THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, February 11, 1983 69
Seymour Liebman's 'New World Jewry' Volume Proves to Be
c a Very Welcome Addition to the Great Annals of Jewish History
By RABBI DAVID NELSON
(Editor's Note: Rabbi
Nelson served two years
as assistant rabbi of As-
sociacao Religiosa Is-
raelita of Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil. He later was assis-
tant and associate rabbi
at Chizuk Amuno Con-
gregation in Baltimore,
Md., and since 1972 has
been the rabbi of Cong.
Beth Shalom in Oak
Park.)
There is so much that we
do not know about how the
new world was settled and
how Jews were involved in
that history, that Seymour
Liebman's new volume is a
very welcome source.
The book is entitled "New
World Jewry 1493-1825:
Requiem for the Forgotten"
(Ktav). On its cover is the
very tragic picture of the
burning of Marianna da
Caravajal in March 21,
1601. She was burned at the
stake in Mexico City by
order of the Inquisition.
History has been unfair to
the victims of the terrible
persecution that found its
way to the new world.
"Auto da Fe" is the term
used to describe the fate of
the victims. It translates as
"an act of faith." The reli-
gious zealots who employed
it were concerned about the
victim's religious faith.
They reasoned that it was a
religious act to destroy the
body in this world, and save
the soul in the world to
come. So when historians
use the phrase "auto da fe"
they are merely being .po-
lite.
The more accurate de-
scription would be that
human beings were
burned at the stake.
Liebman's work forces us
to confront a dark page in
Jewish history — when
Jews are put to death
mercilessly for the crime
of being a Jew.
This is a forgotten and
largely unknown strand in
our history. Jewish histo-
rians have generally over-
looked the Jewish presence
in Latin America prior to
1900 with the exception of
recalling the Jews who set-
tled in colonial Brazil. This
group could not be ignored,
but Liebman points out that
there are "millions of pages
of documents, primary
sources that refer to Jews
and Jewish communities in
the new world."
Most of these records are
of the tribunals of the holy
office of the Inquisition,
which were established in
the vice royalties of new
Spain (Mexico, Central
America, and the Philip-
pines) and Peru (all of South
America) in 1569. Another
tribunal was established in
Cartagena in 1610. It seems
ironic that the places which
are gaining in popularity as
pleasant vacation spas have
occupied a very tragic place
in Jewish history.
Liebman provides in-
teresting historical facts
that fill in the gaps of colo-
nial new world history. He
notes the establishment of
the holy office of the Inquis-
ition in Spain in 1478, the
expulsion of the Jews from
Spain in 1492, and the ad-
mission of almost 100,000
Spanish Jews into Portugal
are backdrops to the colo-
nial history.
Liebman asks, "Who
should be considered
Jews in the new world
during the colonial
period? What is the dis-
tinction among the terms
`crypto-Jew,'new Chris-
tian' and 'Marrano?' "
The term "Secret Jews"
is a more accurate de-
scription than "Mar-
ranos" which had an
original meaning of
"swine" or "hogs."
- The excellent appendices
provide the reader with ex-
tensive definitions and a
comprehensive listing of
sources for future study. Mr.
Liebman has done his
homework well in tracking
down many resources for
the interested student of
Jewish settlement • in the
new world.
The most important sec
tion of the book is the bibli-
ography which will permit a
heretofore closed world to
open up to the interest
sparked by his current book.
What I wish to include at
this point are some of the
fascinating facts that Prof.
Liebman has presented for
the reader's background.
• Spain blamed all Jews
and their descendants to the
fourth generation for corn-
ing to the new world.
•
Ferdinand and
Isabella regarded Jews
as a discordant element
in their kingdoms. They
sought a homogeneous
population,
and
homogeneity included
religion and culture. To
achieve their aims, they
sought the establishment
of the holy office of the
Inquisition.
• The original purpose
was to spy on converted
Jews and Moors who might
have relapsed to their origi-
nal faith.
• The first Auto da Fe
(burning at the stake) in
Mexico occured in October
1528. Two Jews were
burned at the stake, and two
others were reconciled,
which meant they were
made to see the light in de-
meaning and compromising
ways.
The holy office did not
succeed in exterminating
Judaism in the new world
any more than it did in the
Iberian Peninsula. But
what the Inquisition failed
to do, Jews_ themselves did.
Dr. Liebman could be de-
scribing modern times.
He writes, "This oc-
curred through omission
rather than commission.
Neglect of study, lack of
teachers, amassing of
wealth, and the absence
of oppression were
among the factors that
caused Judaism to de-
generate to a few
superstitious practices.
The amassing of wealth
was accompanied by
marrying out of the faith.
By the fourth generation
after 1640, the majority
had substituted pseudo-
Jewish and Catholic
superstitions for basic
Judaism."
One gets a feeling, a very
sad one, of Jewish. history
when one reads how indi-
vidual Jews, whose names
are duly recorded, were tor-
tured and murdered. Their
crimes consisted of fulfilling
rituals that we observe in
freedom. For example, this
account represents a tragic
page from our people's past.
"At the Archivo Historico
Nacional in Madrid Inquisi-
tion Libro 1030, Fol. 367,
there is an account of a pri-
vate auto da fe held in the
chapel of the Inquisition in
Lima on Feb. 27, 1631. The
penitent, Alvara Mendez,
was born in Davera in the
bishopric of Lamego, circa
1589. He had a store in the
port of Pisco, Peru from
1624 until his arrest.-
"From 1609 until 1624 he
had been in France, where
he celebrated la pasqua de
los bollos cencenos, 'the fes-
tival of the unleavened
cakes,' in the house of the
mother of Diego Gomez, a
reconciliado. They ate fish,
lettuce and celery prepared
in a stew pot, omitting all
foods containing yeast.
"They observed the
laws of Moses
secretly. They drank
`some glasses of wine
while reclining accord-
ing to the ceremony of the
law, remembrance of
the departure made by
the children of Israel.'
"In the observance of the
Sabbath, they recited dos
amidas con los pies juntos,
`two amidas, standing with
their feet together.' On
other days, they recited only
one amida. (The amida is a
lengthy series of benedic-
tions.) He also commented
on the marriage of Pedro
Alvarez to a Christian
woman although he was cir-
cumcised and was de la na-
cion Ebrea, 'of the Hebrew
nation.' "
Alvaro testified to many
other aspects of Jewish life,
among them that Jews do
not take usury from other
Jews because it is prohib-
ited by the law of Moses and
that Passover is celebrated
for eight days. He habitu-
ally fasted on Mondays and
Thursdays. On July 17,
1630, he was reconciled and
sentenced to life imprison-
ment. But the first six years
of the sentence was to be
spent as an oarsman in the
galleys sailing from Callao.
Liebman points out that no
one survived as an oarsman.
The author cites specific
Jewish rituals such as
candlelighting that he has
encountered in strange
places. He writes: "There
are nuns in Mexico
and in Lima in
modern times who, with-
out knowing the origin of
the custom, light candles on
Friday nights and place
them under a table covered
by a long cloth, so that the
flame is not visible. To my
question, 'Why do you do
this?', their reply was that
their mothers had in-
structed them to do this.
They added that the obliga-
tion to light the candles re-
sted most heavily upon the
oldest daughter."
The entry of Jews into
Brazilian history begins
with its discovery in 1500
by Pedro Alvares Cabral
and his pilot, Gaspar de
Gama. Legend states that
Gaspar de Gama was a
Polish Jew who had gone
to India with Vasco de
Gama. He adopted the
name "de Gama" when
he was compelled to con-
vert to Christianity.
The author makes the
significant point that after
1654 to the mid-18th Cen-
tury, the Jews who re-
mained in Brazil ceased to
be visible as Jews. Dr.
Liebman notes that "in the
end, the forces of assimila-
tion proved stronger than
the zeal for Judaism." As-
similation was facilitated
by the 1733 decree of the
Marquis de Pombal, which
abolished the distinction
between old and new Chris-
tians.
Jews qua Jews then dis-
appeared until 'modern
times. It is clear that much
formerly Jewish blood pre-
sently flows in the veins of
many Brazilian Christian
families, who acknowledge
their Jewish ancestry.
Whenever and wherever I
travelled in Brazil, when
word got out that a rabbi
was visiting, I encountered
people who told me of their
Jewish ancestry. These
meetings and conversations
took place in Sao Paulo,
More Israelis
at Poverty Line
JERUSALEM (ZINS) —
While Israel's inflation rate
for 1982 was 131.5 percent,
for the 10 percent of the
population with the lowest
income it was 136 percent.
According to the Central
Bureau of Statistics, the
number of persons under
the poverty line rose for the
fourth consecutive year. In
1977, three percent of all
families (14,100 families
consisting of 64,300 per-
sons) were under the pov-
erty line. In 1981, six per-
cent of all Israeli families
(33,900 families, 153,200
persons) were below that
level.
Winning Polls
JERUSALEM (ZINS) —
The latest Modiin Ezrachi
public opinion poll shows
Prime Minister Menahem
Begin far ahead of all his
political opponents.
Begin polled 45.9 percent
to 17.8 for President Yit-
zhak Navon, 8.9 for Yitzhak
Rabin, 2.7 for Shimon Peres
1.9 for Ezer Weizman and
0.6 for Ariel Sharon.
Bahia, Recife and Belo
Horizonte.
Though the people who
met with me had been prac-
ticing Catholics for genera-
tions, there were customs
that they performed that led
them to believe they had
Jewish ancestry.
I remember well the
moment I officiated at the
conversion of a 65-year-
old man who wanted to
rejoin the faith of his
great-grandparents. His
family did not choose to
join him in his re-
affiliation, but nothing
would stand in his way.
He wanted to be Jewish.
He remembered a holiday
when his home was open to
strangers for a week in the
springtime. He showed me a
talit that was passed down
as a family heirloom for
generations. He regularly
attended services at the
synagogue in Rio and be-
came a practicing Jew.
In chapter eight entitled,
"The Caribbean Area," the
history of Jews is traced
through Venezuela, Bar-
bados, Jamaica, Curacao,
Surinam and Tobago. Our
long history as Jews
touched these areas long be-
fore the travel industry
promoted them. Our stu-
dents in our religious
schools should learn of the
fascinating history of our
people.
This book records some of
the atrocities that our
people underwent. As our
cruises sail into these ports,
we should pause and reflect
on those Jews who arrived
in this part of the.world long
before us.
Dr. Liebman's book will
give a historical perspective
to our trips and make our
journeys more meaningful.
.
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