The Modest Beginnings of The Great Return Of Spanish and Portuguese Jews By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz - BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

The Modest Beginnings of The Great Return Of Spanish and Portuguese Jews

By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz May 17, 2016  BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

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“Therefore say: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Although I have removed them far off among the nations and although I have scattered them among the countries yet have I been to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they are come; therefore say: Thus saith the Lord GOD: I will even gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered and I will give you the land of Yisrael.” Ezekiel 11:16-17 (The Israel Bible™)

Israel Independence Day was marked last week with large celebrations and fireworks, but small rallies held around the world, easily overlooked, may have signalled the beginning of a great change for the Jewish people: the return of millions of Bnei Anousim.

The “crypto-Jews”,  or Bnei Anousim in Hebrew, are descendants of Jews who were forcibly converted in Spain and Portugal during the Inquisitions in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. At the time of the Inquisitions, Jews made up 20 percent of the population of Spain and Portugal but only about half a million fled during the  subsequent expulsions. Those who remained were forced to convert. Many maintained a covert connection to their Jewish roots through cryptic family traditions and are just now beginning tentative steps to re-establish their spiritual and genealogical identity.

(Photo: Ezra L’Anousim)

The rallies were organized by Ezra L’Anousim (“Help to the Anousim” in Hebrew), an organization started by Batya Yaffa Dacosta, a returned Jew, to help crypto-Jews reconnect to their Jewish roots. The organization offers a platform for crypto-Jews to connect to each other in their journey back to their spiritual roots.

Acknowledging this national identity had special meaning for the groups of emerging crypto-Jews who gathered together in over 40 cities around the world on Israel’s Independence Day last week to show support for the state. The turnout was admittedly modest but participation at the rallies was visibly enthusiastic . The small groups represent the vanguard of a much larger movement that can only continue to grow. The cause is important and the number of people affected is in the millions.

(Photo: Ezra L’Anousim)

This religious identity took on a nationalistic dimension with the creation of the modern State of Israel, which in many ways enabled the Bnei Anousim to finally reconnect with Judaism. Dacosta explained that Israel provides a focal point for Jews to come together, a necessary aspect of the return of the Bnei Anousim.

“The reason for the rallies was so that these people who have had to live a secret life for so long should know that they are not alone,” DaCosta told Breaking Israel News. “There is an incredible awakening going on but some of the people are so afraid to come out publicly because of all the fear that has been passed down.” DaCosta compared it to the experience of Holocaust survivors, who were suddenly turned on by their neighbors. “The difference is that this has gone on for 500 years.”

DaCosta said that many of the Bnei Anousim want to come live in Israel, expressing a preference for settling in the Negev, the southern area of Israel, as an enactment of the prophecy in Obadiah.

And the captivity of this host of the B’nei Yisrael that are among the Canaanites even unto Zarephath  (France) and the captivity of Jerusalem that is in Sepharad (Spain) shall possess the cities of the South.  (Obadiah 1:20)

Recent awareness of the plight of the Bnei Anousim has led to the creation of several organizations to help the Bnei Anousim connect with the Jewish People. Shavei Israel, the largest of these organizations, has been working with Bnei Anousim for over a decade. Its Spanish language guidebook for crypto-Jews has been distributed to tens of thousands for free and future editions in Portugese, Italian, and English are planned. Reconectar is a website that helps people on any level they choose, whether it is to reconnect with Judaism, or just to learn more about their own heritage.

(Photo: Ezra L’Anousim)

The return of the Bnei Anousim is a recent global phenomenon. Spanish and Portuguese governments are offering citizenship to descendants of Jews expelled from their countries centuries ago. In October, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the first ever official Knesset Caucus for Reconnection with the Descendants of Spanish and Portuguese Communities.

DaCosta plans on having a global rally every year on Israel’s Independence Day. She compared it to the beginnings of the movement that opened the doors for millions of trapped Jews to leave the former Soviet Union, though the return of the Bnei Anousim has far more potential for the Jewish people. Recent genetic studies have shown that the return of the Bnei Anousim could increase the number of Jews in the world four times over.

Dacosta insisted that these first steps towards raising awareness are essential. She has high hopes for more people around the world to discover their Jewish roots and joining in future rallies. “There is really a great anousim awakening going on, and it is only just beginning.”

The Miraculous Ingathering of Jews in the World

The Bet Eliahu synagogue in Belmonte, Portugal. (Photo: Bricking/ Wiki Commons)

Bnei Anusim: The Miraculous Ingathering That Could Double the Number of Jews in the World

By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz September 25, 2015  BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“Even if your exiles are at the end of the heavens, the Lord, your God, will gather you from there, and He will take you from there. And the Lord, your God,will bring you back to the land which your forefathers possessed and you will take possession of it, and He will do good to you, and He will make you more numerous than your forefathers.” (Deuteronomy 30:3-5)

A new global campaign has been launched to locate Bnei Anousim, Jews who were forcibly converted during the Spanish Inquisition, which began in 1391 and continued until 1497.  The initiative, headed by Shavei Israel, has the potential to return millions of Jews to the global community in a massive ingathering of exiles. Estimates by the Jewish Agency have put the potential total population of Bnei Anusim at twice the present Jewish population.

“We are at the beginning of an historic turning point, one that will see millions of people throughout the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world reconnecting with their Jewish roots,” said Michael Freund, chairman and founder of Shavei Israel, in a statement. “There are millions of people throughout Spain, Portugal, and Central and South America who are descended from Iberian Jews, and we believe it is time for the Jewish people to reach out to them.”

According to genetic studies conducted over the past decade, 20 percent of men in the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) have Jewish ancestry. Similar studies in Brazil estimate that 5-10 million people there are descendants of Bnei Anousim.

Shavei Israel set off a wave of interest when the organization published a free Spanish-language practical guide to discovering Jewish heritage, “Do You Have Jewish Roots?”, which has been distributed to almost 10,000 people. It contains information on subjects such as how to conduct a genealogical search, traditionally Jewish names, names unique to Bnei Anusim, and identifying hidden Jewish customs.

The term “crypto-Judaism” describes the phenomenon of secretly observing Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith. Often, secret observance of Jewish customs and commandments can go on for many generations within a family. There have even been cases discovered of entire communities continuing to observe customs they no longer understand and don’t realize have Jewish origins.

Many Bnei Anusim keep Jewish burial customs, wrapping the deceased in white shrouds as opposed to coffins. Some dietary customs are clear indications of Jewish heritage. Many Bnei Anusim have an oral tradition of having an allergy to pork or not eating blood in the form of the traditional Spanish blood sausage. There have been cases of Bnei Anusim who refrained from eating leavened products during Holy Week, which coincides with the observance of Passover. Some Bnei Anusim relate to Saturday as their day of rest. Lighting candles on Friday night is another tradition that has lasted throughout many generations, even after the connection to Judaism has been lost.

The legacy of the Inquisition and hidden Jews is not a myth or a legend, but a reality recognized by the Spanish and Portuguese governments, which have extended an offer of citizenship to the millions of descendants of expelled Sephardic Jews.

This is not a uniquely European phenomenon. Many communities in remote corners of the globe have been discovered to have Jewish roots. The discovery of the Jews of Ethiopia led to a dramatic rescue mission by the State of Israel. The Subbotnik Jews of Russia, the Jewish community of Kaifeng in China, descendants of Jews living in Poland, and most recently, the Bnei Menash Jews who arrived in India by way of China, have all been able to trace their roots back to a Jewish source.

Jews hide their identity not out of shame, but as a reaction to the anti-Semitism which has accompanied the Jewish people throughout their exile. During that time, they were scattered  among the nations. Many were lost in their wanderings, intermarrying and converting, their descendants assimilating into their adopted cultures until their Jewish identity disappeared. Part of the messianic prophecy, the proof as well as the promise, is the ingathering of the exiles, a miracle that is happening in front of our eyes.  These prophetic days are bringing back Jews from the farthest corners, reawakening Jewish souls that have forgotten their roots in the Holy Land.

Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/49651/bnei-anusim-the-miraculous-ingathering-that-could-double-the-number-of-jews-in-the-world-jewish-world/#8EBz5OYav1kH30QP.99