Highlights of
Portland Conference
by Max Wolf Valerio
From HaLapid , Fall 2004
Portland's steel bridges and churning river
provided a far-off backdrop to the non-stop stimulation and intensity
of the Fourteenth Annual Conference of SCJS, August 8-10.
Participants traveled from various parts of the United States
and the world, listening attentively to music, lectures and the shared
personal stories of members with crypto-Jewish backgrounds. It is a unique and beautiful city, and
the conference this year felt especially informative and moving.
Portland is also the home of two Sephardic synagogues, including
Avdey Torah Hayah, created principally for crypto Jews.
Rabbi
Yosef Garcia, founder of the congregation, Yvonne Garcia his wife, and the congregation hosted
members of the Society in pre-conference events, at Friday and Saturday
Shabbat services and a luncheon on Saturday.
Abraham Lavender, President of the Society, opened the
conference on Sunday evening, welcoming participants to three days of
presentations and other activities. Stanley Hordes, Vice President/Program, followed, recalling
the beginnings of SCJS at the first conference, held in Ranchos de Taos
New Mexico in 1991. He talked about how
far the Society has come, culminating in a growing membership base and
our imminent nonprofit status. Next,
Conference Chair Gloria Trujillo presented logistical and schedule
information.
Two outstanding members were then recognized
with awards saluting their achievement and service (see above). Dr. Hordes presented founding member Rabbi Joshua Stampfer with the first plaque, which was accepted on
his behalf by Rabbi Garcia. Rabbi
Stampfer, who has served as President and an officer, is the person who
came up with the idea for the Society, and persisted to see his vision
become reality. Rabbi Garcia noted that
Rabbi Stampfer had helped his synagogue to be recognized; and that he
has displayed "tremendous heart and an abiding love for all Jews,” as
well as his particular concern for the descendants of Jews persecuted
by the Spanish Inquisition. Dolores Sloan presented the second award to Randy Baca. Rabbi Albert Plotkin accepted the award on her behalf. Sloan spoke at length about Baca and her
enormous contributions, particularly as VP of membership from 2001-2004. Under Baca’s guidance, Society membership more
than doubled. Her experience in business
and nonprofit organizations has nurtured our organization. Rabbi
Plotkin praised Baca as a "great woman of valor,” recognized for achievements in public service by Arizona
Senator John McCain and the state’s governor. In a letter to the HaLapid editor, Baca expressed her “profound and sincere gratitude
at the singular honor my fellow SCJS members bestowed upon me at the
Portland Conference,” and added ”It was a special honor to be included
with Rabbi Joshua Stampfer and to have my dear friend, Rabbi Albert
Plotkin receive the plaque on my behalf in my absence.”
Introducing Trudi Alexy as keynote speaker Sunday evening, Dr. Hordes
described her as the "closest thing to a conversa in 1492 that he'd ever met."
Her book, The Marrano Legacy, is a detailed, riveting account of her
correspondence with a contemporary crypto Jew. Alexy
recounted her own history as a holocaust survivor, whose journey to
safety from Czechoslovakia to Spain necessitated that her family
convert twice, to Lutheranism and then to Catholicism.
Awakened to the fact of her Jewish heritage years later, Alexy
felt guilty for having survived the Holocaust by fraud.
Later, she would decide to return to Spain and "find out how to
be a Jew from the marranos."
The Marrano Legacy continues her exploration, inspired by a
correspondence with a crypto Jewish priest, "Simon," who identifies as
a contemporary marrano.
The correspondence tracked
in the book was ongoing for four years, and Alexy remains in touch with
him. From the beginning, he revealed
that he was a Catholic priest as well as a member of a secret community
of about 300 people in Latin America who are hidden Jews.
They marry among themselves and have kept their secrecy to this
day. The book chronicles Simon's difficult
attempts to reconcile with normative Judaism that would lead to
numerous returns to his crypto-Judaic priesthood. His
greatest disappointment has been the rejections
endured from the established Jewish community, that have made his
abandonment of secrecy nearly impossible.
Monday morning began with "The Ladino Translations
of Crypto-Jews in Italy," by Ora Schwarzwald, Professor of Linguistics at Bar Ilan
University in Israel, comparing the various linguistic features of converso versus traditional Jewish translation. Her paper has been adapted into an article,
beginning on page 8 of this issue.
Speaking on "Portuguese Sephardim and
the Settlement of Brazil,” Matthew Warshawsky, who teaches Spanish at University of
Portland and Portland State University, illuminated this area of Jewish
history with a colorful talk illustrated with slides.
The attitude of the Portuguese crown was more
pragmatic than the Spanish counterpart; in general, Jews were viewed as
having skills necessary to the maintenance and spread of empire, Dr.
Warshawsky explained. From the beginning,
the conversos in Portugal were not as assimilated. They had been converted forcibly in 1497. Since many were the descendants of Jews
fleeing the edict to convert or leave in Spain, they
had been able to invent methods to encrypt their Jewish practice into
their daily Catholic religious life. The conversos were eventually persecuted by the
Inquisition in 1536.
In 1500, the Portuguese would stumble upon
Brazil, which they named, "The Land of the True Cross." At least two
New Christians were on this accidental journey of discovery, Gaspar de
Gama, a translator who spoke many languages fluently, and Jeste de Jao,
an astrolabe expert who helped to navigate; an astrolabe was an
instrument used to make celestial measurements.
In order to finance their explorations,
fourteen captaincies were established; these were financed and operated
rather like franchises. Just as they were
involved in the initial exploration of Brazil, New Christians were also
involved in the financing of these regions. In
fact, in Brazil, New Christian became synonymous with Portuguese, since
the Portuguese Sephardim were so important in the booming Brazilian
landscape. They would establish the first
sugar mill, and often played important roles in the exporting of this
important commodity; they built important refineries in the Madeira
Islands off Portugal. Also, because of the
expulsion, the conversos had family connections throughout Europe,
including the key cities of Amsterdam and Hamburg.
These factors enabled them to be important movers in the
burgeoning sugar trade. They were also
instrumental in the slave trade. Although
few New Christians were involved, many did play pivotal roles. More slaves were brought to Brazil than to
North America.
Dr. Warshawsky breathed life into the varied
and colorful history of New Christians in Brazil. He
recounted the establishment of the Inquisition in Brazil in 1590, where
the crypto Jew Isaac da Costa was burned alive. Dr.
Warshawsky also recalled the accidental voyage of a small cluster of
Portuguese Sephardim after the Brazilian Netherlands War, to the shores
of New Amsterdam in North America, later known as New York. This small
group of wayfaring Sephardim would go on to establish the first
synagogue in what would become the United States. Portuguese
New Christians would also help to colonize Angola, in fact, many
"heretics," including crypto Jews, were sent to
Angola, Mozambique or India.
In his paper, “The Anusim of Latin
America and the Hmong People of Laos: A
Comparison of Two Secret Communities,” Adam Savran, Professor of Geography, Ubon Ratchathani
University, Thailand, compared and contrasted the methods of the
cultural and religious survival of the anusim with the Hmong people, an
ethnic minority in Laos. The Hmong sided
primarily with the pro-American militias in the secret civil war in
Laos that involved the communist Pathet Lao government, the United
States and Vietnam. Now, under communist
rule, their religion and culture, a mixture of Christianity and
animism, remain persecuted.
In order to practice their religion, the
Hmong have resorted to a creative array of methods similar to those
used by the anusim, using art, architecture, music, and ethnic games. Art, because it is a "world without
boundaries, a world without proof," and a created world that engenders
an atmosphere of "complete safety, without persecution," is often a
method used by both anusim and the Hmong to simultaneously disguise and
practice their religion. Anusim often
transformed Jewish symbols into abstract designs, or painted cathedral
murals with only Old Testament figures. Likewise,
the Hmong communicate through woven textiles, incorporating forbidden
symbols such as the American red, white, and blue with faded colors, or
a hawk representing the American eagle (the Hmong have a reverence
towards the United States since we fought against the communists). Murals depicting Communist leaders or symbols
are often painted in such a way as to suggest, to the initiated,
Christian characters or animist gods. Music
and architecture are also useful subterfuges; crypto Jews will use
cattle calls as prayers in Northeastern Brazil, and the Hmong will use
coded songs with double "pun" meanings. Also,
crypto Jews have used hidden rooms, secret walls and exits as in the
Touro Synagogue; the Hmong have utilized circular settlement patterns
where village planning is itself a prayer. The
village will be constructed in the form of a Christian symbol, such as
a cross or a fish, so that the entire area is meshed with religious
meaning: the village is the church. Ethnic
games have always provided anusim with clever methods to pray or hide
religious intent or messages. Often,
Jewish prayer books were on people's laps as cards were played at the
table. The Hmong have created similar
games, using dice to pray and recall bible verses.
The Hmong and anusim share a heritage of
clever subterfuge and survival against the odds, the Hmong's continuing
persecution by communist authorities in Laos is obscure yet ongoing,
and their religious survival, like the survival of the anusim, is a
testimonial to their tenacity and creativity.
Seth
D. Kunin, Professor of
Anthropology, University of Aberdeen, Scotland and ordained rabbi, next
explored the even larger question of whether or not crypto-Judaism will
continue into the near future or be relegated to history.
In his presentation, “Does Secularization Theory
Throw Light on the Changes and Transformations Within Crypto-Jewish
Culture,” he explored
"secularization theory" or the idea, primarily promulgated by British
theorists, that as the world becomes more rational and "brighter," it
also becomes, as a matter of course, less religious and more secular. That is, the more advanced and scientific a
society is, the less religious it will be. He
observed that in the United States, arguably the most scientifically
advanced nation on earth, religion has taken on an ascendant rather
than diminished role. Obviously, the
rational, in spite of the very real advances of the Enlightenment, is
not always the only crucial element in human life.
Dr. Kunin contrasted this view with Rational
Choice Theory, a set of ideas closely associated with theorists in the
United States and with capitalism. In our
postmodern world, identity has become more involved with choice; we
believe that we can decide on it, or, at least, privilege certain
aspects of ourselves over others. For
example, in the past, crypto-Jewish identity was not necessarily
distinguished from Hispano identity in New Mexico, but was an integral
part of a whole; now, it is often "selected out” in a process that
might have political or other cultural implications.
Like any cultural form, crypto Judaism continues to live on as a
process, and even today is being created anew, as people choose ways to
affirm that identity. The
history of crypto Judaism is still being written today, as we recover,
reflect on, and find new ways to express it. However,
identity is now being "practiced" or lived in ways contrasting with the
past notion of identity as ongoing, essential, and continuous—not
fragmented. In New Mexico, many people are
discovering their crypto-Jewish past and relate to it as an identity
remembered or reconstructed from a landscape of shifting clues, no
longer a living and present reality that they practice.
It’s about remembering what grandma did, and no longer about
what you do yourself now. Dr. Kunin
wondered out loud whether we are witnessing the "last flowering" of
crypto-Judaism. Possibly, most crypto-Jews
will eventually return to normative Judaism; Dr. Kunin doesn't believe
that this possible eventuality is the most desirable since he "enjoys
cultural diversity.” Also, as advances in
DNA technology rapidly increase our access to our genetic heritage,
crypto-Jewish identity moves from memory to biology, as people seek to
"prove" scientifically whether or not their relatively recent ancestors
were, in fact, Sephardim.
The Spanish community was one of the largest
Jewish communities in the world prior to the expulsion.
The effect of the expulsion was therefore cataclysmic, the
largest cataclysm in Jewish history since the destruction of the second
temple. In his paper, “Conversos, Exiles and
Kabbalah,” Rabbi David Kunin detailed
the spiritual movements that exploded after this trauma, including
messianic movements, and an intensive and visionary involvement with
Kabbalistic texts that dealt with the theme of exile.
New spiritual practices were invented by many sages, including
penitential practices: the mortification of the flesh, wandering
through graveyards barefoot in prayer, and various re-enactments of the
exile of the Shekhina from her lover, Tiphareth (part of the ten
Sephiroth of the Kabbalah). Notably, the
Shekhina was sometimes associated with veneration of the Virgin Mary,
although Mary was also considered to be her “demonic” aspect by Abraham
Cardoso. The Lurianic creation myth,
expounded by Isaac Luria, ties creation to withdrawal (Zim Zum) of the
creator (Ein Sof), and the emanation of the ten Sephiroth – which are
then broken and scattered. It is the duty
of the Jewish people to repair this through tikun olam, the repair of the world through the
observance of the commandments. In time,
messianic movements arose in response to the Spanish trauma, and it was
even expounded by some that the messiah would be a converso! There
were also theories that there would be two messiahs.
The tapestry of religious longing in exile was awe-inspiring and
complex.
In “The Jewish Memory and the
Catholic Forgettery: Report from an Undocumented Jew,” Cesar Ayala
Casas began the highly emotional
rendition of personal stories of discovery of Jewish ancestry by
contemporary descendants of conversos and crypto-Jews. He
is Puerto Rican, raised Catholic, and as an adult, learned from a
cousin that his grandfather was a “marrano.” This news was
startling, and at first, nearly unbelievable–initially he felt it was
an attempt to conjure up “whiteness” in his family tree.
His mother, who was present at the time of this startling
disclosure, expressed extreme discomfort, and a complete lack of
memory--except for the act of her father lighting candles. Later, Ayala
Casas would go to Puerto Rico to attempt to find out more.
Along the way, Cesar asks himself the crucial and enigmatic
question, “Why does it matter to me?” Many
of his relatives, when hearing they have Jewish ancestry, have said
that it means “nothing” to them; they consider it to be part of a
remote and now, irrelevant past. Cesar
feels that since he has lived so much of his life around Jews, and has
many Jewish friends and colleagues, the discovery impacts him more
vividly; he is able to ascribe it more value and weight.
In contrast, his mother and other relatives often do not know
one single Jew personally. Also, the fact
that his Jewish heritage was stolen by force has compelled him to
search out his Sephardic roots. With great
emotion, he described going to a synagogue for the first time and being
welcomed by a friend–the moment was charged with intense and
overwhelming feeling, as if a “bucket of cold water” were being poured
over his head. Ayala Casas
noted that he is not a religious person, and contrary to “Rational
Choice Theory” doesn’t experience this journey as a “choice.” Rather, the discovery has been experienced as
an “unwelcome eruption in my life,” a kind of involuntary
experience--overwhelming and transforming in its intensity.
Dione Pereira, of Manaus and Natal, Brazil, spoke movingly and with simple eloquence in
Portuguese, her first language, of her discovery of her Jewish
background and her subsequent return to active Jewish practice. Bob Ferron, her husband, translated her talk on “Contemporary B’nai Anusim
in the Northeast of Brazil.” He provided a short background of the
Portuguese Sephardim in Brazil as an introduction.
She pointed out that Pereira is a well-known Sephardic name, and
began with the specifics of her family’s journey to Northeast Brazil
from Portugal during the period of the rubber boom.
Her father’s business was the river navigation of the Amazon
Basin, and her family didn’t eat pork. Her
grandparents were vegetarians, in order to avoid the matter of pork and
kosher entirely, as was her nuclear family. Pereira
was put in the Catholic schools, attended by the children of the elite. Although she went to church regularly in her
adolescence, she was surprised and disappointed that her grandmother
did not. Her grandmother also lit two
candles at sunset on Friday; these she stated, were for “the archangel
Gabriel.” She noted also the persistence
of Sephardic names for women in fourteen generations of her family –
many were called “Anna, Hannah, and Judith.”
As a young adult, through her studies, she
would encounter the phenomenon of crypto Judaism. Putting
together the pieces was like a “Chinese puzzle.” Her
mother would discourage her interest, claiming that her family had
evolved and “why go backward” to Judaism? Like
many B’nai Anusim who actively try and recover the family’s heritage,
her family was against it. Pereira would
eventually become involved with a group of thirty crypto-Judaic
families in Brazil who study and practice together in a synagogue that
is “in ruins,” with the roof fallen in and not one Torah present. Eventually, after marrying and deciding to
start a family, she decided on a formal conversion process to insure
that her children will incontrovertibly and without question be seen as
Jews. There is no working mikve for her in Brazil, and so the ocean served
as her “first mikve.” Later,
while living in Washington DC, she finally was immersed in an actual mikve and describes the experience as “floating in
paradise.” It is “bittersweet” to attend a
synagogue in Maryland now, where there are over ten or more Torahs,
knowing that the small crypto-Jewish community that she left behind has
not even one. In Brazil the
community still struggles, small and still secretive; there are many
Christian missionaries masquerading as Jews and rabbis in the area are
often overwhelmed by inquiries from crypto Jews.
Pereira does not take her return to Judaism for granted, and
spoke with great emotion of the fact that her young daughters go to
Jewish day school and are learning Hebrew. This
is the first time in seven generations that anyone in her family has
studied Hebrew. She now understands that
her search is actually part of a collective yearning, since many
crypto-Jews in Brazil are still struggling and persevere.
Her talk reminded everyone that this return and recovery of
Judaism is fraught with peril and requires enormous courage and
persistence, as well as a continuing refusal to believe that the past
is anything but crucial for an understanding of the future.
During dinner, Monday evening, we were
treated to an impromptu talk by Irwin Berg, an unscheduled treat that certainly made
this writer want to travel more widely and with more of a spirit of
adventure. Berg went to the Niger River
area, visiting three villages along the way and, eventually, driving
five hours through the Sahara desert to the city of Timbuktu. There he met with the scholar, Ismael Hadara,
who wrote the book, The Jews of Timbuktu. Hadara told him
more about the history of the region; how the three villages he visited
were forcibly converted to Islam and that the city of Timbuktu was at
one time known as the “capital of the Jews.” Apparently,
Jews came to Morocco to trade and do business, and many also traveled
there after the expulsion from Spain. Hadara
took Irwin to visit the chief, and showed him the cemetery, saying
“Everyone in Africa knows who their ancestors were for 1,000 years.” Indeed, there was a special area in the
cemetery for the descendants of Jews. Although forcibly converted to
Islam, in many areas the descendants of Jews don’t intermarry with the
descendents of non-Jews. Remarkably,
Hadara also showed Berg books that his family had taken with them on
their exodus from Spain in 1455; books handed down to him over
generations and now kept in trunks. Many
were in Hebrew script, in Judeo-Arabic, as well as Ladino.
Conference attendees were treated to a performance by Judy Frankel Monday evening at Portland State University,
sponsored by the Oregon School of Judaic Studies. She
shared songs written by Isaac Behar, a hazzan, and songs that she has
co-written with the contemporary Sephardic poet, Matilda Cohen Serrano,
who lives in Jerusalem. Her voice was
stirring; the audience in the 475-seat auditorium could not have been
more captivated. The place was filled to
capacity, and overflowing, with many standing in the back of the
auditorium in order to catch her wonderful performance.
Ruth Oratz and Sharon
Graw, working in genetics at
Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, Denver, next spoke with Seth Ward, who teaches history at University of Wyoming. The topic was “Ashkenazi’ Breast Cancer
Mutations in Sephardic and Sephardic-Ancestry Populations.”
Seth Ward began this disturbing and
fascinating presentation on DNA and Sephardic ancestry with a
cautionary talk. Genetics cannot “prove”
that one is or is not a Jew, and should be approached as one tool among
many. Personal testimony and family
history are more persuasive, and should be accorded more value. This is not only because genetics is a
relatively young and possibly flawed science, but because Judaism is a
religion; subtlety, nuance of practice and the testimony of memory are
lost when we acquit our identities to a “scientific” method of proof. “Aleals have no religion”, Ward said,
[Judaism is not] “coded into our genes.” He
concluded that our genes can tell us whether or not we have a family
propensity toward or history of breast cancer, but not whether or not
we are, in fact, Jews.
Ruth Oratz and Sharon Graw followed with a
lucid talk about the recent discovery of a high incidence of breast
cancer in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado.
The valley is populated by people who are descendants of the
Juan de Oñate colonists, who traveled in an expedition in 1598
to what is now northern New Mexico. In
time, many of their descendants would move northward, into the area
eventually known as southern Colorado. They
would intermarry over generations forming what is called a “bottleneck
population.” These come into existence
when there is a founder, high fertility, and a policy of endogamy such
as you find among many Jewish populations, and certainly among
crypto-Jewish populations. The endogamy
does not have to be total, and in all likelihood, will probably not be. There have been many bottleneck
populations in Jewish history, as Jews have settled in or been expelled
from various parts of the world, and created communities; in fact,
examining where these populations occur is one way to track Jewish
history.
The initial observation about the San Luis
Valley Hispanic residents revealed a very high incidence of a
particularly virulent form of breast cancer, one that normally occurs
in similar high percentages in Ashkenazi women. Further
research revealed this was apparently tied in to a signature genetic
mutation normally only found in Ashkenazi populations, one of the key
genetic mutations on what is known as the “Ashkenazi panel”–a group of
three genetic mutations indicating a propensity to this virulent cancer. A search for the source of the mutation began,
and medical researchers were able finally to trace it back to Iraq. Apparently, this mutation occurred when Jews
were still living in the area that is now called Iraq, before the
Diaspora. This ancient mutation followed
the population as it dispersed over Europe, and remained with the group
now still in the Middle East. Following
its trajectory not only gives crucial health data to people who may be
at high risk for breast cancer, it also helps to trace the path of the
Diaspora all the way from the ancient Middle East to what is now
southern Colorado!
To gather further information on the movement
of Jewish populations through the tracing of various genetic
signatures, conference participants who suspect strongly, or know their
ancestors are Jews were asked to give a sample of their DNA. Many in the audience were inspired to
take part, and the results will be available at the next conference.
The Society’s own Stan Hordes followed with another presentation focusing
on genetics and Jewish ancestry, “Achieving a Greater
Understanding of Jewish Autoimmune Diseases among Crypto-Jewish
Populations”
Again, certain rare disorders like
phemphigus, a skin disorder, have shown up in significant numbers in
the Hispano population of Northern New Mexico. Further
research revealed that genetic signatures in the Hispanic patients were
the same as Jewish patients with the disease. When
asked about possible Jewish ancestry, the seven individuals tested had
a range of responses – one was aware of possible Jewish customs, four
had customs that appear to be Jewish in origin although they were not
aware of this and two were actually cognizant of Sephardic ancestry. Further, genetic samples of the Hispano
population reveal a marked absence of non-white ancestry compared to
the general Hispanic population elsewhere in Latin America or the
United States. The general Hispanic
population has been found to have a 53% Spanish ancestry, 31% Mestizo
(Indian and Spanish), 15% American Indian, and 1% Mulatto (African and
European/Spanish ancestry). Northern New
Mexico’s Hispano population tested as follows: 91% Spanish/Portuguese, 7 to 9% Mestizo, 1%
Indian, and 0% Mulatto. Dr. Hordes
also pointed out other diseases that have appeared in the Hispano
population in Northern New Mexico, such as Blooms, a disease found in
similarly high percentages in Ashkenazi populations.
It is possible that the genetic mutations that cause these
diseases occurred before the Diaspora, and are therefore shared by some
Sephardim and Ashkenazim. However, research needs to be done to ascertain the
point of origin and travel.
On this note, Dr. Hordes suggested that a
special conference be convened to study these issues, which are both
medical and historical in range and application. This
conference, bringing together scholars and medical researchers, would
focus on Jewish genetics, population movements, and
specific instances of disease and genetic mutations. It would offer a chance to share historical
and medical/scientific data, as well as the opportunity for many to
explore their Jewish genetic heritage.
President Abe Lavender completed the series of talks
with “Sephardic,
Ashkenazi, and Kurdish DNA Patterns,” dealing with DNA’s ability to track and
reveal our ancestral origins. He began
with a question regarding the origin of the custom of the matrilineal
descent of Judaism; believing that it began very early in the Common
Era after the destruction of the temple. Before
that time, in the biblical era, it was common for Jewish men to marry
out, with the result being that many of the “founding women” of Judaism
may not, in fact, have been originally Jewish before marriage. Dr. Lavender explained some of the “mechanics”
of genetics by first defining what is commonly understood as a
“generation” – 25 to 27 years. Since many
individuals often had many, many children over a span of as many years,
he felt that more than twenty years was an accurate marker. The Y chromosome is infinitely easier to trace
since it does not recombine, so each man has a Y chromosome that is
nearly identical to a male ancestor living thousands of years ago. However, although it does not recombine, the Y
does mutate rapidly, much more so than the X chromosome.
Because of its propensity to mutate so quickly, it is far easier
to establish a fairly recent genealogy. The
X is more stable and in fact, women can all be divided into seven large
genetic groups worldwide; mutations don’t appear frequently enough to
easily trace recent ancestry.
Dr. Lavender produced a study focusing on
finding what is understood as the MCRA, or Most Common Recent Ancestor. This enables us
to establish statistical relations between groups.
The speaker passed out a fascinating and
informative chart illustrating this distance between various
populations worldwide. It is notable
that that the population most closely related to Ashkenazi Jews turns
out to be Palestinian Arabs. The
population most closely related to Sephardic Jews, is Italian. In fact, many in the room were flabbergasted
when it was shown that the Ashkenazi are apparently more closely
related to Middle Eastern populations than Sephardim, who are most
closely related to Mediterranean populations. Well,
genetics is a young science and much remains to be understood. Nonetheless, the information gleaned so far is
fascinating, surprising, and offers a revealing window into our
ancestor’s identities and journeys all over the world.
Rabbi Yosef Garcia and a
few members of his synagogue spoke with great conviction and integrity
of their journeys toward an engagement with, and renewal of, their
Jewish identities. The panel was titled “Emerging Crypto-Jewish
Communities in Portland.”
Rabbi Garcia, whose story appeared in the
Summer 2004 issue of HaLapid, is from Panama, and became ordained as a
rabbi once he discovered his Sephardic roots. He also had studied the
bible with great intensity and decided that Catholicism was not able to
answer many of his spiritual longings or questions.
He decided to form his own congregation devoted to crypto Jews. “No one feels like they converted to Judaism,
all of us feel like we are of the blood.” There
are about 60 members in the first synagogue
for crypto Jews in North America.
Victor Benvenides, a member of the synagogue, spoke about his
past growing up in Chile, and his time spent as a revolutionary in
various movements in different Latin American countries.
He discovered his Sephardic roots in Washington, DC and wears a
kippah now as a political statement. Benvenides
cautioned academics to proceed with “sensitivity,” due to the intense
nature of the experience of discovering a hidden Sephardic identity. He stated that crypto Jews “do not understand
completely what is going on with us.”
Congregation member Rose Anne Zavala said that crypto Jews are “like a tapestry,
like parts of a puzzle coming together.” She
also shared her journey to discovery and reclamation of her Sephardic
roots, testifying that she saw her father with his head covered,
praying in a “strange language” as a child. Before
her mother died, she told her that she was indeed Jewish.
Zavala comes from an elite family that lost their wealth during
the Mexican revolution; she is “proud to know her roots’ and she is
“learning.”
The synagogue provides a portal, a place of
entry for these and other crypto Jews who are reclaiming Judaism. They are working on outreach and putting
together a seder that is Portuguese/Spanish.
Dolores Sloan next read a report prepared by SCJS member Naomi Leite, providing an update on the activities of the
anusim in Oporto and Lisbon, Portugal. Leite,
PhD candidate in Anthropology, UC Berkeley, was in Portugal, and unable
to attend. Her report provided historical
background on Jewish communal life, decimated by the Inquisition in
Portugal and not rediscovered until the 20th
century. In 1917, Samuel Schwartz
discovered the crypto Jews of Belmonte, then found many more living in
the region. He published a book announcing
their existence. British researcher Lucien Wolf later went to Portugal
to verify the situation. Wolf recommended
that a permanent Jewish settlement be established, along with a
theological school. Eventually a synagogue
was built with funds from British Jews. A journal called, HaLapid, Hebrew for The Torch, was published by
Captain Arturo Carlos Barros Bastos and distributed to the many anusim
in the region. This publication, of
course, is the inspiration for our own latter-day SCJS HaLapid. The quotation at the top of the first page
of this publication is taken from the original. Unfortunately,
due to the emergence of
the far right in Portugal, and the
Holocaust would also change for some time the configuration of events;
fear would prevail once again and crypto Jews went underground. For 50 more years, people remained locked in
fear. Recently, a new freedom of religion
has seen anusim resurface.
Sloan noted that obstacles remain. The unique hidden culture
in Belmonte had been kept alive and vital by its women.
With the advent of a more traditional Judaism in Belmonte, they
have been separated from men and no longer take part in conducting
services.
Today, Portugal’s anusim
are forming networks on the web, organizing and communicating as never
before. In an public announcement after
the conference, Leite announced “a national meeting of Portuguese
anusim” in Tomar on October 3, organized by the anusim communities of
Hanamel, from Porto, and Hehaber from Lisbon. The editor has asked
Leite to prepare an article on the meeting for HaLapid.
Abe
Lavender gave the final talk of
the conference on “ The Status of
Crypto-Jews in Specific Areas,” which focused on the emerging awareness of
Sephardic roots in the Hispanic world. Florida’s
Hispanic population has recently burgeoned, even as the Ashkenazi
population there has declined. Many
Hispanics suspect that they may have Jewish ancestry, and currently, at Dr. Lavender’s synagogue, the rabbi is
conducting conversion classes in Spanish. The
rabbi wants to create a B’nai Anusim synagogue. Currently
the congregation is half Hispanic and half Ashkenazi.
Dr. Lavender said he tries to mention crypto Jews in every class
he teaches, and that “every other week a Hispanic student comes up to
me and says that they are Jewish or used to be Jewish.”
The conference closed with the annual Business Meeting of members, reviewing past programs and
deciding that next year’s conference will be in Miami in August.
Max Wolf Valerio, long
time member of SCJS, has covered previous conferences for HaLapid. His
thoroughness and vigorous style are appreciated.