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Written by Arnie Gotfryd
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Thursday, 06 September 2007 |
Jewish observance was banned. The High Holidays were rapidly appraoaching. What to do? Don Fernando Aguilar had an idea.
There's no substitute for hearing the call of the Shofar on Rosh Hashana. Our dedication to this mitzvah should be no less that that of Don Fernando Aguilar, conductor of the Royal Orchestra in Barcelona during the Spanish Inquisition when Jews were forced to convert, leave Spain, or be killed. Yearning to celebrate the New Year properly Aguilar devised a clever scheme. He organized a folk concert for the day of Rosh Hashana where the music of various ethnic groups were performed. To represent the music of the Jews, the ram's horn was played. Many secret Jews attended and thereby heard the shofar as commanded in the Torah, right under the noses of their persecutors, the nobility and the clergy who were also in attendance, suspecting nothing. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 25 March 2009 )
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