Hello Martinal
Thank you for your interesting question.
As you know in 1492 the Jewish people who had not converted to
Christianity were expelled from Spain as part of the Spanish
Inquisition.
The Edict of Expulsion of the Jews
“The charter declared that no Jews were permitted to remain within the
Spanish kingdom, and Jew who wished to convert was welcome to stay.”
http://www.sephardicstudies.org/decree.html
According to legend, when the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492,
they took with them the keys to their homes and synagogues hoping that
one day they would return.
I located a course of study covering history, customs and folklore of
the Jewish people from Spain. In the lesson “The Legend of the Key”,
you will get a better understanding of this legend and its origins.
Here are a few short excerpts:
“Those keys - large iron keys in the old Spanish style - lay in
drawers and boxes, gathering dust, getting lost among clothes and
cooking pots, sometimes for years until the family moved or someone
died. Others were hung proudly above the front door; reminders of a
culture they had loved and hoped to maintain.”
“Some years ago an Indiana University professor named Joelle Bahloul
wrote an article in a journal that told of a rabbi in New Jersey whose
ancestors had lived in Spain. One summer, the rabbi went back to the
city of Toledo and tried to fit the family's ancient key in the door
of the house where they were supposed to have lived. According to the
rabbi, it fitted the lock perfectly! But, of course, these are
legends. We don't know for sure. As symbolism, however, his gesture
was very meaningful. The presence of the key really did "open" the
door to memories and traditions of the past, allowing later
generations to learn about the old customs.”
There were also practical reasons why the departing Jews took those
keys into exile.
“In Girona, a town in northeastern Spain, documents have recently been
discovered that suggest that some of the local people who bought
houses from the departing Jews agreed to give them back - provided the
Edict of Expulsion was lifted within one year. Those keys could have
helped to identify the owner in the days when few people knew how to
write. When the Jews were first expelled in 1492, many of them really
did expect to return.”
Source: Out of Spain Website
http://www.outofspain.com/Lesson%20samples.htm
At the Jewsweek website there is an article by Ruth E. Gruber where
the King of Spain mentions the keys.
“Juan Carlos has taken a personal interest in backing a Jewish
revival. In 1992, he visited the synagogue in Madrid as a sign of
reconciliation during a series of nationwide events sponsored by the
government to mark the 500th anniversary of the expulsion.
(..)And on his travels around the world, the king told the ECJC, he
encountered many Sephardic Jews who told him they still kept the heavy
iron keys to the houses in Toledo their ancestors had been forced to
flee when the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492.”
Source: Jewsweek Website
http://www.jewsweek.com/society/040.htm
Excerpt From Sara’s Journal - August 9, 1999
“Toledo - During the 1492 Inquisition a dam of mounting nationalism
and anti-Semitism broke and Jews in Spain were persecuted, expelled
and executed. Today, Jews of Toledano descent, some of whom still
speak the 15th century Spanish Ladino, are returning to Toledo to
visit the homes of their ancestors. An American Jewish woman made
headlines when she opened the door of a Toledo home with a 500
year-old key passed down through generations.”
http://www.saraphina.com/moseyesp2/080999/080999holy_toledo.htm
Ronald Hilton, Spain, 1931-36, From Monarchy to Civil War: An Eye
Witness Account discusses the keys.
“Memories of Spain still survive among the descendants of the
Sephardic Jews, including those in the United States. A colleague of
mine had one in his class, who invited him to his home for dinner.
After the meal, the mother produced a big key, the key to the house
her ancestors had owned in Toledo. She hoped to return one day and
claim possession of the house. I doubt if she would have much luck.”
Source: The Historical Text Archive
http://historicaltextarchive.com/hilton/seven.pdf
The keys have been a topic for songs and films as well.
The Key from Spain: Songs and Stories of Flory Jagoda A film by Ankica
Petrovic.
http://www.ivri-nasawi.org/nv2001a.html
They have also been mentioned in fiction novels such as The Road to
Fez by Ruth Knafo Setton.
“On the wall of the living room of Brit Lek’s grandparents’ house in
Morocco hangs the brass key to the home they left in Toledo. It has
been over 600 years since the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, yet
the family still treasures the hope that one day they will return.
There is probably no house left, and there is really nothing stopping
them from going back to Toledo, but it is the abstract desire for a
home that characterizes this book. The Road to Fez is a book filled
with keys, keys that open doors to multifarious rooms of varying
degrees of reality and possibility.”
Source: Every Home Is Borrowed Anyway by Karen Alkalay-Gut
Excerpt from ABR January/February 2002, Volume 23, Issue 2
http://www.litline.org/ABR/Issues/Volume23/Issue2/Alkalay-Gut.pdf
http://al.gcsu.edu/fezch1.htm
Additional information that may interest you:
What does Sephardic Mean? Who Are the Sephardim??
http://www.sephardichouse.org/identity/meaningofsephardic.html
Jewish History Sourcebook:
The Expulsion from Spain, 1492 CE
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/1492-jews-spain1.html
Search terms used:
Jewish folktales
Jewish legend key toledo
Jewish key Toledo
door Toledo home key generations
jewish key legend spain
I hope you enjoy reading this information as much as I did.
Best Regards,
Bobbie7-ga |
