Ilana Wolf- September 16th questions

1. The former Portuguese conversos outwardly maintained Christianity. They stilled maintained their Jewish identity at heart. Due to the persecution of Jews and not being able to practice Judaism freely, many conversos left. Portugal. They went to Spain, even though they still had to act Christian, where they became successful bankers and tax farmers. At the end of the sixteenth century, conversos emigrated to France, Amsterdam and Hamburg were they were able to practice freely. In Amsterdam and the Dutch colonies, the conversos had religious freedom and were involved in economic growth. A new Jewish community was formed in Amsterdam. The conversos went back to Judaism, reinventing the traditions, where they became “the new Jews.” They were successful, as they participated in the Dutch Atlantic trade and worked at places such as sugar refineries and Tobacco workshops. They also built a grand synagogue, which still stands today.

4. Uriel da Costa questioned the rabbi’s interpretation of the biblical law. He writes a treaty called Inquiries into the Traditions of the Pharisees, which criticized the rabbinic tradition. He mocked traditional rituals such as, circumcision, not allowing the consumption of meat and milk together, and the soul living on. He did not agree with the rabbis because he thought it differed from the written laws of the torah. De Costa’s book was banned in Amsterdam and not found until centuries later in Copenhagen. De Costa was excommunicated after Venice’s rabbis told the people of Hamburg to excommunicate him.    

   Baruch de Spinoza also rejected teaching of traditional Judaism and was also excommunicated. He wrote Tratatatus theologico-politicus which was published in 1670 and written in Latin. Spinoza was excommunicated as well. He rejected the traditional teaching but still indemnified as a Jew, which now can be identified as a secular Jew.