This is utterly stunning. Well done!
Forgive the question, but what is the point of difference? Is it a change in Diaspora mentality? Or something else?
Very good work. What's the PoD?
Thanks!
I embedded a few references to how the world is different: namely, there is an established Serbian tsardom in the early 19th century under the Nemanjić dynasty (thus, Dušangrad as the capital rather than Belgrade), and the Romanov empire has shattered. The world is very different.
My general PoD is the survival of the Nemanjić tsars, due to Stefan Dušan being followed by a competent heir rather than Uroš V, known as "The Weak". The *Ottomans (a different family) eventually conquer a decent chunk of the Balkans, but the Serbs survive as a buffer state between the Hungarian empire and the Caliphate to the south. This vignette is set sometime in the mid-early 19th century, with the capital and some of the larger urban centers seeing economic development, and the traditional nobility being displaced by a royal bureaucracy (represented by the
kaznac). The peasantry is being increasingly heavily taxed to fund royal spending on luxuries, infrastructure and the army.
It's here, and even better than I'd anticipated. I take it that the Serbian peasants thought that the Jews kidnapped Dragana, with sadly predictable consequences for all around. They might regret it when they find that Dragana is alive and wasn't taken against her will, but it will be too late by then.
I'd be interested in hearing more about the background of this world and the wandering Jews, who seem to be proto-Hasidim in some ways (especially in the last scene).
Thank you!
Basically, my idea is that in the near-apocalyptic collapse of the Russian empire and ensuing overlapping civil wars, the Jews are targeted by everyone. A rabbi from the village of Ivansk, in southern Poland (incidentally, where my ancestors are from) theorizes that the Jews have misinterpreted the Exile. Rather than a command to remain outside the land of Israel and without a king, they are meant to wander. Any settlement at all is a violation of God's will, and will thus be punished through violence from the goyim. Thus, Jews should stick to the roads and wander until the return of the Messiah.
The movement takes some of its practice from mystical and proto-Hassidic trends in Judaism, along with Roma Travelers, who the B'nai HaDerech obviously encounter frequently on the road and have a complex relationship with. As they are on the road, and lack the ability to follow strict practice as closely, they are somewhat more informal about Jewish practice, and interestingly, women have a somewhat greater place.
Great piece of writing, as always.
The fatalism of the last scene -- the doom of the Jews versus the eternal goyim -- was very powerful.
Thanks! That was the feeling I was trying to go for. I initially had a different ending written that was much more ambiguous, but I decided to go fully with the darkness inherent in this story. As was often the case, especially in Eastern Europe the Jews aren't
really the issue. They are the acceptable outlet for the peasantry's frustrations with their lot and with a rapidly changing world.