Hashlamat sefer ha-kabalah (Additions to the Book of Tradition)

I will describe only a little of the suffering undergone by the exiles, some of whom entered the kingdom of Fez by the grace of the great king, one of the righteous men of the nations of the world, Mulay Sheikh, who accepted Jews throughout his whole kingdom and was kind to them. Some of them entered Salé, which sits at the edge of the western sea. [ . . . ] Others went to the city of Arzila [Asila], ruled by the evil Nimrod with great torments and cruel tortures; he is the impure Chushan-rishathaim [see Judges 3:8–11], the agent of the king of Portugal, who was appointed over Arzila, and is known as Conde di Borba. He did much evil to the Jews, and forced them to go to King Ksar el-Kbir, where the Arabs attacked and tormented them and took away everything they had and left them naked: men, women, and children, a great mass of people.

Yet others went to the city of Badis, ruled by Mulay Mantsor, who was very kind to Israel until they came to Fez with their wealth and everything they owned. Then there were those who entered El-‘Arayish, and, when they returned to Ksar el-Kbir, Arabs came out against them and inflicted great injuries upon them. Some of them died of thirst, while lions ate some of the others. It was with regard to them that Isaiah, may he rest in peace, prophesied: The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia you shall lodge, O traveling companies of Dedanim. The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to he who was thirsty, etc. (Isaiah 21:13–14).

The surviving remnant went to Fez, may God be its aid, and all the flocks gathered there [see Genesis 29:3], great and small, wise and intelligent. Among them was Abba Mari [my father] of blessed memory, who was around seventy years old, and this was after he had spread the Torah among the Jews. He died on the first day of Passover in the first year of the exodus of Jews from the land of Spain. At the same time, in Portugal, our master and rabbi, R. Isaac Aboab, died, and so did the sage and philosopher, that descendant of wise men of ancient royalty, R. Shem Tov ben Shem Tov of blessed memory. [ . . . ]

After Passover, several sorrows befell the Jews and all the curses written in the Torah [see Deuteronomy 29:20], and many more of that kind. The following occurred after they had dwelled in the city of Fez for roughly eight months: a fire broke out among the Jews in the month of Tammuz and burned several people in a single hour, as if the fire had come from heaven. I was saved from it; I was about eleven years old at the time. This was a great misfortune such as never in the world had happened in half a day, and that is the meaning of what the prophet said: I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day (Amos 8:9). Who could believe what happened to us? This is also what Ezekiel prophesied: You shall burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and you shall take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part you shall scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them (Ezekiel 5:2). For immediately after that great fire, there came a famine and a great plague, and more than twenty thousand Jews died in the city of Fez, and several times this number in the surrounding cities.

When they saw this great calamity, the people returned to the land of Edom, for they said, “We are all dead men” [see Exodus 12:33]. Some of them fled to the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab, and the Hagarites [see Psalms 83:7], while others died of hunger in the markets and streets, and the daughters of Israel were left naked. Isaiah of blessed memory was alluding to these women in the verses: Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice (Isaiah 32:9).

Subsequently, in the year 5553 [1493], the wrath of God burned against His people beyond healing, for the iniquity of Israel was not full [see Genesis 15:16] until then. The king Don Giuan [John II (1455–1495)], king of Portugal, died a sudden death, without leaving a son worthy of the kingdom except for the son of a concubine: and in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom (Daniel 11:21). He, that uncircumcised evildoer King Manuel [Manuel I (1469–1521)], took counsel with his servants, the nobles, to erase the memory of Israel, and they said: come, and let us cut them off from being a nation and let the name of Israel no longer be remembered (Psalms 83:5), for who is the God who would save them from my hand [see Daniel 3:15]? He stood immediately and commanded by missive [see Esther 9:25] and a decree was issued in every single district, to be ready [see Esther 8:13] to leave his land within twelve months. Afterwards he accepted the counsel not to let the Jews come or go, and the congregation of Israel was like sheep with no shepherd [see Numbers 27:17], and they were confounded in the land, and the desert closed around them [see Exodus 14:2]. The lawless of Israel, the heretics and apostates, were led by the cursed Laban the Aramean, Levi, son of an Evil Name [the man referred to was probably named “Shem Tov” (good name)], the sinner who caused the Jews to sin more than Jeroboam. He advised the king to take from the Jews their synagogues and houses of study, and that any man who asks a petition of any god [see Daniel 6:7] the high heavens will be enslaved.

The sage and preacher R. Shem Tov Larma did not rise nor was moved by this [see Esther 5:9], but after the herald read the proclamation he immediately announced that he wished to recite his afternoon prayer, and he went to his house to pray. When the king heard about this, he had him arrested and tortured him by shackling his leg and all kinds of tortures. All the Jews expected [the king] would kill him for violating his word, but the Holy One saved him. After that, he did not refrain from worshiping his God by praying before Him in public, and thus he violated [the king’s law] again, and they beat him and put him in prison.

Next, Levi, son of an Evil Name, advised that they seize the synagogues and also advised that they take young Jewish children who were less than thirteen years old and convert them to the religion of Jesus. The king thought this was a good idea, and he imposed this decree in all the provinces of his kingdom, and they seized the children from their fathers and mothers. The outcry of the children was very great, with bitter voices, saying, “Who will save us from the uncircumcised?” And their fathers likewise called out in bitter, harsh tones, “We do not know what to do!” And this is what Jeremiah of blessed memory was alluding to in his description of Rachel weeping for her children, she refuses to be comforted (Jeremiah 31:15). The king did not relent until he had attacked the sages and mistreated them and tormented them with all kinds of tortures and shackled them in iron chains.

Many of the Jews converted because they could not withstand the tribulations. Some hanged themselves, while others martyred themselves for the sake of His blessed name. They were led by a holy, righteous rabbi of a pure soul and a clean body like the winged Elisha [see b. Shabbat 130a], who was called R. Simeon Mimi of blessed memory. He martyred himself together with his household and all who were with him, men, women, and children, and he died in prison with great tortures. The pious holy sage R. Shem Tov Larma underwent many tortures, as we have said before, when they put him in prison. Afterwards they took him out, and he was spared from death by the Holy One blessed be He. He then went to the kingdom of Fez, along with R. Jacob Luel and R. Abraham Saba. May the blessed Name restore us from captivity, and may our latter days be good, and may our latter days be better than our beginning with the coming of the messiah. Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us; let Your work appear unto Your servants, and Your glory upon their children (Psalms 90:15–16). Blessed be the Lord forever, Amen, Amen.

The Book of Tradition is finished and completed, thanks to the Lord, may He be praised, He who has no end or beginning.