Hilulah Day: Nisan-30

(the blue strings are "Kedusha- Kever" strings wrapped around the site)


Rabbi Chaim Vital

Born: Tzefat, Eretz Yisrael, 1543

Died: Damascus, Syria, 1620

Rabbi Chaim Vital was the closest disciple of the great 16th-century kabbalist, the Ari - Rabbi Itzchak Luria.

Rabbi Chaim Vital learned nigleh, the revealed aspects of the Torah, under the tzaddik Rabbi Moshe Alshich, who was also the one to ordain (semicha) him as a rabbi.

The Ari's teachings were all given orally, and he himself wrote very little in print. His faithful disciple, Rabbi Chaim Vital, recorded his master's teachings in several books which have come down to us, generally known by the name Kitvei HaAri. Along with the Zohar, these books are considered to be the major source for kabbalistic study.

Rabbi Chaim Vital studied with The Ari for a period of less than two years (both men were in their 30's !), until The Ari left the world. Yet the knowledge passed unto Rabbi Chaim Vital is vast and encompassing.

The Ari claimed that the soul of Rabbi Chaim Vital, was a very high soul, from the same root of soul of Rabbi Akiva and King Chizkiyahu , both the father (Rabbi Yosef Vital) and son (Rabbi Shmuel Vital) of Rabbi Chaim Vital were sparks of soul of the great Tana, rabbi Meir Baal HaNess. His son Rabbi Shmuel Vital was the one who put the finishing touches on the Eight Gates of Kitvei HaAri, and published them. Some other manuscripts (mainly Etz Chaim), Rabbi Chaim Vital wished not to published and took it to the grave with him.


Years later Rabbi Avraham Azulai and Rabbi Yaakov Tzemach dealt with Yichudim (special Kabbalistic meditations) and She'alot Chalom (dream meditation) until permission was granted to them by Rabbi Chaim Vital in a dream to dig at his gravesite and excavate those additional writings.

Rabbi Chayim Vital on the ARI...

" The Ari overflowed with Torah. He was thoroughly expert in Tanach, Mishnah, Talmud, Pilpul, Midrash, Agadah, Ma'aseh Bereshit and Ma'aseh Merkavah. He was expert in the language of trees, the language of birds, and the speech of angels. He could read faces in the manner outlined in the Zohar (2:74b). He could discern all that any individual had done, and could see what they would do in the future. He could read people's thoughts, often before the thought even entered their mind. He knew future events, was aware of everything happening here on earth, and what was decreed in heaven. He knew the mysteries of gilgul [Reincarnation], who had been born previously, and who was here for the first time. He could look at a person and tell him how he was connected to the Supernal Man, and how he was related to Adam. He could read wondrous things [about people] in the light of a candle or in the flame of a fire. With his eyes he gazed and was able to see the souls of the righteous, both those who had died recently and those who had lived in ancient times. With these he studied the true mysteries. By a person's scent he was able to know all that he had done, an ability that the Zohar attributes to the holy Yenuka [Child] (3:188a). It was as if all these mysteries were lying in his bosom, waiting to be activated whenever he desired. He did not have to mitboded [seclude himself] to seek them out. All this we saw with our own eyes. These are not things that we heard from others. They were wondrous things that had not been seen on earth since the time of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. None of this was attained through magic, heaven forbid. There is a strong prohibition against these arts. Instead, it came automatically, as a result of his saintliness and asceticism, after many years of study in both the ancient and the newer Kabbalistic texts. He then increased his piety, asceticism, purity and holiness until he reached a level where Eliyahu HaNavie (Elijah the prophet) would constantly reveal himself to him, speaking to him "mouth to mouth," teaching him these mysteries. "
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Rabbi Chaim Vital wrote Sha’arei Kedusha (Gates of Holiness) as a guide to achieving ruach ha-kodesh (divine inspiration) and nevuah (prophecy). The text (in its forth chapter) even teaches how to use the holy 72 names. Yet, the largest portion of the book is dedicated to the preparations for these holy acts. The lion’s share of this material is musar (ethics), teaching us how to rectify and elevate our midot (personalities). It is these teachings that have made Sha’arei Kedusha a classic in the yeshiva world. That forth chapter of Sha’arei Kedusha and other kabbalistic works attributed to Rabbi Chaim Vital, were published under the title Ktavim Chadashim L'Rabbi Chaim Vital (Hebrew), and Otzrot Chaim

May the merit of the tzaddik Rabbi Chaim Vital protect us all, Amen.

Hilulah Day: Nisan-30

Rabbi Yosef HaLevi Ibn Migash

Born: Seville, Spain, 1077

Died: Lucena, Spain 1141

Talmudist, Teacher.

At a tender age, R' Yosef displayed great talents and sharp wit. Rabbi Yitzchak Albaliah predicted that the child would become a great luminary in the Torah world and implored Yosef's father to provide him with outstanding teachers and to dedicate all of the youth's time to learning.

At the age of 12, R' Yosef traveled to Lucena, to continue his studies. Raabi Yitzchak Alfasi's (Rif) praise of R' Yosef was unbounded, and although his own son R' Yaakov was an eminent sage, Rif designated the youthful R' Yosef to be his successor.

As head of the famous academy of Lucena, R' Yosef taught numerous disciples including Rabbi Maimon, father of Rambam. Rambam's praise of R' Yosef in uncharacteristically ecstatic. "The depth and scope of his wisdom astound all who study his words" said the Rambam. Having absorbed R' Yosef's teachings from his father, Rambam refers to R' Yosef as "my teacher".

Rabbi Yosef also replied to halachic inquiries sent to him from all the Sephardic communities, and his sharp intellect was apparent in correspondence as well as in his discourses. A small portion of his extensive responsa has been published under the title Sheilot U'Teshuvot HaRi Migash. Rabbi Yosef composed commentaries to many Talmudic tractates, of which only those to Bava Batra and Shevuot have been published.

May the merit of the tzaddik Rabbi Yosef HaLevi Ibn Migash protect us all, Amen.

Holocaust Survivors from Salonica

Holocaust Survivors from Salonica


A poem by Yitzhak Katznelson, which was written a few days before the Germans killed him, and it seems to be appropriate even today.

Sure enough, the nations did not interfere, nor did they protest,Nor shake their heads, nor did they warn the murderers.Never a murmur. It was as if the leaders of the nationsWere afraid that the killings might stop.

The House by the Sea: A Portrait of the Holocaust in Greece.


There are far too few books in English on the Sephardic experience in the Holocaust. There would be fewer still if it weren't for Rebecca Camhi Fromer, author of the groundbreaking The Holocaust Odyssey of Daniel Bennahmias, Sonderkommando (University of Alabama Press, 1993) and co-author, with Rene Molho, of They Say Diamonds Don't Burn (Judah Magnes Museum, 1994). In her latest book, The House by the Sea, she weaves the facts of the Holocaust in Greece around the personal story of Salonica native Elias Aelion. Elias is not a Holocaust survivor in the usual sense, for he was never in a German concentration camp. There are no descriptions here of concentration camps, mass murders, or crematoria. Yet the book is subtitled "A Portrait of the Holocaust in Greece" because, as the author says in the Preface, this is "a serious work that is grounded in the past, the tenor of the struggle to survive, and the nature of the loss in Greece due to the Holocaust."


Elias Aelion was born in the house at the edge of the sea, a house which remains associated in his memory with "all that seemed worthwhile, warm and loving, simple and natural" His grandparents lived there, and it was the focal location of the very large family's life, of gatherings on Sabbaths, holidays and special occasions, of games and fights with cousins, and of other mundane events of a normal life. Elias was inducted into the Greek army in 1939, becoming part of the defense army against the invading Italians in 1940. When the Germans invaded in April, 1941, the Greek soldiers fled in disarray, and Elias escaped on foot with his comrades, walking for about 300 miles from somewhere between Bulgaria and Yugoslavia into Greece. When his family and friends and all the other Jews of his hometown went on the infamous "transports", he was in Italian-occupied Athens. Returning to Salonica, he finds his community and family gone.

Besides lending her own poetic eloquence to Elias's language (the story is told in the first person by Elias), Ms. Fromer also speaks to readers directly in the Introduction, the notes, the Appendices and the Afterword, in order to to create a complete picture of the events. In the Introduction, she presents a general historical background of the Jews of Greece, the culture of the Jews of Salonica (the city that "was a main center of Sephardic life, not a mere outpost of Jewish survival"), and the destruction of their great culture within a period of less than five months, culminating with the nineteenth and last transport out of Salonica on August 18, 1943. Alongside Elias's story, Ms. Fromer adds illuminating and interesting side notes. (One of the notes, however, gives the wrong information on the origin of the term "sefer tasin" - a portable food pot. The term has nothing to do with the Hebrew "sefer", meaning book, as is indicated, but comes from "sefer tasi" in Turkish - "sefer" meaning journey or expedition, related to the English word "safari".) The Ladino proverbs (with English translations) that introduce each chapter are not only appropriate preludes to the upcoming themes, but also hint at the richness of the language and the philosophy of life of the Sephardim obliterated in the Holocaust.

The Appendices include a historical time-line, a chronology of the Holocaust in Greece, a map, and archival information on the transports. One of the documents, from the O.S.S. (Office of Strategic Services), declassified only in January of 1998 and published here for the first time, dispels any doubt that at least by 1943, the Allies had clear information about the planned extermination of the Jews of Europe.

The House by the Sea is an engagingly-told piece of little-known history, and an intimate look at the destruction of a great and vibrant Sephardic culture. If we are to understand the full scope of the Holocaust, this history must be known, and that culture must be understood.

International Sephardic Leadership Council (ISLC) calls on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) to explain why they decline to address the historically documented collaboration between Arabs and Nazis during the Holocaust, and how that collaboration has influenced present anti-Semitism in Islamic countries.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(New York, NY) April 25, 2006 - On the occasion of Yom Hashoah, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day, the International Sephardic Leadership Council (ISLC) calls on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) to explain why they decline to address the historically documented collaboration between Arabs and Nazis during the Holocaust, and how that collaboration has influenced present anti-Semitism in Islamic countries.

The USHMM, a federally funded government institute, has never presented an exhibit or sponsored an event confronting Arab or Muslim anti-Semitism or the fate of Jews in Arab countries during the Holocaust. These countries include Jews from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Iraq and other countries effected during and immediately after the war years, because of Nazi inspired Arab anti-Semitism.

Historically, it is well documented and established that Muslim leaders worked hand-in-hand with Nazi leaders during World War II, and the intensifying hatred of Jews in the Middle East today is a result of those relationships. Amid almost daily pledges from Iran to “annihilate” Israel, the USHMM remains silent about the historic cause of the exacerbation of Muslim anti-Semitism.

Shelomo Alfassa, executive director of the ISLC commented,“When a public official of the USHMM publicly minimizes and obscures, even denies, well-settled historical facts regarding the extensive relationship between the Grand Mufti and Holocaust-era Arabs with the Third Reich, you know there is a failure in the system.” This statement was issued in response to the Chief Historian of the USHMM declaring, “There was no collaboration between the Arabs and the Nazis.” In response to this, the International Sephardic Leadership Council filed a formal complaint with the USHMM Auditor General and called for investigation. To this day, the Museum has not responded.

U.S. Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY) joined the International Sephardic Leadership Council at a January 2006 town hall meeting in Washington D.C., where he commented, “The Museum should better understand and underscore the Nazi hatred of Jews and contemporary anti-Semitism in the Muslim world which is the natural inheritance of Hitler’s beliefs.” Carol Greenwald (of Holocaust Museum Watch) and Chuck Morse (candidate R-MA) issued an op/ed in The Washington Times saying, “The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum should be an authoritative voice educating the museum's visitors and the public about the re-emergence of genocidal hatred as a political tool. The museum's mission requires it to publicize this rebirth of Nazi propaganda though exhibits and educational programs."

The former director of the USHMM agrees. Dr. Walter Reich told a major Israeli newspaper, “There is no doubt that most expressions of anti-Semitism today, and the main basis for Holocaust denial, are in the Arab-Muslim world.” Reich stated he believed it reasonable for the USHMM to take seriously the expansion and increased power of anti-Semitism and Holocaust-denial in the Arab world.

Despite the fact that the USHMM has exhibits on significant issues such as propaganda, genocide in Darfur and Rwanda, and persecution of homosexuals; it makes no mention of Arab anti-Semitism—not of its history in the last century—not of its current existence. While Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust Museum, is discussing the German-Arab ties, and while Encyclopedia of the Holocaust devotes more space to the Mufti of Jerusalem than to any other Nazi leader except Hitler, the USHMM is covering its eyes and ears unashamedly ignoring historical facts.

Editor's note: This history of this subject has been made available in a 25 page document issued by the ISLC: "A Backgrounder of the Nazi Activities in North Africa and the Middle East During the Era of the Holocaust" at www.sephardiccouncil.org.

The International Sephardic Leadership Council is based in the heart of the vibrant Near-Eastern Sephardic Community of New York City, a community highly committed to Judaism, made up of 75,000 Syrian, Egyptian, Lebanese, Turkish and North African Jews; one of the largest, strongest, and fastest growing Sephardic communities in the world.

Hilulah Nisan-26 Yehoshua (Joshua) Ben-Nun

Kever Yehoshua (Joshua) Ben-Nun


Yehoshua (Joshua) Ben-Nun

Born: Egypt, 1354 BCE.

Died: Eretz Yisrael, 1244 BCE.

Yehoshua married Rachav, who gave shelter to the two spies (Yehoshua 1). In Shaar HaGilgulim (hakdama 36) the Ari, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria says that Rachav was a very holy soul and it wasn't in vain that Yehoshua married her.

The face of Moshe (Moses) was like the sun, the face of Yehoshua like the moon (Bava Batra 75a).

Yehoshua did not call himself a servant of God, but the Holy One, Blessed is He, called him that (Sifri Va'etchanan 27).

Three were crowned with the titles of "age" and "days," and all three were heads of distinguished houses, Avraham, Yehoshua, and David. Avraham was the head of the Patriarchs, Yehoshua the head of the Kingship of the Tribe of Ephraim, and David the head of the Kingship of the Tribe of Yehudah (Bereishit Rabbah 59:6).

His coin had an ox on one side and a re'em, an animal with majestic horns, on the other (Yalkut Shimoni, Yehoshua 17).

When Hashem told Moshe whom to choose as the next leader, he said to him, "Take yourself Yehoshua son of Nun (Numbers 28:18) who is a hero like yourself" (Sifri Vayeilech 305).

The poor man uses entreaties (Proverbs 18:23) refers to Moshe who did not enter the Holy Land. But the rich man answers impudently (ibid.) refers to Yehoshua who entered and said, "Would that we had been content and dwelt beyond the Jordan (Joshua 7:7), and not entered the Land of Israel!" He said this when thirty-six Jews fell in the battle of Ai (Sanhedrin 44a).

Calev son of Yephuneh the Kenizite and Yehoshua son of Nun were equal to one another (Tosefta, end of Kritut).

When Yehoshua left the camp of Israel to wait at the bottom of Mount Sinai for the return of Moshe, manna fell for Yehoshua just as it fell for the whole community of Israel (Yoma 76a).

Manna fell on his limbs, and he would take it and eat it (Mechilta Beshalach 4:3).

Yehoshua led Israel for twenty-eight years (Seder Olam Rabbah 12).

Yehoshua was five cubits tall. On his head sat a royal crown inscribed with God's Name (Otzar HaMidrashim 210).

Yehoshua circumcised the people of Israel in Egypt, as it is written, Hashem said to Yehoshua, "Return and circumcise the Children of Israel a second time" (Joshua 5:2) (Shemot Rabbah 19:5).

Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Yehoshua, and Yehoshua to the Elders (Avot 1:1).

He engaged in Torah study from childhood to old age (Tanna d'Bei Eliyahu Zuta 13).

Yehoshua was elevated only because he occupied himself with Torah study continuously (Mishnat Rabbi Eliezer13).

Yehoshua sat and expounded, and everyone knew that he was expounding the teachings of Moshe (Yerushalmi Shekalim 2:5).

Even in matters that he had not heard from Moshe, his own reasoning corresponded with what had been told to Moshe at Sinai (Yerushalmi Pe'ah 1:1).

Seeing how precious the words of Torah were to Yehoshua, the Holy One, Blessed is He, said to him, 'This Book of the Torah will not leave your mouth" (Joshua 1:8) (Menachot 99b).

He made himself like a fool before our teacher Moshe, whom he troubled to teach him Torah every minute until he had learned the entire Torah (Midrash HaGadol, end of Devarim).

Yehoshua wrote these words in the book of the Law of God (Joshua 24:26).

Yehoshua wrote in his Book words concerning the cities of refuge, see Joshua 20, that are written in the Torah (Makkot 11a).

Moshe the servant of Hashem died there (Deuteronomy 34:5).

Moses wrote the whole Torah up to that verse. The rest was written by Yehoshua son of Nun (Menachot 30a).

Yehoshua wrote his book (i.e., the Book of Yehoshua) and the last eight verses of the Torah, Pinchas the Kohen Gadol completed the Book of Yehoshua (Bava Batra 14b).

Yehoshua was fluent in the book of Deuteronomy (Devarim), which he studied constantly. When the Holy One, Blessed is He, appeared to him, He found him sitting with the book of Deuteronomy in his hand and said to him, "Strengthen yourself, Yehoshua, persevere, Yehoshua. This book of the Torah will not leave your mouth" (Joshua 1:8).

Yehoshua took the Book of Deuteronomy, displayed it to the sun, and said, "Because I have never ceased studying this book, you should cease your movement at my request" (Bereishit Rabbah 6:9).

If someone asks, "Why did Yehoshua build an altar on Mount Eval? Was there no Tabernacle?" answer him that the Holy One, Blessed is He, said, "It is I who told him to do so" (Bamidbar Rabbah 14:1).

When our teacher Moshe was about to depart for Paradise, he said to Yehoshua, "Ask me all the questions that you have." "My teacher," replied Yehoshua, "did I ever leave you for a short time and go elsewhere? Did you not write of me, He does not leave the tent (Exodus 33:11)?"

Immediately Yehoshua's intellectual powers were weakened so that he forgot 300 laws and had 700 uncertainties. All the Israelites rose to kill him. The Holy One, Blessed is He, said to him, "To tell you what you do not know is impossible. Go and distract them with war to capture the Land of Canaan" (Temurah 16a).

Three thousand laws were forgotten in the period of mourning for Moshe. The people said to Yehoshua, "Ask God." He replied, "It is not in the heavens" (ibid.).That night Yehoshua went into the valley (Joshua 8:13).

He went into the depth of Halachah (Eiruvin 63b).

The Death of Yehoshua

Yehoshua did not rebuke Israel until he was near death (Sifri Devarim 2).

It is written, "As I God was with Moshe, so will I be with you" (Joshua 1:5).

Yehoshua should therefore have lived for 120 years like our teacher Moses. Why were ten years deducted from his life? At the time the Holy One, Blessed is He, said to Moshe, "Avenge the Children of Israel of the Midianites, afterward you will be gathered to your people" (Numbers 31:2).

Although he was told he would die, he did not delay, but acted quickly: And Moshe send them (ibid. v. 6). But when Yehoshua came to fight the thirty-one Kings of Canaan, he said, "If I slay them immediately, I will die immediately, just as Moses did." What did Joshua do? He began to delay the wars against them. The Holy One, Blessed is He, said to him, "Since you have done that, I will shorten your life by ten years" (Bamidbar Rabbah 22:6).

He died only because of the counsel of the serpent (i.e., the sin of Adam and Eve) (Zohar 2:194b).

Before the sun of Yehoshua set, the sun of Othniel son of Kenaz had arisen (Bereishit Rabbah 58:2).

When Yehoshua was born, no one took note, when he died, all of Israel took note. However, the Israelites were lax in doing kindness with Yehoshua son of Nun by mourning him properly. One was busy with his vineyard, the other with his field, yet another with his coal. The Holy One, Blessed is He, therefore sought to make the whole world quake, as it is written, They buried him, north of the Mount of Eruption (Joshua 24:30) (Midrash Shmuel, ed. Buber, 23:7).

May the merit of the tzaddik Yehoshua Ben-Nun protect us all, Amen.

The Lisbon Massacre

The Lisbon Massacre

----- Original Message -----

From: Richard Zimler Subject: The Lisbon Massacre

Dear Rufina, Hi! I hope all is well in South Africa! We will have a ceremony to commemorate the Massacre on April 29th in Lisbon. I wrote the attached article for the event. Feel free to circulate it to your e-mail list or put it on your wite... (Or not - I don't know if people will be interested). Love, Richard.

The 500th Anniversary of the Lisbon Massacre

By Richard Zimler

Precisely 500 year ago, on April 19, 1506, the Lisbon Massacre began.

At the time, the Portuguese capital was a dusty, disease-ridden city wasted by plague and drought. Just off the main square, in St. Dominic's Church, priests decided to restore the demoralized residents' faith in God's mercy. That morning, they apparently carved a niche at the back of a large crucifix. During mass, they put a candle inside so that the glow of the flame would show through, declaring the radiance a miracle.

As the story goes, among the worshipers was a man who called out that rain would be a far more useful miracle. This daring but foolhardy churchgoer happened to be a New Christian - a Jewish convert to Roman Catholicism. Thousands of New Christians lived in Lisbon at the time because King Manuel had ordered all of the Portuguese Jews forcibly converted to Christianity nine years earlier. Their only other choice had been death.

The worshiper who was foolish enough to criticize the priestly ruse in St. Dominic's Church that day was immediately seized, and outraged members of the congregation soon chopped off his head. Furious Dominican priests subsequently led a mob out to the streets, inciting them to riot with calls for "Death to the Jews and heretics!"

Most of the former Jews had moved their faith into the shadows by then; in public, they professed to be good Catholics, but in their own homes - behind closed curtains and locked doors - they practiced their traditional religion. On the 19th of April, most of them would have been celebrating Passover.

As the crazed crowd rampaged through the traditional Jewish quarters of the city, they burst into New Christian homes and murdered whomever they could capture. Over the course of three days of rioting, they dragged the victims' bodies to the Rossio, the square that is still at the heart of the Portuguese capital, and burnt them in two enormous pyres.

Contemporaneous accounts tell us that "Northern sailors" paid for the wood to burn the bodies. They do not mention the stench of charring human flesh, but I'd imagine that no one in Lisbon that day would ever forget it.

Some historians give the death toll as high as four thousand, though most estimates center around a figure of 2,000. In any case, given that the Jewish population of the city could probably not have been more than 10,000, virtually every Jewish family would have lost a loved one that day.

I first read about the Lisbon Massacre in 1989, by which time I'd been to Portugal several times to visit friends, and it shocked me that none of them knew anything about the pogrom. I soon discovered, too, that it wasn't mentioned in school textbooks. The massacre had been erased from collective memory. It was as if the 2,000 Jews who'd been murdered in April of 1506 had never lived.

Feeling outraged, I decided to make the Lisbon Massacre the background for the novel I was then planning about a 16th Century Portuguese artist. This tragic event fit perfectly into my objectives as a writer, since one of my aims has always been to give voice to people who have been systematically silenced. I take pride in crafting stories that force us to remember events that many people would prefer to forget.

The novel I was then planning turned into The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon, which tells the story of Berekiah Zarco, a bright and studious young New Christian who lives through the Lisbon Massacre only to discover that his beloved Uncle Abraham, his spiritual mentor, has been murdered in the family cellar. Berekiah must track down the killer. As a kabbalist interested in the symbolic meaning of events, he also tries to interpret what the pogrom means for him, his family, the Jewish people, all of humanity, and even God's Upper Realms. Berekiah gives his interpretation on the last page of the novel, and it is a reading of events that gives the previous 300 pages of the book a poignant and chilling new meaning.

In my subsequent novels, Hunting Midnight and Guardian of the Dawn, I've written about other dramatic and little-known events in Sephardic Jewish history, including the imposition of the Inquisition in Goa, India. Indeed, my aim has been to create a Sephardic Cycle, a series of independent novels - to be read in any order - about different branches and generations of Berekiah Zarco's family.

A few months ago, after I reminded one of Portugal's Jewish leaders about the upcoming 500th anniversary of the massacre, the Lisbon Jewish community decided to hold a commemoration ceremony on April 29th. As that date approaches, I've been thinking about why we ought to remember the 2,000 Jews murdered five centuries ago.

For anyone who believes that we learn from history, the answer is obvious: we should commemorate the massacre in order to prevent such murderous outbreaks of religious and ethnic hatred from happening again. For practicing Jews, another reason is provided by Judaism's extraordinary emphasis on remembrance. Every Passover, for instance, we re-enact the Hebrews flight from Egypt to the Promised Land. We do this, I think, not just to feel ourselves linked to our forefathers and bound to God, but also to remind ourselves that we are exactly like the people who have come before us.

Although both of these reasons once seemed entirely valid to me, I now have my doubts. Having recently turned 50, and no longer as optimistic as I was as a young man, I've come to believe that only a fraction of us learn anything valuable from history. And I've lately begun to suspect, too, that in remembering our forefathers - in feeling ourselves part of a tightly knit Jewish community - we may tend to exclude people of other ethnicities and religions, even when it comes time to help them fight against violent oppression.

It's when I open my morning newspaper and read about yet one more bombing in Iraq and more attacks in Israel and Palestine - just to choose two obvious examples - that I become convinced that we are largely deaf to the voices of our ancestors. And even those people who do speak of having learned from the past often seem to have picked up the wrong lessons. America's leaders are convinced, for instance, that the September 11th terrorist attacks justify their country using any means necessary to achieve current foreign policy goals. And many American pundits somehow learned from their nation's history of foreign warfare that U.S. troops would be met with open arms in Iraq.

All over the world - but especially in the Middle East - perpetrators of violence point to their people's past sufferings as justification for committing moral outrages.

Yet even though I am riddled with doubts about our ability to make use of the past to create a better future, I still very much want to commemorate the death of 2,000 Jews in Lisbon. A few days ago, I had a seemingly silly daydream that gave me the reason why.

As I was sitting at my desk in my Porto home, I imagined a spaceship from a planet 100 light years away landing nearby, and when our extraterrestrial visitor came down his ramp, I decided to ask him about the history of his people and planet. But he knew almost nothing.

To me, that seemed a waste of a wonderful opportunity. To have journeyed for many decades, across an unimaginable expanse of space, and then have nothing to tell us about what his world has gone through. Why come to Earth at all?

My brief daydream left me feeling that those of us without wide and varied historical knowledge have something essential missing from our lives. How is it possible to go on the wonderful journey we each make - from birth to death - without knowing the triumphs and miseries of centuries gone by, without knowing where we have been?

Our history is what any visitors to our planet would want to know first, and they'd be right! Because it helps to make us who we are. The more we know about where we've come from, the greater our insight will be into ourselves, our loved ones, our countries and our world.

I believe now that Jewish tradition, in re-enacting historical events, points us in the exactly the right direction; past struggles and trials prove to us that we are all on the same journey, and if we are to have any hope at all of rectifying injustices in our world, I believe that we need to be reminded of that as often as possible. But I'd also like to expand the scope of our Jewish celebrations. Though it might seem absurd to some, I think it's essential that we remember the tragedies and triumphs of other peoples - of Sudanese, Rwandans, Afghanis, and everyone else. In part, that's because - as heretical as it may sound to Orthodox Jewish ears - I believe that all human beings are God's Chosen People. In other words, an African slave shot down by an American plantation owner while fleeing captivity is as much my ancestor - and as worthy of my remembrance - as a Hebrew slave fleeing Egypt 2,500 years ago.

So I'll be in Lisbon on April 29th, thinking not only about the Jews massacred in April of 1506, but also about everyone still being crushed and murdered on behalf of fundamentalist gods, dictators, and political ideals.

Richard Zimler is a novelist living in Porto, Portugal. The books that make up his Sephardic Cycle are The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon, Hunting Midnight, and Guardian of the Dawn.

Remembering the Slaughter of our Portuguese-Jewish Ancestors

Remembering the Slaughter of our Portuguese-Jewish Ancestors : 19th - 21st April, 1506

Querido Irmaos e Irmas of Saudades-Sefarad

Thank you Laura for posting Nuno's site: www.ruadajudiaria.com ... and thank you Sergio Mota for your beautiful tribute in remembrance of this sad & tragic period of our history. I appreciate the forum so very much and in spite of not being able to participate always look forward to the many interesting and enriching posts.

I feel very strongly about this time in history and hope you will all be supportive by honoring our (Portuguese-Jewish) martyrs of 19th April, 1506 . Let us say kaddish wherever we are.... let us, the descendants of Portuguese Jews make our own remembrance day! Lets not wait for others to "give us permission... or a date". We have a date! We have the memories and the scars.

For those who are in Portugal, please take a friend and go to the Rossio in respect for those who were slaughtered.! No matter your religion.... [for those who are Jewish please say kaddish] those who wish to show their respect can do so by taking a candle.

Let us light up the Rossio with our presence & love. I give my personal support to Nuno Guerreiro and hope you will do the same ... I would like your permission to speak for all of us here at the SAUDADES SEFARAD FORUM . If you decide to add your voice in agreement to the blog, please do so as a member of SAUDADES.

For those who do not share our Portuguese-Jewish heritage and history, please remember this issue crosses all boundaries -it is not only about being Jewish today but it has everything to do with correcting history and honoring our dead.

What really shocks me is that so few Portuguese [people] know about this..... and even more worrisome, when they do find out they argue the point!! Let us, members, friends & family of Saudades give our support to Nuno and those of us in Portugal.... PLEASE show your support by honoring those poor souls who were so brutally tortured, raped & burnt. I ask ALL of you.... Jewish & Christian brothers and sisters to remember in your own personal way. Those of us who identify as Jewish, Hebrews or Israelites, please recite Kaddish on Thursday 20th.

Nuno Guerreiro, who writes on www.ruadajudiaria.com: "ADENDA: on the 19 of April they go to the Rossio in Lisbon and light a symbolic candle for each one of the victims. Four a thousand candles that illuminate the memory. ADENDA II : Apercebi in the beginning exists a problem of Halakah : the 19th is one of the last days of Pessach , by that commemorations of this género are forbidden for observant Jews. Therefore, instead of modifying the date, I would like to ask that you go instead to the Rossio to recite Kaddish, preferential with Minyan, on the day 20th April ( Thursday evening) the day designating the end of the slaughter, also coincides with the day of the Service of Izkor de Pessach in Memory of the Mártires.

Please support SAUDADES-SEFARAD and the RuaJudiaria Blog by adding your voice. By honoring, remembering, lighting a candle, saying a prayer, going to the Rossio. If not possible for those of us who are scattered throughout the world, please join me in saying kaddish, telling your rabbi's, pastors, priests, friends, Portuguese Embassies, newspapers, ......let us spread the word:

This is in remembrance of our Portuguese-Jewish Martyrs.

Abraços and blessings, your irma e amiga -Rufina www.saudades.org Celebrating our Portuguese-Jewish Heritage

Portugal to mark 500-year anniversary of massacre of Jews

Portugal to mark 500-year anniversary of massacre of Jews By Levi Fernandes:

Portugal will on Wednesday mark the 500-year anniversary of the start of a massacre which saw thousands of Jews burned at the stake in the streets of Lisbon at the hands of zealous Roman Catholics [xians].

City officials will unveil a small memorial at the site of one of the main stakes used during the three-day killing spree while in the evening Lisbon’s main Square, Rossio, will be lit up with 4,000 candles in memory of the dead.

One of the organizers of the candlelight memorial, journalist Nuno Guerreiro Josue, said he hopes the event will help ensure that one of Portugal's darkest, but still largely unknown, moments in history is not forgotten.

"It is important to remember the three days that 500 years ago filled the streets of Lisbon with [Jewish] blood," he said in a statement posted on his website.

Historians estimate that between 2,000 and 4,000 "New Christians" -- Jews who were forced by the state to convert in 1496 -- were thrown into pyres set up across the city centre before authorities regained control of the Portuguese capital.

The violence erupted on April 19, 1506 after a man believed to be a "New Christian" suggested that a light emanating from a crucifix at a chapel was likely caused by natural causes instead of divine intervention as thought by many Christians.

He was dragged from the church by a group of women who beat him to death, according to several historical accounts.

A priest then made a fiery sermon against "New Christians" while two other priests, crucifix in hand, marched through the cobblestoned streets of Lisbon inciting people to kill them.

In the ensuing violence even Catholics who were thought to look like "New Chistians" were killed or saw their homes destroyed.

King Manuel, who was outside of the Portuguese capital when the massacre began, ordered the ringleaders rounded up and hung while those convicted of murder or pillage received various corporal punishments.

The massacre highlights the growing unease in Portugal at the time with "New Christians".

Spain had launched its Inquisition in 1492 which aimed to expel or forcibly convert to Christianity all Jews and other non-believers, prompting thousands to cross the border into Portugal where they sought shelter.

But nearly five decades later Portugal launched its own Inquisition which led hundreds of Jews to be tortured or burned at the stake in the 16th and early 17th century after being accused by church tribunals of being heretics.

The forced conversion of Jews together with the Inquisition drastically reduced the number of Jews in Portugal, leading the memory of the "Lisbon massacre" as it has come to be known to fade.

"Since Jewish culture practically disappeared from the country, there was no one to evoke the memory of the massacre," author Richard Zimmler, who has written novels set against the purge of Jews in Portugal, said in an interview published in daily newspaper Publico on Sunday.

Some historians estimate that 20 percent of Portugal's population, or 200,000 people at that time, before the start of the Inquisition were Jewish.

Many were successful traders and scientists whose international visibility made the term "Portuguese" be synonymous with "Jew" at the time.

Today there are just some 3,000 Jews in Portugal, a nation of just over 10 million people. Most are concentrated in Lisbon and the majority came to the country after Portugal's Inquisition was officially abolished in 1821.

PRESENÇA JUDAICA NA LÍNGUA PORTUGUESA

PRESENÇA JUDAICA NA LÍNGUA PORTUGUESA EXPRESSÕES E DIZERES POPULARES EM PORTUGUÊS DE ORIGEM CRISTÃ-NOVA OU MARRANA

Jane Bichmacher de Glasman (UERJ)

O objetivo do presente trabalho é apresentar alguns exemplos de influência judaica na língua portuguesa, a partir de uma ampla pesquisa sócio-lingüística que venho desenvolvendo há anos. A opção por judaica (e não hebraica) deve-se a uma perspectiva filológica e histórica mais abrangente, englobando dialetos e idiomas judaicos, como o ladino (judeu-espanhol) e o iídiche (alemão), entre os mais conhecidos, além de vocábulos judaicos e expressões hebraicas que passaram a integrar o vernáculo a partir de subterfúgios e/ ou corruptelas, cuja origem remonta à bagagem cultural de colonizadores judeus, cristãos-novos e marranos.
Há uma significativa probabilidade estatística de brasileiros descendentes de ibéricos, principalmente portugueses, terem alguma ancestralidade judaica. A base histórica para tal é a imigração maciça de judeus expulsos da Espanha, em 1492, para Portugal, devido à contigüidade geográfica e às promessas (não cumpridas) do Rei D. Manuel I, que traziam esperança de sua sobrevivência judaica como tal. Mesmo com a expulsão de Portugal em 1497, os judeus (além dos cristãos-novos e dos cripto-judeus ou marranos) chegaram a constituir 20 a 25% da população local.
Sefaradim (de Sefarad, Espanha, da Península Ibérica) procuraram refúgio em países próximos no Mediterrâneo, norte da África, Holanda e nas recém-descobertas terras de além-mar nas Américas, procurando escapar da Inquisição. Até hoje é controversa a origem judaica ou criptojudaica de descobridores e colonizadores do Brasil, para onde imigraram incontáveis cristãos-novos, alternando durante séculos uma vida como judeus assumidos e marranos, praticando o judaísmo secretamente (fora os que permaneceram efetivamente católicos), de acordo com os ventos políticos, sob o domínio holandês ou a atuação da Inquisição, variando de um clima de maior tolerância e liberdade à total intolerância e repressão.

Comparando apenas sob o ponto de vista cronológico, nem sempre lembramos que, enquanto o Holocausto na Segunda Guerra Mundial foi tão devastador, especialmente nos quatro anos de extermínio maciço de judeus, a Inquisição durou séculos, pelo menos três dos cinco da história “oficial” do Brasil, isto é, após o descobrimento. Tantos séculos de medo, denúncias, processos e mortes, geraram, por um lado, um ambiente psicológico de terror para os judeus e cristãos novos no Brasil; por outro, um anti-semitismo evidente ou subliminar que permaneceu arraigado na população, inclusive como autodefesa e proteção.

Uma característica do comportamento de cristãos-novos “suspeitos” foi procurar ser “mais católicos do que os católicos”, buscando sobreviver à intolerância e determinando práticas sócio-culturais e lingüísticas.

A citada alternância entre vidas assumidamente judaicas e marranas, praticando judaísmo em segredo, com costumes variados, unificados pela “camuflagem” de seu teor judaico, gerou comportamentos e aspectos culturais (abrangendo rituais, superstições, ditados populares, etc.) que se arraigaram à cultura nacional. A maioria da população desconhece que muitos costumes e dizeres que fazem parte da cultura brasileira têm sua origem em práticas criptojudaicas. Apresentarei alguns exemplos bem como suas origens e explicações, a partir da origem judaica “marrana”.

“Gente da nação” é uma das denominações para designar marranos, judeus, cristãos-novos e cripto-judeus, embora existam diferenças entre termos e personagens.

Cristãos-novos foi denominação dada aos judeus que se converteram em massa na Península Ibérica nos séculos XIII e XIV; é preconceituosa devido à distinção feita entre os mesmos e os “cristãos-velhos”, concretizado nas leis espanholas discriminatórias de “Limpieza de Sangre” do século XV.

Criptojudeus eram os cristãos-novos que mantiveram secretamente seu judaísmo. Gente da nação era a expressão mais utilizada pela Inquisição e Marranos, como ficaram mais conhecidos. Embora todos fossem descendentes de judeus, só poucos voltaram a sê-lo, e em países e épocas que o permitiram.

O próprio termo “marrano” possui uma etimologia diversificada e antitética. Unterman (1992: 166), conceitua de forma tradicional, como “nome em espanhol para judeus convertidos ao cristianismo que se mantiveram secretamente ligados ao judaísmo. A palavra tem conotação pejorativa” geralmente aplicada a todos os cripto-judeus, particularmente aos de origem ibérica. Em 1391 houve uma maciça conversão forçada de judeus espanhóis, mas a maioria dos convertidos conservou sua fé. Já Cordeiro (1994), com base nas pesquisas de Maeso (1977), afirma que a tradução por “porco” em espanhol tornou-se secundária diante das várias interpretações existentes na histografia do marranismo.

Para o historiador Cecil Roth (1967), marrano, velho termo espanhol que data do início da Idade Média que significa porco, aplicado aos recém-convertidos (a princípio ironicamente devido à aversão judaica à carne de porco), tornou-se um termo geral de repúdio que no século XVI se estendeu e passou a todas as línguas da Europa ocidental.

A designação expressa a profundidade do ódio que o espanhol comum sentia pelos conversos com quem conviviam. Seu uso constante e cotidiano carregado de preconceito turvou o significado original do vocábulo. Em “Santa Inquisição: terror e linguagem”, Lipiner (1977) apresenta as definições: “Marranos: As derivações mais remotas e mais aceitáveis sugerem a origem hebraica ou aramaica do termo. Mumar: converso, apóstata. Da raiz hebraica mumar, acrescida do sufixo castelhano ano derivou a forma composta mumrrano, abreviado: Marrano. Tratar-se-ia, pois de um vocábulo hebraico acomodado às línguas ibéricas. Marit-áyin: aparência, ou seja, cristão apenas na aparência. Mar-anús: homem batizado à força. Mumar-anus: convertido à força. Contração dos dois termos hebraicos, mediante a eliminação da primeira sílaba”. Anus, em hebraico, significa forçado, violentado.

Antes de exemplificar a contribuição lingüística marrana, convém ressaltar que a vinda dos portugueses para o Brasil trouxe consigo todos os empréstimos culturais e lingüísticos que já haviam sido incorporados ao cotidiano ibérico, desde uma época anterior à Inquisição, além de novos hábitos e características; muitas palavras e expressões de origem hebraica foram incorporadas ao léxico da língua portuguesa mesmo antes de os portugueses chegarem ao Brasil. Elas encontram-se tão arraigadas em nosso idioma que muitas vezes têm sua origem confundida como sendo árabe ou grega. Exemplo: a “azeite”, comumente atribuída uma origem árabe por se assemelhar a um grande número de palavras começadas por “al-” (como alface, alfarrábio, etc.), identificadas como sendo de origem árabe por esta partícula corresponder ao artigo nesta língua. O artigo definido hebraico é a partícula “a-” e “azeite” significa, literalmente, em hebraico “a azeitona” (ha-zait).

Apesar da presença judaica por tantos séculos, em Portugal como no Brasil, as perseguições resultaram também em exclusões vocabulares. A maior parte dos hebraísmos chegou ao português por influência da linguagem religiosa, particularmente da Igreja Católica, fazendo escala no grego e no latim eclesiásticos, quase sempre relacionados a conceitos religiosos, exemplos: aleluia, amém, bálsamo, cabala, éden, fariseu, hosana, jubileu, maná, messias, satanás, páscoa, querubim, rabino, sábado, serafim e muitos outros.

Algumas palavras adotaram outros significados, ainda que relacionados à idéia do texto bíblico. Exemplos: babel indicando bagunça; amém passando a qualquer concordância com desejos; aleluia usada como interjeição de alívio.

O preconceito marca palavras originárias do hebraico usadas de forma depreciativa, como: desmazelo (de mazal – negligência, desleixo), malsim (de mashlin – delator, traidor), zote (de zot / subterrâneo, inferior, parte de baixo – pateta, idiota, parvo, tolo), ou tacanho (de katan – que tem pequena estatura, acanhado; pequeno; estúpido, avarento); além de palavras relacionadas a questões financeiras, como cacife, derivada de kessef = dinheiro.

Dezenas de nomes próprios têm origem hebraica bíblica, como: Adão, Abraão, Benjamim, Daniel, Davi, Débora, Elias, Ester, Gabriel, Hiram, Israel, Ismael, Isaque, Jacó, Jeremias, Jesus, João, Joaquim, José, Judite, Josué, Miguel, Natã, Rafael, Raquel, Marta, Maria, Rute, Salomão, Sara, Saul, Simão e tantos outros. Alguns destes, na verdade, são nomes aramaicos, oriundos da Mesopotâmia, como Abraão (Avraham), que se incorporaram ao léxico hebraico no início da formação do povo hebreu.

Podemos citar centenas de nomes e sobrenomes de judaizantes e números de seus dossiês, desde a instalação da Inquisição no Brasil, a partir dos arquivos da Torre do Tombo, em Lisboa, e de livros como Wiznitzer (1966), Carvalho (1982), Falbel (1977), Novinsky (1983), Dines (1990), Cordeiro (1994), etc. Sobrenomes muito comuns, tanto no Brasil como em Portugal, podem ser atribuídos a uma origem sefardita, já que uma das características marcantes das conversões forçadas era a adoção de um novo nome. Muitos conversos adotaram nomes de plantas, animais, profissões, objetos, etc., e estes podem ser encontrados em famílias brasileiras, até hoje, em número tão grande que seria difícil enumerá-los. Exemplos: Alves, Carvalho, Duarte, Fernandes, Gonçalves, Lima, Silva, Silveira, Machado, Paiva, Miranda, Rocha, Santos, etc. Não devemos excluir a possibilidade da existência de outros sobrenomes portugueses de origem judaica.

Porém é importante ressaltar que não se pode afirmar que todo brasileiro cujo sobrenome conste dos processos seja descendente direto de judeus portugueses; para se ter certeza é necessária uma pesquisa profunda da árvore genealógica das famílias.

Há ainda algumas palavras e expressões oriundas do misticismo judaico, tão desenvolvido na idade média. O estudo do Talmud e da Cabalá trouxe também contribuições do aramaico, como a conhecida expressão “abracadabra”, que é tida pela nossa cultura como uma “palavra mágica” (num sentido fabuloso), mas que, na realidade pode ser traduzida como “criarei à medida que falo” (num sentido real e sólido para a cultura judaica).

Algumas palavras também designam práticas judaicas ou formas de encobri-las, especialmente observável nos costumes alimentares. Por exemplo: os judeus são proibidos pela Torá de comer carne de porco, porque tem os cascos fendidos e não rumina, sendo, portanto, impuro. Para simular o abandono desse princípio e enganar espiões da Inquisição, os cristãos-novos inventaram as alheiras, embutidos à base de carne de vitelo, pato, galinha, peru – e nada de porco. Após algumas horas de defumação já podem ser consumidos. Da mesma forma, peixes “de couro” (sem escamas) não serviam para consumo.

Passando às expressões, apresento alguns exemplos, sua origem e explicação:

– “Ficar a ver navios” – Em 1492 foi determinado que os judeus que não se convertessem teriam de deixar a Espanha até ao fim de julho. Centenas de milhares então se fixaram em Portugal. O casamento do rei D. Manuel com D. Isabel, filha dos Reis Católicos, levou-o a aceitar a exigência espanhola de expulsar todos os judeus residentes em Portugal que não se convertessem ao catolicismo, num prazo que ia de Janeiro a Outubro de 1497. O rei Dom Manuel precisava dos judeus portugueses, pois eram toda a classe média e toda a mão-de-obra, além da influência intelectual. Se Portugal os expulsasse logo como fez a Espanha, o país passaria por uma crise terrível. Na realidade D. Manuel não tinha qualquer interesse em expulsar esta comunidade, que então constituía um destacado elemento de progresso nos setores da economia e das profissões liberais. A sua esperança era que, retendo os judeus no país, os seus descendentes pudessem eventualmente, como cristãos, atingir um maior grau de aculturação. Para obter os seus fins lançou mão de medidas extremamente drásticas, como ter ordenado que os filhos menores de 14 anos fossem tirados aos pais a fim de serem convertidos. Então fingiu marcar uma data de expulsão na Páscoa. Quando chegou a data do embarque dos que se recusavam a aceitar o catolicismo, alegou que não havia navios suficientes para os levar e determinou um batismo em massa dos que se tinham concentrado em Lisboa à espera de transporte para outros países. No dia marcado, estavam todos os judeus no porto esperando os navios que não vieram. Todos foram convertidos e batizados à força, em pé. Daí a expressão: “ficaram a ver navios”. O rei então declarou: não há mais judeus em Portugal, são todos cristãos (cristãos-novos). Muitos foram arrastados até a pia batismal pelas barbas ou pelos cabelos.

– “Pensar na morte da bezerra”: frase tão comumente dita por sertanejos quando querem referir-se a alguém que está meditando com ares de preocupação: “está pensando na morte da bezerra”. Registram as denunciações e as confissões feitas ao Santo Oficio, a noção popular, naquele distante período, do que seria o livro fundamental do judaísmo: a Torá. De Torá veio Toura e depois, bezerra, havendo inclusive quem afirmasse ter visto em cara de alguns cristãos-novos, o citado objeto, com chifres e tudo.

– “Passar a mão na cabeça”, com o sentido de perdoar ou acobertar erro cometido por algum protegido, é memória da maneira judaica de abençoar de cristãos-novos, passando a mão pela cabeça e descendo pela face, enquanto pronunciava a bênção.

– Seridó, região no Rio Grande do Norte, tem seu nome originário da forma hebraica contraída: Refúgio dele. Porém, não é o que escreve Luís da Câmara Cascudo, indicando uma origem indígena do nome da região, de “ceri-toh”. Em hebraico, a palavra Sarid significa sobrevivente. Acrescentando-se o sufixo ó, temos a tradução sobrevivente dele. A variação Serid, “o que escapou”, pode ser traduzido também por refúgio. Desse modo, a tradução para o nome seridó seria refúgio dele ou seus sobreviventes.

– Passar mel na boca: quando da circuncisão, o rabino passa mel na boca da criança para evitar o choro. Daí a origem da expressão: “Passar mel na boca de fulano”.

– Para o santo: o hábito sertanejo de, antes de beber, derramar uma parte do cálice, tem raízes no rito hebraico milenar de reservar, na festa de Pessach (Páscoa), um copo de vinho para o profeta Elias (representando o Messias que virá, anunciado pelo Profeta Elias).

– “Que massada!” –usada para se referir a uma tragédia ou contra-tempo, é uma alusão à fortaleza de Massada na região do Mar Morto, Israel, reduto de Zelotes, onde permaneceram anos resistindo às forças romanas após a destruição do Templo em 70 d.C., culminando com um suicídio coletivo para não se renderem, de acordo com relato do historiador Flávio Josefo.

– “Pagar siza” significando pagar imposto vem do hebraico e do aramaico (mas = imposto, em hebraico de misa, em aramaico).

– “Vestir a carapuça” ou “a carapuça serve para ...” vem da Idade Média inquisitorial, quando judeus eram obrigados a usar chapéus pontudos (ou com três pontas) para serem identificados.

– “Fazer mesuras” origina-se na reverência à Mezuzá (pergaminho com versículos de DT.6, 4-9 e 11,13-21, afixado, dentro de caixas variadas, no batente direito das portas).

– "Deus te crie" após o espirro de alguém é uma herança judaica da frase Hayim Tovim, que pode ser traduzido como tenha uma boa vida.

– “Pedir a bênção” aos pais, ao sair e chegar em casa, é prática judaica que remonta à benção sacerdotal bíblica, com a qual pais abençoam os filhos, como no Shabat e no Ano Novo.

– “Entrar e sair pela mesma porta traz felicidade” bem como o costume de varrer a casa da porta para dentro, costume arraigado até os dias de hoje, para “não jogar a sorte fora” é uma camuflagem do respeito pela Mezuzá, afixada nos portais de entrada, bem como aos dias de faxina obrigatória religiosa judaica, como antes do Shabat (Sábado, dia santo de descanso semanal) e de Pessach.

– “Apontar estrelas faz crescer verrugas nos dedos” era a superstição que se contava às crianças para não serem vistas contando estrelas em público e denunciadas à Inquisição, pois o dia judaico começa no anoitecer do dia anterior, ao despontar das primeiras estrelas, dado necessário para identificar o início do Shabat e dos feriados judaicos.

Para concluir, gostaria de mencionar um tema polêmico decorrente deste intercâmbio cultural-religioso: sua influência no português, em vocábulos que adquiriram uma conotação pejorativa e negativa. Os mais discutidos são: judeu, significando usurário, o verbo judiar (e o substantivo judiação) com o sentido de maltratar, torturar, atormentar. Seja sua origem a prática de “judaizar” (cristãos-novos mantendo judaísmo em segredo e/ ou divulgando-o a outros), seja como referência ao maltrato e às perseguições sofridas pelos judeus durante a Inquisição, o fato é que, sem dúvidas, sua conotação é negativa, e cabe a nós estudiosos do assunto e vítimas do preconceito, esclarecer a população e a mídia, alertando e visando à erradicação deste uso, não só pelo desgastado “politicamente correto”, que leva a certos exageros, mas para uma conscientização do eco subliminar de um longo passado recente, Pelo qual não basta o pedido de perdão, se não conduzir a uma mudança no comportamento social.

Referências Bibliográficas

CARVALHO, Flávio Mendes de. Raízes judaicas no Brasil. São Paulo: Arcádia, 1982.
CORDEIRO, Hélio Daniel. Os marranos e a diáspora sefaradita. São Paulo: Israel, 1994.
DINES, Alberto. Vínculos do fogo. São Paulo: Cia. das Letras. 1990.
FALBEL, Nachman & GUINSBURG, Jacó. (org.) Os marranos. São Paulo: CEJ; USP, 1977.
GONSALVES DE MELLO, José Antonio. Gente da Nação In: Revista do Instituto Arqueológico, Histórico e Geográfico Pernambucano. 1979.
HOLANDA FERREIRA, Aurélio Buarque de. Novo dicionário da língua portuguesa. Rio de Janeiro: Nova Fronteira, 1986.
HOUAISS, Antonio. Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa. Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, 2001.
LIPINER, Elias. Santa inquisição: Terror e linguagem. Rio de Janeiro. Documentário, 1977.
MAESO, David Gonzalo. A respeito da etimologia do vocábulo ‘marrano’. São Paulo, CEJ, 1977.
NOVINSKY, Anita. A inquisição. São Paulo: Brasiliense, 1983.
ROTH, Cecil (ed.) Enciclopédia judaica. Rio de Janeiro. Tradição, 1967.
UNTERMAN, Alan. Dicionário judaico de lendas e tradições. Rio de Janeiro: Zahar, 1992.
WIZNITZER, Arnold. Os judeus no Brasil Colonial. São Paulo: Pioneira, 1966.

Pessach

A história de Pêssach inicia nos dias do patriarca Avraham (Abraão). Quando D'us prometeu um herdeiro a Avraham, cujas sementes seriam tão numerosas como as estrelas, D'us também informou-o do longo período de escravidão que seus descendentes sofreriam por 400 anos, até que fossem libertados.
O primeiro dos descendentes de Avraham a chegar ao Egito foi seu bisneto Yossef (José), cuja miraculosa ascensão de escravo à quase realeza é uma das mais inspiradoras narrativas da Torá. Na dramática história de Yossef e seus irmãos, podemos ver claramente a mão condutora da Divina Providência que levou Yaacov (Jacó) e sua família ao Egito.
A chegada de Yaacov e sua família no Egito foi uma marcha triunfal. Assim foi também a partida, 210 anos depois, de seus filhos, os filhos de Israel, do Egito. Esta era a diferença: a pequena família de setenta pessoas havia se tornado uma nação grandiosa e unificada de três milhões de almas, das quais, 600.000 homens adultos.
A história de Pêssach, termina no seu ponto alto em Shavuot, (festa da Outorga da Torá no Monte Sinai), é a história do nascimento de um "reino de sacerdotes e nação sagrada": O povo judeu.

Yossef e seus irmãos faleceram, e os filhos de Israel se multiplicaram na terra do Egito. Logo após o faraó também morreu, e um novo rei ascendeu ao trono. Ele não nutria simpatia alguma pelos judeus, e preferiu esquecer tudo o que Yossef havia feito pelo Egito.
Reuniu o conselho, e decidiu escravizar o povo e a oprimi-lo antes que se tornasse muito poderoso. O faraó lançou uma política que limitava a liberdade pessoal dos hebreus, impondo pesados impostos sobre eles, e recrutando os homens para trabalhos forçados, sob a supervisão de severos capatazes. Um dos atos mais atrozes foi a tortura das crianças judias. O faraó mandava embuti-las vivas entre as paredes das construções e tomava banho com seu sangue. Porém, quanto mais os Egípcios os oprimiam, quanto mais duras as restrições impostas sobre eles, mais os filhos de Israel cresciam e se multiplicavam.
Finalmente, quando o faraó percebeu que apenas escravizar os hebreus de nada adiantaria, decretou que todos seus bebês recém-nascidos do sexo masculino fossem jogados no rio Nilo. Apenas filhas tinham permissão para viver. Desta maneira, ele esperava acabar com o aumento da população judaica, e ao mesmo tempo, eliminar um perigo que, de acordo com as previsões dos astrólogos, ameaçava sua própria vida.

Os filhos de Israel não podiam mais suportar o terrível sofrimento e a perseguição nas mãos de seus cruéis opressores. Seu sofrimento e suas preces penetraram os céus. D'us lembrou-Se de Seu acordo com Avraham, Yitschac e Yaacov, e decidiu libertar seus descendentes do cativeiro.
Moshê tinha a idade de oitenta anos, e seu irmão Aharon oitenta e três, quando entraram no palácio do faraó. Este perguntou aos dois irmãos o que desejavam. A mensagem soou como uma ordem: "Assim disse o Senhor D'us de Israel: 'Deixe Meu povo ir, que eles Me oferecerão uma festa no deserto.'"
O faraó recusou desdenhosamente, dizendo que nunca tinha ouvido falar do D'us dos Israelitas, e que Seu nome não estava registrado na sua lista de deuses de todas as nações. Acusou ainda Moshê e Aharon de uma conspiração contra o governo, e de interferirem com o trabalho dos escravos hebreus. A um sinal de Moshê, Aharon então realizou os sinais milagrosos que D'us lhe tinha permitido realizar, mas o faraó não se impressionou muito, pois seus mágicos podiam fazer quase o mesmo.
No mesmo dia o faraó ordenou que seus capatazes aumentassem a opressão sobre os filhos de Israel, e sofreram ainda mais que antes. Em seu desespero, os filhos de Israel reprovaram Moshê amargamente, por piorar ainda mais a sua situação.
Profundamente ferido e desapontado, Moshê rezou a D'us que o consolou e assegurou-lhe que sua missão teria sucesso, mas não antes que o faraó e todos do Egito fossem assolados por terríveis pragas, para que fossem punidos. Todos então veriam e reconheceriam D'us fiel e verdadeiro.

Quando o faraó continuou recusando-se a libertar os filhos de Israel, Moshê e Aharon avisaram-no de que D'us puniria tanto a ele como ao povo egípcio. Primeiro, as águas do Egito se transformariam em sangue. Moshê caminhou com Aharon até o rio. Lá chegando, Aharon levantou seu cajado, golpeou as águas e transformou-as em torrentes de sangue. Foi impossível para eles beberem da água do Nilo. Infelizmente para os egípcios, não apenas as águas do Nilo mas todas as águas do Egito transformaram-se em sangue. Os peixes morreram nos rios e lagos, e por uma semana inteira homens e animais sofreram horrível sede. Nem assim o faraó cedeu.
Após o devido aviso, a segunda praga chegou. Aharon estendeu a mão sobre as águas do Egito, que ficaram apinhadas de sapos. Cobriram cada pedaço do solo, entrando nas casas e nos quartos! Para onde quer que um egípcio se voltasse, qualquer coisa que tocasse, lá se deparava com escorregadios corpos de sapos, cujo coaxar enchia os ares. Desta vez o Faraó amedrontou-se, e pediu a Moshê e Aharon que rezassem a D'us para que o incômodo fosse removido, prometendo libertar imediatamente o povo judeu. Porém, assim que os sapos desapareceram, quebrou a promessa e recusou-se a deixar os filhos de Israel irem embora.
Então D'us ordenou a Aharon que golpeasse o pó da terra com seu cajado, e assim que ele o fez, piolhos vindos do solo rastejaram até cobrirem todo o chão. Homens e animais tiveram indizível sofrimento com esta praga terrível, mas o faraó endureceu o coração e permaneceu incansável na sua determinação de manter os filhos de Israel no cativeiro.
A quarta praga a atormentar os egípcios consistiu de bandos de animais selvagens perambulando por todo o país, destruindo tudo que havia em seu caminho. Novamente o faraó prometeu deixar os judeus irem para o deserto, com a condição que não fossem muito longe. Moshê rezou a D'us, e os animais selvagens desapareceram. Mas, assim que eles sumiram, o faraó retirou sua promessa e recusou-se a atender ao pedido. Então D'us mandou uma peste fatal que matou a maioria dos animais domésticos dos egípcios. todos os rebanhos dos campos foram golpeados e até os animais que eles adoravam como deuses derrotados pela praga! Tinham, além disso, a humilhação de ver os animais dos israelitas totalmente imunes. Apesar disso, o faraó ainda não se comovera, e não quis deixá-los livres.
Seguiu-se a sexta praga, que foi tão dolorosa e abominável que atingiu o povo do Egito com horror e agonia. D'us ordenou a Moshê que pegasse cinza da fornalha, e a jogasse em direção ao céu: então bolhas estouraram na pele dos homens e animais do Egito.
Moshê anunciou ao rei que uma tempestade de granizo com violência nunca vista assolaria a terra; nenhum ser vivo, nenhuma árvore ou arbusto escaparia incólume à tamanha fúria; o único lugar para se proteger seria dentro das casas; aqueles, portanto, que acreditassem e estivessem temerosos deveriam ficar sob a proteção de seus tetos, e abrigar o gado nos estábulos. Ao estender seu cajado para a frente, o granizo caiu com violência; e choveu fogo sobre o chão destruindo tudo. Então o faraó mandou chamar Moshê e reconheceu que tinha pecado. "O Senhor é justo," disse ele, "Suplique ao Senhor, pois isso já é demais, para que não haja mais granizo; e eu o deixarei sair." Moshê replicou: "Quando eu sair da cidade, elevarei minhas mãos ao Senhor; o trovão cessará, e não haverá mais granizo, e você saberá que D'us é o Senhor da terra." Assim ocorreu, mas logo após, o faraó permaneceu irredutível.
Da próxima vez que Moshê e Aharon foram ao faraó, este pareceu ter abrandado de certa forma, e perguntou-lhes quem iria participar no culto que os israelitas fariam no deserto. Quando lhe disseram que todos sem exceção, jovens e idosos, homens, mulheres e animais iriam, o faraó sugeriu que apenas os homens deveriam ir, e que as mulheres e crianças, bem como seus pertences, deveriam ficar no Egito. Moshê e Aharon não podiam aceitar esta oferta, e o faraó enfureceu-se, ordenando-lhes que deixassem o palácio. Antes de sair, Moshê advertiu-o sobre novos sofrimentos e punições. Porém o faraó permaneceu inflexível.
Tão logo Moshê deixou o palácio, levantou os braços aos céus. Um vento leste trouxe nuvens de gafanhotos ao Egito, cobrindo o sol, e devorando cada folha verde que porventura tivesse escapado ao granizo e às pragas anteriores. Nunca na história da humanidade houvera uma praga de gafanhotos tão devastadora como esta. Trouxe ruína total ao Egito, o qual já tinha sido totalmente destruído pelas catástrofes precedentes. Novamente o faraó mandou chamar Moshê e Aharon, implorando a eles que orassem a D'us para que cessasse esta praga. Moshê assentiu, e D'us mandou um forte vento oeste que levou os gafanhotos para o mar. Quando tudo amainou, a obstinação do faraó voltou, e recusou-se a liberar o povo de Israel.
Então seguiu-se a nona praga. Por seis dias, todos no Egito foram envoltos num véu impenetrável de escuridão e que até extinguia todas as luzes que se acendessem. Os egípcios foram tomados de pavor, permanecendo presos aos lugares em que se achavam sentados ou de pé.
Novamente o faraó tentou barganhar com Moshê e Aharon, permitindo que partissem com todo o povo, deixando para trás apenas os rebanhos como penhor. Moshê e Aharon o informaram, entretanto, que não aceitariam nada menos que liberdade total, para os homens, mulheres, animais e crianças, e que levariam todos os pertences com eles. Novamente o faraó se enfureceu e ordenou a Moshê e Aharon que fossem embora para nunca mais voltar. Avisou-os de que se tentassem novamente aparecer diante dele, morreriam. Moshê replicou que não seria necessário para eles procurar o faraó, pois D'us mandaria ainda uma praga ao Egito, após a qual o faraó daria permissão incondicional para que os filhos de Israel deixassem o Egito.
Exatamente à meia-noite, continuou Moshê, D'us passaria sobre o Egito e golpearia todos os primogênitos, homens e animais. Quanto aos filhos de Israel, no entanto, nenhum seria tocado. Um grito amargo percorreu o Egito, e todos os egípcios foram tomados pelo terror, pois tinham medo de morrer. Então o próprio faraó procurou os líderes dos hebreus, e implorou que abandonassem o Egito sem mais demora!
Com estas palavras, Moshê e Aharon deixaram o faraó.

No primeiro dia do mês de Nissan, duas semanas antes do Êxodo do Egito,
D'us disse a Moshê e Aharon: "Este mês será para vocês o começo dos meses; será o primeiro mês do ano para vocês. Vão e falem à toda a congregação de Israel: no décimo dia deste mês, cada homem deverá tomar um cordeiro, conforme a casa de seus pais, um cordeiro para cada família; e deverá mantê-lo até o décimo quarto dia do mesmo mês; e toda a assembléia da congregação de Israel deve abatê-lo ao anoitecer. Deverão pegar o sangue e transportá-lo para as casas onde deverão comê-lo. Comerão a carne naquela noite, tostada ao fogo, com pão ázimo; comê-lo-ão com ervas amargas... E não deixarão sobrar nada até a manhã; mas aquilo que sobrar até a manhã deverá ser queimado com fogo. E assim deverão comê-lo: com a cintura cingida, com sapatos nos pés e o cajado na mão; e devem comê-lo com pressa, - é o Pêssach do Senhor. E quando Eu vir o sangue, passarei sobre vocês, e não haverá praga que os destrua, quando Eu golpear a terra do Egito. E este dia será para vocês um memorial, e deverão celebrá-lo como uma festa do Senhor, através de todas as gerações.
".... vocês deverão comer pão ázimo, e jogar fora todo fermento de suas casas. E seus filhos dirão a vocês: O que isto significa? Vocês dirão: É o sacrifício de Pêssach a D'us, que passou sobre as casas dos filhos de Israel no Egito quando Ele golpeou os egípcios e poupou nossas moradas."
Tudo isso foi dito por Moshê aos filhos de Israel, e eles fizeram como D'us lhes ordenara.
Veio a meia-noite de quatorze para quinze de Nissan, e D'us golpeou todos os primogênitos na terra do Egito, do primeiro filho do faraó ao do prisioneiro nas masmorras; e todos os primogênitos dos animais, como Moshê havia avisado. Houve um lamento pungente e ensurdecedor, pois em cada casa um ente amado caíra golpeado de morte. Então o faraó procurou Moshê e Aharon naquela mesma noite, e lhes disse: "Levantem-se, saiam de perto de meu povo, vocês e os filhos de Israel; vão, sirvam ao Senhor como desejam; tomem seus rebanhos, como disseram, e vão, e me abençoem também." Finalmente o orgulho do Faraó fora quebrado.
Enquanto isso, os hebreus estavam se preparando para sua apressada partida. Com os corações batendo, reuniram-se em grupos para comer o cordeiro pascal. Participaram da refeição da meia-noite, preparada conforme as instruções de Moshê. As mulheres tiraram dos fornos os pães ázimos, que foram comidos com a carne grelhadas dos cordeiros. O sol já havia se erguido no horizonte quando, à palavra de comando, toda a nação dos hebreus avançou. Mas nem mesmo em meio ao perigo, esqueceram o penhor dado por seus ancestrais a Yossef, e carregaram seus restos mortais com eles, para enterrá-los mais tarde na Terra Prometida.
Dessa maneira os filhos de Israel foram libertados do jugo de seus opressores no dia 15 de Nissan, no ano 2448 após a criação do mundo. Havia 600.000 homens acima de 20 anos de idade que, com suas mulheres, crianças e rebanhos, cruzaram a fronteira do Egito para serem uma nação livre. Muitos egípcios e outros não-judeus juntaram-se aos triunfantes filhos de Israel, esperando partilhar de seu glorioso futuro. Os filhos de Israel não deixaram o Egito de mãos vazias. Além de seus próprios bens, os aterrorizados egípcios haviam entregado a eles seus valores em prata e ouro, vestimentas, num esforço de apressar sua partida. Dessa maneira D'us cumpriu em cada detalhe Sua promessa a Avraham de que seus descendentes deixariam o exílio com grandes riquezas em recompensa aos 210 anos de trabalhos forçados.
Liderando o povo judeu na sua jornada durante o dia havia uma coluna de nuvem, e à noite, uma coluna de fogo iluminando o caminho. Estes mensageiros Divinos não apenas guiavam os filhos de Israel, como também preparava o caminho à sua frente, tornando-o fácil e seguro.

A rota mais curta dos filhos de Israel para a terra Prometida teria sido através do país dos filisteus, mas isto teria envolvido o povo numa guerra contra os filisteus e talvez os filhos de Israel, que haviam acabado de se livrar de séculos de escravidão, não estivessem suficientemente fortes para lutarem como homens livres; poderiam resolver pela volta ao Egito, para não enfrentarem uma guerra sangrenta. Por isso, D'us levou-os por um caminho através do deserto em direção ao Mar Vermelho.
Em três dias, o faraó recebeu notícias do progresso dos filhos de Israel. Agora arrependia-se por ter permitido que se fossem. Por esse motivo, mobilizou seu exército e liderou pessoalmente a cavalaria e os carros de guerra mais selecionados, em furiosa perseguição a seus antigos escravos. Alcançou-os perto das margens do mar Vermelho, e pressionou-os contra a água, num esforço para impedir-lhes de escapar.
Alguns grupos do povo judeu estavam prontos a combater os egípcios: outros preferiam afogar-se no mar ou fugir para o deserto, que arriscar-se a uma derrota e a volta à escravidão. Outras começaram a reclamar contra Moshê, temendo que ele os tivesse tirado da segurança do Egito para morrer no deserto. "Porque não havia túmulos no Egito," exclamaram, "você nos tirou de lá às pressas para morrermos no deserto? Por que motivo nos tirou de lá? Por acaso não lhe dissemos no Egito: 'Deixe-nos em paz, que serviremos aos egípcios? Pois é melhor para nós servirmos aos egípcios do que morrermos no deserto'".
Porém Moshê, calmo e firme num dos mais difíceis momentos de sua vida, disse: "Não tenham medo, fiquem firmes e vejam a salvação do Senhor, que Ele mostrará hoje a vocês".
Moshê liderou os israelitas até que chegaram bem às margens do mar Vermelho. A coluna de nuvens então trocou de posição: mudando da frente para trás das hostes hebraicas, flutuou entre os dois exércitos.
Então D'us falou a Moshê: "Levante seu cajado, estenda a mão sobre o mar, e o divida; e os filhos de Israel caminharão sobre o fundo do mar como em terra seca." Moshê fez como D'us lhe ordenara. Levantou o bastão, estendendo a mão sobre o mar; levantou-se um forte vento leste que soprou por toda a noite. Com aquela tempestade, as águas do Mar Vermelho se dividiram, formando doze passagens, uma para cada tribo, juntando-se em paredes de água de cada lado, deixando doze trilhas secas no meio. Os israelitas marcharam ao longo destes caminhos secos que se estendiam de uma praia à outra.
Os egípcios continuaram sua perseguição, sem hesitar, pela mesma trilha. Porém as rodas de suas carruagens ficaram bloqueadas no fundo do mar. Não puderam continuar; sentiram que mais uma vez, estavam lutando em vão contra o Senhor. Voltaram-se para fugir, mas era tarde demais; a um comando de D'us, Moshê estendeu o cajado e as águas retomaram seu curso normal, fechando-se sobre os carros, cavalos e guerreiros, sobre todo o exército do faraó. Dessa maneira D'us salvou os filhos de Israel dos egípcios naquele dia. Israel testemunhou Seus grandes poderes; reconheceram D'us e acreditaram n'Ele e no seu servo Moshê. Então Moshê e toda a congregação cantou a Canção de Louvor a D'us pelo seu resgate maravilhoso.


Todo judeu tinha de oferecer o sacrifício pascal no Templo de Jerusalém por ocasião de três festas - Pêssach, Shavuot e Sucot. Pêssach era aquela que reunia o maior número de peregrinos: milhões de judeus vindos de todas as partes. Um mês antes de Pêssach todas as estradas levando a Jerusalém eram reparadas e todos os poços reabastecidos, para que os peregrinos pudessem ter todo o conforto possível. A alegria e o entusiasmo espiritual da população não tinha limites. O clímax acontecia no dia antes de Pêssach, quando a oferenda do cordeiro pascal iniciava-se, ao entardecer. Todos os sacrifícios pascais eram oferecidos durante uma única tarde!
Durante o tempo da oferenda, todos os devotos reunidos, liderados pelos levitas, entoavam salmos de agradecimento. Então os cordeiros pascais eram tostados, pois não era permitido fervê-los. À noite, o grupo familiar que se havia cotizado para trazer uma oferenda pascal, reunia-se em uma casa e celebrava o "sêder" junto, da mesma maneira que fazemos agora, exceto, é claro, que no lugar do "Zêroa" (osso do antebraço) que colocamos na travessa do sêder em lembrança do sacrifício pascal, partilhavam realmente do próprio cordeiro pascal.
Jerusalém era uma cidade jubilosa durante aqueles dias de Pêssach, e muitos não-judeus costumavam se dirigir para lá, vindos de perto e de longe, para testemunhar a maravilhosa celebração de Pêssach.
Nos tempos de hoje, celebrando o sêder no exílio e relembrando aqueles dias gloriosos na nossa pátria, quando o Templo estava em seu total esplendor, exclamamos ao iniciar o sêder:
"Este ano nós estamos aqui, mas que no próximo ano possamos celebrar na Terra de Israel," e concluímos o sêder com as palavras:


"No próximo ano em Jerusalém!"

Moadim leSimcha

Rabbi Yosef Karo Hilulah Nisan-13

Rabbi Yosef Karo Hilulah Nisan-13

Rabbi Yosef Karo
Born: Toledo, Spain, 1488
Died: Tzefat, Eretz Yisrael, 1575

Popularly known as Beit Yosef and Shulchan Aruch, for his major works. Also known as the Mechaber, the author. Talmudist, codifier of Halachah.
In 1492, in the wake of the great expulsion of Spanish Jewry, when Yosef Karo was 4 years old, his family was forced to flee Spain. After protracted wanderings they settled in Constantinople, Turkey. He gained repute as an eminent Torah scholar at an early age, and at age 24, while living in Adrianople, he began writing his famous work, Beit Yosef. It is a commentary on Arba Turim by Rabbi Yaakov, son of Rosh, and it took him 20 years to complete. Under the influence of the great kabbalist Rabbi Shlomo Molcho, he followed an ascetic life-style of fasting and pious devotion to God.
In 1530 Rabbi Karo moved to Tzefat (Safed), in Eretz Yisrael, where he was appointed as a member of the Rabbinic Court of Rabbi Yaakov Beirav. He established a yeshivah, counting among his students the great Rabbi Moshe Alshich and the illustrious kabbalist Rabbi Moshe Cordovero (Remak) .
Upon the death of rabbi Yaakov Beirav, he succeeded his as Chief of the Rabbinic Court in Safed, which served as the main bet din (court) for worldwide Jewry. through his monumental books he became the acknowledged preeminent Torah authority in the world, a reputation that has not waned with the passage of time. In his work Beit Yosef, he compiles all the variant views on each halachah and renders a decision as to which opinion is to be the authoritative law. It is printed alongside the text of Arba Turim. Rabbi Yosef Karo follows a cardinal rule in arriving at his decisions. If on a given issue Rif, Rambam, and Rosh are in agreement, then that matter becomes Halachah (Law). If they disagree, the halachah is decided according to majority opinion. His rulings reflect his Sephardi background in that they favor Sephardi customs over Ashkenazi practices. After the completion of Beit Yosef, Rabbi Yosef Karo wrote the Shulchan Aruch. As its title implies, Shulchan Aruch -"The Set Table" - presents all Jewish laws and customs relevant to the present time in clear and concise Hebrew, arranged systematically according to topics. This work, consisting of four sections, is the cornerstone of authoritative Halachah to this very day. It is the Code of Jewish Law par excellence. Initially, the Shulchan Aruch met with resistance on the part of German and Polish rabbinical authorities because its rulings favored Sephardi practice, disregarding Ashkenazi traditions. Foremost among his critics was Rabbi Moshe Isserles (Rema) of Cracow, Poland, whose critical comments have been incorporated as glosses into the running text.
Among Rabbi Yosef Karo's other works is Kesef Mishneh, a commentary on Rambam. By clearly mentioning the sources on which his decisions are founded, Rabbi Yosef Karo has given Halachah a solid foundation. His work has stood the test of time.
Rabbi Yosef Karo was a pure and holy man to such a degree that when he studied Kabbalah he was taught by a special angel called a maggid who descended from heaven to reveal to him the innermost secrets of the Torah and to disclose the future to him. Rabbi Yosef Karo wrote down the revelations which he heard from this angel in a book called Maggid Meisharim. This book contains not only Torah concepts but also exhortation, musar. We learn from this book that the angel told him that his writings would have widespread acceptance throughout the Diaspora and would become a fundamental text for determining the halachah for Jewry throughout the ages. He would become Rabban shel Yisrael, the master and teacher of all Jewry.

May the merit of the tzaddik Rabbi Yosef Karo protect us all, Amen.

The "MeAm Loez" Rabbi Yaakov Culi

Rabbi Yaakov Culi 5449/1689-5492/1732

'It makes you feel like becoming a better Jew." '

This was the first reaction of a friend after examining several chapters of MeAm Loez, which I had recently begun to translate into English. His words did not surprise me. While working on the book, I too had felt tugs at my heartstrings, and I found myself saying blessings with more feeling, being just a bit more careful of my religious obligations. The sefer is indeed like a magnet, drawing a person closer to Torah.
For close to 200 years, MeAm Loez enjoyed unparalleled popularity among the common folk of Sephardic Jewry. A large and expensive set was often given as a gift to a new son-in-law, much as a Shas (set of the Talmud) is today. In many synagogues, the regular evening Torah-study session between Minchah and Maariv centered on this book, and a number of groups were formed for the express purpose of studying it. It is said that Rabbi Chaim Medini, famous as the author of the encyclopedic work Sedei Chemed, would join such groups, so greatly did he value its wisdom.

Nowadays MeAm Loez in Hebrew has become a popular Bar Mitzvah gift. Nevertheless, many yeshiva students seem to shun it, as part of a common prejudice against anything written in the vernacular - for the MeAm Loez was originally written in Ladino.
True enough, this work was specifically written for the common man. Far from talking down to the common man, however, the author uplifts the reader with a rich anthology of Torah thoughts from the Talmud, Midrash, Zohar, halachic literature, and philosophy, together with in-depth discussions and analysis.

The Author

The author of MeAm Loez, Rabbi Yaakov Culi, had enjoyed a reputation as one of the giants of his generation. He was born in Jerusalem in 1689 to Rabbi Machir Culi (1638-1728), a well-known scholar and saint who was a scion of one of the leading Jewish families of Crete (Candai). Crete had belonged to Venice, but in 1645 the Turks invaded this island and laid siege to its capital and chief cities. This siege lasted for twenty-five years, one of the longest in modern history, and resulted in almost two hundred thousand casualties.
When the Turks were finally victorious in 1689, the island's economy was in shambles, with the Jews suffering most of all. Fleeing with his remaining wealth, Rabbi Machir eventually settled in Jerusalem around 1688. Here he found a city of scholars, boasting such luminaries as Rabbi Chezkiel di Silva (author of Pri Chadash) and Rabbi Ephraim Navon (author of Machaneh Ephraim). Leading the community was Rabbi Moshe Galanti, who had been appointed as the first Rishon LeTzion, Chief Rabbi of the Sephardic Jews, in 1668. Rabbi Machir was drawn to another prominent sage, Rabbi Moshe ibn Chabib, and soon married his daughter.
Their first son, Yaakov, was born in 1689, a time of great upheaval in Jerusalem. It began with one of the worst famines in memory, causing many to flee to other locales. A second, even more severe blow to the Jewish community was the death of the illustrious Rabbi Moshe Galanti. This Torah giant had been the undisputed leader for twenty years, and his passing left a great void in the community. His place was filled by Rabbi Yaakov's maternal grandfather, Rabbi Moshe ibn Chabib.

His Grandfather's Legacy

As a child, Rabbi Yaakov showed great promise, rapidly gaining reputation as a prodigy. He was raised on his grandfather's knee, and by his sixth year was questioning some of his Talmudic interpretations. Although he was only seven when Rabbi Moshe ibn Chabib died, the memory of his grandfather deeply impressed him for the rest of his life.
A year later, tragedy struck again when his mother died. His father soon remarried and the family moved to Hebron, and then to Safed. Here the young genius advanced rapidly in his studies, and began the major task of editing his grandfather's numerous writings. Probing his father and other local rabbis for information, he became aware of the gigantic stature of Rabbi Moshe ibn Chabib.
Among the things that he learned was that his grandfather had been born in Salonica in 1654, descending from a famed family with origins in Spain. Among his ancestors were Rabbi Yosef Chabiba (circa 1400) - the Nimukei Yosef, and Rabbi Yaakov ibn Chabib (1459-1516) - the Ein Yaakov. His grandfather had lived in Constantinople for a while, and then came to Jerusalem at the age of sixteen. In 1688, when but thirty-four, he was appointed head of the great Yeshiva founded by Moshe ibn Yeush, a philanthropist friend from Constantinople. When Rabbi Moshe ibn Chabib died at 42, he had already earned a reputation as one of the greatest sages of his time.

The Constantinople Venture

Rabbi Yaakov was determined to publish his grandfather's works. Since adequate printing facilities did not exist in the Holy Land at the time, he went to Constantinople, where he had hoped to find financial backing for this task. He arrived in the capital of the Ottoman Empire in 1714.
A sensitive young man of 24, Rabbi Yaakov was aghast at conditions in Constantinople. True, the city had many sages who toiled day and night to uplift the community, as well as a great Kolel (institute of advanced study), known as The Hesger. But in general, community life was sinking. Constantinople had been a center of Shabbatai Tzvi's false Messianic movement, and more than any other city, it had suffered from this heretical spirit. Jewish education was virtually nonexistent, and most of the populace were barely literate in Hebrew. People did attend synagogues, but beyond this Jewish life was on the verge of total disintegration.
Winning support from a Chaim Alfandri, he began work on his grandfather's classical work Get Pashut, a profound treatment of the extremely complex laws governing Jewish divorce. This was finally printed by Yitzchak Alfandri, a relative of Chaim, in 1719 in Ortokoi, a suburb of Constantinople. (The only other sefer I know of published in Ortokoi is Bnei Chayay, in 1717.)

Disciple of the "Mishneh LaMelech"

At this time, the undisputed leader of Sephardic Jewry was Constantinople's Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Yehuda Rosanes (1658- 1727). He learned of the brilliant scholar who had come to town, and before long, had appointed him to his bais din (rabbinical court) - no mean accomplishment for so young a man. Rabbi Yaakov Culi soon became the prime disciple of this leader of world Jewry.
Rabbi Yaakov had just finished printing his grandfather's Shemos BeAretz, when tragedy struck the Jewish community. His great master, Rabbi Yehuda Rosanes, passed away on 22 Nissan (April 13), 1727. During the mourning period, the sage's house was looted, and a number of his manuscripts were stolen. The rest were left in a shambles, scattered all over the house. Assuming authority rare for a man of his youth, Rabbi Yaakov Culi undertook the responsibility of reassembling these important writings and editing them for publication.
During the first year, he completed work on Perushas Derachim, a collection of Rabbi Yehuda's homilies. In his introduction to this book, Rabbi Yaakov Culi mourns the loss of his great master...But his main work had just begun: Rabbi Yehuda had left one of the most significant commentaries ever written on the Rambam's Mishneh Torah, the monumental Mishneh LaMelech.
Rabbi Yaakov spent three years carefully assembling and editing this manuscript. Contemporary scholars struggle through the lengthy, profound sequences of logic found in this commentary; to be sure, the editor was in perfect command of every one of these discussions. Where certain points were ambiguous, or where additional explanations were required, Rabbi Yaakov added his own comments in brackets. In 1731, the work was completed and printed as a separate volume. Just eight years later, it was reprinted with the Mishneh Torah - below the Rambam's text, on the same page - one of a half dozen commentaries accorded this singular distinction.
Today, the Mishneh LaMelech is included in all major editions of the Rambam's code. Studying it, one also sees Rabbi Yaakov Culi's bracketed commentaries and notes. At the beginning of every printed Rambam, one can find his introduction to this work. Thus, at the age of forty, he had already won renown as a leading scholar of his time.
His Own Life Work
Having completed the publication of the works of both his grandfather and his master, Rabbi Yaakov began to search for a project that would be his own life work. There is no question that he could have chosen to write a most profound scholarly work, joining the ranks of so many of his contemporaries. Instead, he decided to write a commentary on the Torah for the unlettered Jew. As he writes in his preface: This might strike many of his colleagues as strange. Why would he, a scholar of the first water, write a work for the masses? Surely, one of his stature should address himself to the scholarly community. But apparently he was otherwise motivated: How could he engage in scholarship when he saw Jewish life disintegrating all around him? How could he close his eyes to the thousands of souls, crying out for access to the Torah?
Ladino - The Language of his Work
As his vehicle of expression, Rabbi Yaakov chose Ladino, the common language spoken by Sephardic Jews. Ladino is to Spanish as Yiddish is to German. Written with Hebrew letters, it looks very strange to the untrained eye; but with a little experience and a good Spanish dictionary, it rapidly becomes comprehensible.
Ladino was developed among the Jews of Spain. As long as the Jewish community flourished there, Ladino was written with the Spanish alphabet, with a liberal sprinkling of Hebrew thrown in. In concept, it was not very different from the language used in much of today's Torah literature, where Hebrew is intermingled with English.
After the Jews were expelled from Spain, they gradually dropped use of the Spanish alphabet, and began writing Ladino with Hebrew letters, which they knew from their prayers. At first there was no literature in this language; it was used primarily in correspondence and business records. The first books in Ladino appeared in Constantinople - a translation of the Psalms in 1540, and one of the Torah in 1547. A few years later, the first original work was published in this language, Regimiento de la Vida (Regimen of Life), by Rabbi Moshe Almosnino.
While a few other classics, such as Chovos HaLevavos (Duties of the Heart) and the Shulchan Aruch had been translated into Ladino, the amount of Torah literature available to those who did not understand Hebrew was extremely sparse. It was this vacuum that Rabbi Yaakov Culi decided to fill. As he points out, even such major works as the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah, and Saadiah Gaon's Emunos VeDayos (Doctrines and Beliefs) had been written in Arabic, the vernacular in their time. But no work of this scope had ever been attempted in the vernacular.

The Scope of "MeAm Loez"

What Rabbi Yaakov had planned was nothing less than a commentary on the entire Bible, explaining it from countless approaches. Where the Scripture touched on practical application of the Law, it would be discussed in length, with all pertinent details needed for its proper fulfillment. Thus, for example, when dealing with the verse "Be fruitful and multiply", the author devotes some fifty pages to a discussion of the laws of marriage, including one of the clearest elucidations of the rules of family purity ever published in any language.
Then, as now, considerable money could be gained in publishing a successful book. Here the saintliness of the author comes to the fore. In a written contract, he specified that all the profits realized from sales of the book were to be distributed to the yeshivos in the Holy Land, as well as the Hesger Kolel in Constantinople. He would only retain for himself the standard commission given to charity collectors.
The work was originally planned to consist of seven volumes, encompassing all the books of the Bible. In the two years that the author worked on it, he completed all of the book of Genesis (Bereishit), and two-thirds of Exodus (Shemot), a total of over eleven hundred large printed pages. (In the current Hebrew translation, this fills over 1800 pages.) Then, at the age of 42, on 19 Av (August 9), 1732, Rabbi Yaakov Culi passed away, leaving his work unfinished.
The contemporary Sephardic sages saw the strong positive effect MeAm Loez was having on the community, and thus sought others to complete the work. Rabbi Yaakov had left over voluminous notes, and these would be incorporated into the continuation. The first one to take on this task was Rabbi Yitzchak Magriso, who completed Exodus in 1746, Leviticus in 1753, and Numbers in 1764. Deuteronomy was finished by Rabbi Yitzchak Bechor Agruiti in 1772. These latter sages followed Rabbi Culi's style so closely, that the entire set can be considered a single integral work.
Never before had a work achieved such instant popularity. But even greater than its popularity was its impact. Thousands of readers who had been almost totally irreligious suddenly started to become observant. A new spirit swept through Sephardic communities, similar to that engendered by the Chassidic movement in Eastern Europe a half century later. Very few sefarim in modern times have had such a great impact on their milieu.
Reprints and Translations
The MeAm Loez was reprinted at least eight times, in cities around the Mediterranean region. The volumes were so heavily used, that few copies of the older editions are existent - they were literally worn out, just like a Siddur or Chumash. An Arabic translation published under the name of Pis'shagen HaKasav, was prepared by Rabbi Avraham Lersi, and was published in various cities in North Africa between 1886 and 1904. An edition of Bereishit, transliterated into Spanish letters, was published in 1967 by the Ibn Tibbon Institute at the University of Grenada, Spain.
Although this was one of the most popular volumes in Sephardic countries, it had been virtually unknown to Ashkenazim, who generally do not read Ladino. With the destruction of most Ladino-speaking communities in World War 11, the number of people who could read the MeAm Loez in the original diminished. Translation of the entire set into Hebrew in the late 1960's finally brought it to the attention of the contemporary Torah world. Although the original name of the Sefer was MeAm Loez, in the Hebrew edition the word "Yalkut" (Anthology) was added. One reason for this was the fact that certain portions, which the translator felt were not pertinent to our times, were omitted.
In naming his work, Rabbi Yaakov Culi based the title on the verse, "When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a strange-speaking people (MeAm Loez), Yehudah became His holy one, Israel His kingdom" (Psalms 114:l). Through the medium of this book, he had hoped that his people would emerge from the shackles of ignorance. Yehudah in Rabbi Culi's reference alludes to Yehudah Mizrach, a Constantinople philanthropist, who underwrote the costs of the printing of the first edition. His reference to the last phrase in this verse was then meant to be a prayer that this work would bring Israel to once again become part of "His kingdom."
He succeeded, perhaps beyond his fondest dreams. A half-century after his death, Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azzulai (the Chida) wrote of him, "He was expert in the Talmud, codes and commentaries, as we can readily see from his book MeAm Loez, which he wrote to bring merit to the multitudes. Fortunate is he and fortunate is his portion."