As part of the SCJS conference held in San Diego last August we conducted a walking tour of Jewish Old Town San Diego The tour which included both Ohr Shalom Synagogue members and conference attendees started at Old Temple Beth Israel Completed in 1889 it is one of the oldest existing synagogue structures in the American [...]

I finish my reminiscences on the tenth anniversary of my conversion ceremony on the eve of Selichot Remember the "Peace Weekend" ten years ago with its famous handshake between Rabin and Arafat on the White House lawn? My ceremony was that weekend Recently I saw the controversial film The Holy Land which was made in [...]

The Society of CryptoJudaic Studies like most academic organizations devotes most of its attention to the written word either findings from scholarly research or personal stories by descendants of the Jews of Spain and Portugal (Sephardim) many of whom had to keep their heritages and identities secret in order to survive Poetry and dramatic plays [...]

It was fortuitous that I decided to start researching both my Jewish roots and culinary practices in the sane year 1992 It was the 500th anniversary of the Expulsion from Spain and fortunately for me that year’s related events created a lot of interest in Sephardic matters My maternal grandmother’s family came from the Azores [...]

Nestled amidst the buildings of London’s financial district positioned such that it rests on what was once the east edge of the city one finds the oldest standing synagogue in England the Bevis Marks ynagogue Having just celebrated its Tricentenial celebration in 2001 Bevis Marks has offered a haven to many Jews seeking to escape persecution [...]

The study of genetics and especially the concept of DNA testing has gained much interest in recent years in the medical and forensic areas This interest also is beginning to increase in the area of genealogy and in several areas of academia Since the mid1990s I have introduced my classes in ethnicity to the research [...]

More than a decade ago I set out to write an article about the "secret Jews" of the South West on assignment from The New York Times I had been warned by Dr Stanley Hordes it would not be easy to interview these descendents of Spanish and Portuguese families who fled from the Inquisition 500 years [...]

Given At The 2002 Conference of The Society For Crypto Judaic Studies In San Diego My paper this morning will be divided into five sections I will first examine existing rabbinic responsa Second I will turn to elements of the laws of conversion as they affect the anusim Third I will examine two status [...]

Presentation of Steve Gomes at the Conference of the SCJS San Diego August 2002 Shalom Today marks the celebration of my first Rosh Hashanah as a Jew! When I entered the mikveh or ritual bath at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles before a Beit Din or rabbinical court it was the single defining [...]

Portuguese Jewish Heritage Conference Tour: Those who gathered on June 9 in Lisbon were taking part in something very new and at the same time very old Without the modern phenomena known as cyberspace and the Saudades website this probably could not have taken place at all or at least been delayed many years and [...]