Karl loved to follow his dad around. From an early age, Hirschel always found young Karl at his heels. The shelves of books in Hirschel’s Law study fascinated young Karl and the lad quizzed His dad to annoyance. The book Hirschel seemed to love the most was the Torah, the Hebrew Book of Law. Hirschel came from a long line of rabbis on both sides of his family, so young Karl was born into a Jewish home in the strictest sense of the word. Hirschel saw to it that the family revolved around the religious practices of their Jewish heritage with regular trips to the synagogue on the Sabbath. Young Karl had a profound admiration for his father and wanted to pattern his life after him.
In his teens years, Karl would have an event happen in his life that would change his future and the future of the world. The family moved to a new town where Hirschel would begin a new law practice. The small village was strange to young Karl. Not only was there no synagogue, but there was also a strong feeling among the townspeople against the Jews and Jewish ways. The only church in Karl’s new hometown was a Lutheran Church and the town seemed to revolve around it.This distressed Karl, but know the strength of his heritage and his father’s faith put his troubled heart at ease.
One evening, Hirschel seemed particularly anxious at the dinner table. Karl noticed him pushing his food around on his plate but not lifting much to his lips. Finally, Hirschel made his grand announcement. He had decided that the family was going to abandon their Jewish traditions and join the Lutheran Church. He had agreed to baptism as a Protestant so that he would not lose his job as one of the most respected lawyers in the town. He even had decided to change his name to Heinrich
Young Karl was bewildered and confused. Everything he had ever been taught, all that he knew from years of syngogual training would now be abandoned, all because of his dad’s choice to keep a job. His deep disappointment soon gave way to anger and a kind
...