How many weeks has it been since you’ve been cooped up at home? The global outbreak of the novel coronavirus has affected many outdoor activities, like congregations and Jewish cruises. In times of uncertainty and distress, it does well to have faith and something to occupy your time. Some people put themselves at risk everyday by working essential jobs outdoors, while others do their part by either dutifully working at home (if their jobs allow it) or by not going outside at all. Whatever you’re doing right now, it’s good not to let the amenities taken away by the pandemic get you down. Let’s try to cheer you up by giving you a few fascinating pieces of Jewish historical trivia. What’s Up with the Bird’s Head Haggadah? Passover has been celebrated for as long as Jews have practiced the Seder, where the haggadah is read. Chances are, you’ve just finished putting your family haggadah back in its place on the shelf, until the next year that it will be used. However, have you ever heard about the Bird’s Head Haggadah, a Jewish text in the Middle Ages that has all the hallmarks of a traditional haggadah, except for the fact that all the Jewish figures depicted within have bird-like heads with hair, like that of a lion. It would be easy to dismiss this peculiar haggadah as the work of antisemitic propagandists, but all the details within (the preparation of the matzah, the accurate words and language, and the generally beniegn depiction of medieval Jewish life) present it as something truly Jewish. Professor Marc Michael Epstein suggested that the Jews in the haggadah are depicted as griffins, mythical creatures with connotations to nobility and honor. Interesting, isn’t it? The Jewish Connection in Jamaica When one thinks of Jamaica, one doesn’t usually imagine a place of Jewish heritage. However, as evident by the Shaare Shalom, the sole synagogue in Jamaica, there is an evidently historical Jewish context to this island. When Spain expelled its Jewish population in 1492, some Sephardic Jews fled to Jamaica, far away from the cruelty waiting for them on the mainland. Over time, as persecution (relatively) lessened in the area, more Jews began to live in the island, to the point that a part of Port Royal (before it was destroyed by an earthquake) was known as Jew Street. Jamaica would be a great place for a Glatt Kosher Tour one day.
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