 The plot bears clear parallels with the rise of Nazism in Germany at the time, but as suggested above it also acts as a larger social parable dealing with man's role in society.Indeed, the source for Herder's tale "Der afrikanische Rechtspruch", on which Neher's libretto was based, is the "Bava Metzia" section of the Talmud.Interpreted accordingly, the social parable of "Die Bürgschaft" is the covenant of rabbinical teaching