Plucking the Eagle's Wings

Plucking the Eagle's Wings

1484 when he worked as a cartographer. He was 33 years old. This is the year in a man's life that the Italians call anno de Christo, the year of Christ, which, according to tradition, is reserved for revelation. The name Christopher means Christ bearer. Columbus thought this was a sign, believing that God selected him for a divine purpose. Columbus felt that he had received a revelation directly from God to sail west. He felt that he was given the task of bearing Christ to the ends of the earth, fulfilling what the prophet Isaiah predicted. Interestingly, the prophecy of Isaiah referred to a "light to the Gentiles" and "restoration of Israel." Later in his diaries Columbus likened himself to Moses, the man who led the Jews to the Promised Land. Perhaps Columbus felt that part of his mission was to assist in the restoration of the Jews to their ancient homeland. After moving to Spain, Columbus began using his old family name Colon, according to his son and biographer Don Ferdinand Colon. This may have been a signal to the conversos in Ferdinand and Isabella's court. There were many conversos in the royal court, including one Don Isaac Abravanel, who traced his ancestry directly to King David. Colon, the old family name, was the name with which Columbus was presented to Ferdinand and Isabella. The conversos' support helped make Columbus' expedition possible. The Expedition and the 9 th of Av on the Hebrew Calendar When Columbus was given an audience with the Spanish monarchs, a trade route to the Indies and riches may not have been his only goal. Near the end of his life, Columbus wrote, "Gold is most excellent, a valuable thing and whoever possesses it does whatever he wants with it in the world... Jerusalem and Mount Zion will be rebuilt by a Christian." It is possible that Columbus wanted to find a trade route to finance an expedition to the Holy Land and expel the Muslims. It is also possible that he saw the need for gold in order to finance the reconstruction of the city and possibly the Temple itself. In his studies, Columbus calculated the age of the world to be 5241 years by using the Hebrew calendar (1480-81). He wrote, "From the destruction of the second house according to the Jews to the present day ... are 1413 years." This meant that Columbus' date for the destruction of the Temple was 68 A.D., a date often cited by Jews, as opposed to 70 A.D., the date used by Christians. Furthermore, Jews

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