A Hebrew Chronicle from Prague, C. 1615

The Hebrew Chronicle

The Hebrew Chronicle A page from the Hebrew Chronicle. The manuscript is housed at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York. (Photograph by Suzanne Kaufman; reproduced courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.) My help comes from the LoRD Maker ofheaven and earth* [Fol. 3r] I shall recount the events occurring in the Exile subsequent to the fifth millennium: the expulsions, miracles, and news ofother occurrences befalling [the Jews] in Prague and the other lands of our long exile because of our iniquities,** to serve as a token of remembrance for us and our descendants forever. May God who renders miracles daily, even hourly, grant us a favorable sign, and send the Messiah, son of David, that we may praise Your name forever , and inherit the everlasting world. May the Temple be rebuilt speedily in our day. Amen. [Fol. 4r] [1]* In the 149th year of the sixth millennium, on the day after Passover, Isru lfag [18 April 1389], the decree of Yanek was issued in Prague, due to our iniquities. • The page opens with an abbreviation of this verse, Psalms 121 :2cmy cshy-with each half appearing on opposite margins. •• The formula be- C avvonotaynu ha-rabim appears in abbreviation throughout the chronicle, but does not indicate a literal belief in a causal relationship between sin and punishment . Israel's suffering in exile because of her sins absolves God from blame. -TRANS. • Bracketed numbers refer to paragraphs in the manuscript. The historical notes at the base of each page refer to these numbered paragraphs. -TRANS. decree The Hebrew gezeyrah has been translated throughout as decree. It is used in the broad sense of persecution, something allotted by fate, an official edict, or all of the above. -TRANS. 1. On the last day of Passover 5149 (18 April 1389) many Prague Jews met their death, the result of an accusation of Host desecration. According to a non-Jewish source, approximately 3,000 Jews were burned to death or otherwise killed. See G. Bondy and F. Dworsky, Zur Geschichte der juden 1: 82-84, no. 171. In commemoration of this tragic event, R. Avigdor Kara, one of the leading Jewish scholars in Prague at the time, composed the elegy "Et Kol ha-Telaah asher Mezaatnu" ("All the Hardships That Have Befallen Us"); cf. S. Bernfeld, Sefer ha-Demaot (The Book of Tears) (Berlin, 1924) 2: 159-64. This event is also mentioned in Joseph ha-Kohen's Divrey haYamim , fols. 88v-89r (translated into English by C. H. F. Bialloblotzky, The Chronicles ofRabbi joseph ben joshua ben Meir the Sphardi [London, 1835] 1: 254-55, par. 22 A Hebrew Chroniclefrom Prague, c. 16IS fifth millennium should read sixth. Sanig unclear word; see historical notes. 5231 Most of the dates in the chronicle appear in shortened form, with no indication of the millennium . For the sake of clarity the millennium has been added throughout the translation of the text without square brackets. -TRANS. [2] In the 225th year of the fifth millennium [1465], due to our iniquities, a decree was issued in Prague. [3] 209 in the sixth millennium [1449], on a Monday, a d[ecree] against the Jews of Prague, because of our iniquities. [4] 5231 [1471] - On Saturday, the 2nd ofNisan [24 March], King Sarsig died. [5] 5231 [147I] - On the 1st ofBlu! [18 August] the Polish king came to Prague. 337); Joseph ha-Kohen, Emeq ha-Bakha, 50 (translated into English by H. S. May, The Vale of Tears [The Hague, 1971), 54); Gedaliah ibn Ya~ya, Shalshelet ha-Kabbalah (Chain of Tradition~ fol. 114r-v. Cf. David, HThe Historiographical Work of Gedaliah ibn Ya~ya, H 127; David Gans, ?emaf) David 1: 132-33. See also Degani, HStructure of World History,H 193-94. In E. Zimmer's edition of the Wormser Minhagbuch des R. Jousep (Juspa) Schammes (Jerusalem, 1988) 1: 96-97, par. 89, we find that in Worms a memorial prayer was recited on the eighth day of Passover in memory of those who died in the Prague decree, worded as follows: HMay God remember the souls of the martyrs of Prague, who died on this day in sanctification of the Name, among the immortal souls of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Leah. May they be rewarded with eternal life, and may their souls be bound up in the bond of life, etc.H Our chronicle...