Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (15471616) had led a colorful life long before he became the author of El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha (published in two parts in 1605 and 1615) He fought against the Ottoman Turks in the victorious battle of Lepanto (1571) where he lost the use of his left hand or arm (therefore [...]

Land of the Hebrew Golden Age 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 [...]

A CryptoJew’s Story Having spent my early years in Panama my family and I belonged to the Catholic Church and I had no idea that we were Jews As a youth I was even an altar boy and helped in the preparation of the wine for the priest Back in the 1950s and 1960s virtually [...]

New York: Ballantine Books 2001 371 pages Reviewed by Abe Lavender Days of Awe a novel is the story of a cryptoJewish family in Cuba and the United States The protagonist is Alexandra "Ale" San José who was born in Havana on January 1 1959 the same day that Fidel Castro began his dictatorship To [...]

In 1998 a friend of Walter’s showed him a flyer from SCJS announcing our upcoming conference in El Paso Walter thought "This is right up my alley" Walter then contacted his friend about attending the conference The friend’s medical practice precluded him from attending but Walter decided that he would go "I had a wonderful [...]

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 [...]