A 500-year-old Scroll of Esther dating back to the expulsion from Spain will be displayed at the Anu Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv, Israel Hayom learned Monday.
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The scroll belongs to Yakov Mimran, who inherited it from his father.
"He and my uncle would read from the scroll proficiently and take it to synagogue every Purim to read from it," he told Israel Hayom. They always said "the scroll had arrived with the Monsonego family from Spain following the expulsion. I was intrigued, contacted the National Library of Israel and it agreed to check it out."
The National Library confirmed that the scroll indeed dated back to around 1492, when the Jews were expelled from Spain. It later moved with the Monsonego family – a well-known rabbinical dynasty – to Fez, modern-day Morocco, and eventually, to Israel.
Despite its age, the scroll has been preserved relatively well.
"When I first opened it, I didn't believe that it was written in the 15th century, because it was in such a good condition," Mimran said.
Before being displayed at the Anu Museum of the Jewish People, the scroll will undergo restoration.
"This is the first year that the scroll will not be read [on Purim] in hundreds of years, but I am glad it will be preserved," Mimran said.
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