THE LAST INQUISITION Solomon Goldman Lecture (c) Schulamith C. Halevy Spertus Institute, May 1995 In the days of the holy Ari, Rabbi Isaac Luria, the great 16th century mystic, it came to pass that one of the anusim — the forced converts — escaped Portugal and found refuge in the Upper Galilee in the holy city of Safed. One Sabbath, the rabbi of his synagogue gave a sermon on the loaves of shewbread offered in the Temple. The rabbi sighed, expressing his deep sorrow that now we have nothing prepared in this world with which to draw down the divine plenty upon the imperfect. Hearing this, our man of the anusim went home to his wife and — in his innocence — told her to prepare two loaves of bread every Friday, sifted 13 times, kneaded in purity with all manner of finesse, and baked in the best oven, for he wanted to offer it before the holy ark, perchance the Lord might accede and receive them, and consume his offering. His wife did just as he had asked, and every Friday he would take them to the Ark and pray and plead with God — blessed be he — that He accept them with good will, and find pleasure in them. Thus he would plead as a son who had erred before his father. Then he would leave the loaves and go home. Now the beadle would come and take the loaves making no inquiry as to whence they came or who brought them, and enjoy them as one might enjoy his own harvest. At evening services this God-fearing refugee from Portugal would rush to the Ark and not finding his loaves there become overjoyed and tell his wife, “Praise and thanks to God, that He did not disdain His humble servant and has already received the bread and eaten it while it was still warm. For His sake, please do be extremely careful in their preparation, for we do not have much to honor Him with, and as we see He likes this bread, we must bring Him pleasure through it.” So he did consistently, until the day when the rabbi happened to be in the sanctuary rehearsing his Sabbath lecture, as our pious man was bringing his loaves. Silently, the rabbi watched this man’s praying and pleading. The anus never noticed in his fervor, that he was being observed. When he had finished, the rabbi yelled at him angrily, saying, “You fool, does our God eat or drink? The beadle must have been taking them; it is a great sin to attribute any carnal aspect to God who has no body.” He continued to reprimand the man so until the beadle arrived to take his loaves. The rabbi said to the beadle, “Admit now what you came for and who it is that takes the loaves this man leaves here in the Ark every week.” The beadle admitted, displaying no shame. When our man heard this he began to weep, begging the rabbi to forgive him for having erred in understanding his sermon, for he meant to do a righteous thing, and ended up sinning. As these things transpired, a special envoy came to the rabbi from the Ari, and told him in the name of the saintly rabbi to go home and set his affairs in order for the next day he will die; so it had already been decreed in Heaven. Our rabbi was frightened by this bad news and went himself to ask the great Ari what sin of his caused this. The Ari responded saying, “I heard that you have denied God a great joy; He has had no greater pleasure since the day the Temple was destroyed as at that hour when the anus would bring Him the loaves in the innocence of his heart, offering them before His Ark, and believing that He took them. Having caused him to stop, death was decreed upon you; there is no recourse.” The rabbi went home, set his affairs in order, and on the Sabbath day, at the hour he would have been delivering his weekly sermon, he died, as the Ari, the man of God, had told him. This story is related as historical by the seventeenth century rabbi, Moshe Hagiz, in his book Mishnat Hahamim. Edie is the first of the New Mexico anusim I met. I came from Israel to participate in a conference on the secret Jews of the Southwest that took place in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1992. Edie came from California to the same conference because, as she said, there were all these secrets in her family, but her Grandma, the bearer of all the family secrets, would not share them with her till she was forty. When Edie reached 40, her grandma no longer was in condition to share the secrets with her. As she heard the typical observances of anusim in New Mexico in a talk the next day, Edie gasped as she recognized each custom that was mentioned. The Jewish traditions in her family are especially strong, including many she did not hear about at the conference, and she has travelled a fantastic personal journey since, a Journey which took her to Spain and Israel in its course. Paul, who also attended that conference, found out about his Judaism from a relative who is a priest. He wanted to make sure Paul was aware, even if he, as the first son in his family, had to join the clergy. It was shocking and confusing at first, but today Paul feels proud of this facet of his identity. In Paul’s estimation, some 90% of the inhabitants of the village in Northern New Mexico where he grew up and served as teacher are anusim. Since I came to Chicago, a bit more than a year ago, I have had many encounters with descendents of anusim: After I spoke about this subject at the Hillel foundation at the University of Chicago, three people in the audience came to tell me of connections to anusim, and another wrote me later. When I spoke about this topic to the Board of directors here, at the Spertus institute, some of the board members realized that they too over the years had encountered local anusim. From various Jewish people in Chicago I heard things such as: “my (Latino) colleague told me he is a Jew”, “a priest told me he is a Jew,” “My child care giver told me she lights candles/ can’t work on Saturdays” “in the school I taught at, everyone knew the Lopez’es were Jews”, “my (Latino) Doctor implied he is a Jew”, “my (latino) lawyer seems to be very familiar with Jewish thought” etc. etc. At O’hare airport I ran into a wonderful woman who proudly identifies herself as a Sephardita. She told me her mother, who was born in Spain, was a very proud Jew, but that having been baptized by her Godmother after her mother’s death she is now Catholic. Much later she intimated she had had a painful experience when she had made an attempt to connect with Jewish people. The most common reaction anusim attempting to connect draw from normative Jews, however, is a blank. There is simply no point of reference to make such revelations logical to them. Although there is nowadays literature available on the history of New World anusim and its Inquisition, it is neither part of the common consciousness nor of any curriculum. The present day situation is known only sporadically, through the mostly shallow eye of media, and is yet to be written. It is my hope that anusim themselves will participate in documenting this, their story, for posterity. Anusim are the coerced ones. This Hebrew term applies to all people forced to abjure their faith throughout history. Queen Esther, the secret Jew of some 2500 years ago, whose holiday was celebrated by Jews just recently, served as a role model for anusim; they often fasted three days as she did, and in the Southwest Esther is still a fairly common name. The religious persecutions of Jews under the Roman rule in Palestine, left their mark on Judaism as a religion, and in its high Holiday liturgy. Religious persecutions continue up to our day. By calling the Jewish victims of Iberian Catholicism anusim rather than conversos or crypto Jews I seek to include them in this larger recognized group, leaving out the insinuations and implications that come with the newer terms. Had the Conversos indeed been genuine Christians, we would not find Jewish practises among their descendents five hundred years later. As for the word Marrano, whatever its original etymology, it means swine to anusim; that is the word used in the Southwest for example, for pork, and is pejorative. Back to Iberia. Ignoring the religious persecution of Jews by the Moslem Almohads, the intense Christian onslaught against the Jews in Spain is marked by the huge wave of Pogroms and forced conversions to Christianity in 1391; another intense wave followed the disputations of Tortosa in 1413. In 1449 Conversos were removed from public office in Toledo, and New Christians attacked; the Spanish Inquisition was established in 1480. All this lies at the background of the 1492 Edict of Expulsion from Spain. Many Jews escaped to Portugal, where for a fee they were offered safety. Don Issac Abravanel –the contemporary high ranking courtier and great Jewish scholar– stated that 300.000 Jews did. But by the next year 5000 Jewish children were kidnapped from their parents by the Church. The order of expulsion from Portugal followed three years later. In 1497 all Jewish children were officially taken under Christianity’s “wings” and 20.000 Jews who gathered at the port in Lisbon to leave the country were instead forcibly converted. Whenever it became possible Jews escaped Portugal. Having to exit by sea, they went on to Various destinations in Europe and North Africa, as well as the New World. Whatever Columbus’ true identity, there is no question that secret Jews were traveling with him. Independent of this, Jews were already sighted in the New World in 1502. (Liebman) Although the Church in Mexico could and did go after the secret Jews within its Jurisdiction, it had to request that a tribunal of the Inquisition be established specifically for this purpose, because the task was too big for their personnel: “* It will be impossible to include South America in the short time we have here, and for the most part I will concentrate on Northern Mexico, known in colonial times as Nuevo Reino de Leon. This New Kingdom of Leon, possibly the largest land tract granted anyone by Spain, stretches from eastern Mexico, through the Southwest of the US. It is also the only grant which came without the requirement to prove limpieza de sangre– “pure Christian blood”, despite the fact that it was granted in 1579, eight years after the installation of the Tribunal in Mexico. The recipient of this grant, Luis de Carvajal y de la Cueva–a “new Christian”, died in the Inquisition jails, accused not of “judaizing” (practicing/preaching Judaism), but of failing to denounce his relatives for that “offense”; all his nieces and a nephew were eventually martyred, two nephews escaped, presumably to Turkey, and another survived in New Spain as a Dominican friar.* While the whole New World was filled with secret Jews who forged documents in order to get permission to come to New Spain, Nuevo Leon was particularly heavily settled by anusim. When the Inquisition followed, these Jews went further into the frontier to avoid detection, thus arriving in New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, and California of today. Those with more to fear vis a vis the inquisition in the north then, were the ancestors of the anusim of today’s Southwest. This movement to the periphery is true in South america as well. An example of this pattern: Following the death of the Governor, Luis de Carvajal in the inquisition cells, his lieutenant governor, Gaspar Castano de Sosa, along with some 170 colonists (no priest among them!) left on an uncharted, unauthorized expedition to the north, reaching into today’s New Mexico. De Sosa, against whom there were allegations of Judaizing, and his whole party were arrested for this illegal expedition, de Sosa himself was exiled for treason, but many of the members of his group returned eventually to New Mexico with Juan de Onate. Stanley Hordes, former New Mexico state archivist who pioneered the work with anusim in New Mexico, was able to identify a number of names of fugitives burned in effigy in Mexico City autos da fe with people settling what is now New Mexico. The numbers of anusim who came into the New World is still unknown; Luis de Carvajal the younger, the governor’s nephew and a fervent religious Jew — looked upon by many as a messiah — who was tortured and burned at the stake, said that were it not for the coercion of the Inquisition, the Christians in the New World could be counted on the fingers of one’s hand. (Liebman JNS 1650, note) While this must be considered an exaggeration, a high number theory is strengthened by the complaints from the Mexico clergy that that New Spain was swarming with Jews,* and by the fact that, as the OED for just one example, will as well as the Lost Lexicon of Inquisition period literature (Shepard 101) and other sources* testify, the appelation Portuguese was synonymous with Jew, certainly in the New World. To illustrate the drama and valor of these people, I will briefly outline the stories of three martyrs from the new world: the aforementioned Luis de Carvajal el Mozo from Nuevo Leon, Tomas Trevino from Mexico (city), and one South American, Francisco Maldonado de Silva of Tucuman. (New World Jewery 69). When Luis de Carvajal el Mozo, the Governor’s nephew and heir designate learned that he was a Jew, the impact on him was tremendous. A man of culture, of letters and verse who knew how to play the harp and sing, knew several languages and possessed a great spirit, Luis was unable or unwilling to conceal his faith. He went about convincing anyone he could, to observe the “law of Moses”; prayers which he composed were recited to Inquisitors a century after his death by subsequent victims. (Liebman JNS) He was arrested, and in the cells of the Inquisitions converted his cell mate, a monk, to Judaism. There he also changed his name to Joseph Lumbroso: Joseph after the biblical dreamer, since Luis also had inspired dreams, and Lumbroso meaning the Enlightened. After his first arrest, torture and incarceration–knowing full well that a second arrest meant the stake–he did not relent. Joseph-Luis was denounced again by a would be proselyte. His second arrest was marked with religious pride and steadfastness that left its mark even on his tormentors. He attempted suicide, hoping thus to escape denouncing others under torture. He debated those sent to convert him with eloquence, knowledge and spirit. He was garroted before being burned at the stake, a “privilege” that would normally imply the accused embraced Christianity in the end. But many scholars question this, suggesting that it was done by the Church to save face and hide its failure to win him– as they tried to do with all their victims–and in order to demoralize the Jewish community which looked up to him. Seymour Liebman, in his seminal book The Jews of New Spain, translated the words of Padre Contrera who walked Luis to his fate: “He was always such a good Jew and he reconciled his understanding, which was very profound and sensitive, with his highly inspired Divine determination to defend the Law of God–the Mosaic–and to fight for it. I have no doubt that if he had lived before the Incarnation of our Redeemer, he would have been a heroic Hebrew and his name would have been as famous in the Bible as are the names of those who died in the defense of their law when it was necessary.” Tomas Trevino de Sobremonte (b. 1592, Spain), leader of one of the three large Jewish communities of his time (mid-seventeenth century) in the Mexico area, began his adventurous life by escaping Spain under an assumed name, where his mother was later martyred. Though intending to reach Peru, he became a Shepherd then merchant in Oaxaca. Known for his charity, flamboyance and passion for women, Trevino was a regular church goer. When asked to give reason for his first arrest by the Inquisition, Trevino asked about one woman after another, till he got to the Marquis’ wife who was 6 months pregnant with his child. Trevino got away with a light sentence, and in 1629 he married Maria Gomez, a devout Jew. Details of the religious observances, prayers, fasts and ambiance cannot be described here in detail, careful observance of the dietary laws, the sabbath and ritual purity, and feeding the poor, as well as knowledge of Hebrew are but a few. Although now a devoted family man, Trevino’s flamboyance had not left him. A cross was placed under the threshold of his store and all Jews who stepped on it received a discount; he was also ready to physically intimidate a soldier he caught abusing a Jew. Trevino was denounced again by a spurned Jewish woman, who reported, based on having had sex with him, that he was circumcised. He continued to deny any “guilt” until the pronouncement of his death sentence after which he declared his religion openly and proudly. In the auto da fe of 1649, Trevino was burned alive, despite a letter from Spain instructing the Mexican Tribunal to act with mercy since his family was friendly with the royal court. Trevino is said to have shouted even as the flames were scorching his flesh “throw some more wood in, I am paying enough for this”. Maria, his wife, her saintly mother, his brother-in-law and sister-in-law perished as well. Francisco Maldonado de Silva of Tucuman (New world Jewry, 69), a young surgeon, happened to discover his Judaism by a strange coincidence. Having read Scrutinum Scripturarum, by the apostate Salomon HaLevi alias Pablo de Santa Maria, he became curious and was eventually told by his father of his Jewish birth. Francisco became a devout Jew, but was soon denounced by his sister whom he tried to reintroduce to Judaism. He was arrested in 1626. In the cells of the Inquisition, he circumcised himself, changed his name to Eli Nazereno, and fasted for eighty days till he became skeletal and immobile and was force-fed. He used corn husks to write religious commentaries and to make a rope and join other prisoners whom he exhorted not to abjure their faith. All the theologians sent to debate him were to no avail. He marched to the stake with his religious writing wrapped about his neck. In the 1639 Auto da fe in Lima, Peru, as the fire was set to the wood at his feet, a tremendous wind blew over the dignitary’s viewing balcony. Francisco shouted at them, “This has been ordered by the God of Israel so that we would be face-to face before the heavens.” Issac Cardoso called him “the great preacher”. At the age of thirty, after some 14 years of imprisonment and torture, Eli Nazereno, the former Francisco Maldonado de Silva, had his flesh consigned to the flame and his memory to legend. Around 1660, Daniel Levi de Barrios, residing in the Carribean and in Holland, wrote a ballad in which the stories of Trevino and Nazereno were fused into one, indicating the speed and distance with which these acts of martyrdom travelled the circles of folk and oral tradition. (JNS) What motivated the Jews escaping Spanish and later Portuguese Inquisition to go across the oceans? The most important fact to bear in mind is that at the time of the Expulsion, there was no place in the so-called “civilized” world where Jews could live free of the domination and potential persecution of Christianity and Islam. At best, in a few locations in Europe and North Africa, Jews enjoyed a modicum of tolerance. England was closed to Jews and had its own community of anusim. The position of Jews was precarious even in Holland, not to mention Italy and France. Boats leaving Portugal with anusim on board often stopped in London, to find out if it was safe to continue to the Lowlands. North Africa was constantly at war with Spain and Portugal. In addition to the terrible plagues and plunders, Jews were often sold into slavery by Christian invaders. Although Turkey did extend a welcome, it was for a price, and again could change any time. The many fires in the Jewish quarters of Turkey’s major cities could not all be accidental. Only with hindsight can we judge the wisdom of the decision each refugee made. The new world offered the possibility of establishing Judaism as a dominant religion. There was a popular belief written about by Menashe ben Israel, a Jewish scholar from Holland who wished to become rabbi of the congregation in Recife, Brazil in the 17th century, and who had visited the new world. Ben Israel wrote his book Mikve Israel about the ten lost tribes where he relates a story about apparent native Americans who recognized themselves to be of the lost tribes of Israel. Ben Israel relates that a man named Aharon HaLevi met a tribe in the Andes, hidden in the woods behind a wide river and looking tanned, some with long hair to their knees, with handsome features and figures, who knew the Shema and considered themselves to be of the Israelites. According to HaLevi’s native guide, these people came to the New World by miracles and could not be vanquished by his own people, who eventually came to respect and cooperate with the mysterious tribe, as all knew that in the end of days the Children of Israel would regain their rightful rule over the Americas. Needless to say this tale is not brought here for its historicity. Ben-Israel’s conviction however represents an apparently widespread sentiment among Jews that the Native americans were of the ten lost tribes. These two facts — the absence of a dominating universalist, and therefore oppressive religion, and the dream of reuniting with lost brethren — combine to offer a more satisfying explanation for the proselytizing some Jews did among the Natives, as Inquisition dossiers testify. In other words, between the romantic notion that the people the anusim were proselytizing among were lost brothers and sisters, and the urgent need to establish a Jewish State before the Church imposed its influence in the area, may have played a role in the decision of these secret but devoted Jews to come here. There is also the question of relative safety. It is impossible to offer clear statistics on this subject, since we are unlikely to ever find out just how many Jews were in the Colonies, and since not all the records of the Inquisition were preserved. We do know that the total number of Jews burned at the stake in Mexico according to surviving records is a little over a hundred* (M. Cohen). Although this total does not include people who died under torture, in their cells, or killed in other ways, it cannot approach anything near the 4000 New Christians massacred in Lisbon in 1506 alone. So even after the establishment of the Inquisition in the New World it was safer here than on the Iberian peninsula. The question as to what would drive Old Christians to come here should not be ignored. Liebman writes that the Criollos — all children born in the colonies to Hispanic parents — were barred from public office beyond the municipal level, regardless of the nobility or rank of their parents. This would mean the eventual loss of status for all noble-people, and little future for anyone else. Barring a deep sense of adventurousness and enough greed to surpass all dangers and disadvantages, then, a person opting to move to the new world would need a compelling reason to want to leave the Iberian Peninsula. The discovery of a synagogue in Mexico city in 1642 led to renewed vigor on the part of the Inquisition. It has been claimed that by the mid-sixteenth century there were more secret Jews than Catholics in Mexico City.* The inquisitors, too, complained that countless Jews were spreading throughout the Americas. The more this is explored, the more the hints at greater numbers of anusim in the New World; this, despite the fact that all their movements were shrouded in secrecy. How does a person exploring the possibility of Jewish descent ascertain the truth about his or her family? In addition to the fact that families no longer live together, that grandparents and grandchildren often do not speak the same language anymore and that intermarriages in the past fifty years or so have blurred things completely for many, a feature of the anusim is that many did not bear the name of either their parents, and that names were frequently changed. The task of reconstructing a genealogy is in most cases completely impossible. The customs among anusim first reported by modern scholars and the media were mostly of biblical origin, leading to skepticism on the part of cultural anthropologists and rabbis alike, since many fundamentalist churches tend to promote similar observances. It is therefore especially helpful to anusim to discover that they do observe rabbinic laws, especially ones that are mentioned in rabbinic responsa regarding the anusim of Spain and Portugal. Many of these are still followed today, by people who often have no awareness of their religious nature and who continue to follow them as the costuma d’antigua — the ancient customs of Iberian Nobility. In recent decades this has been the most common way for anusim to persuade the younger generations to keep the traditions. Although today as in the past some anusim were told they were Jewish explicitly by a parent, grandparent, or other relative, many were and are still told that they are not really Mexican, but belong to the Spanish nobility. This is the reason they should only marry “one of us”, and follow the ancient customs, including La Dieta–the special diet. Another key word is clean: “you should only marry the clean ones,” my friend’s mother told her. When my friend, Bertha, of blessed memory, asked her mother who the clean ones are she was told “those that have our ways, they are the clean ones”. Our ways in this case, where the mother admitted to her daughter eventually–and only after the daughter had figured it out herself–that they were Jewish, included abhorrence of pork, called carne de marrano, home slaughtering of chicken, much akin to kosher slaughter, and identical to the way recorded in the Mexican Inquisition processos (Liebman JNS), removal of blood from meat, avoidance of game and scavenger fish, separation of milk and meat including waiting between meat and milk, throwing out an egg with a blood spot in it, avoiding contact with the dead, washing hands before and after food, sweeping the floor away from the door and much more. Regarding this sweeping away from the door, I have a personal story to relate. A little over a year ago I was in Jerusalem with my friend Magda-Aliza, a religious Jew of the anusim of Northern Mexico, to raise awareness for the anusim of the new world there. On Friday she was helping me prepare for Shabbat, and was sweeping the living room floor. I must have looked, though I don’t remember, and she said “don’t mind my sweeping to the middle; it is just the way we do things.” To myself I thought this might have been a way to prevent the “others” from seeing when the house was being cleaned since, again, cleaning on Friday is grounds for trouble with the church. A few days later I found Simcha Asaf’s book in which he quoted the 17th century book Mishnat Hahamim, telling about the sweeping of the floor away from the Mezuza, and how even then, 200 years after the expulsion, the Portuguese Inquisitors harass the anusim there with this charge. This has been confirmed from the Portuguese Inquisition records by *(Edward Glazer, Invitation to Intolerance, HUCA, 1956, 353-4 also quoted in Yerushalmi’s book From Spanish Court….) When I returned to the US, I asked all my anusim friends and discovered to my astonishment that all but one, who instead swept the dirt out the back door, remember this very matrilineal custom which they generally thought no more of than I did, say, of the way my mother taught me to tuck the sheets in. I will give here a partial list of indicators of possible Jewish ancestry Having Jewish family names: Duran, Lopez, Amado, Rael, (from Israel) etc. Inquisition records are a good though incomplete guide, and one must bear in mind that converts took on the names of their “sponsors.” Thus for example Peralta was the name of one of the most vicious Inquisitors in Mexico, as well as the name of Jews it had tormented. Coming from predominantly anusim villages in Nuevo Reino de Leon, and its satellites Santa Fe, San Elizario, etc. Married only los muestros. or Familial tension over having married an outsider. Speaking Ladino, or the older Castilian dialect. (People in NM sent children to Mexico to learn proper Spanish.) Secret synagogues; secret prayer groups secret prayer rooms in homes of elder relatives. Sayings like: “Y’H'W’H’ (Tetragrammaton) es mi dio” – is my God “El Sabado see el dia la gloria”, referring to Saturday Avoiding church; implicit contempt for church Family frequenting Churches without icons. A family sense of having been betrayed by Spain. Lighting candles on Friday night. Cleaning house and wearing clean clothes for Shabbat. Not allowed to do anything Friday night (not even wash hair). Observing El Dia Grande (Yom Kippur). Celebrating a non-Christian spring holiday reminiscent of Passover. Venerating Jewish saints, with celebrations: Santa Esterika, Santo Moises, etc. Lighting eight candles for Christmas. Circumcision or consecration of babies on eighth day (avoiding circumcision because that would bind child to the laws of Moses. Probable source: Paul Gal.). Biblical first names, like Esther Jaccobo, Israel, Adonai. Women in family who taught the Bible and ruled on questions. Marriages under “huppah”, enramada. Rending of garments as a sign of mourning; burial shroud– zkxikim burial within one day; covering mirrors; spigots in cemeteries. Seven days, then one year, of mourning. Tombstones bearing Hebrew names and/or Jewish symbols. Possessing prayer shawls and phylacteries, mezuzoth, Old Testament, prayer books, other Jewish objects. Possessing cabalistic knowledge and practices. Prayers with La Presencia=shekhinah, are an indicator. La Dieta Ritual slaughter (special knives, tested on hair or nails); covering blood; Porging, soaking, salting meat. Avoiding pork (called “unclean”, “marrano”) and shellfish. Avoiding blood; throwing out eggs with blood spots. Avoiding red meat in general. Waiting between meat and milk. Bleaching or boiling dishes between meals. Ate only food prepared by mother or maternal grandmother. Drinking kosher (clean) wine, either home made, or, recently Mogen David, etc. As I have already mentioned, a common reaction to biblical practises among people presumed to be Christian is that it proves nothing more than the fact that those who followed them read the Hebrew Bible and could just as easily belong to any of the fundamentalist Christian groups around. Although this argument does follow some reason, it does not take into account the fact that many anusim resorted to joining non Catholic denominations in order to get their hands on this book–which was not available to the Catholic laity, and in order to be somewhat less scrutinized by the Church. Although not immediate proof of Judaism, biblical observances are significant, since they were proof of Judaizing for the Tribunal, thus exposing those observing them to danger; they should therefore immediately call our attention. The discovery of Rabbinic observances–laws not present in the bible–among anusim though, is a whole different story. It is a very strong argument for a surviving Jewish Heritage, since certainly, such observances indicate both Jewish commitment and a historic link to the ancestral faith. In addition to lighting candles on Friday night, ritual slaughter and various degrees of dietary observances that could not be deduced from the Bible, such as total separation between meat and milk (the biblical source is an injunction against cooking a kid goat in its mother’s milk), some truly rare rabbinic customs are preserved among anusim which further confirm their connection with the Jewish teachings as opposed to re- attachment through Christian Biblical sectarianism. Among anusim living in Mexico and in former Mexican provinces now part of the U.S., I have found surprisingly widespread observance of obscure rabbinic practices, including: fasting on Mondays and Thursdays as penance (of medieval origin); orienting beds north-south (Talmudic); and the above mentioned sweeping towards the center of the room (medieval Sephardic). Fasting and sweeping are recorded in Inquisitional records, but I have found no reference to the arrangement of beds. These customs could not have been derived from a reading of the Bible and are not shared by non-Jews. Consequently, they bear strong evidence of Jewish origin. Although documented in rabbinic literature, these customs are so rarely known today, that few normative Jews living where anusim preserve them would know about them, let alone teach them to those anusim. They also lie in the private domain of women, the main preservers of Jewish traditions among anusim. While rushing to conclusions without sufficient research and investigation is unwise, so is turning a deaf ear to an emerging reality unwise and irresponsible. Scholarship has gone back and forth on the issue of how sincere the forced converts were. Some argue that these anusim were sincere and the church persecuted them as a class, on unjust religious pretext. Though examples of the corruption of individual inquisitors and this establishment as a whole abound, nothing contradicts the conclusion that the forced converts were sincere, more than the emergence in growing numbers, of anusim who, after five, maybe six hundred years of secrecy are making themselves known. Furthermore, I challenge on its face any argument that coercion, even economic coercion, is likely to breed sincere devotion. I challenge the notion that a corrupt church rejecting and persecuting its forced newcomers can foster in them love and genuine faith. The widespread presence of anusim still holding on to their Jewish identity or vestiges of Jewish practises that could until recently lead them to the stake and still can place them under stigma and isolation, flies in the face of the Church, and those who, based on their reading of old, biased documents assumed they are gone, and were hardly ever there. The church has responded in various ways, and unfortunately none would indicate much ethical or moral improvement. Where possible, it had suppressed those coming forward and intervened against Israeli or rabbinic involvement. Everywhere it had increased missionary activity among anusim. I can only compare this to seducing one’s rape-victim. This is not the way to heal. It is no accident that the Hebrew term for victims of religious coercion and sexual coercion is the same. The anusim, whether they choose to be Christians, Jews or secularists deserve nothing but support and respect. Why are most anusim still afraid to come out of the shadows today? The answers are many. At the extreme, there are still today murders related to anusim, especially in Mexico, but also in this country. Anusim who made their return to Judaism public have been subjected to hate-mail, harassment by Christian missionaries (particularly Jews for Jesus and Mormons), and mistrust on the Jewish side. These people must not only come to grips with the flames that have consumed their ancestors, but with the new dangers (the Holocaust, Israel under siege, synagogue burnings, cemetery desecrations) they do not suppress or distance themselves from as most of the rest of us do. Having lived closely with Catholics, they know how Jews are thought of among the Gentiles. The Jewish community has not yet learned to stretch out its arms to embrace them, and is not entirely free of prejudice against them, both religious and racial. The emerging anusim are slow and careful; they typically search for many years and wait until they are fairly certain before they approach an acquaintance or rabbi. They know they may be jeopardizing their relationships with their family, friends, co-workers, as well as their jobs, and they justly fear the lack of welcome on the part of the Jewish communities they may seek to join. No gain of material or social nature can even be imagined for these people; It is not cool to be both Latino and Jew, it is double jeopardy, double marginality. To the Jewish community they remain Latinos while to the Latino community they become Judios. They come humble, often bearing a great burden of guilt and shame for the sins of their ancestors. I will quote from the words of two: Bertha, who passed away under tragic circumstances nearly half a years ago, said at a meeting of the Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies. speaking of her ancestors first in the first person: “I need to say that you have the right to hate us; you have the right to feel anger towards us–because we chose the easy way out… [They] chose the easy way out. They might have preserved some things that they could not do away with, but (she said,) I think that they preferred survival, and I do believe they compromised. And I apologize for it. I feel hurt when I think Jews died in the concentration camps, and we did not take notice of it, that we as a people could not have taken notice.” And Magda said: “Please remember that we have a lot of pain inside us which we have to deal with. It’s wonderful to have talks about history and all these things here, but remember, this one soul still feels the pain, the burden of apostasy of our ancestors over a six- hundred year period.” Rejection from Jews–after all they have been through–is more than they can or should have to take. Trust is not a given automatically among the anusim. Too many dangers and betrayals conditioned these people’s secrecy, too much ignorance and insensitivity on our part have justified the seemingly no longer needed fear. I know of people who only identified themselves to fellow Jews after twenty years of acquaintance, and as they were leaving the country. I have acquaintances who never did tell me explicitly that they were Jews, but treated me as family once I expressed my awareness of their existence and my sense of comradery; I was given the message as to who they were in the subliminal language they use among themselves — that too is a manner of telling a lost sister “you are one of us.” The community of Sephardits in Chicago appears to have been a strong and unified one, with their own clubs and culture, and great pride in their heritage. The Latino Film Festival is taking place right here these very days. Two years ago, the movie Novia Que Te Vea, on the topic of Jews in Mexico City, was voted the most popular local Latino film and was replayed last year amid great pomp and festivity. Should this mean something to us? The future might tell. Meanwhile, when interacting with a person identified with the Latino community in Chicago, or anywhere, never presume anything. Some may be heirs to one of the most viciously anti- semitic Christian Kingdoms; others might be survivors of five or six centuries of its persecutions and betrayals. Only an open mind and open heart will ultimately lead you to the answer. Anusim come from all walks of life, and have made their mark in modern politics as well. It is a little known fact, for example, that the maneuvers of one delegate to the United Nations from a South american country made possible the vote for the establishment of the state of Israel. Only later did he reveal his Jewish Lineage to Israeli officials. So, if you happen to be a Jewish teacher in a school with a large Latino presence, and you are told that the Lopez family is Jewish, why not invite them for a Shabbat meal? If a child care provider tells her Jewish employer that her mother lights candles on Friday, she is likely seeking to reconnect; if you are her contact, speak to her, see how you can help. If a priest, or a professional colleague, tells you he is a Jew, don’t be shocked; offer your sympathy and help. If such a person reveals to any of us that she or he is Jewish, let us not be their last inquisitors; after over half a millennium of being suspect Christians, over half a millennium of struggle to maintain their Jewish identity, in danger and at sacrifice none of us can comprehend, succeeding against all odds — let them not be treated as suspect Jews. They have had enough, are tired of having to prove themselves yet again. Who are we to subject them to their last inquisition? My family–the few who survived the 1391 massacres in Seville– left Spain in 1492, arriving in Israel a few decades later. For me, connecting with the anusim, their consciousness and spirituality, has been a profound experience. There but for one ancestor’s decision go they, or I. I have gained depth and strength from our shared experiences, and have added another dimension to my ancestral memories. I learn from them about the person I might have been, and I hope I can offer them the very same.
Sephardi Liturgy:
Sephardi liturgy and its body of music are not always easy to define. Even the concept of what is Sephardi liturgy is often hazy as the terms Sephardi and Mizrachi (FarEastern) are often interchangeable. One common definition has Sephardi liturgy as being that directly descended from Spain only, though many Sephardim, define themselves as such without any conclusive proof of Spanish origin. The researcher Alexander Knapp states that of all the types of music in existence,from that of worship to semi worship, art and entertainment; that it is worship orliturgical music that is best able to survive the ravages of existing in a culturally diverse world.
This is supported by some basic similarities between all the great traditions of Jewish Liturgical expression, Sephardi, Ashkenazi and Mizrachi / “ oriental” as it has been sometimes classified. All liturgical music is a basic descendent of the Temple chant as performed by the Levites, especially the singing of the books of the Bible, for which we can give the term cantillation, a term that is attributed to Ezra in the 5th Century BCE. (Knapp 1989: 1).
Sephardi services date back to the same root as Ashkenazi services, Rabbinic Judaism and the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. After the destruction the rich and successful Babylonian community became paramount and its influence spread over the ensuing centuries. Babylonians provided financial funding for Jewish expansion, and a proselytising religion was paramount for much of the next 3 centuries. Sephardi liturgy and culture was undoubtedly influenced by the great revolution of Jewish worship that took place during this time. The concept of a central religious institution ended conclusively, and the role of sacrifice as communal worship also ended. The role of music also changed dramatically, and instrumental music was banned for all occasions save weddings. (Isaacs 1997: 65-6).
Further the Tribal affiliations that had governed worship were also broken down, and singing could be led by non –Levites for the first time. Though versions of synagogues had been in existence for hundreds of years before the Temple’sdestruction they quickly took precedence and new worship rituals were devised, not just from the Psalms and Torah, but also from contemporary writings and commentaries. It is unclear how long this took, and it is mysteriously paralleled by the demise of instrumental music as part of the worship ritual in Israel and the Diaspora. The role of the shaliach tzibbur (one who is sent by the congregation), the precursor to the cantor also expanded to bringing out the Torah scrolls for reading, and to sound the ritual trumpet (shofar). (Isaacs 1997: 87).In both Sephardi and Ashkenazi services the only instrument to survive the ancient world was the Shofar or Keren (Ram’s horn). Sephardi shofars are often larger than those of Ashkenazi’s, and players do not use the mouthpieces that are sometimes found on Ashkenazi instruments. (Saul 2000: 1).
Origins
The origins of Jews in Spain are not entirely known, but it is possible that Jews reached the Iberian Peninsula in Biblical times. Possibly the most romantic legend of Sephardi heritage states that some of Jerusalem’s early aristocratic families were deported by the Babylonians in 586 BCE and then again by the Roman conqueror Titus in 70CE. After this ordeal they were said to settle on the Spanish shore. (Gerber1992: 2).
Josephus wrote regarding the Jews of the time, drawing on the Greek Strabo who pointed out that “Jews had made there way into all parts of the habitable world”, (Antiquities, XIV, 115). He stated that Jews had travelled frequently with Phoenician and Syrian traders, and took up residence in their colonies. Moreover Rome accorded Jews a special status even after the destruction of the 2nd Temple. Judaism was a legal religion (religio licita), and Jews throughout the empire were able to maintain contact with the community of the Holy Land and Babylon. (Gerber 1992: 5).
Liturgy was most likely defined through dialogue between Sephardi communities and leaders in Babylon and Palestine. There is no archaeological evidence showingsacrifice in Sephardi worship though it is possible. Jews thrived in Spain and theliturgy was left to develop in a state of free worship until the 5th Century. Sephardileaders should have been aware of the basic history of the service from the Talmud’s Tracate Tamid 7:3-4, which described many of the actions of the Priests and parts of the ancient service.“They pronounced benedictions, and recited the “Hearken Israel”, The TenCommandments, and two passages from the Pentateuch – Deut 11:13-21 and Numbers 15:37-41. Lastly the High Priest, solemnly received by the Priests, came in to give the blessing and to burn the offerings.” (Sachs 1943: 61).
The conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity left Sephardi Jews in an increasingly isolated existence where many of their basic rights were threatened. They had only a limited interaction with other communities until the rule of the IslamicUmayyad Caliphate, which officially started in 756. It was under Islamic rule that great dialogues between Sephardic, Arabic Jewish and Islamic communities became a way of life. It is this legacy that is still paramount today. There is little evidence to prove either way as to whether Christianity influenced Sephardi liturgical music, though researchers such as Abraham Idelsohn were sure that that early Jewish chant bore a strong resemblance to that of the Gregorian modes.
One of the great liturgical innovations that had a strong Sephardi input was thewriting and recitation of the Piyyut. These are prayers that are not from Biblical or Talmudic sources that have been inserted into the common calendar of services still inuse today.Piyyut means poetry in Greek and the form is ornate, borrowing on the conventions of the Talmud. The aim of these prayers was to reinforce and support those prayers already in existence, and to add weight to a communal beseeching that God put an end to the suffering of the Children of Israel. They started in Israel in the 6th Century and one of the main early writers was Solomon Ibn Gabriol of what is now Spain.
Other Piyyut writers of the time are from Israel, Germany, Italy and North Africa,which points to some kind of loose pan -Jewish mode of organization anddissemination of information. (Isaacs 1997: 69,70).The declamation of the Piyyutim, which included famous works such as Adon Olam,Yigdal, and Ma ‘Oz Tsur has inspired a search for appropriate tunes, and it is in these texts that we often see offer greatest divergence of tunes. It was the shaliach tzibbur, in the more modern guise of a chazzan (cantor), who was responsible for this. By medieval times some chazzanut were paid a wage and even exempted from the tax obligations of the community. (Isaacs 1997: 89).The liturgical practices of so called Sephardi and Babylonian / Baghdadian communities (the two terms are often interchangeable), bear a great resemblance.
The basic structures of services are the same, though declamation, tune structure and pronunciation can differ. We do know that Sephardi liturgical tradition has been more stable than secular tradition, which was constantly involved in hybridisation with other cultural forms of expression, particularly the Arabic poetic prose forms of writing and song construction. The Sephardi singing that we hear today still retains some Arabic influences, which can be comparatively notated to Baghdadian émigré traditions. Both liturgical traditions share some melodies and melodic structures that have survived in oral tradition. (N. Cunio, Jacobs 2000: 1).
It is a pity that little record exists of Sephardi liturgical music. Perhaps the bestknown surviving examples are fragments that were found at Cairo’s Genizah, a storeroom in the synagogue of Old Cairo. The texts, which are all Hebrew, have tunes with surprising similarities to Church chant. (Isaacs 1997: 65).
Sephardi style and syntax has evolved over the centuries, and some differences toBabylonian chant can be readily observed. Melody is important in Sephardicantillation whereas it is subservient to the text in Babylonian chant. The use ofmicrotones (particularly a sliding quarter tone in ascent or descent), is common inSephardi chants that have survived in Arabic lands, though in European countries temperament (the spacing between notes) has evolved to a relatively equally spaced tonal system. While some Sephardi tunes can be very similar to those of the Babylonian Jews it is usually in the older passages such as the recitation of the Torah.
The underlying music syntax and spacing between notes can still sometimes show an observable difference. A Sephardi Hacham of a hundred years ago would have been able to travel and recognise similarities between the tunes of many countries, and one of the fathers of modern musicology, Abraham Idelsohn undertook such fieldwork.
The expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 was a watershed for Sephardi music as well as for the culture of the whole region. Popular law says that most Sephardis would have refused to return even if there was an offer or repatriation. Instead those who remained either converted to Christianity or converted and practiced their religion and cantillation in secret. Sephardi chant and liturgy spread to much of Europe where it still survives, including Holland, Greece, the former Yugoslavia, Britainand France. Sephardi émigré communities travelled greatly, often becoming intertwined with the communities of the Ottoman Empire. Places such as Alexandria and Baghdad were Jewish hotspots where traditions mingled and co-joined. Sephardi liturgy also became intertwined with that of later Baghdadian émigré communities from the 18th Century onwards. These communities thrived in China, Burma, India and much of South East Asia until the mid 20th Century.
Sephardi and Ashkenazi tradition
The majority of these liturgies are similar. All services have the same names and are started and finished at the same points of the lunar calendar. The words of the prayers are basically the same though some Sephardi traditions have worshipped in Baghdadian émigré environments where a parallel Aramaic text is written next to the Hebrew for cantillation. Sephardi scholars were certainly aware of this and kept Aramaic as a living language. Some Sephardi services, particularly those in the home have been sung in Aramaic for generations.
Broadly speaking Sephardi worship is part of the Rabbinic tradition, though the title of Rabbi is less used to denote the leader of a Sephardi community. Since the 16th Century more Rabbis have existed in Sephardi culture, particularly in communities such as North Africa, where dialogue with Jerusalem led the Maghrebi community to institute semikhah (rabbinic ordination). (Gerber, 1992, p. 274).
Sephardi communities without Rabbis still debate and read portions ascribed to the Rabbis.This includes the Pesach Seder service, where commentaries by famous Rabbis form a centrepiece of the so-called Sarajevo Haggadah, one of the prized artefacts of Sephardi history. Tradition and the mingling of culture set the finer points and interpretations of liturgy, and the travelling nature of Sephardi expression makes a completely unified expression impossible. It is remarkable how similar Sephardi services can sound from places such as North Africa, Yemen, Syria and Yugoslavia, yet each has its own distinct flavour.There are some major differences between Sephardi and Ashkenazi liturgy.In most Sephardi communities the chazzan has a smaller role, or a multiplicity ofroles. Generally more chazzans have existed in European Sephardi communities, and the concept of what a chazzan does is different in Eastern countries. In the Eastern countries a Hacham (Holy Man), is commonly sought by the congregation. The Hacham often has three roles: One is to read the Torah, and other parts of the service, in short to be the shaliach tzibbur. Another is to be the Mohel, taking responsibility for the ritual slaughter of animals for the community. A third role is that of the Millah, performing circumcision for the community.The idea of a professional Chazzan / Cantor; a position funded by the community was and still is less prominent than in Ashkenazi culture. Sephardi singing is far morecommunal and the role of a tune leader bears similarity to the shaliach tzibbur of antiquity.
There are a number of additional prayers in Sephardi liturgy. One example is in the High Holydays. Erev Rosh Ha Shana has a service sung in the home that has many differences. This Sephardi service is significantly longer that that of the Ashkenazi, and includes broad prayers which are repeated many times. This includes the wellknown tune Va ama tem Kol L’chai (a ritual of singing for peace) that is repeated ten times. Some of the blessings are also different. Some Sephardis, like the Babylonians, bless Halech (a succulent date spread) instead of apples, though this is still a predominantly Baghdadian custom. In the Rosh Ha Shana service a number of texts are sung that do exist that do not exist in Ashkenazi liturgy. These include Eth Shareth Ratzon, and a number of verses, which accompany the blowing of the Shofar.In the Yom Kippur Neilah service a well-known piece is sung that is unique to Sephardi and Babylonian Jewry. The plaintive prayer El Norah Alilah beseeches God to open the gates of heaven. It is sung at sunset, at the termination of the fast whilst the congregants breathe the aroma of sprigs of myrtle handed out by the children. This custom has an element of Biblical transformation, and relates to the land of Israel and the tropical climates that have historically hosted Sephardi communities.
Musical language and custom
Like most traditional music of the world, Sephardic chant and liturgy is oral. Thedifficulty in analysing oral history is that it is almost impossible to pinpoint how and when a change in form or style occurred. It is important to be aware of the dominant nature of text when considering Sephardi liturgy. Texts have changed relatively little compared to tunes, which have often been given a local flavour or colour. Sephardi communities probably took tunes from popular culture and set their more contemporary synagogue texts to them.
Researchers like Dr Edwim Seroussi are confident that some melodies have greatantiquity. Comparative notation or tune comparison can reinforce the case. The High Holyday melodies are remarkably similar across Sephardi communities today, and were also similar to their present forms when first notated in the 19th Century.There are written sources describing the adaptation of secular melodies from a number of cultures for the recitation of sacred texts. This has occurred in Spain, many Arabic countries and the Far East, and was prevalent well into the 20th Century. Scales and modes from these cultures have also been adapted including Turkish and Arabic maqams (music modes), which readers and cantors have certainly used since the 16rth Century. This also includes Arabic Andalusian modes from Morrocco, the Turkish makam and maqams from Syria to Egypt. (Seroussi 2003: 1-2).
Sephardi music has had less access to musical notation than its Ashkenazicounterpart. As such it has been relatively shielded from contact with the Westerncomposition styles and harmonies that have transformed Ashkenazi tune and melisma in the last 300 years. The concepts of a key based system and harmonic invention (a second, third, or even fourth line composed around the melody line) are relatively recent, though there have been some standout exceptions to this rule. This includes the Liturgical music of Salamone di Rossi, the great Venetian Jewish composer who wrote many works for the synagogue in the broad baroque styles, which his compatriot Claudio Montiverdi proudly described as “new music” in the early 1600’s.Rossi, a Sephardi, is also the first Jewish choral composer whose work is extant. He wrote for four, six and even eight part ensembles in a style that is a fresh today as at its first showings. The use of his name as a composer was also an exception to the rule of anonymity that has dominated Sephardi liturgical music.Choral music does exist in the Spanish Portuguese tradition though generally it has been arranged during the last few centuries in Western Europe, most notably Holland and England. Harmony can be quite idiomatic in these pieces. There is a greater propensity for pedal point harmony (the use of one sustained note in the choir, from which other harmony is derived), and also similar motion within any secondary vocal lines. Similar motion is defined as independent parts moving in parallel. In western art music similar motion is only used for a certain period (rarely more than a phrase), after which contrary motion (parts moving in opposite directions – an indicator of Western counterpoint), is substituted. The use of the octave in secondary vocal parts is common in these harmonisations or arrangements.
Sephardi tunes are rarely over an octave in scope. If they are it is usually a maximumof a 10th, though many fall well within the octave, sometimes having as few as four notes. Sephardi tunes lie somewhere between the austerity of Baghdadian Gimell (a non-musical recitation centred on one note that much of the service is conducted in. Gimell also allows rapid reading and accenting of phrases), and the towering melodies of Western cantorial expression. (N. Cunio 2004: 1).
Most tunes are communal and are sung by a leader and the congregation. There are a number of common sub forms of this: The following order does not reflect an order of importance on the forms. The code is used to reduce these forms into a simple code.A = text 1 reader,a = text 1 congregationB = text 2 readerb = text 2 congregation etcWithin the letter names the numbers 1,2,3 and 4 represent lines of a four linestanza. The first is where text sung by the reader and repeated by the congregation, orpart of the congregation. The High Holyday blessings of the Cohannim(Cohens) are an example of this. Aa Bb Cc etc. A second is a two part form where the A section is sung by the reader, withthe B section by the congregation. An example of this is the PesachThanksgiving Tune Hodu L’adonay Ki Tov, where the community sings therefrain Ki L’olam Has’do after each line of the reader. This tune has a range ofonly four notes and has a wonderful simplicity and trance like quality. Ab CbDb Eb etc. A third is when the congregation repeats the final line of a four or five linestanza, and this cyclic repetition is used for a larger body of text. The Rosh HaShana tune Adonay B’chol Shofar is an example of this form.ABCDEa FGHIJa etc. A fourth form is when a metrical four-line stanza is sung by the reader, thenrepeated by the congregation. A continuation of the original text is then sungby the reader after which the initial stanza is repeated by the congregation.This continues until the text is finished. The Yom Kippur tune El RahumSh’mah is an example of this. A1A2A3A4, a1a2a3a4, B1B2B3B4,a1a2a3a4, etc. A fifth is when reader and congregation repeat a phrase multiple timestogether. Many of the Erev Pesach and Rosh Ha Shana home blessings aresung this way.A and a together, B and b together, etc.Tunes are learnt by an oral method of constant reinforcement. Visual aids such asneumes do not exist, though individual Sephardis would have encountered suchdevices and the growing science of notation in Spanish Christian courts and City States of the 11th and 12th Centuries. In Sephardi culture a voice is no passport to a career in liturgical singing. Readers must observe Shomrei Shabbat (observing the disciplines of Sabbath observance) and be a vital part of their community.
Sephardi communities have rarely imported readers, though many congregations have imported Hachamim who have also read the liturgy.Women are not heard in Sephardi liturgy. The reform movement, which gave women the right to participate fully in an Ashkenazi service, has still not penetratedmainstream Sephardi culture. Many Sephardis now worship in reform synagogues and consequently many synagogues have made an effort to incorporate some Sephardi customs and tunes. The Renewal movement in America is one example.The role of women in non – liturgical Sephardi music is extremely strong; heavilyinfluenced by the culture of Arabic love song and poetry that Sephardi communitieswere exposed to during the reign of the Umayyad Caliphate in Spain and it subsequent disillusionment into Taifa (City States). This huge body of songs ranges across the whole Sephardi diaspora, and while it is impossible to conclusively prove its medieval origins, it is a diverse and vibrant scheme of romances, romaceros and other popular styles from medieval times to the 19th Century.
Until very recently the concept of a composer of liturgical Sephardi music did notexist. Music was inherited and anonymous. Sephardi musicians were certainly exposed to the beginnings of medieval troubadour and trouvere song in Europe, and were also living in the Castilian court of Alfonso X who oversaw a great codification of medieval Spanish music. It was in poetry and secular expression that this passion for creativity was turned, and poets such as Yehuda Halevi took the Hebrew language of worship and turned it into a living language for the first time in Centuries. Hebrew became a great vibrant language, capable of a full range of thought and expression, as subtle and provocative as Arabic, and the services remained a foundation from which innovation was sought. Halevi himself died in a venture to return to the Holy Land in his later life. To Halevy the liturgy and what it represented was sanctity.
The underlying meaning and spiritual objectives of Sephardi and Ashkenazi liturgies are extremely similar. The daily prayer book for both is almost identical, though sometimes the translations are different, and many older Sephardi prayer books offer no English translation. Broadly speaking both share an affirmation of faith through observance and prayer, supplication to the will of the All Mighty, and the absolution of sins and evil deeds committed against the natural order symbolised by God, the Angels, and the human world.
In the recent history before the founding of the State of Israel few Sephardis have learnt the Hebrew language in an academic sense. Sephardi tradition has historically been the very opposite. In Al Andalus (Spain), Baghdad, Alexandria, and the Ottoman Empire Sephardi learning was well structured in languages, science, medicine and politics. In these places Sephardim could complete a classical education, speaking Arabic, Hebrew, Latin and even Aramaic, as well as a number of vernacular languages, that included Judeao Espanole (Ladino), and Castilian. In the glory days of Al-Andalus Sephardi scholars worked on huge translation projects across the Islamic world that translated classical works such as Plato and Aristotle to European languages such as Latin. The great early Islamic Caliphates; the Abbasids of Baghdad and the Umayyads of Cordoba had translated these from Arabic. Much of the “golden” period of Sephardi Kabbalistic writing stems from this contact, both to classical written mysticism, oral wisdom of the far East, and dialogue with the Islamic sufi (mystic) tradition. (Menocal 2002: 89).
Pronunciation and syntax
Sephardi readers do not add much melisma to the text. There is little room forimprovisation, and a cult of personality does not exist around a reader. It is rare for a reader to be a trained singer, though many readers pride themselves on their knowledge of tunes and their ability to recite them in the manner in which they were taught. Rhythm is important in Sephardi singing. Most pieces have a rhythmic syntax, usually an 8 beat cycle that is repeated for the duration of the text. The reader must learn how to articulate the words within the cycle, in order to preserve the movement and delicacy of the words. As with all Jewish cantillation the legibility of the phrases is extremely important as the sacred and transformative message is contained in the text.
There are several idiomatic pronunciation characteristics that exist across all Sephardi communities, and a number of important words and phrases are completely different to Ashkenazi liturgy. There are hundreds of instances where pronunciation and emphasis is different; the following is only a guide to the basic principles with a few examples. The bolding and underlining of changeable vowels illuminate major points of difference.
In the Friday night home Kiddush service, and indeed all other Kiddush blessings, the end of the prayer is declaimed as B’rai P’ri Hagephen not Hagaphen. The use of the word Kosher is derived from Kasher – the original Hebrew word still pronounced as such by Eastern Sephardi communities.Most Sephardis pronounce the vowels of Hebrew in an unadulterated manner. Many Ashkenazi communities have followed a broad pronunciation system that issomewhat confusingly called Ashkenaz. This involves mutating the sounding of some vowels and consonants so that they appear to be totally different, while not affecting the written word at all. Ashkenaz is a mystical as well as an aural concept. A notable example of this is the word Baruch (Bless), one of the most used words in the whole liturgy. Sephardis say it with an open ah (similar to the ah of Spanish, Portuguese and Ivrit), while Ashkenaz pronounces it as Boiruch, a concept that can be likened to the European concepts of adding acutes, graves, umlauts or other pronunciation devices to change the declamation of a vowel.
Another example of this difference is in the pronunciation of the consonant tet (t). The pronunciation of Ashkenaz often substitutes a sin (s) for this. The phrase Yit Gadal V’ Yit Gadash sounds as it is written when spoken by Sephardis, whereas in Ashkenaz it will sound as Yiss Gadal V’ Yiss Gadash. When the state of Israel was established in 1948 a decision had to be made as to which pronunciation would be used. This decision had important ramifications in many fields including education, conversation and worship. The government chose the Spanish Portuguese pronunciation.
Some Sephardi pronunciations provide interesting features of their own. In countries influenced by the Babylonian tradition, Sephardis will sound the consonant W at the beginning of a number of vowels. This is not done all the time and is a matter of individual custom. An example of this is in the Yom Kippur tune El Norah Alilah.
One phrase from it is written Ke Ke dem ut hillah but pronounced Ke Ke dem Wut hillah, with an emphasis on the W, which gives the word a more Aramaic sound.
Cultural destruction and pluralism
The path towards pluralism in evaluating and maintaining Sephardi culture has had to overcome both recent and historical setbacks. The removal of western colonialgovernments from many Sephardi enclaves in the 20th Century has hastened the destruction of longstanding cultural and worship traditions within Arabic and Muslim host countries. Many Sephardim were suddenly refugees, forced by circumstance to leave their countries without anything. Contrary to popular opinion many Sephardim also suffered the devastating effects of fascism’s war on the Jews, In Greece and Yugoslavia the Sephardim suffered almost total extinction, Salonika’s 60,000 Jews were sent to Auschwitz in 1943 with few survivors, and the communities of Thrace, Macedonia and the Ionian islands were completely destroyed. Sephardis lost a faith in the West that they had since the British Empire opened up unparalleled opportunities in commerce and administration of the Empire hundreds of years before. (Gerber, 1992, p. 233).
At the end of WW11 there were approximately 1 million Jews who identified asSephardi, living in the Islamic world. It became obvious to local and Zionist leaders that these longstanding proud communities would have to end. Brutal pogroms, changes to the laws governing Jews, and the whole political relationship between Arabs and Jews ended the last vestiges of harmony in the Arab / Jewish world.Between 1948 and 1951 much of the Sephardic world migrated to Israel and to alesser extent some Western democracies, which included a large influx to France.
Sephardi culture in Muslim countries has now ended, and the cross-cultural influences between Islamic Arabic and Sephardi Jewish culture have essentially ended except for those dialogues now taking place within Israel. Israel is the pre-eminent Sephardi enclave, and the return of these prodigal communities to their ancient homeland was accomplished with almost messianic zeal (Gerber, 1992, p. 257, 273).
Many Sephardis and their worship rituals have been caught between a longing fortheir old identity and a desire to be a part of the greater banner of Jewish life. Until the 1970’s many Sephardis were encouraged to be a part of a fairly monochromatic expression of Jewish culture. Recent trends towards pluralism in both Israel and diaspora communities have significantly increased awareness of Sephardi custom and practice. In Western democracies Sephardi communities are recovering from generations of cultural destruction. New cultural institutions and groups are being formed, which previously could only be supplied by Ashkenazis.
Sephardi festivals are now more accepted in Israel, cultural diversity is now taught in the education system and detailed courses on the Sephardim are available in the universities. For their part communities have galvanised and formed associations designed to keep their cultural practices alive. The ramifications for this on the diaspora are huge, as Sephardis can now study their culture and worship traditions in Israel.
Western academia has also taken steps to ensure the survival and cataloguing ofSephardi culture. Musicologists and anthropologists have travelled to see the last generation of remnant communities not living in Israel. Stories, customs and pictures are providing a greater sense of worship and liturgy. In Australia Sephardis are also benefiting from an upsurge of interest in their culture. Though this interest is centred on the secular tradition of Ladino music it provides a springboard of self-affirmation and cultural preservation. In Sydney three formal Sephardi communities meet regularly, and for the first time in Australia’s history Sephardi boys are taught their Bar Mitzvah according to their own customs and tunes.
While it is far too early to see what the future of Sephardi liturgy will be it has entered the 21st Century in the form of a phoenix, rising from the ashes of wholesale destruction to proudly declare its myriad selves, as it has time and time before. It is much more than an exotic accompaniment to mainstream Jewish expression, it is a mirror of another age, still cloudy but reflecting in its own lustrous luminosities the heritage of a world almost past.
References:
Gerber, Jane The Jews of SpainA History of the Sephardic experience,New York, Free Press, 1992Hacham Eliyahu Ben Yitzhak Three collected books of prayers,Shanghai, Unpublished, 1900.Heskes, Irene Passport to Jewish Music,USA, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1994.Idelsohn, Abraham Jewish Music in its Historical Development,New York, Schoken Books, 1967.Isaacs, Ronald Jewish Music, Its History People And Song,Jerusalem, Jason Oronson, 1997.Josephus The Jewish War, Antiquities,London, Penguin Books, 1981.Knapp. Alexander Cantorial Song,The Blackwell Companion to Jewish CultureUnited Kingdom, Oxford Press, 1989.Leon Ben Hacham Eliyahu Haggadah Shel Pesach,Shanghai, Unpublished, 1920.Menocal, Maria Rosa The Ornament of the World,Boston, Little Brown and Company, 2002.Raynour, James A Social History of Music,London, Barrie and Jenkins, 1972.Sachs, Curt The History of Musical Instruments,London, J.M.Dent and Sons Ltd, 1968.Sachs, Curt The Rise of Music in the Ancient World,New York, Norton and Company, 1943.Seroussi, Edwim Sephardic Music, (from kit “Exile 1492”)Israel, Bwn Zvi Institute, 2003.Sendrey, Alfred, 1969. Music in Ancient
Israel,
London, Vision Press, 1966.Sterling Publishing (ed) Musical Instruments of the World,New York,
Sterling Publishing, 1997.Wellesz, Egon (ed.) Ancient and Oriental Music, London, Oxford University Press, 1957.
Oral
Nissim Cunio: Interviews and transcriptions: April-May 2000, May 2001, Feb2004Ellis Jacobs: Interview and transcriptions: April – June 2000.Reuben Saul: Interview and Shofar recording: June 2000.
Who is a Jew
The original followers of the man called Yeshua/Jesus were Jews. They practising & observant Jews..shomer mitzvot Jews. To the extent that their movement was considered a movement within the pale of the Jewish faith, and they were referred to as “Nazarites” (because of the town where their Rabbi grew up..not too different from how some of the Hassidic movements/sects arrived at their names: i.e Satmar).
The problem came when those who did not understand the basics of the movement and did not value Torah and the mitvot seized control and created hybrid religion which retained the name “Christianity.” This hybrid version, having more paganism and less connection to Torah purposely sought to distinguish itself from the Jews and the Jewish practises/form of worship – actually, it was quite anti-Semitic at heart.
THAT is why such horrors against the Jewish people(among others) where perpetrated so often and readily over the centuries of this new religion.
Those who understood the nature of the teachings of Yeshua/Jesus – that his intention was never to steer people away from Torah, but rather to stress sincere faith and love-based observance of G-d’s principles for right living – Organised/Official “Christianity” (“the Church” – based in Rome, and it’s later offspring) saw them as enemies and heretics. This historical context is important to understand and bear in mind when judging modern day followers of the teachings of Yeshua/Jesus.
There is a tendency today among “Christians” to embrace and respect the Jewish people and Torah more than ever before, and a distancing from the elements of that “hybrid” religion which are contrary to Torah and the rest of Tanakh. Sadly, too much has been ignored or withheld on both sides of the “Messianic Jew” controversy.
I strongly believe that the day will come when both sides will move towards greater understanding and harmony – but not at the expense of Torah and the Mitzvot. However it all plays out, the Prophets are clear on the following: Hashem will draw the Children of Israel back to Himself and Torah, and the hearts of His people will RETURN to Him and His commands and Zion.
There are ethnic, historical, genealogical, and religious approaches to defining who we are. The view of one cannot be imposed on, or necessarily disqualify/invalidate the view of, another. The Halacha position is what it is, and must be accepted as such without contention if Orthodox Judaism is your goal. As to all else, we strive to respect each other, and the “Jewishness” that we believe is a part of our true soul-self (ancestral or otherwise), which we long to learn more of and connect more strongly with.
for more info. http://cryptojews.wik.is
THE BACKGROUND OF CRYPTO JUDAISM
Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith; people who practice crypto-Judaism are referred to as “crypto-Jews”. The term crypto-Jew is also used to describe descendants of Jews who still (generally secretly) maintain some Jewish traditions, often while adhering to other faiths, most commonly Catholicism.
The many Marranos (in the Balearic Islands, Chuetas), who publicly professed Catholicism but privately adhered to Judaism during the Spanish Inquisition, and particularly after the Alhambra decree of 1492, are the most widely known crypto-Jews. Officially they were known as “New Christians,” and there was considerable legislation directed against them in both Spain and Portugal and in their colonies, the chief activity of the Inquisition being directed against them.
The phenomenon of crypto-Judaism, however, dates back to earlier times as Jews forced or pressured to convert by their sovereign hosts secretly kept Jewish rites. The father of Maimonides, for example, is purported to have nominally embraced Islam during the Almohad persecutions of Muslim Spain in 1146.
Some of the Jewish followers of Sabbatai Zevi (known as Donmeh) and later of Jacob Frank (known as “Frankists”) formally converted to Islam and Catholicism respectively, but maintained aspects of their versions of Messianic Judaism.
Conversos – refers to Jews who either chose (or were coerced by the Spanish Government in 1492) to practice Catholicism or be expelled – or face death. They were also called Marrano which when translated from Spanish to English means ’swine’.
Conversos in Majorca are known as Chueta (i.e. pig)*. “Chueta” is based on the word “Jueda” which is “Jew” in Catalan, the dialect in that part of Spain.
* Conversos – * Chuleta=chop (as in lamb chop) - Chueta=pork lard
http://shamash.org/lists/scj-faq/HTML/faq/13-05.html
which discusses the whole matters of Conversos in Spain.
This is my journey and discovery please visit and use info. for yours.
Shalom
James [ya‛ăqôb] Blankenship – Saavedra – Campos – Garcia – Lopez – Apodaca – Madariaga – Vigil – Nemesia – Sedillo
G-D Casting Sephardic Revival
