[caption id="attachment_10935" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Danby and Marvin Meital in Jerusalem[/caption]
In just under a week, on an isolated island tucked away deep in the Atlantic Ocean, some 600 miles from the European continent and 300 miles away from Africa, a most unusual Passover Seder will be taking place. Thirteen Jews, many of them Bnei Anousim – descendants of Jews who were forcibly converted to Catholicism more than 500 years ago – will gather in Funchal, the capital of the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira, to celebrate the Exodus from Egypt. It will be the first public Seder held in over five centuries in a region that once had a thriving Jewish population until the Inquisition arrived, even in this remote location, so far from the mainland.
The Madeira Seder is the initiative of Danby and Dr. Marvin Meital, an American-Israeli couple living in Jerusalem with a keen interest in crypto-Jewish history. It is being sponsored by
Shavei Israel, which is providing funding to make the Seder possible. The Jerusalem-based
Shavei Israel organization aims to help descendants of Jews across the world reconnect with the people and State of Israel.
Marvin Meital, originally from Boston, has had a passion for Portuguese ever since he came on a junior year abroad program in Israel in 1958. He had the choice to room with the other Americans on the course or with a separate group from South America. He figured he’d learn more Hebrew by hooking up with the non-English speakers. Instead, he fell in love with their language. He went on to teach Portuguese literature and language at the University of Wisconsin and, after making
aliyah in 1974, at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem as well. The Meitals were sent several times to Portuguese-speaking Brazil as representatives of the Jewish Agency.
Marvin and Danby made a connection with the Bnei Anousim community several years ago when the couple was invited to Palma de Mallorca in Spain to help lead a group Seder for Spanish
Chuetas, as descendants of Mallorcan Jews are known. (Marvin is also a trained Cantor.) This year, the Meitals wanted to do it again and they set their eyes on Madeira, a popular resort which sees about a million tourists a year and is an important stopover for commercial and trans-Atlantic passenger cruises.
But they had no guests. So they contacted
Shavei Israel’s emissary to the Bnei Anousim in Portugal, Rabbi Elisha Salas. “We asked him if he knew of any Jews in Madeira,” Marvin explains. Rabbi Salas replied that he knew exactly the dinner guest who’d be perfect for the Meitals’ Seder table: a Bnei Anousim woman who has been studying with him in Belmonte. She jumped at the chance to join in and signed up, along with her three children. She then recommended another family. And another. “It kind of snowballed from there,” Marvin says.
[caption id="attachment_10937" align="alignright" width="300"]
Madeira (in circle) and Portugal (in dark green).[/caption]
The Meitals rented a hotel room with its own kitchen. The facility’s management has proved particularly hospitable. “They stocked our room with all new utensils; with pots and pans, and extra chairs for the guests,” Marvin says. “We’re bringing in the
matza and wine from Israel, and all the plastic goods. We’ll go shopping for fruits and vegetables when we arrive.” There’s no kosher food available on the island.
Shavei Israel is helping not only financially but is providing the Madeira Seder with several beautifully leather-bound
Haggadot in Hebrew and Portuguese. The Meitals are bringing some of their own, too, from their time in Brazil.
While Madeira has no real Jewish community to speak of today, there are traces of a more recent Jewish past. Attracted by the city’s wealth and natural advantages, Jews from Morocco arrived in 1819 and set themselves up in the cloth trade. More arrived as refugees from the First and Second World Wars. A synagogue was built in 1836, but it has long since closed and today houses a laundry and a café. A Jewish cemetery dating back to 1861 remains, perched on the edge of a cliff; it has fallen into disrepair and some graves have actually fallen into the sea.
True to Madeira’s prosperous past, the expected guests at the Meitals Seder table come from their own impressive backgrounds. Danby Meital relates that in attendance will be a shipping magnate, a cartographer, a food and beverage industry executive, and one man who is actively studying Kabbalah “but doesn’t admit to being Jewish himself.”
With such a diverse group flying in from the mainland – Madeira is an hour and a half flight from the Portuguese capital of Lisbon – Marvin expects discussion around the Seder table to be lively. The narrative of the Exodus – which aims to bring alive “in every generation” the physical and spiritual transformation from slavery to joyous freedom is one that is highly relevant for Bnei Anousim rediscovering their roots today.
“Pesach is a night of questioning,” Marvin says. “A time to ask. When anything goes and everything is new. We ask, why is this night different from all others? There’s a sense of wonderment here.”
A fitting description for the 13 participants in Madeira’s first Seder in half a millennium.
En tan solo una semana, en una isla asolada dentro del Océano Atlántico, a cerca de 600 millas del continente europeo y 300 millas de áfrica, tendrá lugar un sumamente inusual Seder de Pesaj. Trece judíos, muchos de ellos Bnei Anusim, se reunirán en Funchal, la capital del archipiélago portugués de Madeira, para celebrar el éxodo de Egipto. Será el primer seder público en más de cinco siglos en una región que en su momento tuvo una gran población judía, hasta que llegó la inquisición, incluso a esta localidad remota, tan lejos del continente.
El Seder en Madeira es una iniciativa de Danby y Marvin Meital, una pareja Americana – Israelí con un gran interés en la historia cripto-judía. Es auspiciado por Shavei Israel, el cual provee los fondos para que el seder sea posible.
Marvin Meital, originario de Boston, ha tenido una pasión por los portugueses desde que vino a Israel de joven a un programa de un año en 1958. Tenía la opción de elegir dormir con otros americanos del curso o con un grupo de América del Sur. Supuso que aprendería más hebreo si estaba con gente que no hablaba inglés. Pero finalmente, se enamoró del idioma. Siguió enseñando literatura portuguesa e idiomas en la Universidad de Wisconsin, y luego de realizar aliá en 1974, comenzó a enseñar también en la Universidad Hebrea de Jerusalem. Los Meital fueron enviados varias veces a Brasil como representantes de la Agencia Judía.
Danby and Marvin Meital in Jerusalem[/caption]
In just under a week, on an isolated island tucked away deep in the Atlantic Ocean, some 600 miles from the European continent and 300 miles away from Africa, a most unusual Passover Seder will be taking place. Thirteen Jews, many of them Bnei Anousim – descendants of Jews who were forcibly converted to Catholicism more than 500 years ago – will gather in Funchal, the capital of the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira, to celebrate the Exodus from Egypt. It will be the first public Seder held in over five centuries in a region that once had a thriving Jewish population until the Inquisition arrived, even in this remote location, so far from the mainland.
The Madeira Seder is the initiative of Danby and Dr. Marvin Meital, an American-Israeli couple living in Jerusalem with a keen interest in crypto-Jewish history. It is being sponsored by Shavei Israel, which is providing funding to make the Seder possible. The Jerusalem-based Shavei Israel organization aims to help descendants of Jews across the world reconnect with the people and State of Israel.
Marvin Meital, originally from Boston, has had a passion for Portuguese ever since he came on a junior year abroad program in Israel in 1958. He had the choice to room with the other Americans on the course or with a separate group from South America. He figured he’d learn more Hebrew by hooking up with the non-English speakers. Instead, he fell in love with their language. He went on to teach Portuguese literature and language at the University of Wisconsin and, after making aliyah in 1974, at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem as well. The Meitals were sent several times to Portuguese-speaking Brazil as representatives of the Jewish Agency.
Marvin and Danby made a connection with the Bnei Anousim community several years ago when the couple was invited to Palma de Mallorca in Spain to help lead a group Seder for Spanish Chuetas, as descendants of Mallorcan Jews are known. (Marvin is also a trained Cantor.) This year, the Meitals wanted to do it again and they set their eyes on Madeira, a popular resort which sees about a million tourists a year and is an important stopover for commercial and trans-Atlantic passenger cruises.
But they had no guests. So they contacted Shavei Israel’s emissary to the Bnei Anousim in Portugal, Rabbi Elisha Salas. “We asked him if he knew of any Jews in Madeira,” Marvin explains. Rabbi Salas replied that he knew exactly the dinner guest who’d be perfect for the Meitals’ Seder table: a Bnei Anousim woman who has been studying with him in Belmonte. She jumped at the chance to join in and signed up, along with her three children. She then recommended another family. And another. “It kind of snowballed from there,” Marvin says.
[caption id="attachment_10937" align="alignright" width="300"]
Madeira (in circle) and Portugal (in dark green).[/caption]
The Meitals rented a hotel room with its own kitchen. The facility’s management has proved particularly hospitable. “They stocked our room with all new utensils; with pots and pans, and extra chairs for the guests,” Marvin says. “We’re bringing in the matza and wine from Israel, and all the plastic goods. We’ll go shopping for fruits and vegetables when we arrive.” There’s no kosher food available on the island.
Shavei Israel is helping not only financially but is providing the Madeira Seder with several beautifully leather-bound Haggadot in Hebrew and Portuguese. The Meitals are bringing some of their own, too, from their time in Brazil.
While Madeira has no real Jewish community to speak of today, there are traces of a more recent Jewish past. Attracted by the city’s wealth and natural advantages, Jews from Morocco arrived in 1819 and set themselves up in the cloth trade. More arrived as refugees from the First and Second World Wars. A synagogue was built in 1836, but it has long since closed and today houses a laundry and a café. A Jewish cemetery dating back to 1861 remains, perched on the edge of a cliff; it has fallen into disrepair and some graves have actually fallen into the sea.
True to Madeira’s prosperous past, the expected guests at the Meitals Seder table come from their own impressive backgrounds. Danby Meital relates that in attendance will be a shipping magnate, a cartographer, a food and beverage industry executive, and one man who is actively studying Kabbalah “but doesn’t admit to being Jewish himself.”
With such a diverse group flying in from the mainland – Madeira is an hour and a half flight from the Portuguese capital of Lisbon – Marvin expects discussion around the Seder table to be lively. The narrative of the Exodus – which aims to bring alive “in every generation” the physical and spiritual transformation from slavery to joyous freedom is one that is highly relevant for Bnei Anousim rediscovering their roots today.
“Pesach is a night of questioning,” Marvin says. “A time to ask. When anything goes and everything is new. We ask, why is this night different from all others? There’s a sense of wonderment here.”
A fitting description for the 13 participants in Madeira’s first Seder in half a millennium.