Society for Crypto Judaic Studies

CONFERENCE 2008, PHOENIX

By Seth Kunin, Program Chair

from HaLapid, Fall 2008

The eighteenth annual conference of the Society was held in a very hot Phoenix Arizona in August. In spite of the heat outside, the conference, as always, was held in a very convivial spirit bringing together old and new friends. The theme of the conference, diversity in crypto-Jewish identities was established in the first panel, a discussion between Seth Kunin and Stanley Hordes. The discussion centred on the wide-ranging identities found among crypto-Jews in New Mexico and beyond. Perhaps controversially, the discussion suggested that the idea of a single crypto-Jewish identity, and indeed a single Jewish identity was an imposition either by individuals within the community trying to establish normative boundaries, or outsiders, sometimes academics or journalists, setting the parameters of authenticity. The discussion suggested that all crypto-Jewish choices of identity including those who chose to be Jewish or Messianic were authentic choices and worthy of inclusion in conferences of the society.

The theme of alternative identities and choices was picked up in a number of different papers and panels during the remainder of the conference. It was a significant feature of the papers by Lillooet Nordlinger and Andrew Berns. Lllooet's paper on the conversion of the Donme Sabbateans to Islam picked up this issue in relation to a very different historical experience, conversion of a community by choice. This paper explored the relationship of crypto-Judaism to Sabbatean movement. It was particularly relevant to our understanding of the complexity identity in its exploration of the reasons why over three hundred families chose to convert to Islam following the conversion of their messiah, Shabbatai Zvi. The experience of the Donme, the descendents of these conversos in many respects mirrors that of the crypto-Jews of Iberian origin. Andrew Bern's paper examined the life of Amatus Lusitanus (1511-1568). Amatus was a physician of converso origin, who although living most of his life as a practicing Catholic, chose at the end of his life to return to his ancestral Jewish faith. This paper highlighted the complexity of identity on the individual level, and illustrated the possibility of moving through different identity choices – in his case from Catholic to Jew. This fluidity mirrors that of the crypto-Jews that have spoken at many conferences of the society over the last eighteen years – though in some cases they have moved to a Christian identity or a crypto-Jewish Christian identity at the end of their journey.

The complexity of identity and how one might respond to this complexity was picked up in a panel exploring Jewish law and crypto-Judaism. While these papers specifically focused on the response to crypto-Jews who were choosing to return to Judaism, the complexity of the legal opinions reflected the fact that crypto-Jews were choosing to return to Judaism from many different places and experiences – and thus the difficulty in developing a legal response that could deal with this complexity. One of the aspects of the papers on Jewish law that distinguished them from previous panels on this issue was a focus on the Sefardic tradition – a tradition that was often much more sensitive to the crypto-Jewish experience than was the Ashkenazic tradition.

In the usual tradition of our conferences, we welcomed challenging voices. Rabbi Stephen Leon, Sonya Loya, Asher Norman and Uri Yosef presented a panel discussion that responded to the panel of Messianic Jews presented in the seventeenth conference in Albuquerque . These papers highlighted the missionizing aspect of Messianic Jews (and in their view the papers presented in Albuquerque ). They also argued that Messianic Judaism was not a form of Judaism or an appropriate choice for crypto-Jews and had no place in conferences of the Society. This panel presented the alternative view to the opening panel, arguing that there was a normative form of Judaism from which Messianic Judaism had clearly departed. The panel provided an important alternative voice, which allowed us all to consider the issues more deeply.

Genetics and DNA are important aspects of identity that has been an increasingly important aspect of our conferences. In the eighteenth annual conference this theme was developed by two papers, one by Abe Lavender, which focused on the genetic origin of Jewish women from a number of communities, particularly focusing on that of the women of Belmonte. The genetic inheritance of women is particularly significant as it passes in a stable form from mother to daughter and is thus a very important means of tracing origins and connections. Genetics was also the theme of our keynote speaker, Jon Entine. We were particularly privileged to have Jon Entine at this year's conference. He is a well-known, if controversial author. His book Abraham's Children: Race, Identity and the DNA of the Chosen People (published in 2008) has direct relevance to the use of genetic information by crypto-Jews (and sometimes against crypto-Jews). His keynote address was a tour de force providing one of the most clear and comprehensive discussions of the use DNA as a marker for understanding identity and past history. His paper highlighted both the possibilities and pitfalls of using this form of information, while also highlighting the fact that cultural information and genetic information are mutually distinctive categories.

The conference also welcomed Francine Gaillour who spoke, with her son Ben, on the use of conventional expressions or dichos as a method of passing down Sephardic values and Halachic tradition. Francine and Ben explored how New Mexican dichos compared to those of Sephardic Jews from Rhodes – and suggested elements from those sayings that may have reflected different aspects of the Sephardic tradition. This paper was suggestive of important avenues of research and provided a fascinating view into Francine's family's traditions from Northern New Mexico .

We also welcomed back Rabbi Garcia, who is now based in Phoenix Arizona , in a synagogue primarily for individuals of converso origin: Avdey Torah Hayah. Rabbi Garcia spoke to us of his recent experiences in building this synagogue, and its successes in reaching out to individuals exploring the Jewish aspects of their crypto-Jewish past. He also spoke of important work his is doing in reaching out to conversos in Brazil .

As in the past we have explored artistic responses to crypto-Judaism. Cary Herz planned on presenting her new book of photographs to us. Unfortunately, due to her health she was unable to do so, and her book was presented by Mona Hernandez (who also wrote and afterword to that book). This was a very moving presentation, and I highly recommend the book as a very important contribution. Tragically, since the conference Cary has passed on. She was a good friend to the Society and the crypto-Jewish community and will be very sadly missed.

The conference also included two artistic presentations that were sponsored by the Sosin Foundation. These performances were for many the highlight of the entire event. I particularly enjoyed the Judy Frankel Memorial Concert performed by Vanessa Paloma. Vanessa provided a very lively and informative performance of Sephardic music. She sang and shared a wide range of songs both familiar and unfamiliar. The second artistic even was a dramatic reading of the play Parted Waters. This was a fascinating and moving contemporary drama, which explored many of the themes of this year's conference, particularly identity and assimilation in the experience of three generations of a Hispanic family.

In this article I have attempted to give you a feel of the eighteenth annual conference, touching on many (though not all) of the papers and presentations. This can of course only be a taste as much of what is most important goes on in between the papers and in the response to them. I am sure, however, that you will agree that it was a lively and fascinating conference and looks forward to many conferences to come – I hope to see and here from you at those conferences.