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A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rabbi Julia Neuberger.

Good morning.

On this day back in 1656, the first Jewish doctor in the North American colonies, Jacob Lumbrozo, arrived in Maryland, from Lisbon via the Netherlands. In Portugal, Lumbrozo had been a ‘secret Jew’, outwardly professing Christianity. But in Maryland, he was openly Jewish in his religious practices, and in 1658 was convicted of blasphemy, in a state where the warring factions were Protestants and Catholics, usually ignoring the few Jews around.

But before his trial could resume, the governor of Maryland decided to celebrate the accession of Richard Cromwell as Lord Protector of England by issuing a pardon to all who "stood indicted, convicted or Condemned to dye." Lumbrozo’s case was dropped. By 1663, he had served on a jury and acquired all the rights of an English citizen. Nor did his beliefs get him into trouble with the courts again, though it was not until 1823 that Jews were finally granted full relief from Maryland’s discriminatory religious laws.

Just under 200 years ago. And religious discrimination still persists- against Catholics in regard to some positions, such as Lord Chance llor, in England, against non-Muslims in some Muslim countries, against Muslims in parts of Hindu majority India, and so on……… Sometimes I feel we will never learn. But the good news story here is that the case against Lumbrozo was dropped, that no other Jews were accused of blasphem y in Maryland, and no-one of any faith was put to death there for it.

So things can get better, and here’s an example we can hold up of where they did. Worth celebrating, I think, as tolerance became a serious American virtue- and spread the world over. We should remember those who pressed for moderation, and stopped the desire to kill those whose religious beliefs were different from their own. May we celebrate their memory, and hold up their example as a lesson to us all.

Amen.