... would certainly tempt me to indulge in garden, landscape, rose, and books devoted to flora

... although i'd love to have a look at Old Wine, New Flasks

I could easily become a seriously ill bibliophile, but fortunately I can't afford it and my wife, bless her practical way of being, would prevent me from being as nutty as I could be.

Libraries, museums, places of learning.

I covet many things and have lost most of my belongings several times. The urge to possess is strong and the fear of losing possessions keeps many people awake at night. Now, being mainly "baggage" free, these don't grip me anymore. In the end, we will all lose everything we have. And others will pick up in our absence.

This idea fits with theories of others who note that Jewish traditions are highly literate, verbal, musical and multilingual.

This is in contrast to Catholics who were often forbidden to pursue higher learning. From 1560 to 1966 the Vatican maintained Index Librorum Prohibitorum -- a list of books which Catholics were forbidden to read. They were also forbidden to read that list. Until the Quiet Revolution of 1960, everyone in Quebec was forbidden to pursue higher learning because Quebec was run by the Catholic church and only the Bible translated into Old French was used as text (which is why Quebecois French is different from modern French).

Famously Galileo was punished for embracing heliocentrism. There was a parallel in Judaism but note the difference that debate was allowed:



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliocentrism#Reception_in_Judaism

An understanding of the solar system was fundamental to global navigation, as was trigonometry. Jewish interaction with Arabic scholars is often cited as how southern europe, eg Spain, was able to advance in navigation. Most recently we now have genetic confirmation that Colombus was of Jewish descent. It has long been known that he wrote in Ladino, a Judeo-Spanish language used by Sephardic Jews. I accept the theories that he was a converso or crypto Jew. His first voyage to the Bahamas and Haiti was financed and diplomatically supported by Luis de Santángel, the comptroller-general for the Aragonese crown under King Ferdinand. Santángel was the grandson of a converted Jew and, as a converted Jew serving the court, he and his family were exempt from the scrutiny of the Holy Office of the Inquisition. It is no accident that the voyages of Colombus come near the end of the inquisition or that his navigations lead to the establishment of communities in Brazil by Jews forcibly exiled from Spain.

There is a long history of Jewish scientists who were valued by monarchs despite more generally oppressive policies toward people of Jewish descent.

world of Disney and all of its collectibles of all manners, that are priced at least $500 give or take, some more, some less. As a serious disney collector, I have paid up to $500 give or take for some Disney collectibles, in the books/comics/periodicals field.