犹太人的故事（2013）

这部羊皮本的 县志的时间是1492年 #
These are the records of the small town of Girona in Catalonia,
属于 加泰罗尼亚地区 的Girona小镇
Nahmanides's town.
就是Nahmanides所在的那个镇子
And like all local council proceedings,
我们可以看到，与所有地方"居委会"的记事流程与内容相仿
most of the stuff recorded here
此地的县志所记载的大多是些
is very much small potatoes - property disputes,
鸡毛蒜皮的小事， 比如财产纠纷啦
how to resolve quarrels between landlords and peasants.
还有比如地主与农民间的争执一类的民事纠纷什么的，
And then,in the middle of it,is something which is not small at all.
然后， 其中我们可以看到某些远非鸡毛蒜皮之事
The record of an immense tragedy.
这是对一桩惨剧的记载
About four lines down is recorded the decision of the King
你看这里，从页头算起，第五行开始，密密麻麻的记录着
to expel the Jews - there,expellendos -
国王下令驱犹！
你看这里--- "expellendos" (即英文 'to be expelled' 大概西语意即驱逐令)
from his kingdom.
注意是--全境驱犹 ！
It's the death sentence of a culture
这根本就是对这种世居此地
which has lived in Girona for half a millennium
逾500年，而且在西班牙其他地方历史
and in the rest of Spain for even longer.
更悠久的文化判了死刑
It's the death sentence on the possibility
这也是对犹太人与基♥督♥徒共存的可能性
of Jews having a coexistence with Christians.
下了死刑判决
It's an appalling tragedy,
真是骇人听闻的悲剧！
and however good the intention, something recorded in the edict
更糟的是--貌似出于好意---
makes it,if anything,even worse,
或者---你怎么说都行
because the King,further down the page,orders his subjects
县志这页里面紧接着还记载了国王的谕令
not to harass or disturb the Jews
他命令子民们不得骚扰或干扰犹太人离境
in the process of packing up and selling off
让犹太人"安心"的卷铺盖收拾细软，变卖♥♥财产
synagogues and lands and possessions.
变卖♥♥土地和犹太教堂
Get them out of here in peace as quickly as possible,
总之: “请大家保证犹太人平静的尽快离境啊”
to which you want to say, "How very considerate(!)"
听听这些P话，多么"细心体贴"的国王啊!
The Jews were given just four months to liquidate
实际上， 对于犹太人的百年基业
what it had taken centuries to build.
只给了4个月让他们清♥仓♥出局
So Jews did what Jews do -
犹太人还能做什么呢
they packed.
他们只能打包走人---第N次
And you all know those pictures of long lines
说到这里，你脑海中应该不难想象那种画面：
of pathetic,bedraggled figures toting bags along dusty roads.
尘土飞扬的路上，被逐的犹太人排着长队缓缓而行，衣衫褴褛，拖家带口，一片愁云惨雾。
That began here,in 1492,in Spain.
就这样，从这里--西班牙--开始的
And one of the most glorious, rich,sophisticated,
当时欧洲境内最辉煌，精致，
poetically beautiful cultures there'd ever been in Europe
富足，且如诗般精美的文化之一
came to an end.
于1492年戛然而止.
But there were some things that could not be taken from the Jews -
不过你无法从犹太人那里夺走
their language,their music, their poetry,
他们的语言，音乐，诗词
their richly spiced gorgeous cooking.
还有他们色香味俱全的辣味烹饪技术
I cook it myself a long way away from Spain.
比如我的祖上就源自西班牙 #
And above all,of course, inside their heads,
除了这些， 还有一样最重要的东西你也夺不走：
inside their hearts, inside their little books,
那东西 他们存于心中和书里
inside all the things designed for portability and endurance,
永不离身且世代流传
their religion.
那就是他们的宗教信仰！
So when those ships were loaded with Jews and their things
于是乎，当载满犹太人的船只
in the harbours of Iberia...
从伊比利亚的各个港口扬帆之际
..you might well have heard the Shema drifting over the water.
你也许能听到 圣经《示玛篇》的诵读之声在水面上飘扬：
"Hear,o Israel, the Lord our God,
"以色列阿,你要听! "
"the Lord is one."
"耶♥和♥华♥我们的神 是独一的主"
[《示玛篇》摘节]
So where did they go?
被驱逐的犹太人要去向何方 ？
Almost everywhere - Morocco,Italy,Egypt,
他们去了世界各地： 摩洛哥，意大利， 埃及
and above all the Ottoman Empire,
其中特别是奥斯曼帝国
where the Turkish Sultan actively encouraged
当时的土耳其苏丹给了许多优♥惠♥条件
the Sephardim to resettle, taunting the Spanish king
鼓励西班牙犹太人在奥斯曼帝国重新定居下来，
并以此嘲讽西班牙国王
that the expulsion would impoverish Spain
因为驱犹的愚蠢行径只会使西班牙经济走向枯竭
and enrich his empire.
同时肥水还流了外人田---让奥斯曼帝国大赚一笔
[移居奥斯曼帝国的犹太人带去大量先进的技术和知识]
Commerce also motivated the rulers of the Republic of Venice
世代经商的名声也驱使威尼斯共和国的统治者
to offer a welcome of sorts to the Jews.
向犹太人抛出了"橄榄枝"
With family connections in the Islamic world,
由于亲戚遍布伊♥斯♥兰♥世界
the Jews would be priceless
犹太人对于贸易立国的威尼斯
to a Christian city that lived on trade.
就显得非常重要，可说是无价之"宝"
But this didn't mean there was going to be
当然了， 表面看着喜大普奔的一切不乏阴暗面
some sort of happy mingling on the shores of the Adriatic.
犹太人在亚得里亚海沿岸的登陆并非什么欢乐会师，
也不是啥"不同民族就此幸福和谐"的戏码
The lords of the lagoon came up with a new way of isolating the Jews.
潟湖上的威尼斯诸侯也有自己的新手段来孤立犹太人
From 1516,Venice's Jews were forced to live in a small district
从1516年起， 威尼斯犹太人被强迁入市区北角
of just a few residential blocks
挤在一个小区域内
at the northern perimeter of the city.
整个犹太区只有为数不多的几个街区组成
The gates were locked at night.
犹太区晚上落闸禁止外出
And a new word was born.
于是， 一个新词问世了
Today,the word "ghetto"
如今，"Ghetto"这个词
[即犹太区，也可译为'隔都
is synonymous with poverty, racism,families under stress.
就是贫穷，种族主义，贫困家庭的同义词
All the above were true of here, the world's first ghetto.
以上所有说法，都在这里--世界上的首座隔都里真实发生过
And yet,there are places where you can feel the sigh of relief
而在这座隔都里，你依旧能找到某种迹象
that was Jewish Venice.
可以让你放心的确定，此地就是威尼斯犹太区
KNOCKS ON DOOR
A place,for all its condescension and humiliations,
不管外界如何的羞辱，犹太人如何的低头迁就
where you could actually make a Jewish life.
只要到了这里，你就能堂堂正正的做一个犹太人
Nowhere more so than the Scuola Spagnola,
你看到了， 我们说的是西葡犹太人教堂 #
the Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue,
意大利语唤之" Scuola Spagnola "
where the birds in flight from Spain came to rest.
被逐出西班牙的一部分犹太人落户于此 #
When it came to redesigning the synagogue,
当年的西班牙犹太人经过重新设计 将这座教堂
the Sephardim thought big and beautiful.
修建的宏大而且精美
By now,the Jews were old hands
到了这个时代， 犹太人似乎早已习惯于
at living under the sufferance of Christians and Muslims.
在基♥督♥教和穆♥斯♥林♥世界里忍♥辱负重，以求得生存
And under pressure, they went back,as always,
重压之下，他们一如往常的回到
to the core of their religion.
其信仰的核心--去寻求帮助和慰籍
They followed the mitzvot - the commandments -
那就是：遵循犹太律法的教诲
［ｍｉｔｚｖｏｔ希伯莱语＝戒律］
they sung the songs, they read the books,
唱颂圣歌♥，研读圣经
they built the synagogue.
建造犹太教堂
I have the strangest sense of having been here before,
我总觉的自己对此地似曾相识，仿佛数百年前曾经身处此地
hundreds of years ago. It's a delusion,I know,but it's...
这个感觉实在奇怪至极，我也知道这纯属臆想...
Jews are tied together by irrational bonds of memory very often.
只是呢...犹太人总是能通过某些非理性的东西达到心灵相通...最常见的..比如记忆...
But there's a sort of odd air of spice and old Jews,
比如此时此刻，我就似乎能嗅到空气中
那若隐若现的香料味和一种"老犹太"气息 #
of which I'm one now.
当然还有我自己也是...一个老犹太 #
[指他自己]
This place is so beautiful.
此处是如此精美
It speaks for me of the deep pathos of Jewish longing for beauty,
在我开口之前，你也许就能从中看出犹太人对于美
for grandeur.
对于华丽的孜孜不倦的渴求--是如此强烈--以至观者无不动容
Jews never really think it's an obligation to build
犹太人从未真正把建造华美的物事
gorgeous ornaments, gorgeous buildings,
当作自己的义务
because you always know you're going to have to leave them behind.
因为他们知道不管盖的多漂亮，也总有一天要抛诸身后
You're going to have to reach for the suitcase sooner or later,
迟早你都要卷铺盖走人
and yet you want to believe that in the place you've just come to,
然而， 即便如此，不管飘零到哪里，
初来乍到的犹太人总是愿意相信，
where God has allowed you to prosper
这是上帝的意旨让他们到此落户，繁衍生息
and for a few generations at least be safe.
然后...至少能有那么一两代人可以安然生活
Honour your religion by doing this -
而且，还可以通过修建各种华丽炫目的犹太教堂
by making something stunningly beautiful.
来为自己的信仰增光！
So this whole place feels as though
因此，整个犹太教堂让人感觉就像是
it reconciles the idea of refuge with beauty.
完美诠释了什么叫做"美丽的避难所"
And if you can bring that off, just for a little moment,
如果你能在忍♥受艰难的生活之外，还兼顾着做到这些， #
in the hard lives of Jewish history,
哪怕对于漫长的犹太人历史来说，只是短暂的做到了，
you have performed a mitzvah,
那你也可以算是遵行了戒律
[mitzvah这个词似乎至少3重含义: 1-戒律,犹太律法。总数600多条，衍生自十诫. 2-类似"善行"和"人道主义";
3-也可以作为"遵行戒律教诲"来表达]
just as surely as you've looked after the poor,
效果等同于 照顾 穷♥人♥
the sick and the dying.
关心救护病人和临终之人
That's what it says. That's what Venice says.
这就是此地(指这里的犹太教堂)的意义，
也是威尼斯在犹太人历史上的意义所在
And if anyone has cliches about the ghetto,
如果你碰到谁还在唠叨关于隔都有多苦，在里头遵行犹太律法有多难
you bring them here to see how beauty can also be a mitzvah.
那你尽可以带他们来看看这儿， 看看如何在逆境恪守戒律，
同时还能做到如此光彩夺目！
That's what I feel.
我就是这么想的。