Bnei Anousim

Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund spent several days in Portugal last week. Here is a summary of his trip along with pictures. Bnei Anousim study groups in Lisbon The trip began in Lisbon on Sunday night where Michael met some of the members of the group of Portuguese Bnei Anousim who are studying with Rabbi Elisha Salas, Shavei Israel’s emissary to Portugal. The group comes together from various places throughout the country, including Lisbon, Porto and elsewhere. All are looking to return to Judaism and rejoin the Jewish people. Here are pictures of the group. [nggallery id=116] Michael also toured the beautiful mikveh in Lisbon and the main Lisbon synagogue. Here are a couple of lovely pictures as well as one of the main synagogue in Lisbon. [nggallery id=118] Meeting with Portugal's Secretary of State for Culture [caption id="attachment_7762" align="alignleft" width="160" caption="Rabbi Elisha Salas, Francisco Jose Viegas, Michael Freund"][/caption] On Monday morning, Michael and Rabbi Elliyahu Birnbaum, Shavei Israel’s Education Director, along with Rabbi Salas, met with the Portuguese government's Secretary of State for Culture, Francisco Jose Viegas. Michael told him about the various activities of Shavei Israel in the country, and discussed a number of ways to work together to help revive Jewish culture in the country. Wedding in Belmonte The trip also included two “field trips” to smaller Jewish communities. The first was to the village of Belmonte, which is where Rabbi Salas is based. On Monday night, Shavei Israel arranged the wedding of Yosef Vaz of Belmonte. He is one of a number of Bnei Anousim in the village who returned to Judaism more than two decades ago. Yosef’s wife passed away last year, and he decided to marry another member of the community. Here are some photos (and a video) from the wedding. [nggallery id=114] Also in Belmonte, a young Jew named Shlomo led the Mincha (afternoon) and Maariv (evening) prayers…in fluent Hebrew! Shlomo’s parents were among the Bnei Anousim who converted back to Judaism in the late 1980’s. Here are pictures from the shul where Shlomo led the davening. [nggallery id=115] Suprise in Trancoso The second visit was to the village of Trancoso. Michael and the Shavei Israel visitors entered a store that sold local arts and crafts and souvenirs. The store had a small refrigerated section with drinks and food, including a whole section with three different kinds of kosher cheese! It turned out that it was cheese that Rabbi Salas had personally supervised as kosher. Here are two pictures – not for cheese lovers only! [nggallery id=117]
El director de Shavei Israel, Michael Freund, junto con el Rabino Eliahu Birnbaum, pasaron unos días en Portugal. Aquí les traemos el resumen del viaje junto con algunas fotos. Grupo de estudio de Bnei Anousim El viaje comenzó en Lisbón el domingo por la noche, donde se encontraron con el grupo de Bnei Anusim que estudian junto con el Rabino Elisha Salas, emisario de Shavei Israel en Portugal. El grupo está formado por personas de distintos

[caption id="attachment_7715" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Isabel Fuentes"][/caption] Isabel Fuentes feels she is living between two worlds. On the one hand, she knows intuitively that her family has Jewish roots. But she has been unable to uncover concrete proof. Nevertheless, the 35-year-old journalist and resident of Granada, Spain,...

Avner Diniz se sienta en su living-comedor, en su casa en la ciudad costera de Netanya. Meditando sobre el inusual paso que lo llevó de tan sólo algunas señales de fe en un pasado judío, en su niñez dentro de una familia portuguesa de Mozambique, hacia una nueva vida como judío comprometido estudiando hebreo y judaísmo en Israel. Su travesía comenzó cuando era un niño y jugaba a las canicas con los niños locales. “Recuerdo que le gané a un niño, y él se puso furioso. Me llamó “marrano”, recuerda Diniz. “No sabía qué era. Pero mi bisabuela vio todo desde la ventana. Me dijo, “la próxima vez que alguien te llame así, le das un puñetazo en la nariz. Es un gran insulto para nuestra gente”.

[caption id="attachment_7554" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Michael Freund with Bnei Menashe Kids in India"][/caption] The Westchester Jewish Life profiled Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund, who grew up in the town of Harrison in Westchester County, New York. Here is a reprint of the article. ---------------------------------- Reaching out to descendants of...

El Rabino Elisha Salas, enviado de Shavei Israel en Belmonte-Portugal, ha desarrollado un nuevo proyecto de capacitación de jazanim los cuales se preparan para oficiar en la comunidad cuando el Rabino se encuentra ausente. Aquí les traemos fotos de los jóvenes participantes. [nggallery id=105] ...

[caption id="attachment_7497" align="alignleft" width="229" caption="Lighting Hanukah Candles in Belmonte"][/caption] An article by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin appeared in this weekend's Jerusalem Post. Rabbi Riskin describes his visit to the new synagogue in Belmonte, Portugal. He his guide was Rabbi Elisha Sales, Shavei Israel's emissary. The original article...

[caption id="attachment_7417" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Haim Fernandes"][/caption] Haim Fernandes, 68, lives in the southern Spanish city of Dos Harmanas. Now retired, he is married and has three grown children who all live near him in Seville. Fernandes is part of the Bnei Anousim (descendants of Spanish and Portuguese Jews who were compelled to convert to Catholicism at the time of the Inquisition in the 14th and 15th centuries. Historians refer to them by the derogatory term Marranos). He tells his story here.
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