Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism Judaism is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people. Judaism, originating in the Hebrew Bible and explored in later texts such as the Talmud, is considered by Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship God developed with the Children of Israel. According to traditional Rabbinic Judaism, God revealed while publicly professing to be of another faith; practitioners are referred to as "crypto-Jews" (origin from Greek kryptos - κρυπτός 'hidden.'). The term crypto-Jew is also used to describe descendants Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. And descent groups, lineages, etc. are treated in their own subsections, see Contents below who maintain some Jewish The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation. Converts to Judaism, whose status as Jews within the Jewish ethnos traditions of their ancestors, often secretly, and while publicly adhering to other faiths, most commonly Catholicism Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole.[1][2][3][4][5]
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Europe
Officially Jews who converted in Spain in the 14th and 15th centuries were known as Cristianos Nuevos (New Christians). Spain and Portugal passed legislation restricting the rights of conversos Conversos and its feminine form conversa referred to Jews or Muslims or the descendants of Jews or Muslims who converted to Catholicism in Spain and Portugal, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries. Mass conversions took place under great governmental pressure. The Treaty of Granada (1491) at the last surrender of al-Andalus issued clear, including in their colonies.
In the Balearic Islands, numerous conversos, also called Chuetas, publicly professed Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with more than a billion members. The Church's leader is the Pope who holds supreme authority in concert with the College of Bishops of which he is the head. A communion of the Western church and 22 autonomous Eastern Catholic churches (called but privately adhered to Judaism after the Alhambra decree The Alhambra Decree was an edict issued on 31 March 1492 by the joint Catholic Monarchs of Spain (Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon) ordering the expulsion of Jews from the Kingdom of Spain and its territories and possessions by 31 July of that year of 1492 and during the Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition, was a tribunal unexpectedly established in 1478 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms, and to replace the medieval inquisition which was under papal control. They are among the most widely known crypto-Jews.
The phenomenon of crypto-Judaism, however, has a history to earlier periods when Jews were forced or pressured to convert The Convert or Try, in American and Canadian football, is a one-scrimmage down played immediately after a touchdown during which the scoring team is allowed to attempt to score an extra one point by kicking, or two points by touchdown. The play may also be referred to as a conversion, extra point, point after touchdown , or point after by sovereign hosts. Other times they may have embraced opportunities for assimilation, but still secretly kept Jewish rites.
Some of the Jewish followers of Sabbatai Zevi (known as Sabbateans Sabbateans is a complex general term that refers to a variety of followers of, disciples and believers in Sabbatai Zevi (1626 - 1676), a Jewish rabbi who was proclaimed to be the Jewish Messiah in 1665 by Nathan of Gaza. Vast numbers of Jews in the Jewish diaspora accepted his claims, even after he became a Jewish apostate with his conversion to) and later of Jacob Frank (known as "Frankists") formally converted to Islam and Catholicism, respectively, but maintained aspects of their versions of Messianic Judaism.
Crypto-Jews persisted in Russia and Eastern European countries influenced by the Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик (help·info), tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, IPA [sɐˈjʊs sɐˈvʲeʦkʲɪx səʦɪ after the rise of Communism with the Russian Revolution The October Revolution , also known as the Russian Revolution, Great October Socialist Revolution, Red October or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917. It took place with an armed insurrection in Petrograd traditionally dated to 25 October 1917 Julian calendar (7 November 1917 Gregorian of 1917. This was a different manifestation, since the Soviets had declared the end of all religion[citation needed], not forced the conversion of Jews to Christianity. Since the end of Communism, many descendants of Jews in former Soviet states have publicly taken up their Jewish faith again. Similarly, other people in Russia and eastern Europe have taken up the open practice again of Christianity, most frequently as Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholics.
Large communities of crypto-Jews still exist, still maintaining their hidden traditions, in Spain Spain (pronounced /ˈspeɪn/ spayn; Spanish: España, pronounced [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.[note 6] Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for and Portugal Portugal /ˈpɔɹtʃʉɡəl/ (Portuguese: Portugal, Mirandese: Pertual), officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa; Mirandese: República Pertuesa), is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and, especially at Covilhã Covilhã is a city in Covilha Municipality in Centro region, Portugal. The city proper has 36,723 inhabitants, and the municipality has an area of 555.6 km² with a total population of 53,501, being composed of 31 parishes. It is located in the Cova da Beira subregion, in the district of Castelo Branco. The municipal holiday is October 20, and in northeastern Brazil Brazil (pronounced /brəˈzɪl/ ; Portuguese: Brasil, IPA: [bɾaˈziw]), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil, listen (help·info)), is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population. It is the only Portuguese-speaking[citation needed].
The "Belmonte Jews" of Portugal maintained strong secret traditions for centuries. A whole community survived in secrecy for hundreds of years by maintaining a tradition of intermarriage and hiding all the external signs of their faith. The Jewish community in Belmonte goes back to the 12th century. They and their practices were only discovered in the 20th century. Their rich Sephardic tradition of Crypto-Judaism is unique. Only recently did they contact other Jews. Some now profess Orthodox Judaism, although many still retain their centuries-old traditions.[6]
Xuetes
The Xueta are a minority on the Balearic Philologists coined Balearic as a collective name for the group of Catalan variants that people speak in the Balearic Islands. Those who speak it refer to their variant by the name local to their individual island: "Mallorquí" , "Eivissenc" (Ibiza), and "Menorquí" (Minorca) island of Majorca Majorca is the largest island of Spain. It is located in the Mediterranean Sea and part of the Balearic Islands archipelago, one of the autonomous communities of Spain. The name derives from Latin insula maior, "larger island"; later Maiorica (Mallorca Majorca is the largest island of Spain. It is located in the Mediterranean Sea and part of the Balearic Islands archipelago. The name derives from Latin insula maior, "larger island"; later Maiorica) who are descended almost entirely from crypto-Jews, forced to convert in 1391. The term "xueta" literally translates to "pig" in Catalan Catalan is a Romance language, the national and official language of Andorra, and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencià (Valencian), as well as in the city of Alghero on the Italian island of Sardinia. It is also spoken in the, similar to the old Spanish Countries where Spanish has official status. States of the U.S. where Spanish has no official status but is spoken by 25% or more of the population. States of the U.S. where Spanish has no official status but is spoken by 10-20% of the population. States of the U.S. where Spanish has no official status but is spoken by 5-9.9% of the population (Castilian) term and marrano Marranos or 'secret Jews' were Sephardic Jews, or Jewish people living in the Iberian peninsula, forced to convert to Catholicism-Christianity or be expelled from the Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon . This designation officially began in 1492 with the Castilian Alhambra Decree, reversing protections in the Treaty of Granada (1491), and used for, both of the same meaning.
Today, they comprise a population of 20,000–25,000 on an island of 750,000; they have professed Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with more than a billion members. The Church's leader is the Pope who holds supreme authority in concert with the College of Bishops of which he is the head. A communion of the Western church and 22 autonomous Eastern Catholic churches (called for centuries but have only recently seen a lessening in ethnic tensions with ethnic Majorcans. According to some Orthodox Orthodox Judaism is a formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics canonized in the Talmudic texts and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim. Generally, Orthodox Judaism consists of two different streams, the rabbis The basic form of the rabbi developed in the Pharisaic and Talmudic era, when learned teachers assembled to codify Judaism's written and oral laws. In more recent centuries, the duties of the rabbi became increasingly influenced by the duties of the Protestant Christian Minister, hence the title "pulpit rabbis", and in 19th century, the majority of Xuetes are probably Jewish The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation. Converts to Judaism, whose status as Jews within the Jewish ethnos under Jewish law Halakha — also transliterated Halocho (Ashkenazic Hebrew pronunciation) and Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions (by descent from Jewish mothers) due to the low rate of intermarriage Interfaith marriage, traditionally called mixed marriage, is marriage between partners professing different religions. Some religious doctrines prohibit interfaith marriage, and while others do allow it, most restrict it with outside groups.[citation needed] Only recently have intermarriages between the two groups been more prevalent or noticeable.
During World War II Albania · Australia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Brazil · Bulgaria · Burma · Cambodia · Canada · Ceylon (Sri Lanka) · Channel Islands · China · Czechoslovakia · Denmark · Dutch East Indies · Egypt · Estonia · Finland · France · Germany · Gibraltar · Greece · Greenland · Hong Kong · Hungary · Iceland ·, Nazi Germany Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the government of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party , from 1933 to 1945. Third Reich (German: Drittes Reich) denotes the Nazi state as the historical successor to the mediæval Holy Roman Empire (962–1806) and to the modern German Empire (1 was known to have pressured Majorcan religious authorities into surrendering the Xuetes, targeted because of their Jewish The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation. Converts to Judaism, whose status as Jews within the Jewish ethnos ancestry. Reportedly the religious authorities refused the Nazi request.[citation needed]
Several Xuetes are reported to have "reconverted" to Judaism Judaism is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people. Judaism, originating in the Hebrew Bible and explored in later texts such as the Talmud, is considered by Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship God developed with the Children of Israel. According to traditional Rabbinic Judaism, God revealed. Some have become rabbis The basic form of the rabbi developed in the Pharisaic and Talmudic era, when learned teachers assembled to codify Judaism's written and oral laws. In more recent centuries, the duties of the rabbi became increasingly influenced by the duties of the Protestant Christian Minister, hence the title "pulpit rabbis", and in 19th century.[7]
Neofiti
The Neofiti were a group of crypto-Jews living in the Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1861. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy. The Kingdom covered not only the island of Sicily itself, but also the whole Mezzogiorno region of which not only included the island of Sicily but nearly all of Southern Italy from the 13th to the 16th centuries.
Asia and Muslim Lands
There are, or have been, several communities of Crypto-Jews in Muslim lands. The ancestors of the Daggatuns probably kept up their Jewish practises a long time after their nominal adoption of Islam. This was also done by the Maimins of Salonica (Grätz, in "Monatsschrift", Feb., 1884). A large community of Crypto-Jews lived in Mash'had, Near Khorassan Greater Khorasan (also written Khorasaan, Khurasan and Khurasaan) is a modern term for a historical geographic region spanning (in clockwise order) north-eastern and east of Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, western and northern Afghanistan. The name "Khorasan" is said to derive from Middle Persian khor "sun" + ayan &, where they were known as "Jedid al-Islam", who were mass-converted to Islam around 1839. Most of this community left for Israel in 1946, but some have converted into Muslims and live in Iran today.[8][9] In central Iran Iran (Persian: ایران [ʔiˈɾɒn] ), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Central Eurasia and Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was also known to the western world as Persia. Both Persia and Iran are used's village of Sebe, local Muslims practice many Jewish customs, such as women lighting a candle on Friday night (the eve of the Jewish Sabbath Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from week to week and from place to place, depending on the time of sunset at). Prior to sundown on Friday, they prepare a small fire which they leave on throughout Saturday, so as not to ignite the fire on Sabbath. It is believed Sebe is one of several Persian Jewish communities whose people made forced mass conversion to Islam.[citation needed]
North America
There are three distinct historical components to colonial roots of crypto-Judaism, largely restricted to Spanish-held territories in Mexico, each with distinct geographical and temporal aspects: early colonial roots, the frontier province of Nuevo León, and the later northern frontier provinces. The crypto-Jewish traditions have complex histories and are typically embedded in an amalgam of syncretic Roman Catholic and Judaic traditions. In many ways resurgent Judaic practices mirrored indigenous peoples' maintaining their traditions practiced loosely under Roman Catholic veil. In addition Catholicism was syncretic, absorbing other traditions and creating a new creole religion.
Early colonial period — 16th century
However, Portugal in 1497 issued a similar decree that effectively converted all remaining Jewish children, making them wards of the state unless the parents also converted. Therefore, many of the early crypto-Jewish migrants to Mexico in the early colonial days were technically first to second generation Portuguese with Spanish roots before that. The number of such Portuguese migrants was significant enough that the label of "Portuguese" became synonymous with "Jewish" throughout the Spanish colonies. Immigration to Mexico offered lucrative trade possibilities in a well-populated colony with nascent Spanish culture counterbalanced by a large non-Christian population. Migrants thought the culture would be more tolerant since the lands were overwhelmingly populated by non-Christian indigenous peoples.
Colonial officials believed that many crypto-Jews were going to Mexico during the 16th century and complained in written documents to Spain that Spanish society in Mexico would become significantly Jewish. Officials found and condemned clandestine synagogues in Mexico City. At this point, colonial administrators instituted the Law of the Pure Blood, which prohibited migration to Mexico for New Christians (Christiano Nuevo), i.e. anyone who could not prove to be Old Christians for at least the last three generations. During this time, the administration initiated the Mexican Inquisition to ensure the Catholic orthodoxy of all migrants into Mexico. The Mexico Inquisition was also deployed in the traditional manner to ensure orthodoxy of converted indigenous peoples. The first victims of burnings or autos de fé of the Mexican Inquisition were indigenous converts convicted of heresy or crypto-Jews convicted of relapsing into their ancestral faith.[citation needed]
Except for the province of Nuevo León, initiation of the Blood Purity Laws reduced the migration of conversos.
Nuevo León — 1590s to early 17th century
The history of the colonization of Mexico can be described as a northward expansion over increasingly hostile geography well-populated by angered tribes and loose confederations of indigenous peoples, being conquered. Spain financed the expansion by exploiting mineral wealth, using indigenous peoples as labor in mines, and establishing ranchos for raising livestock. One troublesome region was a large expanse covering the North-Eastern quadrant of the current geography of New Spain The Viceroyalty of New Spain was the first of four viceroyalties created to govern Spain's territories in North and Central America. It was ruled by a viceroy from Mexico City who governed many territories on behalf of the King of Spain. The Viceroyalty of New Spain lasted from 1535 to 1821, and was one of two early viceroyalties established in (Nueva España) who later will become what it is now known as México. Chichimec Chichimeca was the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to a wide range of semi-nomadic peoples who inhabited the north of modern-day Mexico and southwestern United States, and carried the same sense as the European term "barbarian". The name was adopted with a pejorative tone by the Spaniards when referring, Apache Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the American Southwest. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan (Apachean) language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan speakers of Alaska and western Canada. The and other tribes were resistant to Christianization and "settling". They were perceived to render the frontier (frontera) a lawless and unsettled region.
Luis Carvajal y de la Cueva was a Portuguese New Christian royal accountant who received a royal charter to settle Nuevo León Nuevo León is a state located in northeastern Mexico. It borders the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east and San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León accounts for a 15 kilometer (9 mi) stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S. state of Texas, a large expanse of land in the hostile frontier. Significantly, Carvajal y de la Cueva received an exemption from the King of Spain to allow New Christians to participate in settling of this region. This exemption allowed an increased number of peoples to come to the hostile region while doing so with immigrants that were legally barred from entering New Spain The Viceroyalty of New Spain was the first of four viceroyalties created to govern Spain's territories in North and Central America. It was ruled by a viceroy from Mexico City who governed many territories on behalf of the King of Spain. The Viceroyalty of New Spain lasted from 1535 to 1821, and was one of two early viceroyalties established in elsewhere. Carvajal chartered ships from Portugal. Historians believe the passenger lists consisted exclusively of conversos.
With Carvajal as governor, Monterrey was established as the center, currently in the state of Nuevo León. Within a few years, some people reported to Mexico City that Jewish rites were being performed in the Northern Province and efforts to convert heathen indigenous peoples were lax.[citation needed] One associate of Carvajal, Lieutenant Governor Gaspar Castaño de Sosa led a large expedition to New Mexico Inhabited by Native American populations for many centuries, it has also been part of the Imperial Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S. territory. Among U.S. states, New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanics, at 44 percent , including descendants of Spanish colonists and recent immigrants from Latin America. It in 1591 in an effort to establish a colony. Castaño was arrested for this unauthorized expedition and sentenced to exile in the Philippines The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas), is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam. The Sulu Sea to the southwest lies between the country and the island of Borneo, and. The sentence was later reversed but he had already been killed in a slave revolt.[10]
The governor, his immediate family members and others of his entourage were called to appear before the Inquisition in Mexico City. They were arrested and jailed. The governor subsequently died in jail, while his family members were rehabilitated. One of these was Anna Carvajal, a niece of the Governor. She and others were later again taken captive and sentenced to burning at the stake for relapsing.
The governor's nephews changed their name to Lumbroso. One of these was Joseph Lumbroso, also known as Luis de Carvajal el Mozo, who is said to have circumcised himself in the desert to conform to Jewish law. His memoirs, letters and inquisition record survive. Two other nephews also changed their names to Lumbroso and migrated to Italy, where they became famous rabbis.
When Governor Carvajal was in office, the city of Monterrey became a destination for other crypto-Jews feeling the pressure of the Mexican Inquisition in the south of the territory. Thus, the story of Nuevo León and the founding of Monterrey are significant as it attracted crypto-Jewish migrants from all parts of New Spain The Viceroyalty of New Spain was the first of four viceroyalties created to govern Spain's territories in North and Central America. It was ruled by a viceroy from Mexico City who governed many territories on behalf of the King of Spain. The Viceroyalty of New Spain lasted from 1535 to 1821, and was one of two early viceroyalties established in. They created one of the earliest Jewish-related communities in earlier Mexico. (The Jewish communities in modern Mexico which practice their Judaism openly were not established until the considerable immigration from eastern Europe, Turkey and Syria in the late 19th century and 20th century.)
