Society For Crypto Judaic Studies
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The recently retired SCJS treasurer and long time member tells us his story from HaLapid Fall 2007 I was born in Germany into a wealthy and very assimilated Jewish family, so assimilated, in fact, that we had a Christmas Tree, an Advent Calendar and for Easter had an egg hunt. Truth be told, I lived there for the first ten years of my life without knowing that I was anything else but Catholic. That accounts for the fact that when in 1934, as no Jewish child could continue attending public school, I was enrolled in the local Jewish school, from which I was promptly let go as incorrigible. All my drawings had haloed saints or crosses in them. My parents found a Quaker school in Holland which was instrumental in shaping my character. That was where I stayed until 1939 when I went to England , to where my mother and stepfather had emigrated. This was my home for two years. My father had left Germany for Colombia already in the late 20s and had remarried by the time I was sent to him in 1941 from England . It was in South America that I became acquainted with Judaism. There I met my father's side of the family and they were somewhat more observant than my mother's. Shortly after I arrived, I had a terrible fight with my stepmother's brother who wanted to take me to a minyan , and I had no idea what that was, and I wasn't going. Now, I know that it is a religious obligation to be part of a minimum group of ten people so that certain prayers can be said. None the less, I also know today that, technically, I couldn't have been part of that minyan , because I had never been a bar mitzvah . Little by little I became immersed in the intricacies of the religion and began to feel comfortable. At the same time I made friends with Colombians and through school I learned the history of the country. A few of my friends were from the Department (equivalent to a State) of Antioquia. All of them had a similar story to tell: that they are descendents of Spanish Jews who converted because of the edict of expulsion and who had come to “ New Granada ” to be able to again practice Judaism. They had moved to a remote part of the territory so as not to be discovered. It did not help them. The inquisition from Cartagena came after them anyway. What I found fascinating was that my friends never denied they had Jewish antecedents, in fact their families still were in possession of various ritual items such as candlesticks, mezuzahs , pages of old prayer books or bibles etc. which generally were kept hidden in old dowry chests. All this happened long ago. I lost track of most of the good friends and my life took its turns and twists as lives are prone to do, and in 1956 I landed in New York City . As I was a chemist, I took a job in the printing ink field. I made inks for 45 years, the last 25 in our own firm in San Diego . I sort of semi retired at first and in my vacation time I often traveled with Elderhostel. I mostly took courses that had a Jewish angle to them, such as at the University of Judaism in L. A. One of the trips went to Tucson , where a husband and wife team of retired professors gave a five-day lecture series on crypto-Jews. I had never heard this term and wanted to find out what it was. Well, it brought back my distant memories of Colombia , but in this instance the area was New Mexico where recent studies had shown the existence of a similar pattern. I asked Professor Chanin whether he had heard of a similar situation in Antioquia , Colombia . Apparently it was unknown at the time. My curiosity had been awakened and through the Chanins I found out about the Society and became a member. The story turns full circle with my meeting at our recent 2007 annual conference in Albuquerque with Rabbi-to-be Juan Garcia, who is one of those Antioqueño Jewish descendents, except he has the courage to do something about it. As soon as he becomes ordained, he will return to Medellin and start a congregation. He says that the clamor for the establishment of a synagogue is great and he is certain of success.
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