Sefer ha-masa‘ (Book of the Journey)

Let us return to our first matter, because these two territories, which we discussed, Masterdam [Amsterdam] and Igeltiera [England], in all of them they follow the Sephardic rite from the tribe of Judah. However, they have the bad trait of destroying the beard [shaving], and there are female Jewish prostitutes, who are whores among them, as well as the matter of the wine of gentiles, all as mentioned above. Further on from the territory of Amsterdam one enters the territory of the kingdom of the land of Ishpaniya [Spain], may it soon be destroyed. They are also haters of Israel like all those mentioned before, who are from the land of Portugal. The evil territory of this land of pollution extends to the territory of that land, may it be desolate, to Lisbon, the evil kingdom, for they are also haters of Israel who like to burn them. Some souls of Israel are still there in the lands of the wicked, and all of them are forced converts. They are very wealthy, and they pray underground, and such great sorrow they suffer, for our many sins, because if the Christians were aware of this they would burn them in a moment, for our many sins.

From this evil territory one enters the territory of the land of Fransos [France], which is a more powerful kingdom in sea and land than they are. It is also a hater of Israel, like those other countries. From that territory onward, there are all good countries that are nice to the Jews, and they have many kings, and their territories are near each other, and they all live in peace. And they are as follows: from the territory of France the territory of Genova begins, where Jews come and go for commerce. This territory is narrow and its kingdom is little. From that territory onward lies the territory of the land of Ligurna [Livorno], a very beautiful city. All its buildings are of marble stone, and it is situated beside the sea. Many Jews are in that kingdom, all of whom follow the Sephardic rite. This kingdom extends virtually all the way to the territory of Greater Rome. In the middle is a large state called Folorinsia [Florence]. It is of unsurpassed beauty, and has many wonderful things in it, by all the painters, but I cannot write at length about that. There are also Jews there. There are also many Jews in Greater Rome, and all of them are Sephardic. It is a very large city, but today it is almost entirely ruined, and it is the city of the kingdom of the wicked Titus. Several miracles and wonders were wrought in this city at the time of Abraham Ibn Ezra, but I cannot write about them at length, as I do not have the time, for if we sought to write about all these territories and their cities and their states, and their characteristics, and what happened in them, then even if the heaven were paper and the sea were ink and all the trees were pens, I would not manage to record what my eyes saw.

And now it is proper to return to our first matter, the interpretation of the customs and their places. I have already said that the holy community of Rome follows the Sephardic rite. There is a distance of ten days between Rome and the city of Padova, while along the left side of the territory several cities and states extend inward. All these cities and states follow the Taliani [Italian] rite: this is the land of Italia, whose border reaches the border of the land of Ashkenaz [Germany]. Also, in the city of Padova they are all of the Sephardic rite, and from there it is a day’s journey by sea to Venice the capital. This is the city of printing mentioned in all the books, and all the people there are also of the Sephardic rite. From there it is three days by sea to a small city named Ra‘uza [Ragusa in Dalmatia], which has several hundred Jewish householders, all of whom follow the Sephardic rite. Here ends the territory of the kingdom of Edom, who is Esau, and they are the cities of Frank [France] mentioned above. They are the ones who destroy the beard as stated above, and they are in the western side of the world.

And deep within it is the land of the west, with many Jews, and they are Arabs, and their rite is Must‘arabi [Arabized Jews] but they are from the tribe of Judah.