The traveler's account has had a popular place in Hebrew litera-
ture, as indeed it did in European non-Jewish literature as well.
The Massāʽōt (Travels) of Benjamin of Tudela and the Sibbūv (Tour)
of Rabbi Petahya of Regensburg, both written in the twelfth century,
enjoyed numerous editions from the early days of Hebrew print-
ing. ¹ Like many, if not most, of the Hebrew travelogues that came
after them, these works dealt in part or in whole with a pilgrimage
to the land of Israel and an itinerary of its holy places. This was
usually coupled with some information on the various Jewish com-
munities along the way. Many of the Hebrew travelers' accounts
read like little more than catalogues of places, names, and statis-
tics. ² But rarely were their authors artists with any pretensions to
producing works of literary merit.

One of the most original and, from the literary point of view,
satisfying works in this genre is Samuel Romanelli Massā' Baʽrāv
(Travail in an Arab Land). This is a book of travel by a gifted artist
and professional man of letters who knows how to entertain as
well as inform. The work has enjoyed an enduring success with
the Hebrew-reading public and has appeared in no fewer than
nine editions beginning with its first publication in Berlin in 1792, ³
but it had never been translated into any European language. Ex-
cerpts and brief summaries of Romanelli's account have appeared
in Italian, German, and French. ⁴ The only thing available in English
was a brief passage cited by Hirschberg in his A History of the Jews
in North Africa. ⁵ The Hungarian-born British scholar Solomon

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