lee058
This space for rent
Posts: 23,286 
|
Post by lee058 on Oct 9, 2023 9:24:36 GMT -5
What’s on your mind — how to make kugel? This week’s Torah reading? Life goals? Prayer? We are all engaged in weight loss/weight maintenance journeys and we are all Jewish or at least interested in Judaism. We like to eat, we like to discuss. It is our goal here to provide each other support on our journeys, to share experiences, to call on our rich cultural heritage and texts, and to help each other grow spiritually.
Some of us take weekly turns starting the thread:
Holly
Lee
Louise
Lynne
Peachy
And for those of you that stop by to read this thread without posting — you are welcome to, but you are also welcome to chime in. Don’t be shy!
|
|
lee058
This space for rent
Posts: 23,286
|
Post by lee058 on Oct 9, 2023 9:42:32 GMT -5
Good morning everybody. Hope you are all well and SAFE. Please pray for Israel.
Today's topic: Columbus Day
Today is a federal holiday and some other people/places have off work and school too, but some don't because of negative thoughts about Columbus and Europeans moving to the "New World." Should we celebrate Columbus Day? What do you think?
On the one hand, there were many terrible things done to the indigenous people in the Americas. On the other hand, the Americas offered a place for millions of people to change their lives, including most definitely the Jewish people. For that reason, I think we should still celebrate.
I don't know how true it is, but a long time ago, I read online what purported to be a letter by Columbus talking about the Jews who were expelled from Spain. Many set off in small boats, and in the letter, it said that he saw them. Tomorrow we'll talk about the Sephardim in our thread.
Starting out with journeys looking for spices, European explorers instead found lands (already populated) which had vast amounts of land, plus man-made gold and silver artifacts, plus unusual foods, plus so much more. It was truly a "New World" compared to the lands in Europe. Africa, Asia and the Middle East were still being explored by Europeans, but this was someplace different. The possibilities seemed endless.
Personally, I am glad that my family had a place to go to when Europe became too dangerous for Jews! For that, I thank the European explorers.
There are also stories that many people in the crews had converted from Judaism to Christianity. I've read a little about them, and their future communities, but would like to learn more.
Today is also known as "Dia de la Raza" or "Indigenous Peoples Day" in honor of the people who were in the Americas before the European explorers.
Have a peaceful day, Lee
|
|
|
|
Post by peachymom1 on Oct 9, 2023 14:48:02 GMT -5
I think we should celebrate it as "Indigenous Peoples Day" and then do something of real meaning for American Indians, like help raise money for them, for food, education, etc.
|
|
|
|
Post by hollygail on Oct 9, 2023 16:56:30 GMT -5
Note: I posted on Sunday's thread today. Feel free to go back there to read my responses...
When I was growing up, Columbus Day was Oct. 12 regardless of the day of the week Oct. 12 was. I find it strange to move holidays for people's convenience. I remembering lobbying at my shul many many years ago to celebrate holidays on the holiday rather than on the nearest Friday night we were having services. A lot has changed at my shul since those days...
And yes, I understand why so many Federal holidays got moved to Mondays.
As for Columbus Day, I don't celebrate it. Yes, I'm glad North America became a home for oppressed peoples from Europe, although oppressing the peoples who were here before the Europeans came doesn't seem like a fair trade at all. I like the idea of celebrating an "Indigenous Peoples Day" to commemorate the peoples who were here before the Europeans came and colonized them. In many (most?) parts of North America, Indigenous Peoples are still oppressed. There's an old song (I think by Phil Oaks) whose chorus includes, "When will they ever learn, oh when will they ever learn" (and if I remember correctly, the final chorus change "they" to "we")...
|
|
|
|
Post by louise on Oct 9, 2023 20:54:43 GMT -5
I don't know that we need a holiday to honor Italian hritage (as it does in NY anyway). Maybe Indigenous Peoples Day in which case it should be about them in the ways that Peachy describes. I was thinking earlier today maybe it shouldn't be a national holiday at all but it's written into union contracts, etc. so could get complicated. In that case turning it into Indigenous Peoples Day (but not just nominally) could work .
We had gathering in our synagogoue this evening and prayed and sung. Tomorrow will be a larger gathering with zomw xcommunityleaders attending and ending in a canlelight vigil down bu the river.
|
|
