NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT 'THE SEPHARDIC ANOUSIM'
By Shelomo Alfassa 'THE SEPHARDIC ANOUSIM' was written to fill a void in the subject of the anousim (Hebrew for 'coerced'). The anousim are descendants of the forcibly converted Jews of Spain and Portugal (in the past known as marranos). Many tens of thousands of Jews converted in the 14th and 15th century due to violence and religious intimidation-however, many of these Jews secretly concealed their Judaic observances while acting like they were newly baptized Catholics. Today, descendants of those converted Jews are increasingly "coming out" only to find themselves lost in a sea of complicated Jewish laws; getting deceived by missionaries; and are frustrated in seeking to fully understand the history of their own people. This book explains both the Inquisition as well as the expulsion from Spain in 1492. It provides first-hand accounts of the worst trials and tribulations the Jewish people suffered prior to the Holocaust. It discusses 'crypto-Jews' and controversy related to crypto-Jews. It examines issues important to the anousim such as halakha (Jewish law), conversion or return, missionary interference and it highlights the opinions (responsa) of rabbinical leaders over past several centuries in regard to forcibly converted Jews. 260 pages 6"x9" April 2010 / Soft Cover ISBN 978-0-9763226-8-9 / Includes bibliographical references, illustrations and index - List price: $19.95 ---About the author: Shelomo Alfassa oversees Special Projects for the American Sephardi Federation at the Center for Jewish History in New York City. His academic passion is the history of Jews from both Iberia (Spain and Portugal) and the Ottoman Empire. He is the author and editor of several books including: A Window Into Old Jerusalem and Ethnic Sephardic Jews in the Medical Literature. --- Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) =========================================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: hasaf...@osu.edu SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
