From Crete to Jerusalem: The Will of a Cretan Jew (1626)

For the Jews on Venetian Crete, as elsewhere, Jerusalem symbolized the hope of return, the deliverance from the sufferings of the Diaspora. ¹ This feeling is eloquently expressed in the will of a Cretan Jew, Abraham Balanzas, son of the late Rabbi Judhà, and inhabitant of the Judaica in Candia, which is dated 16 November 1626. Abraham, about 60 years old, went to the house of the public notary Giacomo Cortesan to draw up his will, having decided to travel to the Holy Land, where he wished to end his life ‘by the Grace of God’. The text of this will provides interesting information which adds to our knowledge of the history of the Jews on Venetian Crete. ²