Questions from 9/16

1. What did Jewish identity consist of for former Portuguese conversos who emigrated to the "Port towns," especially Amsterdam?



A lot of the Portuguese conversos moved to different cities in Spain, but they weren't allowed to openly practice their Judaism there. At the end of the 16th century, some conversos moved to southwestern France where they had the ability to openly practice Judaism, but were not considered Jews. Additionally, a lot of conversos ended up moving to places like Amsterdam. In Amsterdam they were allowed to openly practice  Judaism as well as establish new Jewish communities without being persecuted. By the 17th century Amsterdam had population of more than 3,000 jews. The conversos were more focused on the cultural assets of Judiasm rather than religious practices.

2. Why do scholars consider the former converso communities of Amsterdam, Hamburg, and London to be the "first modern Jews"?

Almost all of the Jewish families that moved to Amsterdam hadn't practiced Judaism for a very long period of time. Therefore, being able to restart many of the Jewish traditions was a main reason why scholars considered these Jews the "first modern Jews".  The Amsterdam Sephardim were the first Jewish community that had to completely reinvent its Jewish tradition. Religious persecution caused many traditions to be lost and these Jews were not allowed to embrace their religion, but now they got to restart those traditions. This community was one of the first to have Jewish Law only regulated to synagogue and religious holidays, instead of every day life.