Das Judengrab; Aus Bimbos Seelenwanderungen: Zwei Erzählungen

In a quiet, bucolic valley where the river Melk winds between modest hills and fertile fields, a lone Jewish merchant named Samuel has set up shop in the otherwise homogenous town of Jeddam. Though his wares are welcomed, prejudice runs deep, and the local authorities turn a blind eye to his pleas for justice when debts go unpaid. As years pass, Samuel’s health begins to fail, and the weight of isolation presses heavily on his family.

Facing an uncertain future, his wife Rosette and their children devise a daring ruse: they will stage Samuel’s death and help him slip away to a distant port, allowing the family to remain in Jeddam without the stigma attached to his name. With the help of the young steward Ive, they craft a lifelike dummy, dress it in Samuel’s nightclothes, and prepare the elaborate deception. The plan teeters between desperation and hope, hinting at the lengths a family will go to protect one another in a world that refuses to accept them.