The Gold-Plated Shofar: A Jewish Family's Legacy

In the Kapsali family, a gold-plated shofar is passed down from generation to generation. Each father bequeaths it to his eldest son. On Rosh Hashanah, it's not used for blowing, as a gold-plated shofar isn't kosher. Still, this shofar tells the family's remarkable story.

In 1492, during the expulsion of Jews from Spain, many found refuge in Turkey. The chief rabbi there, Rabbi Moshe Kapsali, though aged, was vigorous and resourceful. He personally attended to the exiled Jews' needs, collecting charity for them, and arranging housing and jobs. The Spanish exiles were a learned group, including scholars, doctors, poets, and intellectuals. Among them was Rabbi Jacob Vidal, a skilled physician. Appointed by the sultan, Rabbi Kapsali introduced Rabbi Jacob to the sultan for medical consultations.

These two esteemed men became friends and even arranged the engagement of their children – Rabbi Jacob's daughter, Miriam, to Rabbi Moshe's son, Elijah. Though young, it was customary then to betroth at a young age, with marriage following years later.

Trouble came in the form of the noble Salim of the Hafiz family, a respected figure in Constantinople with connections throughout the realm. He once visited Rabbi Jacob's home for medicine and met the young Miriam. Immediately, he asked her father for her hand in marriage. Respectfully, Rabbi Jacob explained it was impossible – she was Jewish and already betrothed. Enraged, Salim couldn’t rest, furious that this Jew dared refuse him when countless noblewomen would celebrate his proposal!

Forgetting the incident, Rabbi Jacob continued his life unaware that Salim conspired with the Turkish mufti. One day, a messenger urgently summoned Rabbi Jacob to the sultan's palace, where the beloved concubine Nargilah lay gravely ill. Rabbi Jacob recommended immediate surgery, warning she wouldn't survive without it. The court physician, unfamiliar with such procedures, handed over the responsibility, offering Rabbi Jacob great honor from the sultan if he succeeded.

As Rabbi Jacob prepared for surgery, the sultan and his entourage burst in. The sultan was unaware of the situation. The court physician, feigning sudden insight, administered a powder to Nargilah, reviving her instantly. "This Jew," the physician accused, "fabricated the need for surgery with intent to harm."

Rabbi Jacob realized Salim's nefarious scheme to frame him but had no means to prove it. The mufti, harboring antipathy toward Jews, incited: "Let us destroy his home and burn his family!" Salim, alarmed—his intent was merely to marry the physician’s daughter, not have her harmed—saw mobs heading for Rabbi Jacob's home and begged the sultan for exile instead of death for the family, to which the sultan agreed.

Yet, by the time Salim intervened, Rabbi Jacob's house lay in ruins, and soldiers dispatched the family to an isolated Turkish island in the Black Sea. Abandoning his plot, Salim left the Jewish community in Constantinople to mourn. But Rabbi Moshe Kapsali didn't relent. He appealed to the sultan to uncover the conspiracy. Salim eventually confessed, implicating the mufti, who, shamed, ended his own life. Although Rabbi Jacob had been exonerated, his whereabouts remained unknown. The soldiers hadn’t recorded his location, leaving him to likely starve on one of the myriad Black Sea islands.

Standing amid the rubble of Rabbi Jacob’s home, Rabbi Moshe Kapsali suddenly noticed an object left behind: the shofar. Once, the Rosh Hashanah blower, it sparked inspiration. At eighty, Rabbi Moshe hired a small boat with a crew, setting forth between the islands of the Black Sea. At each destination, he blew Rabbi Jacob's distinct shofar sounds, believing its unique tones would be recognized as a sign that the danger had passed. After days of searching, on one particular island, his call was answered. Rabbi Jacob and his family emerged from a cave, shaking, famished, but alive. They returned to Constantinople, and his daughter wed Rabbi Moshe's son in a grand celebration. The gold-plated shofar continues to be a cherished heirloom in the family.