In 1492 Jews in the Spanish kingdoms of Castile and Aragon were given a stark choice: baptism or departure from a land where they had dwelt since the days when their ancestors had called it Sepharad While Fernando of Aragon and Isabel of Castile are rightfully held accountable for decreeing the expulsion events of the [...]

(This fragment of a previously untranslated document in Ladino from Salonika eighty years ago reflects the continued focus on Doña Gracia by the descendents of the people she rescued It is from the Ladino publication Folyeton del Pueblo (Salonika 1929/5690) and discusses the role of Doña Gracia in protecting the anusim in the sixteenth century and then [...]

Doña (Lady) Gracia Mendes will not be forgotten since her contributions to humanity and to the Jewish community are so large Gracia’s struggle against the world dominated by men enabled her to set a precedent for other Jewish women to follow (ie Esperanza Malchi) Always expecting the impossible she overcame strife in order to salvage [...]

Rising from the Footnotes of Hisstory to Recognition on her 500th birthday In 1996 I decided that the book I was to write about the Sephardic Jews of Spain and Portugal would utilize biography I reasoned that readers would get more out of a work of history about a distant place and age if they [...]

Gracia her Hebrew name was Hannah was born in 1510 in Lisbon Portugal to the wealthy and aristocratic Nasi family of Marrano Jews originating from Spain Marrano was the term commonly used for the newly converted Jews or Conversos as they were called They were officially al lowed to enter the world of Portuguese society [...]

Introducing Albert Plotkin: The Best Rabbi Notre Dame Ever Produced! With added comments by Gloria Trujilo (see below) Allow me to introduce one of my very favorite people in all the world Rabbi Albert L Plotkin The rabbi was one of the first people I met when I moved to the Greater Phoenix area in [...]

Several years ago I was taken on a spiritual trip that to this day has revolutionized my life in a manner that needs explanation as does the title of this article Before I translate I must tell you that this phrase is used at the end of a story telling session The phrase means: Color [...]

I raced to the kitchen as soon as I heard the door open I could hear my mamá’s footsteps creak across the wooden floor She stood over the table panting A small puff of chicken feathers rose above her head "Did you kill it?" I felt upset that Mamá had to kill my pollito But she [...]

Elaine Wertheimer is a Retired Professor of Spanish New York Rodrigo de Cota was a 15th century poet with a major social identity crisis one of the desperate conversos who did not have a comfortable place in this world So often when we are dealing with authors of this period we suspect that they may have [...]