The title is not what the radio announcer said every time a home run was hit…well, it was, but baseball is, alas, one of the victims of the virus. It is what Ferdinand and Isabella told the Jews on March 31, 1492: “Convert to Christianity or ‘OUTAHERE!’” They had to leave after hundreds of years on the Iberian Peninsula. That was the day they signed what is known as the Alhambra Decree ordering our People out by the end of July.
The period of Spanish Jewry is considered to be a Golden Age in our history. Not only were we in great number but our influence was felt in all areas of Spanish life, including medicine, politics and law. And it should be remembered that during the period we were in Spain so were the Moslems; the two communities got along very, very well but the anti-Semitic and anti-Moslem Catholic clergy wanted all infidels out of the country and convinced the monarchs to decree our departure.
We didn’t all leave by the end of July. In fact, that the day Columbus set sail he wrote in his log that he could see the Jews trekking out of Spain. We took our Golden Age with us as we settled in Eastern Europe and other places as well, contributing to the culture of those people as we did the Spaniards for so long.
Now there were Jews who converted, and there were Jews who pretended to convert. Outwardly they showed signs of devotion to the Catholic faith but in their homes they found ways to celebrate our holidays and to instill in their children the real religion of the family.
There is a wonderful story about the family that had a statue of the Madonna in front of their home. Every time they would leave or enter the house they would kneel and kiss the foot of the Madonna. “What wonderful Catholics they had become,” said their neighbors. Little did they know that under the foot of the Madonna had been placed a mezuzah so what they were truly kissing was that symbol of the Jewish home.
Apropos of my article…
(Lefkowitz and Schleplowitz were walking along and saw a sign in front of a Catholic Church. It read, “Convert today and receive $1,000!” Lefkowitz decided to take them up on it. After three hours of waiting, Schleplowitz sees his friend leave the church. “Well, Lefkowitz, did you convert?” The man replies, “Yes, I did.” And Schleplowitz asks, “Did you get the thousand dollars?” With that Lefkowitz looks sternly at his friend and says, “Why do you people always think about money?”)