SPANISH PASSOVER MIRACLE

Maybe you have never heard of the term “Marano” or “converso” or “anusim” but you are probably a product of their experience. In 1492, the Jews of Spain – who first arrived there with the Canaanites i.e., the “Phoenicians” – thousands of years prior to the present inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula, were given a choice: convert to Christianity or leave. It was ironic. Spain and Portugal occupy the Iberian Peninsula. Scholars agree that “Iberia” is a Semitic term meaning “Ivri”. What they don’t tell you is that “Ivri” means “Hebrew”. In other words, Spain and Portugal occupy a peninsula that to this day is called: The Hebrew Peninsula. And, yet, there was no room on it for Hebrews. Half the community left, half had no choice but to convert.

Some of the ones who converted did so with a passion. For example, the patron saint of Spain, Saint Teresa of Avila, is of Jewish extraction on both sides. Most, however, continued to practice Judaism secretly. Their neighbours called them “Maranos” or “pigs”. Scholars call them “conversos” or “converts”. In Hebrew they are called “anusim” i.e., those forcibly converted. The history of the conversos is by definition secret. If one of them was caught practicing Judaism, he would be tried by the Inquisition and burned at the stake. But their desperate struggle to survive has had a tremendous impact on the world. For example, many scholars believe that Columbus is of converso descent. What is certain is that his search for a new land was totally funded by conversos, most notably Luis de Santangel. Many of the sailors that made the hazardous journey with him were conversos trying to get away from the Inquisition. And the first man off the ship when Columbus hit landfall was his translator, Luis de Torres – a Hebrew speaker!

Even more significantly, the conversos invented a secular mentality. Having to pretend that they were Christian by day and risking their lives by being Jewish at night, some developed the idea that religion is not truth but “culture”. This led to the idea that church and state should be separated, religion should become a private affair and the tenets of religion should be subject to scientific inquiry. You may not like all of this but it’s called “secularism” and it found its greatest expression in the philosopher Spinoza who was, as it turns out, from a family of conversos. So to the extent that we live in a secular society and share in a secular mentality, we have the conversos to thank for it.

But now, miraculously, after 500 years of living – to a lesser or greater degree – double lives, some of them are reclaiming their Jewish roots and coming back to Judaism. See the below article. Truly a Passover miracle.

Portuguese island to see first Seder in decades

See my film on the conversos. Click here to purchase EXPULSION AND MEMORY: DESCENDANTS OF THE HIDDEN JEWS

Bnei Anousim Wedding in Belmonte, Spain