Aaron (ben David) Hakohen. Ma’aseh Nissim [on the blood libel in Ragusa in 1622]

The notorious blood libel that took place in 1622 in Ragusa (later Dubrovnik, former Yugoslavia) involved the sentencing of Isaac Jesurun for the murder of a little girl. The author of this work, Aaron Hakohen, Rabbi of Ragusa, was arrested along with other members of the community. The affair ended after thirty-two months with the release of the Ragusan Jews. After his account of the ordeal, Hakohen includes a prayer of thanksgiving to be recited annually in commemoration of the event. For a brief account of the incident and its aftermath, see EJ, Vol. VI, col. 258. The port of Ragusa on the Adriatic Sea belonged at the time to the Venetian Republic. Thus, the Venetian imprint