And after Shabbos, on Sunday, the tzadik, our teacher Rav Avrohom mentioned above, came to Rabbainu o.b.m. to his lodgings, and they spoke in private between themselves. And after a day or two Rabbainu o.b.m. fell sick and was bedridden, may the Merciful One save us, and he sent (money) for pidyoan (-redeeming) to the aforementioned tzadik, and every single day the aforementioned Rav, our teacher Rav Avrohom, would go to visit him.
Afterwards there was over there the famous incident with the moaser (-a renegade Jew who informs on his brethren) who was there. And the moaser was one of the men from chutz-lu'uretz (-outside Israel) who had come there, and he became a moaser by the Pasha (-Turkish ruler), and perpetrated great evils to the people of Tiberius, and he held the greats of the city in captivity, and he incarcerated them in the pit for nine weeks, and afterwards the "Franken" (Sephardic) people traveled to the Pasha, and they gave him a huge fortune, and he discharged them. And they went and they caught the moaser, and they wanted to strangle him, and he pretended as if he was already lifeless and dead, and afterwards he revived and went and informed on them, until the Pasha gave him jurisdiction, that he could do with the city as he pleased, and he made him an officer, and he came to the city with great honor with Ishmaelite soldiers with grandeur and glory, and then, promptly and immediately the whole city fled, and there did not remain except women and children, and there was great crying in the whole city, and there was a great outcry and copious crying in every single house.
And Rabbainu o.b.m. also wanted to flee, but he was unable because of his infirmity, and he already started to leave the city, but he returned afterwards. And this was from Hashem, because through Rabbainu o.b.m. they all returned into the city, because the moaser submitted himself profusely under the feet of Rabbainu o.b.m., and he went to Rabbainu o.b.m. and humbled himself profusely under him. And the manner of conduct in which Rabbainu dealt with the aforementioned moaser, many folios would not be sufficient to relate, because he comported with him with wondrous wisdom, until the moaser was abnegated before him, and he ordered the man that was with Rabbainu o.b.m. to make a proclamation, that all those who fled should return, and they all returned through this into the city.
And for Rabbainu spoke to him with cunning, and said to him, that it was proper and befitting for an officer, that he should pray for the plight of Israel and that he should be pious and humble, because the aforementioned moaser was a pharisaic, and he projected himself as if he was pious, and he began to speak with Rabbainu o.b.m. matters of chasidus (piety, hasidus), and he o.b.m. pretended like he didn't know, so that it seemed to the moaser as if he o.b.m. held of him also to be a chusid (hasid/pious). And he (Rabbainu) spoke with him shrewdly and with cunning, and he spoke appealingly to his heart, that he should accustom himself to saying Psalms, until Rabbainu o.b.m. told him: "With this I will know that you do not have haughtiness, if you can recite Psalms in my house before the youth with great crying." And so it was. And immediately he began to say Psalms with great crying and his tears on his cheek.
And afterwards the moaser fell into infirmity, and even still they were guarding all the gates to guard for the arrival of meshulachim (-fundraisers (returning bearing funds)), because this is what he had informed on, that he said that a huge fortune came from here (-outside Israel) to there (-Tiberius), however, Hashem was to their avail, and they hid the matter from the aforementioned moaser, and they sent the man that was with Rabbainu o.b.m. to Haifa, and he received the money from the fundraisers, and brought it to Tiberius, and gave them to Rabbainu o.b.m., and he gave it to them, and they allocated it. And when the moaser recovered from his infirmity, he boasted of himself that he would perpetrate more evils, and his end was - that he fell again into infirmity and died. And Rabbainu o.b.m. had great joy that this great merit came about through him, because through him everyone returned into the city.