PORTO REPORT: “LIVELY SCENE FOR MARRANOS”
By Manuel Lopez Azevedo From HaLapid, Spring 2007 The presence of Marranos at the Kadoorie Mekor Haim Synagogue in Porto, Portugal has completely changed since the dedication of a new sefer Torah and the visit by grand rabbi Shlomo Amar in September 2004. Since then, there has been a full time rabbi in Porto paid for by the Israeli organization Shavei Israel. With the critical support of Elisha Salas, rabbi to the Marranos, the barriers came tumbling down and now they are the majority attending the synagogue. The question of a formal return to normative Judaism frustrated many Marranos for a long time. When the grand rabbi attended in 2004, he met with some members of the Marrano community and promised to study the situation. Shavei continued to pay Rabbi Salas' salary to conduct religious services and teach. Following his departure at the end of 2006, Shavei invited the Marranos who had been attending classes to travel to Israel to attend a Beit Din. All those who went (at their own expense) successfully completed the process. Elections for a new executive at Mekor Haim are imminent. Ladina continues to sponsor monthly tertulias at the Literary Club of Porto. The last one was with Jairo Fridlin, the editor and publisher of Sefer, Brazil's foremost publisher of Jewish books. Jairo is not only the publisher but also the general editor of the first complete Hebrew bible (Tanach) in Portuguese. This is the first Portuguese translation of the Torah directly from Hebrew. Jairo identified the Hebrew texts relied on and the translation process, which took over three years. At the end of the evening, well past midnight, Vaness Paloma graciously sang some Ladino songs while playing on her thirteenth century replica harp. She was much appreciated. Earlier, Ladina director and published poet, Salviano Ferreira eloquently read three psalms. Sefer now has a partner in Portugal, Ricardo Afonso Moreno who donated close to 100 euros to Ladina from the sale of books. Ricardo then drove Jairo and his family back to Lisbon as they were leaving for Israel the next day. Ladina has also announced the publishing of a new book on Captain Barros Basto, thanks to the generosity of Yaacov Gladstone and Harold Michel Smith of the American Friends of the Marranos. Alexandre Teixeira Mendes, former journalist and published Marrano poet, has completed a new book on the life and work of Barros Basto. Mendes, an expert on Luso-Hebraic and Marrano-Jewish literature, explores the literary, philosophical, political and social influences on the formation of Barros Basto. He examines his early life, his time on the front lines in Flanders during the first world war and his association with political and literary circles in Portugal. Examining Barros Basto's early literary production, his time as a professor of Hebrew at the University of Porto on the philosophical and religious development of this charismatic quasi-Messiah of the Marranos of northern Portugal, this book will become required reading for any serious student of Sephardic studies. The Portuguese version will be published by Ladina and released shortly. An English edition will hopefully be ready late in 2007 or early in the new year. Ladina is looking for a publishing partner in the U.S.A. Manuel Lopes Azevedo is publisher of Lusitania.ca, magazine for North Americans of Portuguese descent. He spends much of his time in Porto, where he founded Ladina, a cultural organization about Portuguese Jewish History. Ladina’s website is: www.ladina.blogspot.com. |
Society For Crypto Judaic Studies
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