קמד

And behold — all that happened to me on that day is impossible to explain for lack of leisure. For I walked wandering and roaming greatly — to seek the captain. And when I found him I could not speak with him — and with great difficulty before I found a man from those who knew me there. And also with that Israelite I could not speak properly — he did not understand what I was saying and I did not understand what he was saying. And I could not come to an agreement with the captain. At first they told me he wanted thirty taler for both of us. Afterward — I went to the Consul and waited there — and Rabbi Yehuda Eliezer came to me there and told me that now one of our acquaintances had told him he wanted fifty-two taler. And in Rabbi Yehuda Eliezer's eyes it was very far that I would give such a sum. But I had already been content to give such a sum — since I saw it was very difficult for us to leave from here — and in particular since we did not understand any language — even with Israelites it was very difficult to speak. And I went from the Consul and left Rabbi Yehuda Eliezer there — and went to that man mentioned above. And he told me that Rabbi Yehuda Eliezer had not understood his words — for he wanted fifty taler per person alone. And the greatness of the bustle and confusion of mind I had then was beyond number. And the matter continued until three or four hours after midday on Erev Shabbas Kodesh. And Shabbas was imminent. And Hashem Blessed be He helped me — and gave me strength to hasten with all force to travel on that very day. For the ship was ready to leave immediately. And I did not wish to let it go — for I said: if I let it go — who knew how long my delay here would be. For not every day did a ship come along. Therefore I hurried. And Hashem Blessed be He helped me — and arranged several wondrous circumstances for our good. And in the end — the merit was arranged through Rabbi Aharon himself — who had done kindness with me at my entry. And now Hashem helped me — that he met me in the marketplace at the time I was very pressed and had no interpreter. And he went with me and spoke with the captain's men. But still had not come to an agreement — for the captain himself was not there. Therefore Rabbi Aharon returned to our lodgings. And I went in the meantime to the Consul's house — received the Tiskire — and gave it to a certain Ishmaelite sitting there in the customs house. And afterward I returned home and found Rabbi Aharon there. And he told me I had not done well that I had immediately given the Tiskire to the Ishmaelite. And I had great anguish. And afterward I exchanged a little money — estimating in my mind what would remain with me after the ship hire and the expenses. For when one left Egypt to the other Ishmaelite lands — the Egyptian currency was worth nothing at all — not even a single coin — for their currency was very inferior. Afterward I greatly pressed Rabbi Aharon. And he went with me once more. And immediately we hired the ship for the sum of forty-five Egyptian taler for both of us. And I paid the captain all the sum. And Rabbi Aharon hired Arabs — went with them — brought all our belongings to the shore — and hired us a small boat. And through the great kindness of Hashem — and His great salvation and help — we left Alexandria on Friday — Erev Shabbas Kodesh Parshas Naso — about two or three hours before the acceptance of holy Shabbas. And we left in great haste. And from the great haste we bought no provisions for the road except a little cucumbers and a little bread. Only we had dry bread from long before from Odessa. And we left literally as our forefathers left Egypt — in haste — and we too made no provisions for ourselves. And we came to the large ship before Kabbalas Shabbas by about two hours. And we gave great praise to Hashem Blessed be He that we had merited to leave Egypt. For in truth — throughout the entire road we had traveled from Istanbul to Alexandria — I had anguish when I remembered that I was compelled to go to Egypt. And I had been waiting each day and each hour to leave from there. And through Hashem's kindness — we left from there with alacrity with the help of Hashem Blessed be He.

And throughout all of holy Shabbas — the ship did not move from its place. And we had no cooked dish on holy Shabbas. And also wine for Kiddush and Havdalah — we had none — because of the haste mentioned above. And on Sunday morning early — the ship began to travel. And on holy Shabbas — I was somewhat weak. And on Sunday I became weak greatly and vomited greatly. But on Monday Hashem Blessed be He helped me and I began to return somewhat to my strength. But even so I was not in full health throughout this entire road — and all of this was from the tossing of the ship which was difficult for me. Only everything was in kindness — and I was not bedridden as on the road from Istanbul to Alexandria. And today was Thursday — toward evening — about three hours before nightfall — they began to see some dry land.

And behold — on Thursday mentioned above — we were hoping to come to our desired destination Sidon. But in truth that dry land was from the border of Acco. And on Friday morning — we passed alongside a certain city from afar — and the sailors said it was Acco. But the captain did not wish to stop there at all. And we passed from there. And after midday on Friday — Erev Shabbas Kodesh — we came to another city — and there he lowered the anchor — and the ship stood there. And that city was Tzor [Tyre]. And I greatly longed to disembark there — for I understood that from there the road was closer to Tzfas (may it be built and established speedily) than from Sidon. But I did not know whether there were Israelites there. And we remained on the ship. And we had nothing for Shabbas to go with the bread — only dry bread. And we gave some coins to a sailor and told him — with difficulty our hints were understood — to buy us warm bread and cucumbers in the city. And with great difficulty he understood our intention and brought us the things mentioned above. And we had for Shabbas something to eat. And the ship stood beside Tzor until after midnight of holy Shabbas. And about two hours after midnight — the ship moved from its place. And we traveled twelve hours from Tzor to Sidon. And we came on holy Shabbas — about two hours after midday — to the shore of the city of Sidon. And the anchor was lowered. And the ship stood. And the captain and the sailors told us to disembark immediately — for they wished to go to Beirut. But we greatly pressed them that we should remain on the ship until holy Shabbas passed — in order that we would not need to desecrate Shabbas by carrying the belongings and money and so on. And with great difficulty he was compelled to fulfil our wish. And we stood on the ship until the beginning of the night of Motza'ei Shabbas. And before I had finished Birkas HaMazon — they began to rush and drive us out. And I was compelled to disembark on the night of Motza'ei Shabbas. And at first we had some anguish from this — for how would we enter at night a city where we had no one who knew us — and we did not know the language — and where would we sleep at night with the belongings? But what could we do? And we relied on Hashem Blessed be He — that certainly He would help us even now as He had helped us until here. And immediately when we came near the shore — the Arab porters came and grabbed our belongings from the boat as was always their way. But blessed be Hashem — we had no damage at all. And immediately when we came to the shore — an Israelite man came toward us. And at first we did not know he was an Israelite. And afterward it became known to us he was an Israelite. And he greatly drew close to us. And gave us a place near the customs house to place the belongings — and to sleep there that night. For it was impossible to enter the city — since the customs official was not there who needed to see and check if we had any merchandise. And he also brought us a mat and spread it before us. And we had a place of rest. Blessed be Hashem. And immediately some Israelites gathered toward us — spoke with us — greatly drew close to us — and said they would give us good lodgings in a private room in the courtyard of the synagogue for guests. And the sexton was there. And said he would come in the morning and bring us in. And I spoke with them about how one acquired a drink for Havdalah here. And in Sidon there was no wine available because of the heat — only beer or brandy. And the sexton brought me brandy and leaves of lemon trees to smell. And I made Havdalah — with the help of Hashem Blessed be He.