At the New York Public Library, amongst the various exhibits and artifacts in their collection is a little, 5-inch globe: the earliest surviving engraved copper sphere from the period immediately following the discovery of the New World. The Hunt-Lennox globe (about five inches in diameter), is among the first cartographic representations of the Americas known to geographers. Of the two continents in the Western hemisphere, only South America is represented, appearing as a large island with the regional names Mundus Novus (the New World), Terra Sanctae Crucis (the Land of the Holy Cross), and Terra de Brazil (the Land of Brazil). Cuba appears as “Isabel,” and the island shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti (Hispaniola) appears as “Spagnolla.” North America is represented as a group of scattered islands.
On the globe the creator engraved the following words: Hic sunt dracones; Here be dragons. Apparently it’s the only known place those words are written down on a map or globe. Which is very surprising. We just assume it says “Here be dragons,” on every old map.
Maybe we assume it mentions the imminent danger of dragons everywhere because we’ve seen maps decorated with etchings of sea monsters filling the vast empty spaces around the real and imagined land masses. Just seeing the words, even in Latin, brings a true sense of peril and fear.
Our ancestors looked out there at the endless oceans and felt so puny and insignificant. Who and what’s on the other side and what we might bump into was more than just free-floating anxiety. The unknown loomed with true malevolence.
Today one can go online and look at the pictures of earth taken by astronauts and the Hubble telescope. One can watch Yves Cousteau specials and see lots of things, including great white sharks and killer whales and narwhals… But there aren’t any dragons; or are there?
Hic sunt dracones. Here be dragons. Maybe not animals that breathe fire or swallow ships. There are, however, frightening phenomena lurking in our line of sight. Take your pick: global climate change, the spread of terrorism, the growing possibility of deadly pandemics, antibiotic resistance… and I haven’t even gotten started. We could go with a new virulent antisemitism, the rise of the alt-right, the slow crumbling of democracy here and in Israel, and more – so much more.
There is no antidote to the fear, to the imminence of scary things. There is no relief from not knowing what may happen next. All we’ve got is each other. In solidarity with our community, there is a greater sense of safety and comfort. Once we know that we don’t have to face the dragons on our own, we can be a little less anxious.
That’s why having a group, an affinity group, is such an important act. Being a temple member is not just about sending our kids to Hebrew School. It’s rather about connecting to and with others, about facing the vicissitudes of life knowing that one is supported and understood by others. It’s emerging from crises with the helping hand of a friend. It’s about social justice in a broken world.
The doors are always open, and the lights are always on. There’s plenty of room on this ship. So jump on board. We will fight the dragons together.
Before Shabbat 