Was Christopher Columbus Jewish? B'ezras Hashem Let's Find Out!!
Alright, okay, welcome back. So a week ago, May twenty eighth, I have it in my WhatsApp here. We got a text in the WhatsApp group over here. And the question was like this. He said it was a question from LEO. He said, I noticed a lot of people say the Azer Session or B is O Sh. When I was a kid, I only ever heard it mirrored Ocean. Do you have any interesting little tour tickets about that? So that was the question that was um that was the question that was asked a couple weeks ago. So I wanted this broader chat that was called the case of the rest of the chat. And there's like over 300 people on that chat, and I posted this very question on that chat. And it got it got a lot of buzz, I got a lot of movement. People were interested in it. Um people were fascinated by it. And it led to somewhat of uh broader discussion about Christopher Columbus and about these terminologies in general, and I just want to share with you a couple of those findings. So I'm gonna begin with Christopher Columbus, and then we're gonna go into the terms Mirzushenzershem. Is one better than the other? When should one be said versus the other? Or does it not matter at all? So let's generate it. Okay. Christopher Columbus, the short answer is we have no idea. It could be he was Jewish, it could be he wasn't. Um there was a study that was put out in 2024, and this is the most modern study that they claimed began in like 2003 or something like that, or 2006. It was like a 20-year study where they were trying to find and research the DNA of Christopher Columbus, and they're not sure exactly where he got buried. But this pretty well-known scientist, they from the University of Granada, they they found that they were able to pull and they found remains from Columbus, the remains from his son and and his brother Hernando and Diego, and they put it two and two together, and they realized that this guy wasn't from Genoa, where they which is modern-day Italy. So people who say Columbus was Italian, it's not really true because Italy didn't exist in the 1400s. But at least what they would call he was born in Genoa, so Italians claimed the famous he was from there. But this study proved that he matched pretty, pretty accurately with Spanish Jew Jewry. And they the study concluded that he was likely um a Spartic Jew. So the question is like, what does that mean? What do you do with that? So a couple things. First of all, I sent an email to Rabbi Katz, Rabbi David Katz, who he was my Rebbe and NTA, some of you as well. Um, and he he was he I'm just bringing him an example as an example because he's one extreme, and there's another extreme, and then there's a middle ground. Rabbi Katz told me, and I saw him actually, I sent him an email, he said I I put out a podcast on this. I'm like, can I listen to it? So he sent me a link. I I listened to it. It was very interesting. He said that the study that came out in 2024 was specifically during the the war with the smack in the middle of the war with Israel and the world and people claiming, people still claiming that Israel is genocidal. And he said that many people um view Columbus as as like a Hitler because what he essentially did is so many wars only began after after him. He right, the he although he discovered America, and the Lababa Chiraba has a Sikha where he actually talks about in a positive light, he talks about um Christopher Columbus discovering America and why it's accurate to even use that terminology, even though people were obviously living there, people were right, indigenous people or the Native Americans or the Indians, but still he discovered the new world and he gets credit for that, even though people were there. Um but what's what's interesting is that it's proven from from this study. Hey, yeah, maybe he's Jewish. Rebbe Katz said no, he's like Hitler, and even if you want to, we don't want him to be Jewish because it proves, it pushes along this agenda that the Jewish people are genocidal and we we like killing people, and it's it's not a good look for the Jewish people, so we don't want we don't want Christopher Columbus to be Jewish. That's Rebbe Katz is uh Rebbe Katz is approached. I actually I asked another um I reached out to Rebbe Ken Spiro. Ken Spiro, have you ever heard of him? He's a famous yeah, sorry. So I sent him an email, he actually responded via WhatsApp, and he sent me this. He he basically said, I completely disagree, and he said that he's like a hundred percent, pretty a hundred can't pretty a hundred percent. He's like almost hundred, I shouldn't say exactly what he said, but he's like, he said, um, I hold a hundred percent he was of Jewish ancestry. I do believe he was a practicing Christian. There are all kinds of little snippets that point to him being Jewish. He's a crypto-Jewish ancestry and deeply connected to his Jewish roots in many ways. That was a Rebecca spiral. So completely opposite from Rabbi Katz. Um, in fact, in 1973, Simon Wiesenthal put out a whole book called Sales of Hope, all about proving how Christopher Columbus was indeed Jewish. They say that he landed in America, and this I think is historically true. He landed in America on the seventh or eighth day of Success, which was uh um Shemia Tseres, Hoshana Rabba, one of the two. Um not only that, but he pushed off his voyage by a day. He was supposed to leave on August 2nd, 19 uh 1492. That day was Tishab. He pushed it off a day later to leave because we know that Alakha is not allowed to travel even during the nine days. And right, it's an auspicious time, it's a scary time, we don't travel. And the fact that he pushed it off, what was going on? That same year was the the year of King uh Ferdinand and Isabella, right? That they had the the the decrees against the Jewish people for the Jewish people to be expelled. Expelled. Well, on Tishbobi, right? Well, that's when I think a majority happened. I it could be the decree. Uh could was the decree made on that day? It could be. Right. Either way, it was that same exact year, some say even the day that he left. So the and Semen Wiesenthal in his book, he's coming out to say, hey, the reason why this Jew, Columbus, left was to go find a new world, a better place, a home for the Jewish people, because hey, they're being kicked out as we speak. So the theory actually makes sense. What's also proven factually, and Rabbi Beryl Weineman speaks about this, is that for sure his voyage was backed up by Idid. One of the most famous ones being the Barbanel, who was a very big Tamachakim, but also uh statesman and very wealthy, and he was the one of the main sponsors of this voyage. What's also clear from history is that Columbus used the Jewish people in terms of the ideas in astronomy. There was this, I don't, he's obviously he was not reaching, but he his name is Ribbavram Zakuto. Ribbav Ram Zakuto wrote the safer called Ibrah Hagadl, and this became this almanac that was famous all across the board. He was so popular and he was a tremendous Talmud Khachan Azid of Ram Zakuto. He also wrote a book called Sefer A-Yuchassin, which was a historical account that he wrote. Um again, this is I think the early 1500s, uh late 1400s or something like that. Um, and the Christopher Columbus, this some so according to some accounts, he actually met him in person, but for sure he had a personal copy of this uh Sefer, of this book, um translated into some language that he understood, with marginal notes that we have. Um I think I think it's probably around still today. So he definitely used the Jewish people, he had their money backing. Question is, was he actually Jewish? Rickatz will tell you, no, he was like Hitler. We don't want him to be Jewish. Right, Ken Spire would say 100% he is Jewish. At the end of the day, we don't actually know because we just we just don't know. It's so many, it's been so many years. And I think the most hold on one second, and the I think the most um oh, and another historical figure, not a historian and big time al-Khachim today, his name is Rebbe Dr. Henry Um Abramson. Have you ever listened to this stuff? He's interesting to listen to. So in 2017 or 16, he put out um a video, he spoke a lecture, and it's also on YouTube, all about showing that about Christopher Columbus, was he Jewish? And he comes out of that video saying he was not. In 2024, he put out another video on YouTube, and he references that old video. In fact, he plays it within the video, it's a b-roll footage in that in that video, and then he says that after the study came out in 2024, he retracts his opinion, and now he's of the opinion that Christopher Columbus indeed was Jewish. Okay, be it as it may, um I reached out to Rabbi uh Yislak Breider Israel. I sent him an email, he's very accessible. I sent him an email and I asked him what his thoughts on Columbus, and his response was this, and this pretty much sums it up. He says, Your guess is as good as mine. So that pretty much um puts it puts this all together. Yes.
SPEAKER_00Um, so Columbus would have been uh what was Jewish, but the thing is the king and queen who gave him the ships, they're the ones who were terrible to the Jews, expelled them burned at the stake. Do you think they would have given him sh this the ships if they knew he was Jewish?
SPEAKER_01Good question. No, so the first, so according to Rabbi Spiro, he wasn't a practicing Jew. He he wasn't actually a practice. There is an opinion that he was a Jew but under undercover. He was like a conversal, he was undercover. Um, but according to this approach from Ray, sorry, he he wasn't even a practicing Jew, he was an authentic, serious quick Christian, but with deep Jewish roots, and he understood that. One of the rayas that they bring in the writings, and I brought it actually here to show you, this is one of the letters of Christopher Columbus, and it's written in a certain type of language that they've done studies, it's not like the classic Italian or Spanish, it's in like something called Catalan or something, which was very commonly um written, uh used by the Jews. He has this funny symbol in the top left corner of 12 of his 13 um essay or writings, letters that he does. And people say that it's a B and H based on those or BH. It's hard to say in the close-up version over here. It just looks like squiggly, but it just you could see he.
SPEAKER_02He had that on his letters to his father.
SPEAKER_01He had it in all his letters, except for one letter, the one letter that was sent to the actual queen left it off. So this would also prove the push that that agenda, and not only that, but he has this funny looking um uh signature on the bottom of his of his letters as well. It says S-A-S-X-M-Y-XPO ference. So there's all these like decoders and stuff like that, and some say that it was his way of writing to his children to say Kadesh for him after he died. Some say it's a remis to Shema Yusra. There's there's so many different different things, but at the end of the day, it comes down to where Bridewood said, your guess is as good as mine. The reason I'm bringing it into this discussion is because of just that point about the BH that he possibly he wrote BH at the beginning of his letters. Yeah, I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_02Somebody I I don't know where I heard this theory, but there was a theory that he was on a voyage to find to raise funds to rebuild the temple. He had that in the back of his mind.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I've I've seen that theory too. Yeah. Yeah, somehow. Yeah, no, he definitely in his writings he did include things about Jerusalem and the Messiah, things like that. It's hard to know. We're dealing with history. So, like every you know, this person can say this, and uh, people are smart, and but he's dealing with something that happened so long ago. But I want to just push that, I don't want to focus on Christopher Columbus as much. We don't really know if he was Jewish Malk if he was. Um, but even if he wasn't, the fact that there's this discussion of that he wrote BH possibly on this corner, on the on this paper, it's just interesting to think about. Where does this come from? What's the idea?
SPEAKER_00I did have one more quick question. Yes. So you said because he started a genocide that's wrote, you hope he'll not be Jewish?
SPEAKER_01Well, because he well, it was because of him and the the Europeans that now found America. They they killed out a lot of the Indians, right? We're here today. I mean, there are Indians and Native Americans, but at the end of the day, the Europeans took over. And to do that, they they killed, murdered, raped a lot of people. And it started a uh it it just doesn't, it's not a great look.
SPEAKER_00That's the theory. But but the buttons reminds me because you've learned uh the same time the uh Inquisition. I think I heard somewhere that Torgramada was actually also Jewish. I think it's the Inquisition take that one.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I don't know. Um I'm not sure. I only was doing research this week in Columbus. Okay, I just want I want to get um just to this week's part of so this week is Baha'usha, and this is the Makar, says the Shlah, this is the Makor, or at least an allusion um to the idea of saying Mirthashem and Bez Hashem. So the Schla in Shahosios M'S Vamuna, he says Bakhla de Vekus Amuna, right? As part of what it means to connect and believe in Nakarish Baruchu, he says every action that a person does, whether it's in the distant, whether it's in the future, whatever it is, a person has to say emir to Hashem. Yoimar-es is gonna do this emir to Hashem, if God wills. Whether it's a big thing or a small thing. And the the simen is, what's the allusion to this? In Mishlay it says atzas hashem, he saqum, atzash ashem, he sokum, he is Rosh Tevas for Emir Thashem. It's Al of Yud and a He. Or another allusion says the Shar, the says the Shlah is Ayeh Mikom Kvodo, right? Like the Malachim call out in the field of Kesar, right in Lusuf. What do we say, Ayeh Mikom Kvodo? Ayeh is an allusion to Amir Tashem. So says the Shlah, a couple different uh variations. This is the Shla in Ba'alosah actually in the Sefer Dark Chaim, where the Shla says the Ta'ur tells us Al Pi Hem Yusu Vyal Pi Hashem Yachna that the Jewish people traveled, Al Piy Hashem, right? What does that mean, Al-Piy Hashem? They traveled. Through the what the Shlot says, he reads from here, Yesh Royme is Musr Bekan. We see from here that I'll call Paula Otnua, that every movement, every action that a person does, he should say. So he uses those two terminologies. Then he uses another terminology. Sometimes a person should say, Be'ezrashem Yasbarak. He also says, Be'ezras, emirzah. He also says, Beezraz, hashem Yasbarak. He also says bezrasbarach emirzah, like different variations. Um he also says a terminology where a person, no matter what happens, should say me is hashem, or he should say, if he's looking forward to some type of business transaction, ani boy teah bashem, these types of or another thing, if he's if he's on his way to go do something, he should say that I'm doing this uh bershus hashemisbach. So there's different terminologies that are used, Bezashem, Bershus Hashem, Meis Hashem, um, Bezas Hemisbar, all these different terminologies, but it's all in the realm bakhl the Vekus Hamuna, it's part of the Devaikus Samuna, and the allusion to this is the Pasak in this week's parasha, Alpia Shamisu, the Alpi Hashem Yachnu. Cesar of Destar and Mikhav Melio, he said he goes through five different ways in which we can acquire Amuna. And he, the very first one is like this durach and bikia mitzvah samuna. There are five ways in fulfilling the mitzvah amuna. Had darah chari shina. The first way, darach shakhinach, it's a way of teaching, a way of education, to educate oneself, la site beamuna, gandal khitsoni, to do something that's amuna oriented in an external way. How do you do that? What's an external um what's an external way of showing Amuna? It's through this, he says, that whatever a person is going through, whatever he's about to do, he should say, Bar Hashem, Emirthashem, Bazas Hashem, Bachadaima. So that's R Deslar also coming, that it's uh, you see from the Shlow, and R Deslah it's coming from this idea of Amunah, that uh um that you're uh that the Shem Hashem is Shagur Bifit. The Pelayoit's in the letter Shin, Shem Shema, he says, if you're talking about something that you did, you say, did this Bisiyata Dishmaya with God's help, with the help from Apai. If you're about, you're you're saying something that you're going to do, you say, I'm going to do this, and he leaves out Imrham, but interesting, um, just an interesting point. Okay. Says Rev, um, just showing you a couple uh examples, and even this he goes even earlier. The Vilnagoin points out one of the differences between the Chachim and the Roshah is exactly this. But the Chachim and the Rosha, right, they both say what's this to you, right? They both, one says Lachem, which is Itchem. Really, what's the difference? And the Vilnagoin makes a nuance. He says, you know what? Really, the difference is that one incorporated God and one didn't. One said the name of Hashem and one did not. Um, and this explains, says the gra, the Pasak in Kahellas, right? Shlama Malach says that yes, yesh, yisra in the khachma and a sikhlas, there's an advantage of wisdom. Wisdom has an advantage over folly, over foolishness. What's the mashal, ki yisron, like the advantage of light over darkness, or ma'ishek? What's the connection between the two? And what's the advantage of or from Khaishek? So you have to go back to the very beginning of creation. The very beginning of creation, when light was created and darkness was there, they both have different names. And who names them what? By the light, Ba'ikra alekim la or yom. Hashem, the Torah says Al Kim, Baikra al'Kim or Yom. Hashem called the light day. The name of Hashem is mentioned. Ulchhoy Shach Karalai. Darkness was called light. There is no shem Hashem. And so it this is a beautiful, this is like one of the first early Makuras for this idea, that without incorporating Hashem, right, without being Shagura Bapiv, without Haskaras Hashem, that's the folly, that's the sikhlus, that's the realm of the Rosha, that's the realm of just living kochlibeotzmiyadi, that's the realm of living where okay, I'm just doing my thing and it's me. But the realm of light, the realm of day, the realm where you see God, you see him in your mysim, and like the Shlas says in every action that you do, and like the Peleods and like the Revdesler, in a way to acquire Amuna, or like Chazal say that the shame of a Shingshamayim is Shag or Pepiv. This was true by Yosef Ath, it was true by Avramavinu, it was true by Yaakovinu, it was true by all of the greats, and that they had the shame Hashem, and this becomes like a light. This becomes, and this is the difference between a Chacham and a Roshah, between light and dark, between good and evil. It's is there a shame Hashem being used or not? The Rebbe of Peshischa actually sees an allusion in the names of Nach that one of the right, the shame, uh, the shame of shame is shame, right? What does that mean name of shame? So shame represents the fact that a person has to have Bishogiv Shemoshala Kodush Baruch, that he should say Bar Hashem, Bazas Hashem, and a Mir Toshem. He says all three sons of Noah actually portray another message in Abadas Hashem. Shame represents that Hashem's name should be on our mouths. We should say Bar Hashem, Bezashem Yir Toshem. The name Kham represents Chamimos, Bhislav, to live with fire, and Yefis represents beauty, Shemis of you, Yafim, that our actions should be beautiful. So just a nice um idea from the Reb over there. Um this is actually this is wild, just in terms of Ashkacha protest that happened. I came across the safer in Otzar Chasma. It's a safer called Chaim Shayish Bahem. And it's a contemporary person. He's he's he's it's not like he lives, uh he I know he lives because I there's a phone number in the beginning of the safer called Chaim Shaish Bahem. I was blown away by the story that he brought, so I wanted to ask him a question if he was alive. So I called the 718 number, and a woman answers the phone and says, Hi, who's this? I said, hi, it's already strong. I just I had a question for the mahaber, and he's she said, Okay, I got your number, the mahaber will call you back. Less than an hour later, I get a phone call from a random number in New York. And it was, it sounded like uh an older yid, and it was him, but it was it was the author of this safer, Khaim Sheshbahem. Um he's got many, many Swarams, some that are still coming out. His name is uh Vravitska Shraga Gross. And anyway, so I had a phone call with him. That Shabbas, this was last week, the end of last week, that Shabbos in Shool, by Mincha time, somebody comes over to me and says, I have to share with you a Vart, an amazing Vart about Harkagigas and Kaffalim. There's a vart from a quoted from Raina Yonah and he says it's from a safer called Chaim Shay Yeshbahem. Yukab the Oter Khachma has over a hundred thousand Swarim. And in in my research on this topic of Azhem Yours Hashem, I I came across his safer. Within, I think it was two days later, somebody shares me a var in shul from him. I'm like, that's crazy. I literally, I spoke to him on the phone this week. I was just, I'm still like, I don't know what the messages are like. They're watching you. Something's happening. I don't know. It was just like wild.
SPEAKER_02What's the vote?
SPEAKER_01I don't know. Barfashem. We have to.
SPEAKER_02We have to go to a different shul now.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, well, I don't know if that's the vow, but um so in this safer, he brings down um uh uh he quotes from the Utsar Midrashim and he brings down a story. He says there was a rich person who was, he was Baalstaqa, he was he was Myson Nefish, but he understood that he worked hard and the money was his. And he he didn't talk about Igarushbor, he didn't mention him and his successes. And so one day, Elyo Navi says, You know what, I'm gonna go meet this guy. And the the rich man, the merchant, is on his way and he encounters another merchant. The other merchant is Elyonavi. And he says, Hey, Elyah Navi says, Where are you going? And the man says, I'm going to buy cattle. Elyo says to him, You should say Amir to Hashem. You know, and the guy said, What do you mean, Amir to Hashem? The the wall, I'm pretty sure the wallet's the Kisi, it's in my wallet. It's not Toloyala B. It's my it's my doing. It's my Elyohanavi said, without including Hashem, you're not going to be successful. So the merchant went on his way, the rich guy, and his wallet fell from his bag. He didn't know, he kept walking. And Elyohanavi, in the form of the merchant, he came, picked up the wallet, and brought it to the lave yard. He brought it to the middle of the forest and placed it there. The guy, obviously, he went to the market, he found some nice looking cattle. He couldn't buy it because he realized that he dropped his wallet. He retraced it out. He couldn't find it. He went back home and he was in a state of depression. He was like so upset. Like, okay, the next day. I don't know if it was the next day, but then another time. After his mind.
SPEAKER_02Suspect the merchant who told him you've been.
SPEAKER_01Nah, yeah, you'll see in the next part of the story. Um, he realized he realized part of what happens. The next time, merchant's on his way to the city to go buy um cattle. And this time he encounters an old man. The old man is Elyonovi. And uh once again, the old man asked him the same exact question, Hey, where are you going? Um, and he said, Cayman Shiloh he said, Um, I'm just going to do my thing. I'm going to, and Elyonavi realized what was about to happen. And so he, I don't know what he did, but he did some magic spell. He put the merchant, the rich man, into a deep Tardema deep sleep. And in that process, Elyarnavi stole his wallet and brought it to the forest to the same exact spot. The man woke up from his Tardama. He woke up from his deep sleep. He realized, oh my gosh, the man, he must. I just got robbed. He walked home again in a state of depression. And this time, um he he a couple, I don't know when it was that happened later, but a couple days later, he went back out to go buy his cattle. And what happens next? Al-Yo Nabi appears this time, not as a merchant, but not as an old man, but as a young child, as a poor child looking for work. And he says, Hey, where are you going? And the man says, He learned his lesson. He says, I'm going to the market to buy cattle, Emirat Heshem. So this time he adds it finally. Al Yahanavi realized, okay, you know, he learned it, he learned his lesson. Al Yaonavi, in the form of a young child, he gave him a bracha, bracha of Hatzlacha, and he said, if you need any help with your cattle, you know, like you're just one person. If you need any help at all for my services, you could pay me to help you. So the merchant said, Im Yazul Hashem, if Hashem helps me out and I'm able to buy, find the right stuff, then you know I'm gonna help you, I'm gonna pay for you, I'm gonna hire you to help me bring them back home. He was he was Matsliak on his way. He found a great price with for these cattle, and he paid the Nar to help guide him back on his way back to the house. Baruchhu Ashwarm Latour. The cattle, they ran away from him into the middle of the forest. Rodavakhar M. Suchar, then the merchant runs after. And where did the cattle go? They went right to that rock where his stolen kiss was, where his stolen uh wallet was, and the original wallet was. And Samacha Sekher, Vahudil Hashem, he thanked I could sh barchou. And on his way back to the house, Nelama Narve ineno, he looked around and the child was no longer with him, and he chapped, he understood this was Elianabi. Amazing, amazing story about the power of Himir Tashem. We just finished off over here. Um had a piece from a role, but I just want to get into a little not technical, but I I saw quoted from Ezra Barzel, and he says that there's a philog, when do you say when do you say Himir Tashem? He says, and this is just an important claw to know. He says, Sha'i Binyanim Ruchniem, when it comes to spiritual matters, it's not befitting to say mirtashem. Mir teshem means if Hashem wants. So if you're about to go to a mitzvah and you say, I'm going to Shool, Mir Tashem, it doesn't really make sense. Like obviously Hashem wants you go to Shool. So he says, when it comes to spiritual matters, you don't say Mirthashem, there you say Ba'ez Hashem with Hashem's help. But when it comes to physical Gashmiya matters, matters matters of the more mundane, there you say a mirzhem. As there you're trying to tap into it, you're hoping that whatever it is you're doing, even if it's in the realm of Gashmias, you're hoping that this will be in line with what Hakarish Barak wants from me. Be it as it may, we see that there is this incredible importance of the Shem Shemayim Shogur Bhativ to use it to tap into what Yosef Assadek did, to tap into what Avramovino did, Yaakov Avinu, all of the greats, and like this story brought out with Eliya Navi, that we find true success in life when we incorporate and Kudoshem, whether or not Columbus actually wrote Bey Salm of Dao or Bey's hey, yet to be uh we'll take it. We'll have to leave that to for Elionavi to come back and answer that one for us. And good Shawas.
