Lessons of a 100–year-old postcard from an imaginary land

This 1 V. postage revenue stamp from West Refaim was postmarked in Virikoso in South Giantsland 100 years ago. Problem is, none of these places ever existed.

From the Herzl and Zionism Collection of David Matlow, Toronto (www.herzlcollection.com). Photograph by David Matlow and used with his permission.

There is a second postmark for Nineveh, one of the great cities of antiquity, now called Mosul, Iraq. In the Bible, Jonah was ordered to go to Nineveh and warn the people about the city’s impending destruction because they were so evil. He did not want this job because Nineveh was ancient Israel’s enemy, and if he succeeded in his mission and Nineveh was spared, it would continue to be a threat to Israel.

Jonah calling the people to repent for their sins. Part of two sets of 50 cards on Jewish themes issued in the 1960s. Photograph by David Matlow and used with his permission.

To avoid this mission, Jonah escaped by ship. While at sea, a raging storm blew up and he was thrown overboard to calm the waters. Jonah was swallowed by a whale and saved, and eventually went to Nineveh where the people heeded his warning and repented. Jonah was displeased because Israel’s bitter enemy survived, but ultimately learned his lesson to be more forgiving.

The Book of Jonah is read on Yom Kippur because it is a story of repentance. It is also a story of justice and mercy. Jonah struggled because he did not want the people of Nineveh to be saved, but the story tells us that there are other important factors to be considered, including showing mercy to others.

Refaim are referred to in the Bible as either ghosts or giants (the latter may explain the mythical Giantsland postmark). The second postmark also includes in Hebrew and English the words Ir Hadash (new city), although Ir Hadasha would be grammatically correct. There is no indication what new city is being referred to.

From the Herzl and Zionism Collection of David Matlow, Toronto (www.herzlcollection.com). Photograph by David Matlow and used with his permission.

The stamp is a “cinderella stamp” (it looks like a real postage stamp but is from a fictitious country). It is affixed to a postcard that shows a fictional walled city called Hilioma and has the two fantasy cancellations which pretend postal use in 1924.

From the Herzl and Zionism Collection of David Matlow, Toronto (www.herzlcollection.com). Photograph by David Matlow and used with his permission.

People have studied the West Refaim stamp and similar cinderella stamps from four other invented places (Cooland, Hop Isles, North Anoc and the United Horian States) and have been unable to determine who made them and why.

So what does this all mean? Perhaps it means that we can’t understand everything we see, and some things will remain a mystery. It also reminds us of Jonah’s struggle: how to balance the protection of Israel with the mercy and love of justice that makes us human. As we have all experienced in the last year, this is a tall order; perhaps only the Refaim of South Giantsland are tall enough for it.

This article first appeared in the Canadian Jewish News (www.thecjn.ca) as part of the weekly Treasure Trove.