The Return To Judaism: Descendants From The Inquisition Discovering Their Jewish Roots

Book Summary

During the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal, many Jews were forcibly converted to the Catholic faith. These Conversos, as they were called, were required to give up their religion, their traditions, and in some cases even their names.During the 1990s, historian Sandra Malamed conducted a series of probing interviews with people of Spanish and Portuguese descent across the country and abroad, who considered themselves Christians or even non-believers, but who nonetheless practiced various Jewish traditions-often without knowing where the traditions came from. When she explained to them what these customs were all about, they were fascinated to learn that Judaism might be part of their families' history. Malamed made it clear that the interview was not an exercise to convert them, but rather to give them a chance to know their own heritage and to be able to pass it on to their children. For although their Jewish identity may have been taken away from them more than five hundred years ago, they still had a right to know their origins and their heritage.Includes timelines, glossary, bibliography, and index, 85 b&w photographs..

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