"They have touched the apple of G-d's eye." ~ Caspar ten Boom (Said upon seeing the Nazi persecution of Jews in Holland. He and his daughters went on to hide Jews in their home.)
Scan through the headlines, and there's plenty of bad news to go around. Some of it can make me so angry i want to spit nails. So i was glad to see some good news instead.
Finally. It's about time. Five hundred years ago, another in a long string of injustices against G-d's People was perpetrated when Jews were told to convert or leave Spain. Most left. Some converted, only to be caught up in the Inquisition.
Now, those who left, their descendents are welcome to come back. If they can prove they are Sephardic Jews who moved from Spain under the edict of 1492, they will get a fast track to a passport and citizenship if they want it.
Very little saddens me as much as the history of persecuted peoples, and especially the Jews. Any time a group or government makes an attempt to apologize and make it right, it's good news to me.
And right now, good news is something i'm glad to see.
Today is:
Bird Day and Arbor Day -- California, US (on Luther Burbank's birth anniversary)
Celebrate Your Name Week -- Thursday: Name Tag Day, celebrating those silly tags that say, "Hello, My Name is Illegible"!
Crufts
Dog Show -- Birmingham, England (the World's Greatest Dog Show; Best in
Show here is the most prestigious award in the world of dogs; through
Sunday)
Get Grandma to Write Down Her Meatloaf Recipe
-- or spaghetti, or pound cake, or whatever she specialized in, because
if you don't, you will someday regret it
Impeachment of March Goblins -- Fairy Calendar
Masaryk
Day -- Czech Republic; Slovakia (birth anniversary of Tomas Masaryk,
politician, sociologist, philosopher, and advocate of Czechoslovakian
independence)
National Be Heard Day -- originally a
day for small businesses to speak up, but the website promoting the
materials is no longer working
National Cereal Day
National Crown Roast of Pork Day
Nones of March -- Ancient Roman Calendar; related observances
Festival of Junonalia -- for Juno
Festival for Vedovus -- god of the dead, swamps, and volcanic movements
Rockhound Round Up Gem and Mineral Show -- Deming, NM, US (through Sunday)
Say
Hello Day -- Bell received a patent for the telephone this day in 1876
(although he always believed it should be answered by saying, "Ahoy!"
Yes, really.)
St. Felicity's and St. Perpetua's Day (Patrons of cattle, martyrs; Santa Perpetua de Mogoda, Spain)
Teacher's Day -- Albania
World Book Day -- UK and Ireland (most other countries celebrate this on April 23)
Birthdays Today:
Ivan Lendl, 1960
Rik Mayall, 1958
Tammy Faye Bakker, 1942
Daniel J. Travanti, 1940
Willard Scott, 1934
Lord Snowdon, 1930
Maurice Ravel, 1875
Piet Mondriaan, 1875
Luther Burbank, 1849
John Herschel, 1792
Rob Roy MacGregor, 1671
Henry Purcell, 1659
Kano Tanju, 1602
Today in History:
Roman Emperor Constantine I decrees that the dies Solis Invicti (sun-day) is the day of rest in the Empire, 321
King
Henry VIII's divorce request is denied by the Pope; Henry then declares
that he, not the Pope, is supreme head of England's church, 1530
Massachusetts enacts the first bicameral legislature in the colonies, 1664
The French army enters Rome: the birth of the Roman Republic, 1798
Shrigley Abduction: Ellen Turner is abducted by Edward Gibbon Wakefield, a future politician in colonial New Zealand, 1827
Charles Miller patents the first US sewing machine to stitch buttonholes, 1854
The City of Lábrea in Amazonas, Brazil was founded, 1886
Roald Amundsen announces that, on Dec. 14, 1911, his expedition had reached the South Pole, 1912
An 8.0 earthquake strikes Tango, Japan, 1927
Bloody Sunday: Alabama state troopers and 600 black protestors clash in Selma, 1965
Divers from the USS Preserver locate the crew cabin of Challenger on the ocean floor, 1986
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that parodies of an original work are generally covered by the doctrine of fair use, 1994
British House of Commons votes to make the upper chamber, the House of Lords, 100% elected, 2007
Friendly Fill-Ins Week 443
13 hours ago
I am with you about the good news these days, we are need of it!
ReplyDeleteI love the story of Corrie Ten Boom, that quote from her Dad is a good way to start this post.
My cousin Judith, is an ethnomusicologist who works for University of Toronto. She has spent years (over the course of decades) in Spain (as well as those living in Montreal, Toronto, some U.S. cities and other European areas), seeking out and interviewing aging Sephardic Jews. With their permission, she records them speaking and singing fading folk tunes which have been passed down through the generations. It keeps a culture alive.
ReplyDeleteSpain has come a long way towards rectifying many of it's old nasty ways and this is certainly a good thing. But I find it hard to believe that after all this time many Jews would want to return to Spain.
ReplyDeleteKay, the story of that family is one of my favorites, too. He must have been a fabulous person to know.
ReplyDeleteHilary, it's sad that so many old ways are fading.
Stephen, they may not want to, but knowing they are welcome might relieve some long held resentments against those who persecuted their ancestors.
I'd put down the crossword puzzle to help feed this cutie! Have a wonderful weekend!
ReplyDelete