Sephardi Jewry: A History of the Judeo-Spanish Community, 14th-20th Centuries (Jewish Communities in the Modern World) [Paperback]

Esther Benbassa (Author), Aron Rodrigue (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520218221 | ISBN-13: 978-0520218222 | Publication Date: February 13, 2000 | Edition: 1

Until the publication of this remarkably comprehensive history of the Sephardi diaspora, only limited attention had been given to the distinctive Judeo-Spanish cultural entity that flourished in the Balkans and Asia Minor for more than four centuries. Yet the great majority of Sephardi Jews, after their expulsion from Spain in 1492 and subsequently from Portugal, found their way to this region, drawn by the political stability and relatively tolerant rule of the Ottoman Empire, as well as by promising socioeconomic conditions. Esther Benbassa and Aron Rodrigue show how Sephardi society and culture developed in the Levant, sharing language, religion, customs, and communal life as they did nowhere else, both during prosperous times and during the declining fortunes of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The impact of westernization, the end of Ottoman power, and the rise of fragmenting nation-states transformed this vital community in the modern era. And, like many other Jewish communities, the unique Judeo-Spanish culture was dispersed and destroyed by the Holocaust and the migrations of the twentieth century. Sephardi Jewry presents its vivid history in a readable, well-documented narrative.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Praise for the French edition:

"The most complete and thorough historical synthesis ever written in a European language on the Jewish communities of the Balkans and Turkey."--Michel Abitbol, L'arche

"A rich and too-little-known history that successfully avoids twin snares: the myth of the irreparable decadence of oriental Judaism and the myth of the lost golden age of Spain."--Alain Dieckhoff, Les Nouveaux Cahiers

"The authors illuminate the variety of responses--between the poles of westernizing and holding onto tradition--offered by these Jewish societies of the Levantine Sephardi cultural area to the processes of modernization, as well as their startling receptivity to the new ideologies of zionism and socialism that marked the end of the nineteenth century." --Annales

From the Back Cover

Praise for the French edition:)

"The most complete and thorough historical synthesis ever written in a European language on the Jewish communities of the Balkans and Turkey." (Michel Abitbol, L'arche)

"A rich and too-little-known history that successfully avoids twin snares: the myth of the irreparable decadence of oriental Judaism and the myth of the lost golden age of Spain." (Alain Dieckhoff, Les Nouveaux Cahiers)

Esther Benbassa is Professor of Jewish History at the Universit de Paris IV, Sorbonne, and Director of Research at the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique. Her books Jews in France (1999) and Haim Nahum (1995) are available in English. Aron Rodrigue is Eva Chernov Lokey Professor in Jewish Studies and Professor of History at Stanford University and the author of Images of Sephardi and Eastern Jewries in Transition (1993) and French Jews, Turkish Jews (1990).

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 377 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (February 13, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520218221
• ISBN-13: 978-0520218222
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,246,491 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sephardim Refugee Community in the Balkans, December 30, 2002

By 

ONG EU JIN (KUALA LUMPUR Malaysia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sephardi Jewry: A History of the Judeo-Spanish Community, 14th-20th Centuries (Jewish Communities in the Modern World) (Paperback)

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.

5.0 out of 5 stars Sephardi Jewry: A History of the Judeo-Spanish Community, 14th-20th Centuries, November 14, 2009

By 

Alan M. Tapper "researcher" (Ashburn, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sephardi Jewry: A History of the Judeo-Spanish Community, 14th-20th Centuries (Jewish Communities in the Modern World) (Paperback)

The book was virtually brand new, and was delivered promptly. It was very enlightening.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Concise, researched thoughtful, February 23, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sephardi Jewry: A History of the Judeo-Spanish Community, 14th-20th Centuries (Jewish Communities in the Modern World) (Paperback)

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.