, and a riot ensued. Jews in their white Yom Kippur prayer shrouds struggled with Dovid’s followers in the streets.

The Gentile guard was called out, and this time, the local lord had Amichai ben Dovid carried away to his estate. For a month, no one saw hide nor hair of this new Messiah to the Jews. Many thought he was dead.