Long ago there was a rabbi in the city of Guadalajara in Spain who was often called upon to pray for barren women to be blessed with a child. Now this rabbi and his wife were themselves childless, and his wife could not understand why he did not pray for a child of their own. But each time the rabbi's wife would ask him about this, he would reply: If it is God's will, there is no need for a prayer. At last, however, the rabbi decided to seek a reply to his wife's burning question, and he immersed himself in the mikvah seven times, and prayed that their destiny as parents be revealed.
That very night an angel appeared to the rabbi in a dream and said: You are destined to be blessed with a son, but when he reaches the age of eighteen he will disappear, and it will be many years before you see him again. Now when the rabbi awoke, he told his dream to his wife; on the one hand they were greatly relieved to learn they would have a child of their own, but on the other they were frightened of his fate. But the rabbi reminded his wife that everything God does is for a purpose, and if that was to be their son's fate, there was surely a reason for it.
And after a year the rabbi's wife gave birth to a son, and he was circumcised as a Jew according to the Saws of Moses, and they named him Shlomo, which is Hebrew for Solomon.
His father raised Shlomo so that he was very well versed in the Torah, the Talmud, and the other sacred texts, and he could be counted among the scholars. So it was that time passed, until the boy reached the age of eighteen. In the summer it was very hot, and Shlomo went up to the roof of their house to study.
Then one day, while he was there, an eagle of gigantic proportions passed over their house and swept up the boy in his talons and carried him off. And with the terrified boy held tightly in its grip, the eagle flew with him until they arrived at the city of Madrid, the capital of Spain, and there the eagle dropped the boy on the roof of the palace of the king of Spain.
Now at that time the king was asleep, and when he heard a loud thumping on the palace roof he was very frightened, for he feared it might be the sound of a cannon, and that the palace was under attack. He quickly ordered his servants up to the roof to see what had happened, and they found, to their amazement, the boy Shlomo, who had fainted. And when the servants came back and reported what they had found, the king himself went up to the roof, and when he saw Shlomo's face shining like an angel of God, the king tried to wake him up.
At last, when Shlomo opened his eyes, he found himself lying on a bed in a luxurious chamber, and he did not know where he was. After all, only a few hours earlier he had been studying peacefully on the roof of his father's house, and now he found himself surrounded by opulence. So it was that Shlomo was truly amazed to learn that the eagle had carried him to the palace of the king of Spain. In reply to the king's questions, he told the king that he was a Hebrew of the Spanish city of Guadalajara many miles away. And after this the king had food brought for him, but Shlomo explained to the king that the only food he could eat had to be kosher, and the king said: Tell us what you need, and we shall bring it to you. And Shlomo replied: I will need new dishes and all kinds of vegetables and fruits, and I will prepare the meal myself. The king ordered that these things should be brought, and Shlomo cooked the meal with his own hands and ate it. And the king was greatly taken with the fine qualities of the boy, and had a house built for him inside the palace garden, furnished with everything he might need.
Now when Shlomo's parents did not find him in the house, they called for him to come down from the roof. But when he did not reply, they went up there and discovered that he was gone. They searched for him everywhere, and at last they realized that the prophecy of the angel had come true, and that he had disappeared. Then they greatly mourned over losing him, although they did not abandon all hope, for the angel had also prophesied that one day he would return.
Meanwhile the king came to visit Shlomo every day, for he greatly enjoyed his company. For the truth is that while this king had a very lovely daughter, whom he greatly loved, he did not have a son, and Shlomo had many of the fine qualities he had hoped to find in a son of his own. So it was that he soon recognized that Shlomo was unhappy, and he asked him what it was that he was lacking. Then Shlomo explained that he had always devoted himself to the study of the Torah, but in that place he did not have the books he needed to study. The king then had him make a list of the books he wanted, and he sent a servant to a nearby city in Spain where there were Jews, and the servant brought the books back for Shlomo. After that Shlomo spent all of his time studying the books and memorizing them, and he was happy in his heart.
One night the king's daughter could not sleep and took a walk in the palace garden. And there she saw a house in which candles were still burning. She wondered who might live there, and when she came closer she heard the voice of Shlomo chanting prayers. Then she went up to the window and peered inside, and when she saw Shlomo's handsome face she fell in love with him at first sight. Then the princess tapped on the window to draw his attention, but Shlomo did not stop praying. Twice more she tapped on the window, but Shlomo pretended not to hear anything. Finally, when he had completed his praying, she tapped again, and he said: Who is there? And she replied: It is I, the daughter of the king. And when Shlomo learned who it was, he hurried to the door and let her enter. And when he saw how beautiful the princess was, he too lost his heart. Then she asked him: Why did you not reply when I tapped on the window the first three times? And Shlomo said: I was afraid that you might be a demon trying to tempt me away from my studies. Then the princess told him that she would never do such a thing. In fact, she asked Shlomo if she might study with him, and he agreed to become her teacher.
After this the princess came every day to study Torah, and Shlomo greatly enjoyed teaching her. Because she was very bright, the princess learned very quickly, until she was as knowledgeable as Shlomo himself. And after they had studied together for a year, the princess confessed to Shlomo that there was nothing she would like more than for them to marry. But Shlomo replied: That is impossible, since you are a princess and I am a Hebrew. Then the princess said: I will convert and become a daughter of Israel. And Shlomo said: If it is God's will, it will happen. But who will convert you and marry us according to the law of Moses? Just then there was a knock at the door, and when Shlomo answered it, three figures entered whose faces shone with such great light that Shlomo and the princess had to shield their eyes. And these were three angels, Gabriel, Michael, and Uriel, who had descended from Paradise to confirm the princess as a daughter of Israel. This they did, bestowing on her the name Sarah, and then they wrote up a wedding contract for the two of them and served as witnesses to it. And before the angels departed they made the Seven Blessings for Shlomo and Sarah, who exchanged rings, and so they became man and wife in the eyes of the Holy One, blessed be He. But they did not reveal their marriage to anyone else out of fear that the king might object to the match, nor did Sarah reveal her new name.
In this way three years passed, which were filled with happiness and bliss for the loving couple, who succeeded in keeping their marriage secret. Then one day, while Shlomo studied in the palace garden on a hot day, the gigantic eagle reappeared and swept up Shlomo in his talons and carried him off, dropping him on the roof of his parents' house, so far away. Now when Shlomo's mother heard the loud crash on the roof, she told the maid to find out what had happened. When the maid returned and told her that it was her son, Shlomo, who was lying on the roof in a faint, his mother could not believe her ears and went to see for herself. And when she saw that it was truly her long-lost son, the light of her eyes, she embraced him and almost swooned herself. After that she ran and brought garlic and held it under Shlomo's nose, and in this way she brought him out of his faint.
When he awoke, Shlomo was very surprised to find himself there, to say the least, and he told his parents all that had happened.
Now at first Shlomo was very happy to be reunited with his family, but as each day passed he found that he missed his Sarah more and more. And at last he fell sick with longing for her, and was too weak to get out of bed. Day after day his sickness grew worse, and at last his parents began to fear that he might die if he was not reunited with his beloved.
So too did it happen that the princess was heartbroken when she discovered that Shlomo had suddenly disappeared. She did not believe he had abandoned her, but she was certain that something terrible had happened, although she did not know what. And she too became ill and grew weaker by the day, and none of the finest doctors in the kingdom were able to do her any good. Her father, the king, began to grow desperate, and he told the guards at the gates of the city to bring every doctor who entered the city to the palace at once.
Meanwhile, Shlomo's father decided to make an effort to reunite the couple. And he said to Shlomo: Don't worry, son, for soon you and your wife will be back together. I am going to go to Madrid to bring her back to you. After this Shlomo's father bought the clothes of a peasant and took a few provisions and began to walk to Madrid. And when he arrived at the city gates, the guards asked him what it was that he did, and he said he was a doctor. Then the guards brought him directly to the palace, where he was soon taken to see the princess. And when he was alone with her, he whispered: Sarah, I am Shlomo's father. And as a sign that I am telling you the truth, here is the ring which you gave him. And when the princess heard her Jewish name, and saw the ring, she knew that it was truly Shlomo's father who had come to her. And she began to get better at once. Then the rabbi gave her some dove soup he had brought with him, and after she had finished it, she was able to sit up in bed for the first time in several weeks.
After this Shlomo's father returned to her every day and gave her the soup and other things to eat and drink, all of them kosher.
Before long the color returned to her face, and everyone could see that she had recovered. The king was very happy, and very grateful for the good work of the doctor who had cured her.
At last Shlomo's father came to the princess and said: Now, what must we do so that you will be able to accompany me to our city, where Shlomo is pining away over you? And the princess replied: You are a very wise rabbi; surely you can find a way to make this possible. So the rabbi thought up a plan, and he brought her curry, which is one of the thirteen spices used in the Temple in Jerusalem.
And she smeared it over her body, so that it appeared as if she had become inflamed. And when her father saw her, he wondered what had happened, and the princess told him that she had pain in all parts of her body. Then the king called in the rabbi and asked him to examine her. And after he did, the rabbi said: The sickness of the princess can be cured only if she travels to a place near the sea. And if she is exposed to the sea air for a few weeks, she will make a complete recovery. Then the king said: I am entrusting my daughter to you, for you are like a father to her. Take her to the sea so that she may recover. So it was that the princess and the rabbi departed from Madrid and returned to the city of Guadalajara. But when they reached the rabbi's house, they found that a crowd had gathered there and that the people all had tears in their eyes. Sarah asked them what had happened, and they replied: The soul of Shlomo, the son of the rabbi, has taken leave of this world. Then the princess and the rabbi ran inside the house and found Shlomo lying on his deathbed. And when she saw that terrible sight, the princess fell on Shlomo's chest and wept and prayed to God, saying: My God, I left my father and mother, I left my kingdom, I converted, and all for Shlomo, the love of my life.
Please, God, return Shlomo's soul to him! Then it happened that the angel Gabriel came and prayed before the Lord for the return of Shlomo's soul, and the Holy One, blessed be He, who sat on his throne of Mercy, gave his consent. Then Shlomo's soul returned to him, and reentered his body, and Shlomo opened his eyes. And when the princess and all the others saw this, they were thunderstruck, and cried out:
Blessed be He who brings the dead to life! Then they said the Seven Blessings, and there was a great celebration, for Shlomo and Sarah had been reunited at last. And after that they lived together in love all the days of their life, and every day was more precious to them than all the riches in the world.