ABELES, SIMON:
By: Gotthard Deutsch
A supposed martyr of the Roman Catholic Church in Prague. According tothe report of the Jesuit John Eder, he was killed by his father, Lazarus Abeles, March 21, 1694, because he persisted in his desire to embrace the Christian religion. The father, who was thrown into prison, strangled himself with his tefillin. Söbl, or Levy Kurtzhandl, was imprisoned as an alleged accomplice, and put to death with horrible tortures. The body of Simon was buried in the Teyn Church of Prague with great pomp and with the honors due a martyr. The report of the Jesuit is naturally one-sided, full of miracles and many improbabilities. An impartial investigation of the sources is still lacking.
Bibliography:
- Eder, Mannhafte Beständigkeit des Zwölfjährigen Knaben Simons Abeles, Prague, 1694—extracts from this work are found in Gustav Freytag's Bilder aus der Deutschen Vergangenheit;
- Allg Zeit. d. Jud. 1841, pp. 514 et seq., evidently from the same source.
