Today, the 17th of Shvat, five hundred and ninety-nine years ago, a great miracle occurred to the Jews of the city of Zaragoza, the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon in present-day northeastern Spain (in the year 1420). In memory of that miracle, the people of the city established the 17th of Shvat as a day of joy and thanksgiving to God, to them and to their descendants, and it was called "Purim Zaragoza." They also wrote a scroll for them and copied it from generation to generation, and it was customary to read it every year on the 17th of Shvat with a majority of the people.
And this is the miracle: Whenever the king visited their city, it was customary for the members of the community to go out to meet him with the Torah scrolls in the hands of the city's dignitaries, rabbis and judges. There were twelve synagogues in Zaragoza. When they went out to greet the king, they took out three Torah scrolls from each synagogue, a total of thirty-six books.
Although they did so out of respect for the kingdom, the sages of the city were heartbroken by the disrespect for the honor of the Torah scrolls by removing them from their permanent residence. On one occasion, they decided to install three empty Torah scroll bags in all the synagogues in the city, which they would take out at the king's reception. This was the practice for several years, until they were in terrible trouble.
One member of the community, Chaim Shami, who served in the king's household (perhaps Alfonso V, King of Aragon), converted to Christianity. His Christian name was Marcus, and as a Christian he became closer to the king. Once, after a royal visit to the city of Zaragoza and the Jewish reception held for the king, Marcus told him the truth: The Jews do not go out to meet you with Torah scrolls, but with empty bags. The king heard this and his anger burned in him.
The king decided that if Marcos's words were true, all the Jews of the city of Zaragoza, five thousand in number, would be punished with severe punishments. The men would be executed, the synagogues would be burned, and the women and children would be taken as slaves and maidservants. A royal decree in this spirit was signed on the 16th of Shvat, while the king made up his mind to surprise the Jews of Zaragoza the next day and to visit the city suddenly.
On the night of the 17th of Shvat, all the deacons of the twelve synagogues had one dream. In their dream, an old man commanded them to hurry immediately to the synagogue and put Torah scrolls in the bags used for the king's receptions. All the devotees were commanded by the old man in the dream not to tell anything about the dream and their deeds.
Thus, late at night, each deacon entered his synagogue and put Torah scrolls in his bags. Everyone returned to their homes and told no one about it.
The next day, on the 17th of Shvat, the king suddenly appeared in the city of Zaragoza. The rabbis and judges of the city hurried to the synagogues and took out their usual bags to greet the king, led them and stood before the king. As he passed them, the king commanded in a loud voice to open the books, because he wanted to see the Torah in which they were blessing the king.
A terrible terror fell on the faces of the Jews. The rabbis and dayanim carrying the bags knew nothing of what had happened the night before, and they were sure that evil had befallen them. With trembling hands, they opened the bags, expecting the worst of all.
The files were opened, and a double miracle was performed at the same time. All the books were opened in the place where it is written: "And even this, while their enemies were in the land, they did not disgust nor disgust their daughter-in-law to break My covenant with them, for I am the Lord their God" (verse from the end of the book of Leviticus, although according to the time when the miracle took place, the books were supposed to be opened around the passages in Shelah-Yitro in the book of Exodus). The king saw the holy books, was relieved, and thus angered the Jews, and now he was directed to Mark. The rebellious servant who stole his mind. In his breath, the king ordered Mark to be hanged on a tree, and the Jews had light and joy.
This is the great miracle that happened to the Jews of Zaragoza, as it is told in the "Scroll of Zaragoza", of which we have various versions. The description in the Megillah is shrouded in a legendary flavor and it is difficult to extract the exact factual kernel from it, but the day of Purim Zaragoza is rooted in an ancient Jewish tradition in several communities in Israel where the Jews of Zaragoza settled.
Among the copies of the Megillah that are found today are formulas that mark the 18th of Shvat as the day of Purim Zaragoza, although they also mention the 17th of Shvat as the day on which the miracle occurred. In addition, in some of the formulations, the year 5000 (1380) is mentioned as the year in which the miracle occurred, and according to this the king in question was King Pedro IV of Aragon. Among the scholars there are those who believe that "Purim Zaragoza" originated among the Jews of Sicily in the Mediterranean. However, tradition in the communities denies his words. The Italian custom, which apparently also prevailed in Sicily, of wrapping the Torah scroll in a coat, as is the Ashkenazi custom, also makes it difficult to describe the miracle.
Nowadays, "Purim Zaragoza" is hardly commemorated due to the assimilation of the city's immigrants among members of other communities. However, a few modern families, who bear the name "Zaragossi" or "Zaragosti", are still in the habit of reading the Megillah and marking the day of "Purim Zaragoza".
