At the ceremony, the rabbi presented the King with a beautifully polished, long and winding shofar. The shofar had been specially fitted with a piece of silver that had the royal crown engraved upon it.
King Juan Carlos examined it carefully and inquired about its origin.
Rabbi Metzger spoke in Hebrew, while the Israeli ambassador to Spain, Mr. Victor Harel, translated his words into Spanish.
“Does this come from Africa?” he asked.
“No, your honor,” the rabbi replied, “It is from the Land of Israel.”
The king thought that perhaps it was used to play torero, a Spanish sport, but the rabbi explained that Judaism forbids the useless harming of an animal.
“So what is the meaning of this animal horn?” the king inquired.
The king’s inquiry gave Rabbi Metzger an opportunity to share an interesting chapter of Spanish history. The king listened attentively throughout the rabbi’s entire, detailed recitation of the story.
“Dear King,” Rabbi Metzger began, “this unique gift helps us close a very interesting historic circle.
“Five hundred years ago, the Golden era of Spanish Jewry came to an end when your great-great-grandfather King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella expelled my ancestors at the urging of the infamous Grand Inquisitor Torquemada. Yet many Jews remained in Spain by becoming Marranos, secret crypto-Jews who behaved outwardly as Christians, yet remained Jews privately. They observed Jewish traditions secretly, lighting their Shabbat candles where no one could see.
“These tormented Marranos would gather secretly in basements and cellars to pray on the Jewish holidays. Indeed the haunting notes of our most solemn Kol Nidrei prayer recited at the opening of Yom Kippur came from these Marranos who thereby nullified and voided their forced declarations to the church.
“The hidden Marranos prayed very intensely, but very, very quietly, so they should not be discovered, G-d forbid, by the dreaded inquisition who would torture and later burn them publicly at stake.
“But, they faced a dilemma on Rosh Hashana: They could whisper their prayers quietly to avoid detection, but how could they blow the shofar?
“One year, a Marrano who was the conductor of the Royal Orchestra, approached the king and offered to arrange a public free concert that would highlight various wind instruments from throughout the ages. Fond of music, the king approved this special concert. The conductor chose a specific day in September that happened to be Rosh Hashana.
“At the concert, the king, the queen, the royal princes, and the honorable ministers sat in the front rows, and behind them among the concertgoers sat many Marranos.
“Various tunes and melodies were presented, and at one point the conductor introduced the shofar as an ancient wind instrument, and blew a series of notes from it.
“The king and queen thought of it as a mere curiosity, but the Marranos in attendance quietly recited the shofar blessings: ‘Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d, King of the Universe, Who sanctified us and commanded us to hear the sound of the shofar,’ and ‘Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d, King of the Universe, Who has granted us life, sustained us and enabled us to reach this time.’
“Today, dear King,” continued Rabbi Metzger, “we meet 500 years later, under better circumstances. As Chief Rabbi of Israel I am very happy to come back here to Spain. I thank you in the name of our nation, that today Jews can live in your country with true freedom of religion and that on Rosh Hashana we can sound the shofar in our synagogues without any fear. Today, I can, thank G-d, overtly, not covertly, present this shofar to you because you are now blessed with a democracy. Now in Spain everyone can pray without fear.”
Holding up the shofar, the king said, “Rabbi, you see I have many gifts and trophies here from around the world. But this gift carries great historic significance, and I am most grateful to you for sharing with me the shofar and the story.”
Rabbi Metzger then told the king that he wished to bless him, as is commanded in the holy Bible. Both the king and the Chief Rabbi rose. Rabbi Metzger closed his eyes, and recited the blessing with deep feeling. When he ended the blessing, Rabbi Metzger opened his eyes and was amazed to see that the king’s eyes were glistening and wet.
According with history, the mother of Fernando I, King that signed the Jewish Expulsion in 1492, and allowed the powerful Inquisition to
be, was jewish. Her name was Juana Enriquez and her grandmother was Paloma bat Guedaliah, grandaughter of Shlomo Ha-Zaken ben David, a descendant of King David.
To find more of the relations between the Monarchs of Spain, Fernando and Isabela with the Jewish Community, go to the following link:
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=F&artid=109
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