98 r Yehoshua Frenkel
the Jews of Baghdad are hurt.” The caliph called upon Netira, the head
of the Jews, who came to the court dressed in shrouds. The Jewish leader
explained to the caliph that the mysterious person he had seen was Elijah,
the protector of the Jews, adding that Elias and al-Khidr are one and the
same. At this point we notice a change of roles in the story’s dialogue.
Netira, who in the first scene expressed great fear, now plays the role of a
dignitary who holds the keys to the ruler’s court (sultan), while the caliph
takes on the reverse position, that of the advocate. He suggests that the
Jews will stop having to pay the poll tax. However, Netira insists that his
people will continue to pay the jizya, arguing that the payment protects
them. The caliph agrees with this counsel and undertakes to collect the
jizya according to “the sacred tradition of the Prophet (sunna).” Hence the
Jews of Baghdad adopt the dress code of the ̔Abbasids, demonstrating
in this way their confidence in the caliph’s assurance. When Sufis plan to
attack the Jewish community of Baghdad, the caliph orders them thrown
into the Tigris River. The passing of the heroes of these stories does not
put an end to the close contacts between the Jews and the caliph’s court.
Netira continues to play an important role in the court of the caliph’s
successor, al-Muqtadir (295–320/908–32), and the ̔Abbasids’ favorable
attitude continues when Netira is replaced by Sahl. It is even said that
this Jewish leader regularly sent money to Kufa, where the coins were
distributed among the offspring of ̔Ali b. Abi Talib (i.e., Shiites) and the
Hashimites (i.e., ̔Abbasids).^63
A partial explanation of the popularity of al-faraj ba ̔d al-shidda (de-
liverance after hardship) episodes among Jewish authors might be the
literary-religious tradition that starts with the biblical book (megillah) of
Esther.^64 This topos is reflected in a Jewish source recounting an event
that happened in Baghdad during the Saljuq period and that shows how
the Jews internalized their role as dhimmis. In it, we read that while the
sultan had been persecuting the Jewish community, a pious woman, the
daughter of Joseph the physician, declared that she had seen the prophet
Elijah in a dream and that “she had been told by him that the redemp-
tion of Israel was at hand.” Hearing about these messianic expectations,
the caliph considered punishing the Jews, but he was warned by the chief
Muslim judge of Baghdad that “no person who has ever done evil to the
Jewish people has remained unpunished.” At night, Elijah appeared to
the caliph himself, “who was struck with awe.” Hence the Jews of Bagh-
dad were exempted from taxation.^65 This exchange of roles seems to be a