AnyBook4Less.com	Find the Best Price on the Web Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Home  |  Store List  |  FAQ  |  Contact Us  |
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money Keyword AuthorISBN

Title: Sephardi Jewry: A History of the Judeo-Spanish Community, 14th to 20th Centuries (Jewish Communities in the Modern World, No. 2) by Esther Benbassa, Aron Rodrigue ISBN: 0-520-21822-1 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: 13 February, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95

Your Country USA Canada United Kingdom Australia Austria Belgium France Germany Italy Netherlands Switzerland Currency AutoUSD CAD GBP EUR AUD CHF Delivery Only cheapest delivery All delivery options Include Used Books Are you a club member of: Barnes and Noble Books A Million Chapters.Indigo.ca

Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (2 reviews)

Rating: 4
Summary: Sephardim Refugee Community in the Balkans
Comment: This book is truly informative if you're interested in what happened to the 15th century Jewish refugees from Spain and Portugal. The author begins by talking about the position and status of the Jews in Spain on the eve of their expulsion and the circumstances leading to their forced conversion and expulsion at the end of the 1400s. Many Jews were prosperous and held high positions in Spain (some continued to do so after converting to Christianity). The author states that many Jewish families were torn apart and separated as some chose conversion whilst other family members left so that they can remain Jewish.

These Sephardic Jews were dispersed all over : some to Southern France, Italy, Morrocco, Algeria, Egypt, Syria, the Balkans and Turkey...others to Holland and England, sometimes using them merely as transit points to the New World. This book discusses the Sephardim refugee community in the Balkans only and the rest of the Sephardic Jews who settled elsewhere are actually outside the scope of this book [which is quite disappointing]. I guess the number of Sephardim refugees must have been enormous as even those who settled in the Balkans (and those who chose to stay on in Spain and become Christians) were quite substantial in numbers.

The author does describe in fairly great detail the condition of the Sephardim in the Balkans under Ottoman rule, the organisation of their religious communities and their relationship with other communities; both Gentile (i.e. Armenians, Greeks, Turks) and other Jews (i.e. Greek-speaking Romaniots, Arab-speaking Mizrachim, the Yiddish-speaking Ashkenzaim) in the Ottoman Balkans. Sabbatai Zevi, the "Jewish Messiah" and the conversion of himself and his followers to Islam (hence the founding of the Donmeh community) is also briefly mentioned.

Although, quite a detailed book, I'm only giving it 4 stars because it can be quite a dry read at times, not unlike thesis done by professors which I think that's what the author is.

An excellent read would be "Jewish Communities in Exotic Place" by Ken Blady.

Rating: 5
Summary: Concise, researched thoughtful
Comment: an incredible journey into the history of a long forgotten and often neglected "sect" of Judaism

It is insightful and allows you to understand why it went into decline and project into the future.

Similar Books:

	Title: JEWS OF SPAIN : A HISTORY OF THE SEPHARDIC EXPERIENCE by Jane S. Gerber ISBN: 0029115744 Publisher: Free Press Pub. Date: 31 January, 1994 List Price(USD): $21.50
	Title: The Marranos of Spain: From the Late 14th to the Early 16th Century, According to Contemporary Hebrew Sources by B. Netanyahu ISBN: 0801485681 Publisher: Cornell Univ Pr Pub. Date: July, 1999 List Price(USD): $19.95
	Title: Hidden Heritage: The Legacy of the Crypto-Jews by Janet Liebman Jacobs ISBN: 0520235177 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: 02 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.95
	Title: The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain by Maria Rosa Menocal ISBN: 0316168718 Publisher: Back Bay Books Pub. Date: April, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.95
	Title: The Mezuzah in the Madonna's Foot: Marranos and Other Secret Jews--A Woman Discovers Her Spiritual Heritage by Trudi Alexy ISBN: 0060603402 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 03 September, 1994 List Price(USD): $15.00