SO THAT I ALWAYS REMEMBER. . .🇪🇸 🇵🇹 🇮🇱 I have heard stories of how some Sephardic Jewish families kept the key to the house that they were forced to abandon by the end of July 1492 due to the Alhambra Decree. This key served as a reminder to them of the Iberian homeland they left—never able to return under pain of death (until the Decree was finally formally revoked on December 12, 1968).In one account—that may or not be an “urban legend”—I was told that a descendant of one these families returned to his ancestral residence in Spain with the medieval key (and address) handed down through the generations. Upon locating the house, he allegedly proceeded to try the key in the keyhole of one of the old doorlocks (perhaps never taken out of the door but never used by contemporary owners). When inserted, the key fit perfectly into the keyhole and— upon turning it—the lock opened! This gave him and those present further confirmation that the residence DID BELONG to his expelled ancestors. Since I also intended to have such a reminder of my ancestors’ expulsion from Andalusia, Spain in 1492 (and from Portugal in or around 1497)—and since I am hopelessly sentimental—I had the below-pictured replica key made. This key is actually a replica of a precinct jail / holding-cell key. What do you expect from a former cop?! 😉 This key and the lock it opens and secures would be the approximate size of medieval European ones. These replicas are engraved and sometimes given as retirement / promotion gifts for police officers or correction officers—but I had a better idea! 💡 👍🏻 Instead of having it engraved with a rank, unit, or facility, I had it engraved with my family surname, the region of Spain where most of the Jews lived at that time, and the significant years:1492 - year of Expulsion1968 - year of Revocation of the Alhambra Decree 2015 - year that Spain and Portugal initiated their respective Laws of Return, allowing Sephardim and their descendants to petition for citizenship as restitution Now, I can always remember my paternal origins—and how far we have come: spiritually and culturally, as well as physically.