In 1955, Isaac Bashevis Singer wrote a novel, Satan in Goray. The novel is set in 1648 during the time of Chmelnicki Massacre. This period is considered as one of the most catastrophic period among the Jewish. During the Chmelnicki Massacre, the Jews were the ones who suffered most (Astro, 2008). Singer therefore tries to associate this period with the visit of Satan to the Jews. As a matter of fact, Jews have been waiting for the coming of Messiah and therefore the existence of such catastrophe symbolized the end of the Jews world which they expected Messiah to come. The “Messiah” actually came, but the problem was that he was a fake messiah, Messiah who was associated with death and treachery. Sabbatai Zehi character in the novel symbolizes the treachery of the Satan. In other words, Singer was trying to relate the work of Satan to the Chmelnicki Massacre. According the Jews, they believed that Messiah will be coming soon and that the deaths were symbols of the coming of messiah. However, the Satan took the opportunity to present himself at the very moment at the very moment disguising as the Messiah. Singer has emerged as one of the artists who studied the metaphorical struggle between evil and God (Astro, 2008).
In this book singer tries to establish the allegory about the coming of the Messiah. Goray was portrayed as an apocalyptic town which was in verge of falling due to the invasion of the Satan. Some critics may view Goray as a single town; however I believe that it is a representation of all towns. This therefore shows that Singer writing symbolized universality, it is imperative that we approach this book in a universal way. Singer was trying to demonstrate the character of man in forcing the lord and trying to compress time. The main theme of the novel is that there is no remedy, no system of belief can hastens the time of the coming of Messiah and the judgment day. To start with, let us examine first theme of hastening of the coming of Messiah. The Jews were so eager for the coming of messiah that they could easily be duped. When Sabbatai Zehi came and acclaimed himself as the messiah it was very easy for them to accept him (Sherman, 2007). As a result Sabbatai Zehi was able to spread the deception and was accepted by everybody.
Singer also tried to portray the issue of blind optimism. He was trying to convey the message that blind optimism is not the way to save the people of Poland. As a matter of fact, the blind optimism will just increase their problems. In the same way, the adherence to communism was not, by any chance going to save Runya. He letter had to flee to Soviet Union for Refuge. The Judaism notion of the coming of Messiah was different to that of the Christians. According to Jews, the Messiah and his salvation was to come to the people in its physical form on a historic period. However, according to the Christians the coming of messiah is spiritually and at an individual level. Singer therefore tries to juxtapose the two beliefs in the coming of Messiah. He wants to identify the existence of error in the two contrasting views. With the differential beliefs in the coming of Messiah, there has immerged a difference in time and events of apocalypse. Singer therefore tries to discredit the Judaism belief of apocalypse by symbolizing that their belief is based on blind optimism (Kriegel, Singer, & Stavans, 2005).
Another important issue that Singer is trying to reveal is that man can never discerns the plans and presence of God. Singer uses the character of Mates and Gedalya to delineate the implication of Messiah. These two men were false prophets who were claiming that they cold calculate the coming of Messiah and the apocalyptic period. Singer therefore tries to emphasize on the secretive nature of the apocalyptic prophets (Wiegand, 2008). One of the enigmas of Jews religion is that the knowledge of apocalypse is hidden to all humankind. Anybody who proclaims to know the apocalyptic period must be a false prophet. The novel therefore portrays Jews world of torment and plague that the existence of any secrete religious undertaking will suggest an apocalyptic prophet. This is still an indication of desperate Jews society that would accept any form of apparent Messianic salvation, even if it is a hoax.
Another issue here is that people who show levels of religious extremes can be mistook as the apocalyptic prophets. A good example in Singer’s characters is Itche Mates. Mates had a compulsive desire to undertake ritual immersions (Singer, 2000). We can see Mates taking off his clothes exposing his yellow hairy body. He walks into the pool and immerses himself in water seventy times. When Rabbi Benish was preparing to for war which was with Sabbattians, we see Mates immersing in water again. In this case, he does not stop there. With his naked body, he rolls in the ice. He even goes to an extent of asking his mother for forgiveness for giving her pain during his birth (Singer, 2000). The people of the town were amazed by his actions; they all believed that his actions were inspired by God. When Mates acknowledged Zevi as the Messiah, it was easy for the town of Goray to believe in him.
Works Sited
Isaac Bashevis Singer. (2000). Satan in Goray. Random House.
Astro, A. (2008). Three Recent Books in Jewish Studies from France. Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies, 26(3), 155-160.
Wiegand, H. B. (2008). Recent critical approaches to the work Of Isaac Bashevis Singer: a review article. The Modern Language Review, 800-806.
Kriegel, L., Singer, I. B., & Stavans, I. (2005). This World and That Shtetl: The Short Fiction of Isaac Bashevis Singer.
Sherman, J. (2007). Isaac Bashevis Singer (Yitskhok Bashevis [Yitskhok Zinger]). Writers in Yiddish, 333, 278.
