So what’s been happening the past few weeks I should know about, and maybe write about? I’ve been traveling in southern Spain, and the reason you go there isn’t to follow current events, though thanks to the miracle of wireless-in-every-hotel, I kept up a bit. The main lure of the area is getting a glimpse of the area pre- and post-inquisition. When it comes to Spain, I learned in school that in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. It wasn’t until later I learned the date was also a marker of the worst kind of intolerance: 1492 was a very bad time to be a Jew, and a bad time to be a Muslim too. It was also later that I learned, when the Muslims were in control of the area, it was a hotbed of learning, culture and art. The Alhambra, above, is a wonder. The time is known as the Golden Age of Jewish Culture, when Jewish learning blossomed alongside Muslim learning. Walking through the Muslim palaces and mosques, seeing a small pre-Inquisition synagogue — one of three still standing in Spain — was educational and awe inspiring. And rubbing the feet of a statue of The Rambam (the name given to the scholar/philosopher/physician Maimonides [If you didn’t before, next time you watch The Big Lebowski, you’ll get John Goodman’s reference]) is supposed to grant you luck and impart wisdom. I usually don’t go in for the rubbing-for-luck thing, but in Córdoba, I rubbed his feet every time I passed.

So . . . if you think I missed something important in the news, give me a heads up in the comments, preferably with a link,

 and I’ll try to get my mind back in Arizona, circa 2015 C.E.

This article appears in Apr 23-29, 2015.

9 replies on “So What’s New?”

  1. Thanks for the Muslim update from 500 years ago. Have you heard what the radical ones are up to now? They kill the Christians before the Jews. Times they are a changing.

  2. Since we are considered a Christian nation, our legacy seems to be anti-education and generally anti-thinking. That certainly is not inspiring. Another legacy that seems to be perpetuated is that Muslims are bad and they certainly are not. Extremists are the problem and we have had Christian extremists too. The Crusades are just one example and we have a mild version of that in some sectors now. We need to look in our own backyard for problems and stop pointing fingers.

  3. Relish your trip and new found, additional wisdom, David. If you did miss something important, and as Hopis teach, it will surely come around again.

    I always appreciate hearing about times when people of different religions lived, learned and prospered together. I cannot resist pointing out that those were times when there was no military/intelligence/industrial complex prospering from dividing people with perpetual war.

  4. Welcome back, David. Enlightening post on your trip – an aspect that I was not aware of. In terms of what you missed, I guess the only real piece of education news is Diane Douglas’ intended “listening tour” of the State. Don’t know what she hopes to accomplish except a bunch of people wanting more funding from a penny-pinching legislature.

  5. Terrific article David. The golden age of Jewish and Moslem fraternity in Spain is unfortunately lost to history but a reminder that today’s sworn enemies once lived and created great works together. Interesting to note that Spain has instituted its own right to return legislation offering Sephardic Jews dual citizenship in Spain and their home countries.

  6. Rick, I hadn’t heard about the right to return legislation in Spain. I’m not sure it’s done much. The current Jewish population in the whole country is around 12,000, or .026 percent of the population. I was told in the Jewish museum in Cordoba that there are currently 12 Jewish families in the city. I guess the question is, after all those centuries, what is there to return to?

  7. Good point. Like New York (my birthplace), a great place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there.

  9. Is it possible for you to expand your commentary to include some of this history? We each have our on interests and for you to share yours would truly enhance what you have to offer here. Who knows, even people who have been critical of this very article of yours might become more moderate and tolerant.

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