The Lari Journey

Sos del Rey Católico (Aragón, Spain) The traditional Mezuzah, the Jews and the Catholic Monarchs All photographs by Larissa Kierscht, June 2024 The Mezuzah is a scroll containing the scripture from Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11 that is rolled up and affixed to the doorposts of Jewish homes. The custom dates back to biblical times and is still followed by Jewish families today. It declares that the people who dwell here live Jewish lives. I remember seeing the Mezuzah on the door frames of several apartments in New York City and was always curious about them. So when I read about how some of the medieval Jewish homes can still be identified today by a hole in the door jamb used to place the mezuzah, I was intrigued and went in search of one. I was in the Spanish village of Sos del Rey Católico. It is the birthplace of King Ferdinand, whom most American school children know as the monarch that financed, along with Queen Isabella, Christopher Columbus’ voyage of 1492. But what most American histo...

  Ermita de la Virgen de las Nieves (2130m)  - Respomuso (2220m) photograph by Larissa Kierscht June 4, 2024 Hiking up 5 miles to 7,000 feet, you will find a small chapel (ermita in Spanish), called Ermita de la Virgen de las Nieves…Chapel of the Virgin of the Snows, situaded alongside the Respomuso Dam. In the 1950’s several hydroelectric dams were built in the Pyrenees. Some were built so high in the mountains that the workers were not able to leave for long periods of time. This resulted in the creation of a small village made up of the workers. Every village in Spain needs a church, so the ermita was built for the over 500 workers that built the Respomuso Dam. Today, the dam and the ermita are the only structures that remain.