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Breaks His Oath to His Father.
Falls into the Land of Demons.
Saved from Death by Ashmedai.
Becomes Ashmedai's Son-in-Law.
He Deserts the Princess.
She Slays Him.
Legendary son-in-law of Ashmedai, king of the demons. Bar Shalmon, the
scholarly and pious son of a rich merchant who had accumulated great wealth
through maritime ventures, promised his father under oath, when the latter
was on his death-bed, never to undertake a sea voyage. Indeed, the fortune
accumulated by the old merchant was so considerable that it was not
necessary for the son to expose himself to the dangers of the sea. A few
years after his father's death, there entered the harbor of the city where
Bar Shalmon resided a richly laden merchant vessel, the captain of which
informed him that all its cargo of gold, precious stones, and other
valuables were part of his father's estate abroad. Bar Shalmon learned
further that this cargo represented but a very small part of his father's
possessions in foreign lands; and he was earnestly requested to return in
the ship in order to take possession of his inheritance. Bar Shalmon pleaded
his inability to do so because of his vow. The captain declined to accept
this excuse, on the ground that he believed Bar Shalmon's father to have
been mentally incompetent at the time of his death, as evidenced by the fact
that he had not alluded, even by a hint, to his vast treasures abroad.
Breaks His Oath to His
Father.
After considerable parleying, Bar Shalmon permitted himself to be persuaded
to break his oath; and he entered upon the voyage. As soon as the ship was
upon the high seas, it sank with all on board, Bar Shalmon alone, naked and
destitute, being dashed by the waves upon a desert island. There he was
pursued by a lion, and sought refuge in a gigantic tree, upon which there
was perched a fierce vulture (, not to be translated here as "owl"). In his
terror Bar Shalmon climbed upon the back of the bird, which was so
astonished by its sudden burden that it remained motionless all night; and
its fright increased when, in the morning, it saw clearly the man sitting
upon it. In itsdismay the bird flew swiftly across the sea; and toward
evening Bar Shalmon discerned land beneath him, and even distinguished the
voices of children declaiming the verse of Exodus, "If thou buy a Hebrew
servant," etc. (xxi. 2). Firmly believing that the country was inhabited by
Jews, Bar Shalmon plunged from his great height to the ground. Bruised in
all his limbs and exhausted by hunger, he crept to the synagogue, which he
found locked. Introducing himself to a boy, with the words of Jonah, "I am a
Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven" (Jonah i. 9), the latter
conducted him to the rabbi.
Falls into the Land of
Demons.
To Bar Shalmon's dismay, he learned that certain death now awaited him; for
he had fallen into the realm of the demons (see Demonology), who would
surely kill him at sight. His prayers and lamentations, however, aroused the
compassion of the rabbi, who promised to exert his influence in the
wanderer's behalf. Concealing him in his house for the night, on the
following morning he conducted him to the synagogue. With a noise like
thunder and with the rapidity of lightning, thousands of demons flew into
the synagogue; but, although conscious of the presence of a man, they
remained quiet out of respect to their rabbi. When the ḥazan had completed
the introductory psalms ("pesuke de-zimrah") the rabbi directed him to pause
(this presupposes the Sephardic ritual; for according to the German minhag
these psalms are an integral part of the regular prayers), and requested the
congregation not to harm his charge.
Saved from Death by Ashmedai.
After a long debate, during which the fact was emphasized that Bar Shalmon,
the perjurer, was deserving of death, it was decided to bring the matter
before King Ashmedai; whereupon the ḥazan declared that none should harm Bar
Shalmon under penalty of excommunication. Ashmedai summoned a tribunal, the
members of which were to decide whether, according to the Torah, Bar Shalmon
was deserving of death. The judges found him guilty, and did not consider
the death-penalty too severe for the perjurer. Ashmedai recommended,
however, that execution be postponed for a day; and he kept Bar Shalmon at
his house in order the more effectually to protect him. Meanwhile Ashmedai
found an opportunity of making the closer acquaintance of Bar Shalmon, in
whom he recognized a great scholar. The king promised to save him from death
provided he would pledge himself on oath to impart all his wisdom to
Ashmedai's son. Bar Shalmon agreed to this; and it was arranged that, before
the execution, he should express the desire to be brought before the king,
in order that the latter might as a scholar pass judgment on a point in Bar
Shalmon's favor (compare Ashmedai). The arrangement was carried out; and
Ashmedai announced publicly that Bar Shalmon had not broken his oath,
inasmuch as he had believed that his father was mentally incompetent at the
time of its exaction.
Becomes Ashmedai's Son-in-Law.
Bar Shalmon was now exonerated, and he received the position of teacher in
the house of Ashmedai. Three years later, when the latter undertook a
campaign against a country which had revolted, he left Bar Shalmon at home
as his representative, entrusting him with the keys of all the apartments in
his palace excepting one. Bar Shalmon was curious to learn what this secret
chamber contained; and, opening the door, he discovered the beautiful
daughter of the king seated upon a splendid throne. The princess informed
him that her father had long intended to bestow her upon Bar Shalmon, and
that he was only waiting for the latter to sue for her hand. She further
counseled him to plead his love for her in defense of his intrusion into the
secret apartment, in case her father should reproach him for his breach of
faith. Thus it came about that Bar Shalmon soon afterward married the
princess; the wedding being attended not only by demons, but also by
numerous animals and birds. The bridegroom was compelled to take a solemn
oath that he married the princess solely because of his love for her, and
that he would never desert her.
Bar Shalmon, however, felt a yearning for his seaport home which constantly
increased in intensity, so that once, when he beheld the little son with
which the princess had presented him, he sighed deeply, and his thoughts
reverted to his other children. The princess questioned him as to the cause
of his sadness, asking whether he had tired of her beauty or whether there
was anything lacking to his happiness—a situation that vividly recalls the
interview between Venus and Tannhäuser. When she found that his yearning for
home could not be appeased, she granted him a year's leave of absence, after
he had made both a verbal and a written oath to return within the appointed
time.
He Deserts the Princess.
A demon transported him to his former home in a single day, and upon his
arrival there Bar Shalmon told his escort to inform the princess that he
would never return to her. The princess at first refused to believe this
report, and waited until the expiration of the year, when she despatched the
same demon to Bar Shalmon to bring him back. Neither he nor the many other
distinguished demons who were sent could prevail upon Bar Shalmon to keep
his promise; and all the threats and exhortations of the princess were
unheeded. Ashmedai now became enraged, and declared his intention of going
in person to compel Bar Shalmon to return. The princess, however, pacified
her father, and, accompanied by a great army of demons, proceeded herself in
quest of her recreant husband. Arrived at her destination, she at first
despatched her son Solomon to his father; but his efforts were fruitless,
Bar Shalmon refusing to return to the demons. The princess thereupon
summoned him before the court, after she had rejected proposals of her
followers to put her husband to death. The court decided that Bar Shalmon
must either return with the princess or become divorced from her, in which
latter case he must return her dowry (Ketubah). Bar Shalmon thereupon
disdainfully agreed to return all the wealth of the princess, so long as he
should not be compelled to follow her.
She Slays Him.
This so enraged the princess that she forthwith renounced her
husband;requesting, however, as a boon, that she be permitted to kiss him
before departing. He acceded to the request; but no sooner had their lips
met than Bar Shalmon fell dead, the princess exclaiming: "This is the
punishment for thy perjury and thine infidelity to God, thy father, and
myself." Thereupon she returned to her own people, but left her son behind,
fearing that his presence might remind her of his father.
The purpose of the legend, as evident from the narrative, is to inculcate
the sacredness of an oath; nor can there be the slightest doubt as to its
Jewish origin, the usual superscription, according to which it is
represented as a translation from the Arabic, being evidently false. The
statement that Abraham Maimon was the translator and even the author of the
legend is likewise incorrect; for this Abraham —by whom probably no other
than the son of Maimonides was meant—in all likelihood did not even believe
in the existence of demons. It is probably true, however, that the legend
originated in the circle of the Arabian Jews, as demonstrated by the many
points of resemblance it bears to the "Arabian Nights," the similitude
between the characters of the Jewish legend and the Jewish merchant Benesdra
() and his son Solomon in the "Arabian Nights" ("Les 1,000 Quarts d'Heure,"
Paris, 1715; German ed. by Dessauer, 1844, i. 497 et seq.), as
Steinschneider observes, being especially striking. The names also seem to
correspond somewhat; for "Bar Shalmon" in the Arabian version becomes
"Solomon," who in the Ashmedai legend, again, is mentioned as the son of Bar
Shalmon. Indeed, the name "Bar Shalmon" is itself to be suspected, and is
probably corrupted from (Bartholomæus). In Lev. R. vi. 3 a certain
Bartholomæus is mentioned as an example of a perjurer.
The legend of Bar Shalmon, in the Hebrew literature known under the title "Ma'aseh
Yerushalmi," belongs to the most widely popular stories of this class; and
even to-day in Russia it is a great favorite with the children. There are
three Latin and two German translations of it, and one in Judæo-German —a
fact which furnishes the best proof of its popularity. There is besides an
adaptation in French by Carlotta Patino Rosa, "Mitra, ou la Démone Mariée"
(Padua?, 1745?).
Bibliography: Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 700;
Zanolini, Lexicon Chaldaico-Rabbinicum, pp. 774-801, which contains a Latin
translation from the Hebrew text;
Carmoly, in Oholibah, pp. 40-70;
Pascheles, Sippurim, iii. 166;
idem, in Steinschneider, Hebräische Bibliographie, xvi. 67, xix. 113.A. L.
G.
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