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49. King Abdul-Aziz, the Jewish Builder, and the Wicked Painter (IFA 3977)
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49 King Abdul-Aziz, the Jewish Builder, and the Wicked Painter R E C A L L E D B Y D A N I E L FA R H. I In Istanbul, during the time of King Abdul-Aziz, there lived a Jew named David Abudarham. The man was a money changer and banker and enjoyed an excellent reputation. Because he had various financial dealings with the government, the king himself would sometimes consult with him about precious metals and alloys, and he would advise the monarch about how to arrange matters to benefit his kingdom. The king, noting the righteousness , integrity, and wisdom of the Jew David and his talent for trade and negotiations, especially when it came to what was good for the government , made him one of his ministers. David’s father, Abraham, was a first-class architect and builder. Among the king’s other ministers was an Armenian named Pedro Mokiloff. Mokiloff was fabulously wealthy, because he was a painter who painted and whitewashed walls in a most wondrous way. Another minister named Mah.mud ibn Ali was wise, just, and upright in all his actions. Around this time, there arrived in Istanbul a wealthy, intelligent, and wise Jew, Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, who is known as Maimonides. He and all his household settled in the capital; by chance, he happened to rent a house on the shore near the home of David Abudarham. The two became steadfast friends and partners in the commerce and trade of the great city of Istanbul. Every Friday, when he left the mosque, King Abdul Aziz would spend time with one of his ministers, one week with David and one week with Pedro. The Armenian was jealous of the Jew, because the king showed him more honor and favor. When Abraham, David’s father, died, the Armenian plotted a wicked scheme to blacken the Jew in the king’s eyes. One Friday, when the king was talking with Pedro, the Armenian minister told him: “How fine and wonderful it would be if here in Istanbul, 433 your glorious capital city, someone built a splendid bathhouse like the one King Solomon built in his palace in Jerusalem. Everyone who bathed there was cured of all his bodily ailments and restored to full health and left the bathhouse fit and strong.” “Would that we, too, were blessed with such a bathhouse,” replied the king. “You have here the minister David Abudarham, the son of Abraham Abudarham, who was a first-class architect and builder,” counseled Pedro. “It follows that David, too, is an architect and builder, for his father taught him that science. He and he alone can design and erect such a wonderful bathhouse. Then we will be respected and admired by the whole world.” Taking his minister’s advice, the king summoned David Abudarham. “You surely have heard that King Solomon built an extraordinary bathhouse in his metropolis, the beautiful city of Jerusalem. Everyone who entered and bathed in it was miraculously cured of all his ailments. I order you to build me such a bathhouse.You are the son of Abraham, the greatest builder-architect, and he certainly knew the secret of its construction. It goes without saying that your father bequeathed you this precious secret wisdom. Go, then, and obey my command. If you do not fulfill it within a year, I will hang you in public.” David heard the bitter and evil decree, rose from his place, bowed low before the king, and took his leave. Naturally, he was at a loss as to how to perform this impossible task. He returned home, his head covered in mourning.* His mother, seeing him so distraught, asked him, “Why are you so upset and perplexed?You terrify me!” “A catastrophe has occurred,” explained her son. “To my great misfortune , the king is demanding that within a year I erect a bathhouse like that which King Solomon built, where everyone who entered and bathed in it was cured of whatever ailed him.” “I once heard your father speaking with his fellow builders,” replied the mother, “telling them that he had acquired the materials from which one could build a bathhouse like King Solomon’s. Your father also mentioned the dimensions—length, breadth, and height—of this bathhouse. Go up to your father’s workroom, now, calm down, and look for the documents .” David searched long and hard for the raw materials and dimensions of 434 Folktales of the Jews...