A Voice from Balta

18

I will speak with my heart while my soul is faint, when the spirit of my understanding wanders through the recesses of my worries. My thoughts surely ask me: What is this? And why is this? What is this source of this evil? Why is there no stopping the surge? Could any judge from any Jewish communities utter such rulings? Is it their wisdom that leads them to fabricate baseless laws against us? [ . . . ]

Whatever the case, I will proclaim the meaning of these phenomena to the public. I will announce their bitter explanation, even if it pours more brimstone on our wounds and bruises. This time I will also inform our nobles about the terrible noise. Let the Jewish philanthropists awaken and arise, and let their hearts see how these malicious waters churn. How high will their waters rise above our tiny reed boat, crashing over its cracked gunwales? Can this rotted-wood raft survive these turbulent waters? Can its pegs sustain its destroyed hull against the legions of terrifying waves and these “flint swords” that rise against it to smash it to pieces at any moment? Should I not awaken the captains and sailors during such a time? Is there no one to plaster the wall, no one to repair the house, not even one? . . .

Know ye therefore and pay heed, that this came from the high places of St. Petersburg. In the north they are plotting times of trouble and sorrow for the coming days. Behold, the official, judge, district governor, and provincial governor—all of them have boundaries they cannot cross, all their ways are watched. They are the hand of judgment, not its mouth and heart. The state may appeal only to the ministers of the interior, the tsar’s inner circle in St. Petersburg, who pave the way for all laws and judgments. They were the ones who pointed a finger at Miloradovitch¹ and whispered a powerful secret in his ear: Do not provoke the masses of robbers. Do not provoke the despoilers of Judea. Take them to court, but issue no harsh punishments; raise the rod of correction, but do not chastise. Make your heart wise—“give skin for flesh” in the destruction of the Jews for the souls of your brethren, the masters of the land.²

19

That is to say: the children of Russia, the largest of nations, has donned a new spirit [ruaḥ]. A great storm [ruaḥ] is growing more tempestuous these days; the spirit of the stronghearted and courageous socialists. They challenge rulers and bring kings down from their thrones. They are brothers in cunning, intrigue, and plots; sons of destruction and desolation. They cover all of Europe, subduing officers and governors, and shaking the ministers from it. And it happened that they turned themselves over in this plot and thought of starting a revolt, of firing their arrows in the darkness in this land. But behold the whole Russian nation is wholeheartedly in favor of their tsar and clings to him with all their might. So these people chose to pave another path, a band of traitors born in our time. They are the adders of the Jesuits, wrapped in the belt of faith and justice, like all serpents, wearing beautiful colors and patterns to deceive the people. And the antisemites were not late in coming and they incited the hearts of the Russian masses. It was easy for them to arouse their anger against Judea, against its great wealth. Their lips drip honey (Proverbs 5:3) onto these unenlightened people: Look and see who is rich, who has enormous wealth, if not Jews? Your work is backbreaking, your wages are a futile pursuit of wind (Ecclesiastes 4:4); you are embittered from poverty and want, and the Jewish people are sated from the fat and the honey of your land. Therefore, rise up and take possession of the nation, a nation scattered among you, a nation preserved to this day. Raise your staves against it, go forth and exact vengeance from it, then you will find a cure for all your pain; your cup will flow over, and you will wash your feet in choice wine.

Who does not know that the masses of every people are like a horse used to the desert: if the rider crosses his hands he can clothe its head with blinders [lit., “cymbals”], then he will manage to place a bit and reins on its cheeks, to turn it to wherever he wishes. And what [controlling] mane is better for the Muscovite [katsap] poor than the plunder of Jewish treasures? What clang of cymbals is more pleasing to the ear than the clatter of the silvers of Jeshurun! With delights like these, the antisemites captivate the souls of the Russian masses. Saying, “beat up the Jews,” and they strike; “defile their temples,” and they desecrate. [ . . . ]

Indeed, is not the army so large? Are there not tens of thousands of Russian soldiers? Couldn’t they wipe out the robbers with their leaders? If the Minister of Interior would command one of the army generals, how many thousands of swords would be immediately unsheathed, how much lightning and death would emerge from these copper cannons that are stationed in every single city throughout Russia? If one asks this, he is not smart; his words lack any reasoning and wisdom. Where did these armies come from, and from whom were they all taken? Did they not come out from the belly of this nation, too? They were born on its knees, were raised there, and they will return to it after their time [i.e., army service] has elapsed. Could a minister or governor order them to fight against the robbers, and would they agree to do so? Would they submit, would they obey such an order? [ . . . ]

This frightens the leaders in St. Petersburg, who, therefore, ordered the governors to close their ears to our cries; let the lamb of Judah be the scapegoat to atone with its blood for the soul of its owner, the ministers of Russia, and the great ones—my salvation is with them. [ . . . ]

21

Therefore, listen to me, O Jacob (Isaiah 48:12) and I will speak; the sons of Judah set your hearts to my sincere words. To you, notables of my nation, the wealthy and well-educated [maskilim] who dwell in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Odessa, and the other cities, to you we raise our eyes and hands! How many times have we sworn to you in the presence of the Lord! When we were fasting and weeping [on January 21, 1882], you blocked your ears and hardened your hearts, decreeing not to acknowledge us and not to turn to us. Wake up, my pen, the pen of a wretched writer; walk around cities and surround them (Psalm 48:13). Do not become weary on the road and do not tire. Go proclaim to the wealthy and say: Thus said your kin, the son of your mother, all his words are soaked with tears, there are teardrops upon every word. How long will you, who are drowning in gold, lacking nothing, how long will you hide your faces in the shadow of your money, how much longer will you be so well protected? For your hand is capable of mighty things, tens of thousands of silver coins are sealed away in your treasuries; is it good that you keep silent this time, standing aside in disregard?