Saragossa Megillah colored and illustrated with ink on klaf parchment—Spain, 19th century. Extremely rare item.

Saragossa Megillah colored and illustrated with ink on klaf parchment—Spain, 19th century. Extremely rare item.
Sofer handwriting in ink, illustrated using a variety of colors. At the beginning is an illustrated tail, under each column is illustrated a scene from the megillah (see below). Each column is surrounded by an illustrated frame with gates, oil jugs, and plants. They use pastel colors that withstand the test of time—Illustrations that are hundreds of years old remain as fresh as the day they were drawn. Purim Saragossa is a day of thanks celebrated on 18th of Shvat, in order to note the miracle that took place in 1380 or 1420 in Saragossa (Spain). It is also called Purim Sheni. The miracle was written about in a special megillah read as a celebration on this holiday. The event took place when the king, called Sargosanos in the megillah, came to the city—Jews came out to bless him while holding sifreitorah from 12 synagogues in the city. At a certain point the rabbis decided that in order to preserve the sanctity of the sfarim, the reception would only take place with the empty cases, while the books themselves would remain in the synagogues. A convert named Marcus told the king, who was furious, but who decided not to punish the Jews without checking first to confirm their guilt. He went to Saragossa accompanied by Marcus, and decided that when the Jews came out to receive him, he would order them to open the cases suddenly and see if it was the truth. In the night before the visit, Elijah the Prophet appeared in a dream shared by the gabbays of the 12 shuls, and ordered them to return the sifreitorah to the cases. The next day when the king suddenly asked them to open the cases, he found the books inside. He ordered Marcus hanged, and the Jewish community was saved. The miracle was written in a special megillah read in synagogues of emigrants from Saragossa every 18th of Shvat. Every time Marcus’s name was read, people would make noise using noisemakers and would stamp on the floor. In the Sefardi shul of Nahalat Shiva in the center of Jerusalem, the tradition is to, at the end of Arvit of Friday night, to open the Ark and show the place where the reading will begin the next day, a unique tradition whose roots lie in the Miracle of Saragossa. Dimensions: Height: 15cm, length: around 135cm. 2 pieces of parchment, 10 columns. Generally very good condition.