Purim of Saragossa Deborah’s legacy

Dalia MAYA

What is Purim of Saragossa?

City of Saragossa, situated in the north of Spain was the capital city of Aragon Kingdom in the 12th and 13th centuries. At the time, 5.000 Jews were living in the city which marked a significant presence for that period. Saragossa Jews were mainly engaged in fabric manufacturing, textile, shoes, silk, linen and leather business. Saragossa has come to be known as an important hub for leather and textile trade, a trade that has been passed down from its former Jewish population. At the said period, the Jewish Community had close relationship with the King of Aragon. The King would look out for the Jewish community who he believed contributed significantly to the country’s economy. So much that, the Jews in textile business were granted important privileges leading them to have a monopoly on this craft. In return, the Jews would pay a specific tax named “cena”.

As a result of this good relationship, the King would visit the Jewish Community, once every year. The Jews would greet their King with cheerful parades. These parades would be so cheerful that the Jewish Community would bring out Torah Scrolls in their special cases from the synagogues to meet their King. However, what they really brought out were empty cases of Torah Scrolls. The hand print Torah Scrolls would be left in the synagogues for safe-keeping and to preserve their holiness and this way the Jews wouldn’t be committing any sins.

This ritual continued until one day a man mentioned as Marcus in the Megillah, a Christian who converted from Judaism after being baptized went to the King in 1420 and said, “His excellency, these Jews are deceiving you! They are making a mockery of you. The cases they bring out are empty! There is nothing in those cases.”

Let’s hear the rest of the story from Haim Samuel:

“Upon hearing this, the King decides to pay his traditional visit to the Jewish Community accompanied with his legion all armed. His plan is to open the Torah Scroll cases and if empty, to kill all the Jews. However, on the night before the visit, one of the Shamash sees a dream where he foresees what’s about to happen. He runs straight to the Synagogue and puts the Torah Scrolls in their cases. The next day, the King asks for the cases to be opened and sees that all the Torah Scrolls are inside the cases as they are supposed to be despite what Marcus claimed. He executes Marcus right on the spot and to show his appreciation cancels that year’s tax for the Jews. The date that this incident took place was Shevat 17 according to Jewish Calendar. This incident was perceived as a miracle for the Jewish Community and the story was put down in writing for the next generations.

The Jews of Saragossa celebrated this miracle every year. Neither the happiness nor distress or even the immigrations could discourage the Jews of Saragossa from celebrating this miraculous day. Purim of Saragossa as a Purim Katan was passed down to new generations thus marking its name in history.

Haim Samuel continues, “My grandmother celebrated Purim of Saragossa, every year. She had five children: Three boys and two girls. My father was the only sibling who had a son: Me. All the others had daughters. Since I was the only one to carry on the family name, my grandmother gave it (Megillah) to me.”

How did Megillah end up with Samuel Family?

We do not exactly know that. But, what’s interesting is that our family is in textile business. One can’t stop wondering. I don’t know our roots that well. We know that my grandmother and grandfather used to live in Izmir, Menemen. From there, they moved to Istanbul. Megillah was with them during this journey. We also know that some of the Jews exiled from Spain in 1492 due to inquisition came to Ottoman Empire and lived in the Aegean Region (Izmir is in the Aegean region).

Deborah and Megillah

My grandmother Deborah was a very devout woman. According to her, every year on Shevat 17 , Purim of Saragossa should be celebrated in her house where all members of the family would get together and read the Megillah in three different languages: Aramaic (the original language Megillah was written), Ladino and Turkish for us to understand. Rabbi Harebi Baruh, who was the only Rabbi my grandmother trusted used to read it. Rabbi Baruh, after reading Megillah in all three languages (in a rather theatrical manner), the table would be set for a feast and we would all eat together with great joy. Another detail I remember from those days is that we used to sing Bar Yohay. My grandmother made no compromises. The siblings would never be estranged from each other or not speak to one another. They all had to come together for that evening and if there was any resentment between them, they had to make up right there. In my opinion, that’s what Purim is all about. All these celebrations and the Megillah are connecting factors for the society.

When was this Megillah written?
My elders told me it was written a very long time ago. It was written on buckskin leather. Frankly, I was never too curious to make a research of my own.

Then, one day the Megillah got lost, right?

At one point, for a long time we didn’t celebrate Purim of Saragossa. We just skipped it. Then, one day my wife and I decided to celebrate and looked for the Megillah. My wife looked everywhere, but the Megillah was nowhere to be found. We thought maybe we gave it to one of our cousins and she forgot to give us back. When Megillah was passed down to me, I was told that it would never leave my house, ever. Of course when my cousins asked, I couldn’t refuse them. Anyway, we searched every inch of the house, called every cousin and still it couldn’t be found. I was devastated because not only was it sentimentally very valuable, it was also written on buckskin leather, a very rare relic. I didn’t know how old it was. But, I knew it had to be very old. The first thing I thought I could do was to fast and pray at the synagogue. So, I did those. After the synagogue when I got home, my wife was excited to see me. She said, “You won’t believe it, but I found it just a while ago.” She found it at its usual place.

Excuse me?

It wasn’t actually the Megillah that was lost. Neglecting and forgetting it darkened its sight. It was indeed at the far corner of a dresser where we always put it. We just couldn’t reach it because we neglected it for so long.

Now you are consigning it to the Quincentennial Foundation Museum of Turkish Jews for a temporary display even though it shouldn’t be leaving your house.

Neve Salom Synagogue and the Museum inside is our home, too. Chief Rabbi Haleva called me personally and said, “This Megillah is very valuable and as a community we would very much like to celebrate Purim Saragossa every year.” This request made me very happy because I know that Chief Rabbi will be watching over it. There is no way it will be lost.

Furthermore, it will bring together the whole community. This Megillah has brought together the whole family, in the past. Now, it will bring the whole community together. Every year.

Do you remember any special dishes or scents from the celebrations you had with your grandmother?

My grandmother Deborah was a real Izmir person. She mastered at Izmir cuisine and culture. However, I cannot recall any unique dish we had at those celebrations.

Do you remember the song?

No, but I remember the ritual. For instance,Rabbi Harebi Baruh after reading the Megillah would stomp his right foot on the floor and say “Maldico Marcus, bad Marcus, cursed Marcus” and stomp again. He would tell the story in a very theatrical way with a certain tone of voice and body language. We would be watching him as if were watching a play.

When the Megillah was passed down to me, I was told, “Look, if you do not do this it will get lost and if you lose it we call you into account!” I couldn’t understand what they meant at the time. When my grandmother gave the Megillah to me she told me over and over, “Do not lose it, do not take it out of your house, do not give it to anybody else. If you don’t celebrate Purim Saragossa every year, it will get lost.”

Only after I lost it, I understood what my elders were trying to tell me. Celebrating Purim Saragossa is a merit of our own identity. If you forget it, you will lose your own tradition. When I lost the Megillah, I was devastated. I thought that I failed at my responsibility towards my family. When I lost it, it was as if I lost a part of me that was very important. As if I, too was lost. We should note that its material value or the fact that it is a valuable antique is not important. What matters is its sentimental value. This Megillah created a miracle. It has a miracle within. If we own up our holiday and our Megillah, we will be owning up that miracle, too and that miracle will be with us. If we own it, embrace it, it will never leave us.

May my uncles, aunt, grandmother, grandfather and all my other ancestors rest in peace. Now, our Chief Rabbi is watching over our Megillah.

Mirey Samuel, Deborah’s granddaughter also talks about her grandmother:
Mirey Samuel spent her childhood together with her grandmother Deborah in the same house. We asked her what she remembers about her grandmother. She wrote them. She asked her mother and wrote what she remembers, as well. They remembered more as they wrote. They filled up many, many pages. We could only include a small portion of those pages here in this article...
“She was devout. Torah was glued to her hand. She observed Kashrut laws, strictly. Due to her past sufferings, she didn’t smile much, however she socialized easily. She was very compassionate, but shy about showing it. My grandmother Deborah looked tough, but in the inside she was a principled yet lenient woman...
We treasured her never-ending stories about Coha and Torah. I remember when people sprained their hands or arms, my grandmother used to rub their sprained limb with white soap in the enamel basin. When I asked her who she said hello to while we were walking by, she would reply, “I don’t know, but a salutation is both given and taken”.

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Purim of Saragossa Deborah’s legacy

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