Time Is The Factor In How We Look At It

  Nadene Goldfoot                                                     

• It was Haman  of Persia;, the king's advisor,  who had started killingJews back in Queen Esther's day, before 330 BCE. In those days,  Persia  covered much land.   That was about 2,355 years ago.  

1492 was the date given for the Spanish Inquisition when King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella put out a statement that Jews had to leave their country or convert.  Actually, the government had been coming down on Jews even before that date.  

In 1492, during the reign of Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia), the Spanish Inquisition was already well-established, having been authorized by Pope Sixtus IV in 1478 at the request of Spain's Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, to enforce Catholic orthodoxy, especially after the conquest of Granada and the expulsion of Jews, with the Pope granting the monarchs power to appoint inquisitors to root out heresy and enforce religious uniformity. 

• Grand Inquisitor: Tomás de Torquemada(Oct 14, 1420-Sept 16, 1498), a Dominican, became the most famous, leading the charge against heresy.  Any hidden Jew was charged with heresy and tortured to death.   Tomás de Torquemada born in  Ávila, Castile) was the first grand inquisitor in Spain, whose name has become synonymous with the Christian Inquisition’s horror, religious bigotry, and cruel fanaticism.                                
  
       A torture chamber where you must admit you are a Jew;  then death, possible at the stake by fire, or in the torture chamber itself
• As it happened, there were Jews with businesses or older relative who could not pick up and leave quickly.  They were not interested in becoming Catholics.  They had to go through baptism but practiced Judaism on the   sly.They became the Marranos, conversos or anusim. Jews were even trackeddown who had immigrated to Mexico much later.  

When did Protestant Christianity enter the picture?  Protestantism officially started on October 31, 1517, when German monk Martin Luther posted his "95 Theses" in Wittenberg, Germany, challenging Catholic practices like indulgences and sparking the Protestant Reformation, though its ideas grew from earlier reform movements and took time to develop into distinct denominations.

This was only 25 years after the Spanish Inquisition that was still in force.25 years is a long time.  Think of a baby girl  born in 1492. She can be awife and mother of 5 children by 1517.  

Martin Luther, a German monk and theologian, is credited with leading the Protestant Reformation starting in 1517 by challenging the Catholic Church's practices, particularly the sale of indulgences, with his 95 Theses, sparking a movement that reshaped Christianity and led to new Protestant denominations like Lutheranism. Other key figures like John Calvin also became crucial leaders, but Luther was the catalyst. 

Martin Luther's views on Jews shifted significantly over his lifetime, moving from an initial hope for their conversion to Christianity to later extreme hostility when this did not occur. His later writings are considered virulently antisemitic and have been widely condemned for their influence on German antisemitism and their use by the Nazi regime.   

• Early Period (until approximately 1536): Luther expressed a more favorable view, criticizing the mistreatment of Jews by the Catholic Church in his 1523 essay That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew. He believed that presenting the "pure" Gospel could lead to their conversion.  This viewpoint is still being viewed by many. This viewpoint was introduced 31 years after the Inquisition.
• Later Period (after approximately 1537): Following the failure of his conversion efforts, Luther became increasingly hostile. This period is marked by harsh anti-Jewish treatises, most notably On the Jews and Their Lies (1543). This conclusion took place 51 years after the inquisition. He called  Jewis
• h  defense of the Old Testament, etc, lies, as they only accepted the New Testament.  51 years covers grandparents still alive after the Inquisition.  
• On the Jews and Their Lies is a significant work in which Luther proposed a plan of persecution. His suggestions to German princes included destroying synagogues and homes, confiscating religious texts, forbidding rabbis from teaching, and seizing their property. He also made statements advocating violence against Jews. In another work from the same year, he employed derogatory language and associated Jews with the Devil. 
  Legacy and Modern Condemnation
  Luther's anti-Jewish rhetoric is widely acknowledged by historians as a major factor in the rise of antisemitism in Germany. Centuries later, his writings were utilized by the Nazi Party to justify their ideology and actions, including the 1938 Kristallnacht pogrom. Time from 1492 is 446 years.  Anti-Semitism brought about by the Spanish Inquisition has been active for about 500 years up to Nazi period.  
• The United States will be  only 250 years old in 2026. A lot has taken place. 
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• We have been burdened with 500 years of anti-Semitism.  From Kristsalnacht to today has been 87 years.  
• So we can figure about 600 past years of dealing with anti-Semitism.  Today, the Nazis havebeen replaced by fundamental terrorists of the Middle East, who areaiming to kill all Jews.  
• Today we have several Christian groups backing Israelis.  CUFI is one.  CBN is another.  Also, so far, we have the American President on our side,Trump, who Netanyahu is trying to work with.    
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How Chanukah Has Nothing To Do With Christmas

 Nadene Goldfoot                                               

I'm finding that many Christians think, because of the dates Christmas and Chanukah are so close together, that Chanukah is just the Jews' way of celebrating Christmas.  

I'm afraid not.  Their dates of celebration in December is just a coincidence.  One has nothing to do with the other.

Chanukah is a minor Jewish holiday in the context of all our Jewish holidays.  Because gift-giving is involved, it's become more of a celebrated holiday, perhaps because it's in competition with Christmas.

Chanukah is celebrating a historic war where Judah, once one of the 12 states of Israel, had battles with the Greek-Syrians of Hellenism.  They tried to take over the country and even got away with putting the idol of Zeus in the Jewish Temple ! Everyone was afraid to speak out.  They were trying to force Jews to eat parts of pigs, you know, pork.  That's forbidden for Jews, highly offensive in those days .  They wanted to put an end to circumcision.  That did it! 

 A very macho-man who had 5 sons, was furious. Mattathias was a patriot, a priest and a landowner of Modiin. He had 5 sons; Judah the Maccabee, Jonathan, Simon, John, and Eleazar. Mattathias killed the royal official who was sent to make the Jews worship Zeus.  This was the focus of the revolt of his sons against Antiochus Epiphanes. This was very serious;  it meant the end of Judaism if not stopped.  The Syrians had become Hellenized (fall for Greek beliefs)  way before it was a threat to the Jews.  That's why the Jews had to fight Syrian-Greeks.   

Mattathias was the leader of the revolt and was staying in the Judean hills and waged a guerilla war on the Syrians. (In fact, he introduced fighting in that manner.)  He was killed and his son, Judah the Maccabee, took over.  He was later called the Hammerer because he hammered away at the Syrians.  We remember Judah and his brothers being victorious over Antiochus Epiphanes and their rededication of the Temple that the Greeks had taken over.

 Antiochus IV Epiphanes was the Hellenistic king of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 175 BCE until his death in 164 BCE, born around 215 BCE, known for his aggressive Hellenization policies that led to the Maccabean Revolt against his rule in Judea. 

This means that the event happened about 2,200 years ago, and at least 175 years before the birth of Jesus.  

In the temple hung the eternal light lamp of oil which was always kept full.  With the Syrians taking over, it burned down to no oil left by the time Mattathias decided to risk his and his son's lives by rebelling.  With them succeeding, they threw out Zeus and sent runners to the next town for oil.  The lamp kept on burning for 8 nights anyway until the runners returned;  a miracle.  We remember this by eating foods fried in oil, like sufganiot (donuts) and potato latkas (hash browned potatoes-bought frozen are yummy in a pinch).  

Young men were being kept from studying the Torah, so they would go into the woods and study.  If the Syrian soldiers saw them and were questioning them, they denied they were studying, only gambling with a dreidal.  That's where the dreidal comes into our holiday.  

If this hadn't taken place, neither would Judaism have continued, so because of this event, Jesus was born and Christianity was able to develop.  

Resource:

https://jewishfactsfromportland.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-revolt-against-syrians-by-jews.html

 

Portugal's Jewish People Becoming the "Anusim"

 Nadene Goldfoot                                        

What is remembered about the Jews of Portugal is the 1492 Spanish Inquisition where the Jews were told to leave the country or convert.  Many left, moving to Portugal, the nearest other country.

What we didn't know was this:   Galicia (Spain) and Northern Portugal are deeply connected historically, culturally, and linguistically, sharing roots in the Roman province of Gallaecia, leading to a common Galician-Portuguese linguistic base and a strong cross-border identity, formalized today in the Galicia-North Portugal Euroregion. While they are now separate political entities (Galicia in Spain, Portugal a country), their shared past as a united realm under the Kingdom of Galicia and ongoing cultural exchange make them feel like close neighbors, with easy movement and mutual understanding.   Galicia is not another name for Spain; it's a distinct, historic region and an autonomous community in the northwest of Spain, known for its unique Celtic culture, language (Galician), and traditions, differing from the broader Spanish national identity. Think of it like Texas within the USA – a part, but with its own character. 

Nowhere are the ties between Spain and Portugal stronger than between Galicia and Northern Portugal. The two regions share a border, history, culture, language, and an economy. ​(Source: Real Instituto elcano Royal Institute.)Galicia is an autonomous community of Spain that was once known as the Kingdom of Galicia. It was at one time part of Portugal, causing the people of Galicia to have mixed Spanish and Portuguese ancestry. The region Galicia and northern Portugal incredibly also shares a language called Galician-Portuguese.

Christopher Columbus between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa (The Republic of Genoa was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in both the Mediterranean and Black Sea) who completed four Spanish-based voyages across the Atlantic Ocean sponsored by the Catholic Monarchs, opening the way for the widespread European exploration and colonization of the Americas. His expeditions were the first known European contact with the Caribbean and Central and South America.  

He is misunderstood by our Native Americans as his role brought the downfall of their world, allowing white man to invade.  (Columbus Day and Thanksgiving are not their happy times). 

However,  Columbus did have seamen on board  who were Jews getting out of town, so to speak. Jews on Columbus's voyage included Luis de Torres, a converso (forced convert) who served as interpreter, and other Jewish-stock members like surgeon Rodrigo Sanchez and physician Maestre Bernal, most fleeing the 1492 Spanish Inquisition, with some serving vital roles due to their skills in Hebrew/Arabic, while Jewish financiers and navigators like Abraham Zacuto also provided crucial support for the expedition.  Crew Composition: While not the majority, a significant portion (some estimate 10-20%) of the crew had Jewish backgrounds, including diverse backgrounds like Moors, Irish, and Genoese.                      

                                      Earlier Days    

                      A Berber man                            Arabs, primarily Berber and Arab forces, began ruling parts of what is now Portugal from around 711 AD, following the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, and this "Moorish" rule lasted for roughly five centuries,                                     

 ending with the Christian Reconquista in the south (Algarve) by 1249, though Muslim communities lived on until their final expulsion in 1496, marking nearly 800 years of significant Islamic presence. 

During this period from 711 to 1249, Jews had established themselves in the land of Portugal.  When the Christian state was formed, there were communities in Lisbon, Beja, and Santa-rem.  Little is known of themuntil the 13th century (1200s.) Conditions were generally tranquil, exceptriots in Lisbon in 1373 and Portugal escaped the wave of massacres thatengulfed Spain in 1391.               

The community was closely organized by Alfonso III King of Portugal (1248-1279) in his own elaborate code, with a  chief rabbi (Arrabi Mor).  Afonso III of Portugal (reigned 1248–1279) generally fostered a period of relative tolerance for Jews, integrating them into the developing Portuguese society and economy, unlike later monarchs like Manuel I, who expelled them; Afonso III's reign saw charters (like in 1276 for Monsaraz) organizing Jewish communities and recognizing their presence within the growing kingdom, marking an era where Jewish populations contributed to administration and urban life before later persecutions. 

In 1492, King John II (João II) was ruling Portugal; he reigned from 1481 until his death in 1495, known for strengthening the monarchy, boosting the economy, and continuing Portuguese exploration for a sea route to India.  King John II of Portugal rejected Christopher Columbus's proposal for a westward voyage to Asia around 1484 and again in 1488, primarily because his expert advisors found Columbus's estimates for the Earth's circumference and distance to the Indies wildly inaccurate, while Portugal was successfully pursuing the eastern route around Africa. Despite this rejection and Columbus later finding Spanish backing, some historians, like Mascarenhas Barreto, theorize Columbus was a Portuguese agent, potentially even Portuguese himself, sent to mislead Spain, though this remains a debated theory.    Columbus was a hidden Jew, first spoken about in Jewish Digest. He wrote letters to his son in Hebrew.

 King João II, of Portugal, allowed Jews to enter. He was preparing for war against the Moors and he needed the taxes collected from these Jews to finance that war. He also was aware of the great talent of the Jews in many fields including the mechanics of arms making, which he hoped he would call upon and he did not want that talent to be available to the Moors. But his welcome was not complete. His bride to be would not have it.                                

Manuel I (European Portuguese: 31 May 1469 – 13 December 1521), known as the Fortunate  was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521.

After Jews were expulsed in 1492 from Spain, large numbers of the exileswere allowed to enter Portugal on payment of a poll-tax but many were subsequently detained in the county and sold as slaves.  Manuel I, the King of Portugal in 1496 was Manuel I (the Fortunate), who reigned from 1495 to 1521, succeeding his cousin John II and overseeing a significant period of Portuguese exploration and empire-building, including the decree for the expulsion of Jews and Muslims that year. King Manuel I of Portugal, seeking to marry a Spanish princess and align with Spain's policies, decreed in 1496 that all Jews convert to Catholicism or leave Portugal; however, he then forcibly baptized them in 1497, preventing their departure and creating "New Christians" (Marranos), marking the end of open Jewish life in Portugal and paving the way for the brutal Portuguese Inquisition and persecution of these secret or suspected Jews for centuries.   

The story is that he  ordered the expulsion of the Jews from hisdominion on October 1496 in order to secure the hand of the Spanish Infanta but later changed hismind  and had almost had the entire community converted by force in 1497.  

• The Event: When Jews gathered at Lisbon's port to leave, they were met by priests and forcibly baptized en masse, rather than being allowed to depart freely.
• The Aftermath: Those who converted (the "New Christians") now Anusim, faced intense scrutiny and persecution from the Portuguese Inquisition for centuries, with many tortured or executed for secretly practicing Judaism.

Thus, a large body of (Marranos) was created in Portugal. Marranos were Spanish and Portuguese Jews who, facing forced conversion to Christianity (especially after 1492), outwardly became Catholic but secretly maintained Jewish beliefs and practices, becoming Crypto-Jews, a term often preferred as "Marrano" is derogatory, meaning "pig". They faced intense scrutiny from the Inquisition, practicing Judaism in secret for centuries, with descendants preserving traditions, often becoming a distinct cultural group, and some later returning to Judaism, notes Britannica and EBSCO.  The newer, more respectful term used by many Jews for "Marrano" (a derogatory word for forced Iberian converts who practiced Judaism secretly) is Anusim (Hebrew for "forced ones") or Crypto-Jews, while Converso (neutral/academic for "convert") or New Christians are also common, but "Marrano" itself, meaning "swine," is largely avoided as it's insulting. 

The Spanish Inquisition was introduced in the 16th century  and the refugees who fled to escape it formed the "Portuguese" synagogues in London, AmsterdamNew York, etc, in  the 16-17th centuries.  At the close of the 18th century,Jews from Gibraltar and North Africa established themselves in  Lisbon,though freedom of worship was permitted only after the Revolution of1910.  

Askenazi immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe have arrived inrecent years.  There was also for a time, a tiny community at Faro.Marranos with strong Jewish sympathies are still numerous in northernPortugal.  A movement to rescue them was started in 1925, and in 1938,a synagogue was built as their religious center in Oporto.  A large groupwas found in Belmonte, some of whom are returning to Judaism.  Apartfrom the Anusim (Marranos) the Jewish population of Portugal was 300 (1990_mostly in Lisbon.  

While exact numbers vary, Portugal's Jewish population is estimated to be around a few thousand, with recent reports suggesting figures from 3,000 to 6,000 people, primarily concentrated in Lisbon and Porto, experiencing growth due to the Sephardic citizenship law. The community, once very small after expulsions and the 1974 revolution, has seen an influx of descendants and others drawn by heritage and lifestyle, making it a growing, though still small, presence. 

Resource:

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/jewish-expulsion-from-portugal/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Jews_and_Muslims_by_Manuel_I_of_Portugal#:~:text=Article,victoria%20contra%20infideles%20habita%2C%201507

https://porturicans.weebly.com/galicia.html#:~:text=Galicia%20is%20an%20autonomous%20community,a%20language%20called%20Galician%2DPortuguese.