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The Legend Of Ger Zedek (Righteous Convert) Of Wilno As Polemic And Reassurance, Magda Teter
The Legend Of Ger Zedek (Righteous Convert) Of Wilno As Polemic And Reassurance, Magda Teter
Magda Teter
The article analyzes the popular legend of a righteous convert to Judaism in eighteenth-century Wilno (now Vilnius) according to which a prominent count, Walentyn Potocki, converted to Judaism and then died a martyr's death at the stake in Wilno. The article traces parts of the legend to Boccaccio's Decameron, discusses the attitudes to converts to Judaism in Jewish law, and explains the historical and cultural context in which the legend emerged.