Jewish history myth-busting thread:

Samuel Palache (c. 1515–1616) was a merchant, diplomat, and privateer. While he definitely did exist (and lead a remarkable life), he is often heavily romanticized as a "pirate rabbi", often titled "Harav".

But I'll focus on one anecdote.

The story goes that every time he entered a shul, he was asked to shed his weapons belt (based on Shulchan Aruch OC 151:6).

He refused, announcing, "I have vowed not to remove my sword until I have avenged the blood of my brethren from the King and Queen of Spain".

This anecdote is mentioned in Hebrew Wikipedia, as well as articles about him online and in print publications...

It was mentioned by Israeli historian Rabbi Eliyahu Birnbaum, in his series "Yehudi Olami" (I bookmarked the exact time), and it also appears in his subsequent book.

When I first read this, I was puzzled.

Firstly, how would there be any record of Palache's dialogue? It wasn't like he was a chassidishe rebbe or litvishe rosh yeshiva, with followers eager to inscribe his every custom/utterance.

Also, shouldn't a "rabbi" have known better?

So I did a bit (okay, more than a bit) of digging, and discovered that the earliest written record of the valiant promise was actually... a children's book.

"Perachya and the Pirates" is a 1985 work of historical fiction, written by Dan Tsalka (1936–2005), which chronicles the adventures of Perachya da Silva, a young boy from Jerusalem who joins Palache's crew on the high seas.

In one scene (page 150), da Silva accompanies Palache to the shul onboard the ship. While telling Perachya to leave his dagger outside, Palache davens Maariv fully armed, later asserting:

Just to be sure, I confirmed with the author's sons — Rami (a photographer) and Michael (a pianist) — that the book, while based on a historical figure, was a work of fiction — especially the dialogue.

So that's how a fake statement from a children's book found its way into historical record.

At least in this instance, we're talking about a real person. There are other cases where totally fictitious Jewish pirates also became part of history — but that's for another time...

Until then, enjoy @onthemainline's takedown of the myth that every Jewish grave with a skull and crossbones contains a Jewish pirate: http://onthemainline.blogspot.com/2010/09/yo-ho-ho-and-i-doubt-hes-pirate.html

Here's the next thread on Jewish pirates: https://twitter.com/hungrychipmunk/status/1333077133359521792