New emissary to the ‘crypto-Jew’s in Portugal

New emissary to the ‘crypto-Jew’s in Portugal

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53-year-old Rabbi Salas was born in Chile and made aliyah (immigration) to Israel in 1999.

JERUSALEM (EJP)—Rabbi Elisha Salas became earlier this month Shavei Israel’s new emissary to the Bnei Anousim or crypto-Jews of North Portugal.
He will teach Torah, Jewish culture and Jewish tradition to Bnei Anousim (whom historians refer to by the derogatory term “Marranos”), conducting a wide range of social and educational activities.
In 1497, the King of Portugal presented the Jews living in his realm with a dastardly choice: convert or die. Some chose death, but most of Portuguese Jewry was dragged to the baptismal font and compelled to accept Catholicism against their will.
While many were made to pay a heavy price by the Inquisition for their continued fidelity to Judaism, many others somehow succeeded in preserving their Jewish identity.

The rabbi’s work will focus mainly in the Belmonte community, where a number of Bnei Anousim returned to Judaism in recent decades and now live as a traditional, thriving Jewish community.

He will also work in other areas and towns throughout Portugal, primarily in the north.

“There are tens of thousands of Bnei Anousim throughout Portugal who are conscious of their special historical connection to the Jewish people. We owe it to them and to their ancestors to reach out to them, embrace them and welcome them back home,” said Michael Freund, founder and chairman of Shavei Israel.

53-year-old Rabbi Salas was born in Chile and made aliyah (immigration) to Israel in 1999. After graduating from Santiago University with two degrees in accounting and religious studies, Salas spent five years at the Beit Midrash Sepharadi in Jerusalem.

Shavei Israel is an organization created to strengthen ties between the State of Israel and descendants of Jews around the world.

The organization says it is currently active in nine countries and provides assistance to a variety of different communities such as the Bnei Menashe of India, the Bnei Anousim in Spain, Portugal and South America, the Subbotnik Jews of Russia, the Jewish community of Kaifeng in China, the “Hidden Jews” of Poland from the Holocaust era and others.

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