The passage from Glückel’s Memoirs entitled “A Magnifique Wedding and a Clever Girl” has the feeling of parable, a short vignette illustrating the qualities Jews must possess if they are to fend off the predations of unscrupulous Christians. In it, Glückel’s father is saved from would-be thieves by his stepdaughter’s quick thinking and her mastery of French. One can imagine Glückel telling this story to her own children in an effort to inspire them to greater efforts in their studies. As you read it, think about what it says about Glückel’s view of her Christian neighbors. What was the intended moral of the story?

I must tell you now about my sister’s wedding and all the splendid and distinguished people who came with Reb Gumpel. As for himself, who can praise him enough, the good and holy man that he was! A purveyor of goods to the Brandenburg court, no one today can compare with him for the honesty of his deliveries. But I really can’t describe how magnifique the wedding was, and especially the rejoicing among the poor and needy.

My father was in no wise rich but, as I said, he trusted in the Lord. He left no debts and worked himself to the bone to provide decently for his family. He had gone through a great deal in his life and, already become aged and worn, he naturally hastened to marry off his children.

He was already a widower when he became engaged to my mother. For fifteen years or more he had been married to a splendid woman, of good family, named Reize, who maintained a large and fine house. My father had no children by her, but a previous marriage had blessed her with a daughter, beautiful and virtuous as the day is long. The girl knew French like water! Once this did my father a mighty good turn.

My father, it seems, held a pledge against a loan of 500 Reichsthalers he had made to a nobleman. The gentleman appeared at his house one day, with two other nobs, to redeem his pledge. My father gave himself no concern, but went upstairs to fetch it, while his stepchild sat and played at the clavichord to pass away the time for his distinguished customers. The gentlemen stood about and began to confer with one another in French. When the Jew, they agreed, comes down with the pledge, we’ll take it without paying and slip out. They never suspected, of course, that the girl understood them. However, when my father appeared, she suddenly began to sing aloud in Hebrew, “Oh, not the pledge, my soul — here today and gone tomorrow!” In her haste the poor child could blurb out nothing better. My father now turned to his gentlemen “Sir,” he said, “where is the money?” “Give me my pledge!” cried the customer. But my father said, “First the money and then the pledge.” Thereupon our gentleman spun about to his companions. “Friends,” he said, “the game is up — the wench, it seems, knows French”; and hurling threats they ran from the house.

A few days later our gentleman appeared alone, repaid the loan with due interest, took the pledge, and said to my father, “You are well served and your money is well spent in teaching your daughter French.” And he turned on his heels and left.

Source: Marvin Lowenthal, trans., The Memoirs of Glückel of Hameln (New York: Harper and Bros., 1932), pp. 11–12.

Questions to Consider