Sephardi

Later History and Culture

Among the Sephardim were many who were the descendants, or heads, of wealthy families and who, as Marranos, had occupied prominent positions in the countries they had left. Some had been state officials, others had held positions of dignity within the Church; many had been the heads of large banking-houses and mercantile establishments, and some were physicians or scholars who had officiated as teachers in high schools.

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Their Spanish or Portuguese was a lingua franca that enabled Sephardim from different countries to engage in commerce and diplomacy.

Related Topics:
Spanish - Portuguese - Lingua franca

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The Sephardim rarely engaged in finance (also called chaffering) occupations nor in usury, and they did not often mingle with lower social classes. With their social equals they associated freely, without regard to religion. They were received at the courts of sultans, kings, and princes, and often were employed as ambassadors, envoys, or agents. The number of Sephardim who have rendered important services to different countries is considerable, from Samuel Abravanel (financial councilor to the viceroy of Naples) to Benjamin Disraeli. Among other names mentioned are those of Belmonte, Nasi, Pacheco, Palache, Azevedo, Sasportas, Costa, Curiel, Cansino, Schonenberg, Toledo, Toledano, and Teixeira.

Related Topics:
Finance - Usury - Social class - Religion - Samuel Abravanel - Naples - Benjamin Disraeli - Belmonte - Nasi - Pacheco - Palache - Azevedo - Sasportas - Costa - Curiel - Cansino - Schonenberg - Toledo - Toledano - Teixeira

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The Sephardim have distinguished themselves as physicians and statesmen, and have won the favor of rulers and princes, in both the Christian and the Islamic world. That the Sephardim were selected for prominent positions in every country in which they settled was due to the fact that Spanish had become a world-language through the expansion of Spain.

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For a long time the Sephardim took an active part in Spanish literature; they wrote in prose and in rhyme, and were the authors of theological, philosophical, (aesthetic rather than content based writing), pedagogic (teaching), and mathematical works. The rabbis, who, in common with all the Sephardim, emphasized a pure and euphonious pronunciation of Hebrew, delivered their sermons in Spanish or in Portuguese. Several of these sermons have appeared in print. Their thirst for knowledge, together with the fact that they associated freely with the outer world, led the Sephardim to establish new educational systems wherever they settled; they founded schools in which the Spanish language was the medium of instruction.

Related Topics:
Spanish literature - Spanish language

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Theatre in Istanbul was in Judæo-Spanish since it was forbidden to Muslims.

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In Portugal the Sephardim were given important roles in the sociopolitical sphere and enjoyed a certain amount of protection from the Crown (e.g. Yahia Ben Yahia, first "Rabino Maior" of Portugal and supervisor of the public revenue of the first King of Portugal, D. Afonso Henriques). Even with the increasing pressure from the Catholic Church this state of affairs remained more or less constant and the number of Jews in Portugal grew with those running from Spain. This changed with the marriage of D. Manuel I of Portugal with the daughter of the Catholic Kings of the newly born Spain. In 1497 the Decree ordering the expulsion or forced conversion of all the Jews was passed, and the Sephardim either fled or went into secrecy under the guise of "Cristãos Novos", i.e. New Christians (this Decree was symbolically revoked in 1996 by the Portuguese Parliament). All this was followed by the big massacre of Jews in the city of Lisbon in 1506 and the even more relevant establishment of the Portuguese Inquisition in 1536. This produced the flight of the Portuguese Jewish community during the centuries that followed until the extinction of the Courts of Inquisition in 1821 - by then the number of Jews in Portugal was residual.

Related Topics:
Yahia Ben Yahia - D. - Afonso Henriques - Manuel I of Portugal - Catholic Kings - 1497 - New Christians - 1996 - Portuguese Parliament - Lisbon - 1506 - Portuguese Inquisition - 1536 - 1821

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In Amsterdam, where they were especially prominent in the seventeenth century on account of their number, wealth, education, and influence, they established poetical academies after Spanish models; two of these were the Academia de los Sitibundos and the Academia de los Floridos. In the same city they also organized the first Jewish educational institution, with graduate classes in which, in addition to Talmudic studies, instruction was given in the Hebrew language. The most important synagogue, or Esnoga, as it is usually called amongst Spanish and Portuguese Jews, is the Amsterdam Esnoga ? usually considered the ?mother synagogue?, and the historical centre of the Amsterdam minhag.

Related Topics:
Amsterdam - Seventeenth century - Talmud - Hebrew language - Esnoga - Amsterdam Esnoga - Minhag

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A sizeable Sephardic community had settled in Morocco and other Northern African countries, which were colonized by France in the 19th century. The Jewish inhabitants were given French citizenship in 1870 by the décret Crémieux (previously, any Jewish or Muslim local could apply for French citizenship; but this meant renouncing the use of traditional religious courts and laws, a move that many did not want to take). When France withdrew in 1956 (Morocco) and 1962 (Algeria), the local Jewish communities largely relocated to France. There are some tensions between some of those communities, and the earlier French Jewish population (ashkenazi), as well as with the Arabic-Muslim communities.

Related Topics:
Morocco - Northern African - France - 19th century - 1870 - 1956 - 1962 - Algeria - Ashkenazi

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Today, the Sephardim have preserved the romances and the ancient melodies and songs of Spain and Portugal, as well as a large number of old Portuguese and Spanish proverbs. A number of children's plays, like, for example, El Castillo, are still popular among them, and they still manifest a fondness for the dishes peculiar to Iberia, such as the pastel, or pastelico, a sort of meat-pie, and the pan de España, or pan de León. At their festivals they follow the Spanish custom of distributing dulces, or dolces, a confection wrapped in paper bearing a picture of the magen David (six pointed star).

Related Topics:
Portuguese - Spanish proverbs - Children's play - Magen David

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