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The history of the Jews of Spain is a remarkable story that begins in the remote past and continues today. For more than a thousand years, Sepharad (the Hebrew word for Spain) was home to a large Jewish community noted for its richness and virtuosity. Summarily expelled in 1492 and forced into exile, their tragedy of expulsion marked the end of one critical phase of their history and the beginning of another. Indeed, in defiance of all logic and expectation, the expulsion of the Jews from Spain became an occasion for renewed creativity. Nor have five hundred years of wandering extinguished the identity of the Sephardic Jews, or diminished the proud memory of the dazzling civilization which they created on Spanish soil.This book is intended to serve as an introduction and scholarly guide to that history.
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The beginnings of Jewish life in Spain are cloaked in myth and legend. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
The beginnings of Jewish life in Spain are cloaked in myth and legend. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
The Christian and Muslim history of Spain, and especially of the territory known as Al-Andalus, is extremely well-documented, but there was a Jewish presence in Spain from biblical times through to the expulsion of the Jews in 1492. The Jewish contribution to hat is nowadays referred to as 'the three cultures' was considerable, but not well-documented. This excellent and readable book fills that gap, and also traces the continuing history of the Sephardi from their expulsion and dispersal up to their reunion in the modern state of Israel.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
20 reviews
28 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Winner of 1993 National Jewish Book Award:Sephardic Studies
5 Oct 1996
Format:Paperback
THE JEWS OF SPAIN - A History of the Sephardic Experience
Author: JANE S. GERBER
Catergory listing: History/Judaica
Winner of the 1993 National Jewish Book Award for Sephardic
Studies
An advanced and scholarly research on the history of the
Tribe of Judah, (House of David) to its present status.
"Jane S. Gerber is to be congratulated for her rare
achievement, a work of serious popularization that will be
welcomed by anyone interested in Jewish history and the
Sephardic experience. The Jews of Spain compresses a wealth
of information into one volume with authority,
intelligence, and lucidity. It deserves the widest possible
audience."
-- Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi - Salo Wittmayer Baron Professor
of Jewish History, Culture and Society, Columbia University
"This unusually valuable book fills a long neglected need:
a readable and highly accessible one-volume treatment of
Sephardic Jewry from their earliest origins until today."
-- Benjamin R. Gampel - Associate Professor of Jewish
History, The Jewish Theological Seminary of America
"Gerber has brought [a] scrupulous sense of scholarship to
The Jews of Spain...Her intelligent, gracefully written
history is a welcome volume for the general reader; it fill
an important historical vacuum."
-- Barbara Probst Solomon, The Washington Post
"...Stirring and riveting...a remarkable story of creative
adaptation, minority achievement, and survival."
-- Publisher's Weekly
Author: JANE S. GERBER
Catergory listing: History/Judaica
Winner of the 1993 National Jewish Book Award for Sephardic
Studies
An advanced and scholarly research on the history of the
Tribe of Judah, (House of David) to its present status.
"Jane S. Gerber is to be congratulated for her rare
achievement, a work of serious popularization that will be
welcomed by anyone interested in Jewish history and the
Sephardic experience. The Jews of Spain compresses a wealth
of information into one volume with authority,
intelligence, and lucidity. It deserves the widest possible
audience."
-- Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi - Salo Wittmayer Baron Professor
of Jewish History, Culture and Society, Columbia University
"This unusually valuable book fills a long neglected need:
a readable and highly accessible one-volume treatment of
Sephardic Jewry from their earliest origins until today."
-- Benjamin R. Gampel - Associate Professor of Jewish
History, The Jewish Theological Seminary of America
"Gerber has brought [a] scrupulous sense of scholarship to
The Jews of Spain...Her intelligent, gracefully written
history is a welcome volume for the general reader; it fill
an important historical vacuum."
-- Barbara Probst Solomon, The Washington Post
"...Stirring and riveting...a remarkable story of creative
adaptation, minority achievement, and survival."
-- Publisher's Weekly
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
A refreshing, compact look at Sephardic history
12 Feb 2006
Format:Paperback
It has often been difficult for me to keep old textbooks. Oftentimes they're dry as toast and I can't wait to foist them off to the university bookstore again. However, I kept Gerber's book after my Spanish Jewry class ended. Simply put, it's a nice little treasure.
At 300 pages, this is a compact volume. I don't know how Gerber managed to include Roman-era Jewish origins on the Iberian peninsula to Jewish revival in the post-Holocaust era - but she does it, and it never feels like she had to cram anything in. Her writing is fluid (there's no literary jargon, no dry analysis, just tight and concise writing that's a pleasure to read). Moreover, her historical analyses touch on Jewish interactions with both the Muslim and the Christian worlds, from the former's invasion of Spain to its overthrow by Christian rulers and then Jewish persecution under the Inquisition.
In short, Gerber's book is informative and FUN. At the back, there is a map section and an enormous list of further reading, should the reader be interested in delving further into Sephardic history. Highly recommended.
At 300 pages, this is a compact volume. I don't know how Gerber managed to include Roman-era Jewish origins on the Iberian peninsula to Jewish revival in the post-Holocaust era - but she does it, and it never feels like she had to cram anything in. Her writing is fluid (there's no literary jargon, no dry analysis, just tight and concise writing that's a pleasure to read). Moreover, her historical analyses touch on Jewish interactions with both the Muslim and the Christian worlds, from the former's invasion of Spain to its overthrow by Christian rulers and then Jewish persecution under the Inquisition.
In short, Gerber's book is informative and FUN. At the back, there is a map section and an enormous list of further reading, should the reader be interested in delving further into Sephardic history. Highly recommended.
23 of 25 people found the following review helpful
"Basta mi nombre que es Abrabanel."
3 Dec 2005
Format:Paperback
THE JEWS OF SPAIN is an eminently readable and important survey history of the Ibero-Jewish experience from Biblical times. The Jews of Sepharad (Spain) are first mentioned in the Prophetic Book of Obadiah. From this beginning in antiquity, they can trace their history on Spanish soil right down to the present day.
Often abjured and ultimately expelled in 1492, the Sephardim nonetheless contributed much to the root stock of Spain and Portugal. One scholar estimates that 70% of all Spanish/Hispanic people today can trace their line back to some Jewish forebears, and in Portugal the percentage is an even more astounding 85%. Linguists are only now recognizing the strong Hebrew influence on the Spanish language (The honorific "Don" descends from The Hebrew word for Lord, "Adon").
Despite the institutional disabilities the Jews experienced as a minority in a land that was first Greco-Roman, then Christian, then Muslim, and finally again Christian, they prospered and thrived, becoming so much a part of the fabric of Spain that certain Spanish kings had themselves declared "King of the Three Religions" and had their tombs inscribed in Latin, Arabic and Hebrew. A Jewish "Golden Age" occurred under Muslim rule in the 1000s, when Jewish courtiers became noted poets, philosophers, cartographers, merchants, and even Prime Ministers. This pattern continued for a while under the Christian Reconquest, although increasing pressures were brought upon the Jews to convert. Nationwide pogroms in 1391 caused about half of Spanish Jewry to leave the fold, and again in 1492 most Jews chose conversion rather than exile from their beloved land. All told, about 300,000 Jewish people left Spain, scattering throughout the world.
The history of these post-1492 exiles is as fascinating as their history prior to that date. They established communities everywhere from Zion to California (although many kept the keys to their homes in Spain as precious heirlooms, vowing to return some day). A zealous minority remained behind in Spain, secretly practicing Jewish rites. For most of the Conversos, however, life became a terror as the Inquisition accused them of heresy, not necessarily because they practiced Judaism, but because they were of Jewish descent, adding the concept of race to the ancient prejudice of anti-Semitism.
The Jews of Spain form a goodly portion of modern Israel's population, and since the accession of King Juan Carlos, Sephardim have returned to Spain in increasing numbers, revivifying their ancient traditions: "It is enough that I am named Abrabanel."
As a survey, THE JEWS OF SPAIN touches only lightly on many subjects, but it is a compelling introduction to this portion of world history so long unremembered.
Often abjured and ultimately expelled in 1492, the Sephardim nonetheless contributed much to the root stock of Spain and Portugal. One scholar estimates that 70% of all Spanish/Hispanic people today can trace their line back to some Jewish forebears, and in Portugal the percentage is an even more astounding 85%. Linguists are only now recognizing the strong Hebrew influence on the Spanish language (The honorific "Don" descends from The Hebrew word for Lord, "Adon").
Despite the institutional disabilities the Jews experienced as a minority in a land that was first Greco-Roman, then Christian, then Muslim, and finally again Christian, they prospered and thrived, becoming so much a part of the fabric of Spain that certain Spanish kings had themselves declared "King of the Three Religions" and had their tombs inscribed in Latin, Arabic and Hebrew. A Jewish "Golden Age" occurred under Muslim rule in the 1000s, when Jewish courtiers became noted poets, philosophers, cartographers, merchants, and even Prime Ministers. This pattern continued for a while under the Christian Reconquest, although increasing pressures were brought upon the Jews to convert. Nationwide pogroms in 1391 caused about half of Spanish Jewry to leave the fold, and again in 1492 most Jews chose conversion rather than exile from their beloved land. All told, about 300,000 Jewish people left Spain, scattering throughout the world.
The history of these post-1492 exiles is as fascinating as their history prior to that date. They established communities everywhere from Zion to California (although many kept the keys to their homes in Spain as precious heirlooms, vowing to return some day). A zealous minority remained behind in Spain, secretly practicing Jewish rites. For most of the Conversos, however, life became a terror as the Inquisition accused them of heresy, not necessarily because they practiced Judaism, but because they were of Jewish descent, adding the concept of race to the ancient prejudice of anti-Semitism.
The Jews of Spain form a goodly portion of modern Israel's population, and since the accession of King Juan Carlos, Sephardim have returned to Spain in increasing numbers, revivifying their ancient traditions: "It is enough that I am named Abrabanel."
As a survey, THE JEWS OF SPAIN touches only lightly on many subjects, but it is a compelling introduction to this portion of world history so long unremembered.
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