At the time of the Spanish Inquisition, tens of thousands of Jews and others were forced to convert to Christianity under the direction of the Catholic church. Through torture devices, executions, persecution, being burned alive at the stake, Jews openly converted to Christianity to save their lives, but secretly in the privacy of their homes and other secret places they maintained many Jewish practices so that the spark of Jewish identity would not be extinguished.
EPMag sits down with Rabbi Stephen Leon of El Paso's B'nai Zion Synagogue as he speaks about the 15th century atrocities, and those who have found their way back to Judaism.
What is Crypto-Judiasm?
Crypto-Judaism is just that: practicing Judaism secretly because ones roots were originally Jewish.
For example, [the converted Jews] would go to Church on Sunday, but light candles on Friday night in a dark room of the house. Some would never eat pork. While they went to church on Sundays on Saturday they would dress in a special way or not work on that day. Some covered mirrors when a loved one dies. In some homes they hid a Mezuzah, the Jewish symbol placed on Jewish homes, in a statue of the Madonna’s foot. As centuries past, they continued to practice some of these Jewish practices but no longer remembered why they did or what it meant and only really observed Christianity.
Who are the Crypto-Jews of the Southwest?
The Crypto-Jews of the Southwest are descendants of the Jewish victims of the Inquisition. When the entire Jewish population was expelled from Spain in 1492 funded by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, they fled to countries which would accept them or had populations with similar customs and Hispanic culture, language, and traditions. Many went to Amsterdam at first, to Portugal and then were expelled from there, too. Some went to South America, to Mexico, Latin America, Italy, and other places. Many came to America as well, and settled in the Southwest near the Mexican border and in areas with large Hispanic populations. I t was only natural that El Paso, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and border towns of California became the places where they settled in the United States. Today these places and other remote areas of New Mexico have been the locations where Crypto-Jews are rediscovering their Jewish roots. Some of them have come back and returned to Judaism and Jewish practices. Some continue to practice Christianity while observing certain Jewish traditions.
How are you involved in movement?
I became involved with Crypto-Jews 22 years ago when I moved from New Jersey to El Paso. When I lived in the Northeast I never met a Crypto-Jew, I had only read about the Morranos. Ever since the first week I came to El Paso until this very day, I have never stopped meeting Crypto-Jews. The first week I was here, a man from Juarez came to see me to tell me that his grandmother used to light candles every Friday night, even though she was a Catholic. He wanted to know what this meant. The next week I met a Catholic woman who wanted to know why in her family they cover mirrors in the house following a funeral. A few days later another Catholic told me that every one else in the family but her, eats pork. 22 years later I can say that I have worked with the Crypto-Jews of this area, Juarez, Ruidoso, Hobbs, Clovis, Roswell, etc and some 50 families have actually returned through conversion to Judaism.
Tell me about the conversions of the Crypto-Jews.
When a Crypto-Jew comes to convert I tell him or her that it is really a return to Judaism, because their ancestors were originally Jewish and were forced to give it up, it was a matter of choice. Nevertheless, we do a full conversion which means learning to read Hebrew, attend services, regularly, learn the customs, lifecycle, holidays, prayers, traditions, Torah, and ethics of the Jewish religion.
How long does the process take?
The process takes anywhere from 6 months to about a year, although each case is different.
How did a majority of Crypto-Jews wind up in the Southwest?
The Hispanic culture, traditions, language, practices, were more familiar to them then the rest of the United States and so they decided to settle here.
How many people are a part of this movement?
It is hard to estimate the number of people this entails, however, based on a great deal of evidence, DNA testing, surveys, etc. I estimate that between 15 to 25% of the Hispanic population of El Paso and Juarez have Jewish roots.
Tell me about the Crypto-Jew convention taking place this summer.
The Crypto-Jewish conference will take place at Congregation Bnai Zion, 805 Cherry Hill Lane, El Paso beginning Friday evening at 6:15 P.M. and concluding on Sunday morning August 2d at 12 noon. There will wonderful speakers, services, meals, art work, and a musical program. Among the speakers is Rabbi Juan Mejia who had been studying to be a Catholic monk in Colombia when he learned that he had Jewish roots. After some soul searching he pursued his Jewish studies, converted to Judaism, and recently was ordained as a rabbi by the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. Other speakers include Rabbi Peter Tarlow of College Station who has worked with Crypto-Jews in Peru and Vera Cruz. Seth Kunin, former president of the Society for Crypro-Judaic Studies will speak on his new book on the subject. For further information contact the synagogue or visit its website.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
The only thing that I wish to add is that my dream is to establish a Crypto-Jewish/Sephardic learning center here in El Paso to teach the world about the Spanish Inquisition, the Crypto-Jews, and Sephardic traditions. Similar to Holocaust museums, this center will educate people about a subject that is important to know about and will be available to welcome and educate Crypto-Jews as well as the general population abiut this exciting phenomenon of our age.
