The Other Within: The Marranos: Split Identity and Emerging Modernity
By Yirmiyahu Yovel
Princeton University Press, 488 pages, $24.95.
Diego Arias was born a Jew in 15th-century Spain, but his parents converted him to Catholicism following a wave of anti-Jewish persecution. Later in life, as royal chief financier of Castile, and one of the most powerful figures in the land, he enjoyed chanting Jewish prayers; ate hamin, a stew in the style of a traditional Sabbath cholent, on Saturdays, and was once seen treating a Christian saint’s effigy with disrespect. Yet he did not consider himself the least bit Jewish, and — just to complicate matters further — occasionally expressed skepticism about all religions.
So, was Arias a Jew, a Christian or an atheist? In “The Other Within,” Yirmiyahu Yovel, founder and chairman of the Jerusalem Spinoza Institute, tries to make sense of the religious identity of such Marranos — the Jews of Spain and Portugal who were coerced into converting to Christianity in the14th and 15th centuries — and their descendants.
Marranism began in 1391, when Jews converted en masse in order to escape a series of anti-Jewish riots. The physical and mental pressure to convert continued, unabated; in 1412–15 alone, around 50,000 Spanish Jews submitted to the cross. Most contemporary rabbis believed them to be full-fledged Catholics who kept some Jewish traditions out of habit or nostalgia, or for social reasons. Modern Jews usually prefer to think of them rather more romantically, as secret Jews whose Catholicism was just a meaningless mask meant to protect them from the authorities. The truth, Yovel says, is far more complex, and the complexity is of a particularly modern order.
Yovel also says that Christian society was pursuing a myth of homogeneity, trying to rid itself of what it perceived as “impure” and “foreign” elements. The irony is that the conversion of the Jews did not eliminate the “other,” but rather brought it right into the heart of Christian society. The Conversos (Yovel explains in the preface that he uses the terms Marranos, Conversos and New Christians interchangeably) did not become “regular” Christians, nor were they regarded that way by Christian society. Rather, their life was marked by contradiction and duality.
Most Marranos initially took on Christianity as a superficial skin, but they could not keep up the pretense, year in, year out, of going to church and confession, venerating saints, without internalizing some of its beliefs. Similarly, they may have intended to stay loyal to Judaism, but it was impossible to practice a religion only partially, and in secret, without losing most of its essence.
The result, he says, was that most Marranos practiced a hybrid religion. “Judaizers” consciously tried to preserve elements of Judaism, often passed down through the women of the house who became quasi-rabbis, or gleaned, ironically, from lists of Jewish beliefs published by the Inquisition for informers. But while they may have lit Sabbath candles in secret, only pretended to eat the ubiquitous Iberian pork or mentally annulled their actions in church, theological confusion abounded. For example, Judaizers believed that Judaism was the true path “to salvation.” The intent may have been Jewish, but the framing theology — salvation — was Catholic. Similarly, the Marranos had a patron saint: Queen Esther, herself a hidden Jew.
At the other end of the spectrum, Marranos who accepted their new Christian faith were still influenced by their Jewish background. The Inquisition records show Marranos who preferred to baptize their children on a Saturday, because of their “affection” for the day, and New Christian monks who, because they had a clinging distrust of the polytheistic or idolatrous beliefs these practices implied, rejected the Trinity and disdained the sacrament, without intending to return to Judaism.
Conversos often tried to reform Christianity from within. For example, the patron saint of Spain, St. Teresa of Avila, insisted that true religiosity was to be found in the mind, not in actions — an attitude typical of Judaizing Marranos, who believed in one religion and practiced another. No wonder, because while she was, and believed herself to be, fully Christian, she had a father and grandfather who were humiliated by the Inquisition as Judaizers. In between lay a third group, perhaps larger than the Judaizers. These people lost interest in, or were heretical to, all religions, and preferred to dwell on the affairs of the physical world, such as business or politics, instead of seeking metaphysical salvation. But they, too, lived nominally Christian lives.
So while the Marranos may all have been drawing on Judaism and Christianity, they were effectively practicing neither. Their identity, Yovel says, was far more fluid than recognized by subsequent historians. Meanwhile, their contemporaries felt increasingly resentful of this unprecedented and unstable “other within,” and occasional bouts of violence against them erupted. Laws were enacted that prevented all Conversos from holding public office — shifting the source of their difference to blood from religion. This was a crucial shift in European thought, and one that preceded a similar shift in northern Europe by hundreds of years. The Nuremberg Laws were a result of a change in 19th century thought, but one independent of the Spanish example.
In 1480, almost a full century after the Marranos first became a social issue, the Inquisition was established to root out Judaizing Marranos (it had no jurisdiction over Jews). It also misunderstood the subtleties of the Conversos’ identity, condemning as a secret Jew anyone showing any signs of a connection to Jewish tradition. (Thus, Arias — who, to all possible scrutiny, felt nothing more than nostalgia toward Judaism — was convicted of Judaizing in a posthumous trial that destroyed his son, a prominent bishop.)
In 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella issued an edict expelling Spain’s remaining Jews. The crucial argument against them, Yovel says, was that the Jews — over whom the Inquisition had no jurisdiction — were perceived as a corrupting influence on the Marranos, teaching them how to Judaize.
Yet again, this had an effect contrary to the one intended. In response, thousands of Jews converted, thus exacerbating the Converso problem. Another 80,000 to 160,000 of the most dedicated fled Spain. Many went to Portugal, where they, too, were eventually forced to convert, replicating the problem there.
Yovel, whose outstanding, multilayered work closely integrates philosophical issues with an historical narrative, sees split identities as “a basic structure of the human condition,” but one that was legitimized only in the modern era. “In earlier times,” he says, “split identities were considered illicit and illegal, a grave social and metaphysical sin punished by the Inquisition (and later, by nationalism and similar ‘integralist’ movements).” In this respect (as well as many others expanded upon by Yovel in the two final chapters), the Marranos were harbingers — and perhaps, to some extent, catalysts — of modernity.
How unique were they? There certainly are other examples of Jews, throughout history, who mixed and matched identities, such as the Hellenizers of the Hanukkah story. Still, one parallel with modern Jewry is particularly striking. Most children of interfaith marriages today grow up in homes in which Judaism is not the only religion. Jewish holidays such as Hanukkah and Passover co-exist with Christmas and Easter; there are as many occasions to visit church as to visit synagogue; family members may openly discuss their belief in Jesus; a Passover Seder or a bar mitzvah may take on multiple religious meanings, and so on.
In “Double or Nothing?” a 2004 study of mixed-marriage families by Brandeis University professor Sylvia Barack Fishman, teenagers whose parents marked Christmas in some way generally saw themselves as heirs to two religions. In their minds, these religions co-existed as something essentially different from either mainstream Judaism or Christianity. Fishman goes on to describe an enormous, hybrid subculture of North American Judeo-Christian families, which differs “strikingly” from other American Jews of every denomination — just as the Marranos differed strikingly from their Jewish, and indeed Christian, contemporaries, sometimes even when they moved away from Spain and were able to practice Judaism in the open once again.
So as Diaspora communities continue to struggle with the increasingly urgent question of how to relate to the millions of Jews who marry “out,” perhaps some perspective can be gained from Yovel’s dualistic Marranos. Half a millennium on, they seem more relevant than ever.
Miriam Shaviv is the comment editor of the Jewish Chronicle in the United Kingdom.
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"So as Diaspora communities continue to struggle with the increasingly urgent question of how to relate to the millions of Jews who marry “out,” perhaps some perspective can be gained from Yovel’s dualistic Marranos. Half a millennium on, they seem more relevant than ever."
I disagree. We live in a thoroughly different social milieu.
The conversos were in real danger of being imprisonment, chastisement (physical punishment often torture) and even being burned at the stake alive or dead (relajado, or relaxed that is strangled at the stake before burning--- as the records say).
Today those don't wish to be Jews and who don't wish to join any other religion are free to do so.
To compare the two situations is overly melodramatic.
It is also tendentious academic nonsense which real scholars like Yovel would reject.
The circumstances of 500 years ago and now are so different. Religious belief was very important in the Middle Ages. The pressures to abandon a Jewish way of life were traumatic, and hence tragic. The reality of mixed marriages today in America is that religion is very unimportant. Celebrating Hanukka together with Christmas is only an indication that both traditions are of trivial importance. There is no trauma or tragedy.
In the American Jewish discussion of intermarriage, the focus is only on religion. This is how the American Jews understand their Jewishness. But intermarriage is merely an expression of the real drama in America: the ongoing weakening and disappearance of a Jewish peoplehood identity. The Jews no longer see themselves as an distinct society (as, indeed, they no longer speak their own language). Actually, they are not a society at all. So marrying the "other" is no longer an issue, because there is no "other". The only issue is "religion" - which is not that important anymore.
Wow. Impressive. Many of the Jews are really being loved and recruited to Jesus. It's been prophecy since the earliest times and miracles still do happen....
The reality of mixed-marriage is the rapid assimilation and disappearance of Jewish identity in the US. If that's of little concern to those who see nothing wrong with that trend, fine. As always, those Jews who choose to identify as Jews both culturally and religiously will, as has always been the case, keep our people and culture alive. Survival of the Fittest. Let them go who have lost all feeling and attachment to their heritage. The strong will remain and continue to perpetuate their faith and culture.
"Let them go who have lost all feeling and attachment to their heritage."
That's all very well for those who have made a decision. But what about their children, the innocents who are raised with no knowledge of their heritage and no connection to their people, yet still identify in some way -- or are identified by others, even if only by name? These children have no choice, and no voice. They are, according to some, like those kidnapped and in need of ransoming. Where are the so-called "strong" who will have compassion for such children who, without at least an introduction to Jewish learning or living, are denied the means to freely choose? Are the "strong" willing to abandon them?
That doesn't sound very strong to me. Rather, it sounds like the sentiment of Jews who would prefer to associate only with those who are just like themselves, rather than make an effort to save their people. Where is their ahavat Israel?
Indeed, many of those "who have lost all feeling and attachment to their heritage" are themselves children and grandchildren of the assimilated. They didn't lose their attachment; they never had it to begin with. Perhaps, rather than abandoning them, people like George could reach out instead, by teaching assimilated Jews to find joy and meaning in Jewish living. Who knows? The "strong" might just ransom a soul or two.
The most important aspect of Yovel's article is his allusion to the difficult subleties inherent in the Marrano (or even modern Romaniote identity, as many of us are not actually Sephardi). It's not easily described, particularly if your family hasn't lived it for generations.
A typical Ashkenazic response is, in effect, "either you're with us or against us", removing any chance for study, sharing and understanding -- which, gratefully, Yovel and others are now trying to accomplish. (Look up Rabbi Barbara Aiello, founder of the Italian Jewish Cultural Center of Calabria). Another attitude we are often faced with is a notion we are "sell-outs". During WWI and WWII our ancestors didn't wear a yellow "Juden" armband in Southern Italy -- we built churches in the area -- but quietly and under the family's armed guard ran a Jewish underground which saved countless lives, and preseved artifacts from our origins in Hebron and Janina for the future.
Like Arias, we don't need to be "converted into" Judaism. What we would like, and rarely get, is understanding and acceptance for the kind of Jews we are.
I am a Marrano who studied Orthodox Judaism in Jerusalem and practice Judaism with all my heart and soul. I love it and embrace it. Yet, the Ashkenazim were so cruel to me, I find it hard to imagine that are decendants of Avraham, who was known for his kindness! It is really a shock to associate with people who cannot function outside of a Jewish ghetto and who regularly attack other Jews who are not as religious in their eyes as they! I was regularly attacked by Ultra Orthodox Jewish Hoologans who didn´t know who I was or could even speak English with me. Yet, I dressed Orthodox and practiced Orthodox as they did. The question of who is a Jew in Jerusalem is tearing people up and separating Jew against Jew....it´s ugly! Much is due to the Jerusalem politics of such Charaedi conversion rabbis as, Rabbi Nachum Eisenstein who would not even allow me to go to the mikveh. Discrimination by Ashkenazim has always been a problem in Israel, which is why the Moroccan Jews rose up against them in riots, calling themselves, ¨The Black Panthers¨. I am in my own private exile in Spain after nearly 3 years of putting up with it on the battlefield of Jerusalem. Glad to be out! Ashkenazim do not want us!
i'm a ba'alat tshuva (raised as a secular jew, but have become orthodox) and i live in jerusalem, baruch hashem! what this article screams out to the jews living in the galut is "U DON'T BELONG IN THE GALUT! ISRAEL IS OUR TRUE HOME! IT IS OUR INHERITANCE FROM G-D, HIMSELF!"
as soon as the jewish people finally realize this, ashkenazi, sfaradi, mizrachi alike, we will then be prepared for mashiach. we are sent into exile because we don't follow the torah (sorry, zena, but ur christian prophecies have absolutely nothing to do with the torah, which by far predates ur christianity. we are jews and we have a mission. that mission does NOT include accepting ur christ as our lord and savior. please let us do what we're supposed to do. it is no miracle when a jew leaves the faith. it is heartbreaking for the family, as well as for the rest of the jewish people. if u have any questions, please contact tovia singer at israelnationalnews.com. he's been lecturing for many years on how to answer the problem of christian missionaries who try to convert jews). when we don't follow the torah, then things like exile, the inquisition, pogroms, the holocaust, etc., happen to us. G-d has told the jewish people, repeatedly, to follow His laws and statutes. if we do, then we receive blessing, which means we overcome our enemies and live in our G-d-given land peacefully. if we don't, then we're punished. that doesn't mean that G-d loves us any less. He's like any parent who loves His children, but metes out punishment when it's needed. how we respond to that is our own issue.
doesn't matter if ur an atheist, buddhist, etc. if ur mother is jewish, then so are u. whether or not u choose to accept that, is between u and G-d.
Juifs Livournais ( Leghorn in English ), mes grands parents allèrent en Tunisie et je suis français. Professeur de Médecine à la retraite, je suis d'une famille, revenue au judaïsme aprés 1593, mais qui n'avait pas de croyances. Sans l'antisémitisme, je ne serais probablement plus juifs mais agnostique.Actuellement je me suis pationné pour nos origines et fais une étude sur la diaspora espagnole. J'aimerai connaitre des gens de mêmeorigine que moi, comme moi passionné par leur histroire.