A new Torah for Cartagena, Colombia
Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund brings the Torah to Cartagena
The Bnei Anousim community in Cartagena, Colombia, has a new Sefer Torah (Torah scroll). Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund and Shavei Educational Director Rabbi Eliyahu Birnbaum visited Cartagena for a festive dedication ceremony, which took place in February.
The arrival of a new Torah to the resort city of Cartagena took place while Shavei Israel’s emissary to Colombia, Rabbi Marcelo Shimon Yehoshua, was in the city. Rabbi Yehoshua, who began his service to Colombia in October last year, has set for himself the ambitious goal of traveling between all 18 Bnei Anousim communities in the country, from Cali to Medellin, as well as lengthier stays in the capital, Bogota.
We covered last year’s weekend historic Shabbaton in Colombia, bringing together Bnei Anousim and mainstream Jewish leaders for the first time, here. We wrote a short profile of Rabbi Yehoshua here.
Bnei Anousim are descendants of Jews who were forcibly converted to Catholicism more than 500 years ago and who are often referred to by historians by the derogatory term Marranos. Many fled to South America from Spain following the Inquisition. There, they have led secret Jewish lives for centuries.
There are today about 800 Bnei Anousim across Colombia. The Cartagena community is one of the smallest, with only 25 members. Colombia’s Bnei Anousim come from a variety of backgrounds. Some have formally returned to Judaism, others are in the midst of the process. Some have been following Jewish law for 20 years or more; others are taking their first steps.
Here are some pictures from February’s Torah dedication ceremony.
