The Renaissance of the B’nai Anousim (Crypto-Jews)

Earlier  this  year,  a  momentous  event  took  place  in  the history of Iberian Jewry.  For the first time since the Spanish Inquisition, a descendant of forcibly  converted  Jews  returned  to  Spain  to  conduct  outreach work among his  fellow  B’nai  Anousim (Crypto-Jews*). Rabbi  Nissan  Ben-Avraham,  who  grew  up  on  the  island of Palma de Majorca, was dispatched to the  area by Shavei Israel, the organization that I chair, with the express  aim  of  strengthening  the  bonds  between  the Jewish  people  and  our  brethren  the  B’nai  Anousim. Since  his  arrival  in  the  region,  Rabbi  Ben-Avraham has been paying regular  visits to Barcelona,  Alicante, Seville  and  Palma, where  he  has  organized  a  variety of  Jewish  educational,  social  and  cultural  activities, which have drawn many B’nai Anousim closer to their  roots. It  might  sound  fanciful,  or  even  far-fetched,  but  it  is a  fact  that  more  than  five hundred years after  Spain's King  Ferdinand  and  Queen  Isabella  sought  to  erase all  vestiges  of  Jewish  life  on  the  Iberian  Peninsula,  a growing number of their victims’ descendants are now emerging  from  the  shadows,  seeking  to  reclaim  their eritage. The  B’nai  Anousim, Hebrew  for  those who were coerced, do not merely inhabit the pages of dusty old history books. They are a living, breathing phenom-enon…men and women from all  economic,  social  and cultural walks of life who are eager to forge anew their links with the Jewish people. And I believe we owe it to them as well as to their ancestors to extend a hand and to welcome them home.
Newscaster: A special Yom Kippur Mahzor has been released for the Brazilian Jews of the Amazon. Some 3,500 Sefardi Jews living in northern Brazil's Amazonian region will now be able to for the first time use a prayer book translated into Portuguese. The Mahzor uses the traditional Hebrew text of the Yom Kippur prayer services, which now has a translation and transliteration into Portuguese. It was made possible by "Shavei Israel", which provides assistance to different Jewish communities around the world. They're presently working in 9 far-flung Jewish communities. We spoke to Shavei Israel's founder, Michael Freund. Michael Freund: This was a process over a couple of years. The Mahzor, of course is a very comprehensive volume, and it required a great deal of effort in terms of translation. But we're very happy now that it's come to fruition, because there was a great need for it among the Jewish communities of the Amazon in Brazil.
In an unusual kind of pre-High Holy Days study seminar, 22 young Polish Catholics spent three weeks in Israel learning about their Jewish roots. They rank among the estimated tens of thousands of "hidden Jews" across Eastern Europe - people whose families hid their Jewish identity and in some cases subsequently forgot the fact they had Jewish lineage. In many cases their families began concealing their Judaism to avoid persecution by the Nazis and the Communists. Some "hidden Jews" were handed by their parents to non-Jewish individuals or institutions during the Holocaust and grew up not knowing they were born Jewish.
Among millions celebrating Rosh Hashana this week are some 1,000 residents of China's oldest Jewish community Among the many Israelis and Jews around the world who will welcome the Jewish New Year are also 1,000 residents of China's oldest Jewish community.

הרב אלישע סלס (53), יליד צ'ילה, הוא השליח החדש של ארגון "שבי ישראל" לקהילות צאצאי האנוסים בצפון פורטוגל. הוא ייכנס לתפקידו באופן רשמי השבוע. הרב סלס עלה לישראל בשנת 1999. הוא מתגורר בירושלים, נשוי + 4 ילדים. הוא בוגר לימודי ראיית חשבון, ניהול ולימודי דתות...

Group members, most of whom were raised Catholic, taking part in specially designed educational seminar in Jerusalem held entirely in Polish A group of 22 young Poles who recently discovered their Jewish roots arrived in Israel on Sunday for a special three-week educational seminar organized by...

Jerusalem - A group of 22 young Poles who recently discovered their Jewish roots arrived in Israel yesterday, August 15, 2010, for a special three-week educational seminar organized by Shavei Israel. The participants, most of whom were raised Catholic and are now in their 20’s, came from an array of cities throughout Poland, primarily Krakow, Katowice, Warsaw, Tychy, Gdansk and Cieszyn. For some of the participants, this marks their first time visiting Israel.

[caption id="attachment_2828" align="alignright" width="75"] Rabbi Elisha Salas[/caption] Rabbi Salas, 53, was born in Chile and made aliyah to Israel in 1999. Salas now lives in Jerusalem and is married with four children. After graduating from Santiago University in Chile with two degrees in accounting and religious...

As Shavei Israel's delegate, Rabbi Elisha Salas to teach Torah, Jewish culture and Jewish tradition to Bnei Anousim Beginning this week, Rabbi Elisha Salas will be Shavei Israel’s new emissary to the Bnei Anousim, or crypto-Jews of North Portugal. Rabbi Salas, 53, was born in Chile and made aliyah to Israel in 1999. Salas now lives in Jerusalem and is married with four children. After graduating from Santiago University in Chile with two degrees in accounting and religious studies, Salas spent five years at the Beit Midrash Sepharadi in the Old City of Jerusalem. In addition to being an ordained rabbi, Salas is certified to practice as a "shochet" (kosher slaughterer). As Shavei Israel's emissary in Portugal, Rabbi Salas 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 the process. 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. Salas will also work with Bnei Anousim in other areas and towns throughout Portugal, primarily in the north.
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