It was on the twenty-second day of the month of Adar, in the year 1147, when the evildoers rose up against the community of Würzburg. All the other communities had already escaped into castles and fortresses. The Jews of Würzburg, however, believed they could remain in peace. But distress and ruin followed one upon another.

The enemies devised false and malicious accusations so that they could fall upon them. They said: “We have found a Christian in the river. You killed him and threw him into the river, but now he has become holy and performs miracles.” Then the misguided ones and the mob rose up, rejoicing over this nonsense, and killed the Jews.

The holy Rabbi Isaac, son of Rabbi Eliakim, a modest, gentle and exceptionally noble man, was killed at that time while sitting over his book, together with twenty-one others. Among them was a Hebrew boy, a diligent student of Rabbi Simeon bar Isaac. He received twenty wounds and lived for a full year afterward.

The boy’s sister was dragged into the church so that she could be baptized. But she sanctified the divine Name and spat upon the cross. They struck her with stones and fists, since no sword could be brought into the church, but she did not die. Instead, she fell to the ground and pretended to be dead. They pinched her hands, beat her and burned her repeatedly, then laid her on a marble stone to see whether she was dead or not. But she did not wake, stir or move, neither her hands nor her feet. In this way she deceived the enemies until nightfall.

Then a Christian washerwoman came, carried her to her house and hid her there. So she was saved. The other Jews fled into the courtyards of their neighbors, and the next morning they escaped to the fortress of Stuhlbach. Blessed be the Lord, who brought them rescue.

The next morning, the bishop ordered that all the slain pious ones, together with their severed body parts, including thumbs of hands and feet and whatever else was found of their bodies and limbs, be gathered onto wagons. He had them washed, anointed with oil and buried in his garden. Later, Rabbi Chizkiyahu, son of Rabbi Eliakim, and his wife Judith bought that garden from the bishop and designated it entirely as a burial ground.