The Grand Island that I wrote about in my last post is not the island where my sister-in-law had the summer retreat my family often visited. Her property was on Grand Isle, which is near Burlington, Vermont, a relatively short drive from Montreal. Mordecai Noah's Grand Island is in New York State, near Buffalo, a manageable drive from Toronto. Isn't it GRAND, though, to learn about Noah's dream? I am hoping to learn more.
Did you know that many people besides our flamboyant Mordecai have speculated that the North American Indians (in Canada they are referred to nowadays as First Nations) may have been descendants of the lost tribes of Israel? But this belief is discredited by others supposedly in the know. My brilliant nephew, David Schwartz, did considerable research in his college days about the possible relationship between the Indian tribes and the lost tribes. Similar speculations have been made about the Mayan Indians, but again there are a lot of nay-sayers. Unfortunately, most of the Maya disappeared for still unknown reasons.
Some years ago, I viewed an inspiring exhibit in Canada that showed the artistic "cross-fertilization" that occurred between First Nations tribes and early settlers. In one display case, there was what appeared to be a fringed shawl decorated with native Indian designs. "We don't know what it represents," the curator commented. "It's not a traditional Indian garment." Then I noticed what seemed to be "tzitzes" in each of the four corners of shawl. "It's a Jewish tallit," I exclaimed. "A prayer shawl." Pointing to the braided fringes in the corners, I said, "They represent what was thought of for centuries as the four corners of the world. I think it's an excellent example of cross-fertilization between the First Nations and the Jewish people who settled in the New World."
"Oh," the curator said. "Hmm, we didn't think of that." Jewish traders were known to get along well with native North Americans. Both traditions teach us to have respect for our environment.
This morning when I read newspapers' accounts of millions of sockeye salmon that have unaccountably and heart-breakingly "gone missing" from the magnificent Frazer River in British Columbia, I thought of that prayer shawl. I hope those beautiful salmon haven't been "cross-fertilized" with pollution. Let's pray that they won't disappear from the rivers like the bees did from their hives. Let's take care of our earth so that all its living creatures can survive. May our different tribes increase, not disappear.
