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Saul Wahl (1541-1617) was, according to legend, king of Poland
Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
 for a single day, August 18, 1587.

uanian Prince Nicholas Radziwill, surnamed Sierotka, desiring to do penance for the many atrocities he had committed while a young man, undertook a pilgrimage
Pilgrimage

File:Supplicating Pilgrim at Masjid Al Haram. Mecca, Saudi Arabia.jpgIn religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long quest or search of great moral significance....
 to Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
 in order to consult the pope
Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and head of state of Vatican City. The current pope is Pope Benedict XVI, who was elected April 19, 2005 in Papal conclave, 2005....
 as to the best means for expiating his sins. The pope advised him to dismiss all his servants and to live for a few years as a wandering beggar.






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Saul Wahl (1541-1617) was, according to legend, king of Poland
Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
 for a single day, August 18, 1587.

Story

Lithuanian Prince Nicholas Radziwill, surnamed Sierotka, desiring to do penance for the many atrocities he had committed while a young man, undertook a pilgrimage
Pilgrimage

File:Supplicating Pilgrim at Masjid Al Haram. Mecca, Saudi Arabia.jpgIn religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long quest or search of great moral significance....
 to Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
 in order to consult the pope
Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and head of state of Vatican City. The current pope is Pope Benedict XVI, who was elected April 19, 2005 in Papal conclave, 2005....
 as to the best means for expiating his sins. The pope advised him to dismiss all his servants and to live for a few years as a wandering beggar. After the expiration of the period prescribed, Radziwill found himself destitute and penniless in the city of Padua
Padua

Padua is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 ....
, Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
. His appeals for help were not heeded, and his story of being a prince was received with scorn and ridicule. He finally decided to appeal to Samuel Judah Katzenellenbogen
Samuel Judah Katzenellenbogen

Samuel Judah Katzenellenbogen was an Italian people Rabbi, the son of Rabbi Meir ben Isaac Katzenellenbogen). He was distinguished even in his youth for his scholarship and his oratorical gifts....
, the rabbi
Rabbi

Rabbi , in Judaism, means a religious ?teacher?, or more literally, ?my great one?, when addressing any master. The word rabbi derives from the Hebrew root word , rav, which in biblical Hebrew means ?great?, used in many senses, including the sense of a ?master? and apprentice, whence someone who is a distinguished ?teacher?....
 of Padua. The latter received him with marked respect, treated him very kindly, and furnished him with ample means for returning to his native country in a manner befitting his high rank. When the time for departure came the prince asked the rabbi how he could repay him for his kindness. The rabbi then gave him a picture of his son Saul, who years before had left for Poland, and asked the prince to try and find the boy in one of the many yeshivot
Yeshiva

Yeshiva or yeshivah , or metivta or mesivta ) also frequently referred to as a Beth midrash, Talmudical Academy, Rabbinical Academy or Rabbinical School is an institution unique to classical Judaism for Torah study, the study of Talmud, Rabbinic literature and History of responsa....
 of that country. The prince did not forget the request. Upon his return to Poland he visited every yeshiva in the land, until finally he discovered Saul in that of Brest-Litovsk. He was so captivated by the brilliancy and depth of Saul's intellect that he took him to his own castle, provided for all his wants, and supplied him with all possible means for study and investigation. The noblemen who visited Radziwill's court marveled at the wisdom and learning of the young Jew, and thus the fame of Saul spread throughout Poland.

When King Stefan Batory
Stefan Batory

Stephen B?thory was a Hungarian noble Prince of Transylvania , then King consort and Grand Duke consort of Lithuania to Anna Jagiellon. He was a member of the Somlyo branch of the noble Hungary B?thory....
 died in 1586, the people of Poland were divided into two factions: the Zamoyski
Zamoyski

Zamoyski, plural: Zamoyscy is the surname of a an important Poland nobility family of Jelita coat of arms. The name is sometimes spelled Zamojski....
s and the Zborowskis. There were quite a number of candidates for the throne, but the contending parties could not agree. There existed a law which stipulated that the throne might not remain unoccupied for any length of time, and that in case the electors could not agree upon a candidate an outsider should be appointed "rex pro tempore" (temporary king). This honor was then offered to Radziwill; but he refused, saying that there was a man who belonged to neither party, and who in wisdom and goodness was far superior to any one else he knew. That man possessed only one very slight shortcoming, and if the Diet
Sejm

The Sejm is the lower house of the Poland parliament.Before the 20th century, the term "Sejm" referred to the entire three-Chambers of parliament Polish parliament, comprising the lower house , the upper house and the monarch....
 would make his election unanimous, he (Radziwill) would acquaint it with his name. Accordingly, Saul's name was solemnly proposed; and amid great enthusiasm, and shouts of "Long live King Saul!" Wahl was elected to this high office. The name "Wahl" was given him from the German word Wahl (meaning "election"). Traditions disagree as to the length of his reign. Some state that he ruled one night only; others make it a few days. All, however, are agreed that Saul succeeded in passing a number of very wise laws, and among them some that tended to ameliorate the condition of the Jews in Poland. Although this story can not be supported by any historical data, it gained a firm place in the belief of the people.

Wife and children

He married Deborah Drucker. They had many children:
  • Abraham (b. 1570 d. 1620)
  • David
  • Hannah
  • Dinah
  • Yehouda
  • Abigail
  • Bas
  • Henele
  • Jacob
  • Samuel Judas
  • Isaac
  • Feiwel
  • Geila
  • Pesia
  • Olga
  • unknown son
  • Meir (d. 1630)
  • unknown son

Genealogy


Descendants


If the legend is true, the Polish-Brazilian cineast Stefan Wohl is his descendant.