If I were to tell you most of the troubles that befell us, your thoughts would be astonished. Is it possible to set before you a table of evil crowned with wormwood and gall briefly, with things as they were, to feed you bitterness for our affliction and to give you to drink from the wine of our sorrows? And if I think it is already incumbent upon me to write it, let it be in the utmost brevity. The 28th of Tammuz in the year 5152, which is 1321 [(should read 1325)] years since the destruction, the path of HaShem brought harsh things upon the great community of Seville where there were about 7002 Jews.

They set fire at its gates and killed many people there. But most converted, and some of them they sold to the Ishmaelites—children and women—and there were among the Jews those who dwelt in Dar and many died for the sanctification of HaShem and many desecrated the holy covenant. From there fire went out and consumed the cedars of Lebanon, the holy city of Cordoba, where also many converted and it became a ruin.

And on the day of trouble and rebuke, the 17th of Tammuz, the wrath of HaShem was poured out upon the holy city from where Torah goes forth, that is Toledo, and they were slain in the sanctuary of HaShem, priests and prophets. There many sanctified HaShem—great multitudes, whether the proper seed or the chosen seed, descendants of the Rosh of blessed memory and their children and students. Also there many converted, unable to stand upon their soul.

Upon these three the land trembled, besides other communities in their surroundings, their number like 70 cities. And with all this, we here came upon the birthstool and it was for us day and night a guard. And it was on the seventh of the month of Av, HaShem swallowed and did not have mercy, upon the communities of Valencia, about 1002 people. And those who died for the sanctification of HaShem were about 250 persons, and the rest of them fled and a few escaped and many converted.

From there the plague spread to the communities of Mallorca, the testimony for the shore of the seas it dwells. On the 28th of Elul, brigands came and desecrated it, plundered it, looted it, and left it like a fortress with no fish, and about 300 souls died for the sanctification of HaShem, and about 800 escaped to the tower of the king, and the rest converted. And the Shabbat after, HaShem poured out the wrath of His anger, the light of His sanctuary was cursed and a stranger profaned His Torah—that is the community of Barcelona, the pierced one—and the number of its slain was 130.

And all the rest of the communities fled and escaped to the tower, and all the paths of the Jews were plundered by the enemies and they set fire to some of them. And the hand of the leaders of the city was not in the matter, and they wanted to save them with all their ability. And the Jews were sustained there with bread and water and they hastened to make judgments against the criminals. Then a clamor rose from the rabble and the multitude increased against the dignitaries of the city and they fought with the Jews who were in the tower with bows and swords and they conquered the tower.

And many sanctified HaShem and many slaughtered [(perhaps should read: abandoned)] themselves and they did not reach half the tower until they made limbs into limbs. And some went out to the street and sanctified HaShem and all the rest converted, only there were few who escaped. And about the cities of the surrounding areas—a youth could write them, but they are among them weighty. And due to our many iniquities, there is not today in Barcelona a man who is called by the name of Israel.

And in the city of Lirira many died and the rest converted, only there were few who escaped. In the city of Gerona, Torah and testimony in one place, many sanctified HaShem—the great multitudes that were there who did not convert except for a few—and most of the community escaped in the houses of the gentiles. In the end, in the kingdom of Valencia no Jew remained except in one place called Morbiro. And in the district of Catalonia none remained except in the cities of the surrounding areas, and the least is that they did not lay hands on them.

In all the places after the energetic effort and the great dispersion, from all our possessions nothing remained to us except our bodies. And with all this, our heart fears and our eyes look to our Father who is in heaven, crying out until He will have mercy on us and heal us from our pains and not allow our feet to slip, [(Shomer HaDat, section 113, paragraph 2)]: