The whole Megillah

This is a story of intrigue and adventure that involves a rare Hebrew manuscript and an intrepid Englishwoman.  Gloria Mound grew up in Wembley, married Leslie (z”l) in 1953 and they opened a grocery store there.

In 1973, they went on vacation to the Spanish Island of Ibiza, not a common destination then.   Since they were Orthodox Jews they ate vegetarian food and enquired what kind of fat was being used to cook the food.  Their unusual request got them noticed, and they were approached by someone on the street who asked them about it.  They told him they were Jews and he invited them to his store and after some conversation he admitted secretly that he was a descendent of conversos, Jews who had been forcibly converted to Christianity when the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492!
 

Many converso families took refuge from the Inquisition in Spain on the Balearic Islands, that includes Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera.  We now refer to them all as "Secret Jews" or in Hebrew as Anusim (meaning forced). Each Island had a separate history, on Majorca these conversos are known in the local Catalan dialect as Chuetas (more generally in Spanish they were known as "Marranos," both derogatory terms).  There was no intermarriage between their descendents, known as Bnei Anusim, and the local "old" Christians, and so they became a separate secret community within the Island over a period of 500 years, knowing their Jewish origin but living outwardly as Christians and cut off from the rest of the Jewish world.  On Ibiza and Formentera there is no evidence that the Jews were actually converted, but they remained as Secret Jews and the local Christians protected them. The persecution of the Inquisition and the fear of torture and death made them keep their secret,
 

As a result of this meeting, the Mounds were introduced to other members of this secret community, and became a source of information for them about Judaism.  It should be noted that very few if any of these Secret Jews had actually met a "real" Jew and their knowledge of Judaism was by this time very vague. 

In 1975, Gloria and Leslie decided to sell their grocery store. They liked it so much on the islands and as a result of these contacts they kept going back and became immersed in the subject. In 1981, Gloria was researching in the Town Hall archives of Ibiza, when she was given  by a local notary photocopies of two pages written in perfect Hebrew script.  She recognized it as part of the Megillah of Esther.  She asked if there were any more such pages and she was told there were none. 

In 1985, Gloria and Leslie spent three years living on Ibiza doing research into the history of the Bnei Anusim.  In 1988, on their request for more information on these pages, she was shown three large books from the 18^th century on the history of the local Society of Notaries that had on the obverse of their covers further pages of Hebrew written on vellum.  She requested copies of these 6 pages and asked if there were any more such pages and was told no.  She begged them to keep searching and was told later that 3 more volumes had been found.  Shortly after this another separate page was exhibited in the Museum in Ibiza, making a total of 13 pages.  Gloria and Leslie then moved to Israel in 1988 where they established Casa Shalom, the Institute for Marrano-Anusim Studies.  

Gloria sent the copies of the pages to experts and was told that these were pages from a 15th century Book of Esther that was unique and valuable.  It should be noted that the Anusim were very fond of the story of Esther because she too covered up her adherence to being a Jew in order to survive. Gloria had a meeting in Ibiza with the Cultural Delegate (Delgado) of the local government.  He showed her the separate page of the manuscript, but told her that he had decided to keep it for himself.  She told him that was illegal, but then she had to leave the island since her visit ended.
 

In 1992, she returned to Ibiza and inquired about these books and was told that they were no longer available (apparently it was considered dangerous for the librarians to show them to her). Also, she was told that the page that the Delgado had shown her had suddenly disappeared.  Note that 1992 was a turnging point, it was the 500^th anniversary of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and King Juan Carlos of Spain apologized publicly to the Jewish people for the harm the expulsion had caused them.  

Fast forward to August 2012, Gloria went to visit the Islands again for two months to write her memoirs and to continue her research.  She went back to the Archives and this time the librarian was helpful and confided that she was of Chueta descent.  She found the books with the Hebrew pages stuck inside the covers and told Gloria that they were safe.  She also said that the "lost" page had been found and was kept in a safe place.  Gloria now has photocopies of all 13 pages that make up ca. 85% of an ancient version of the Megillah of Esther.  According to experts there is no such version in Israel and this might be the oldest version of the Book of Esther ever found.
 

In Spain, a law was passed several years ago that allows owners of property stolen by the Inquisition to reclaim it if they can prove ownership.  Of course, this is very difficult to do.  At present the books containing the pages are part of the collection of the Society of Notaries of Ibiza, but it may be that they are actually owned by the Ministry of Justice or the autonomous Government of Ibiza.  The Jewish Communities of Spain in Madrid are now interested in reclaiming these pages for the Jewish community, and have approached the National Spanish Government for their help in retrieving and restoring them, a process that could take many years, Still, they have lain hidden for six hundred years, emblematic of the history of the Bnei Anusim themselves! 
 

I thank Gloria Mound for her help and cooperation in the writing of this summary.