During the sixteenth century reigns of Alfonso and Ercole of the House of Este the Duchy of Ferrara became known as a spiritual haven and a safe place for Sephardic Jews and conversos Those who had been forcibly converted to Catholicism could return to the faith of their ancestors and all could practice Judaism again [...]

Dr Hector Nuñes lying in the throes of approaching death in September of 1591 commended " unto God and to his protection his honor Lord Burghley and all his noble familie" In the same breath he also sought Burghley’s aid "to protect and assist my poore wife in all needful and reasonable causes" These comments can [...]

(On August 24 1998 I was in Lima Peru to witness the return of Felipe Natal to Judaism Here is Felipe’s story Arthur LBenveniste (translated from Spanish) My interest in converting to Judaism and joining with the people of Israel began seven years ago I remember that between the years 1990 and 1991 certain happenings [...]

I enjoyed reading Judith Gale Krieger’s article title "Pablo de Santa Maria ’The Purim Letter’ and ’Siete edades del Mundo’" (Halapid Spring 1998) I was impressed especially by how she contrasted the rich and lively quality of his "Purim Letter" which he composed while he was Rabbi Solomon Halevy to the dry and detached impression [...]

Pablo de Santa Maria a converso whose original name was Solomon Halevi was born in Burgos in the middle of the fourteenth century A teacher scholar and chief rabbi of Burgos before his conversion to Christianity he later became an important member of the Castilian establishment and a highranking Christian prelate While still a Jew he [...]

It is the contention of this paper that Dr Hector Nunes’ mean spirited reaction to William Fox’s petition to the Lord Chancellor of England Sir Christopher Hatton in 1588 can be attributed to the weight of financial losses and debts incurred since 1569 In particular this paper will emphasize specific events that led to his [...]

I made up my mind after due reflection on how to write this article to view the International Symposium SANTANGEL 98 The Life and Times of Luis de Santangel with rosecolored glasses For this gathering which took place over four days in August at Dominican University near Chicago appeared to have the best of intentions [...]

A JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY DALLASFORT WORTH RESIDENTS ARE RECLAIMING THE HERITAGE THEIR ANCESTORS WERE FORCED TO CONCEAL TO SURVIVE When Dallasite David Sifuentes Jimenez 40 signed up to take a class at the Jewish Community Center about the medieval Spanishbased language Ladino he thought he was merely adding to his storehouse of knowledge of linguistics [...]

This article was printed in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the forced conversion of the Jews of Portugal It was 7:am on Corpus Christi Day 1989 when my travel companion and I left Lisbon for Belmonte 7 1/2 hours later we stepped off the train at the tiny blue and whitetiled station nestled in [...]

(From an address at Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel Los Angeles October 1997) The story of the 1492 expulsion of the Jews from Span is well known Not so well known is what happened five years later in the neighboring country of Portugal Of those Jews who chose to flee Spain in 1492 large numbers went [...]