VI, VII regarding Rabbi Vinas and his involvement with conversion of Hispanics/Anusim. He is also officially listed as an associate of an organization involved in actively proselytizing non-Jews. There are also interviews with him in Spanish/Christian publications in which he tries to minimize differences between Judaism and Christianity. In his reply published below, he strongly objects to the understanding which readily emerges from these sources and he offers an alternative understanding based on a detailed explanation of the context.
I appreciate the time and effort involved in his reply as well as his upset. I am in the process of investigating his explanation and if it holds up I will publicly apologize for misunderstanding his postion. I am not out to get Rabbi Vinas but am concerned about his activities - and am interested in hearing what he has to say.
Therefore I would appreciate if Rabbi Vinas elaborates more on these issues - as he is not only obviously knowledgeable about them - but is involved in the day to day reality. It would not only serve the purpose of correcting the impression readily obtained from the public record but would provide the readers of this blog with a better understanding of what is going on in the world. In other words I am willing to give him a public forum in which to educate us and at the same time for him to understand how the extensive public record of his activities clearly implies the views that I have presented in the blog.
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Rabbi Vinas wrote:
Thank you for taking so much time to review my holy work of returning the Anusim to Judaism, and thank you for recognizing me as "a well educated Rabbi." You are correct I am involved in helping people of Anusim background return to Judaism. I do so knowing that it is clearly expressed in one of the Takanot de Rabenu Gershom that encourages the Jewish community to outreach to individuals who were forcibly converted out of Judaism to return to the ways of the Torah. "Anusim" is the halachic term for people commonly referred to by ignorant people as "marranos" which means pigs in Spanish an insult for Jews by our enemies. These were Jews who were forcibly converted by the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions to Catholicism but maintained secret Jewish practices for centuries, and sought return to Judaism whenever possible. In fact this takanah was actually carried out by the Rabbanut of the Amsterdam Jewish Community during the 1650's. The great Rav Menashe ben Israel and Aboab de Fonseca spent much of their time seeking out people of anusim background to help educate them and return them to the ways of the Torah. It is called pidyon shvuim by these two great Rabanim. Rav Menashe Ben Israel was the Rav who negotiated with Oliver Cromwell to allow Jews to return to live openly in England in 1654. He also published many books in both Portuguese and Spanish to educate anusim and return them to Torah observant lives. Rav Menashe Ben Israel was one of the Banai Anusim who returned to Jewish life as soon as his family was able to escape to the safety of Holland. He never forgot the many Jews who were left behind however. FYI The attempt by Rav Yaakov Berab to reestablish the Sanhedrin was intimately linked to the desire of these people to return to Judaism - they were seeking makot for having pretended to practice avodah zarah. Hoping to have kaparah in this world rather than in shamayim. There are many teshuvot and halachot dealing with this phenomenon throughout the past five hundred years. In modern times, Rav Mordechai Eliahu has teshuvot that support the return of the anusim and created a document of return for anusim that formalize their return by means of milah and tevilah, he calls it a "teudah lashuv darchei avotav." Rav Aharon Soloveitchik also penned a letter expressing that Anusim are to be considered Jewish, counted for the minyan, given aliyot even prior to conversion/ or return. He says that when they wish to marry they should undergo some form of giur. Many Ashkenazik Rabbanim that perform giur for people of anusim background including Rav Belsky who worked with a family that I had hashpaa on in their return to Judaism - called it a giur lechumra or even offers letters of recognition as fully Jewish by birth whenever possible. When a person of anusim background approaches me I embrace them and encourage them to observe the mitzvot, from the beginning. The reason is simple - following the idea of safek deoraita lechumra - we pasken that since there is the possibility that these individuals might halachically be Jewish deoraita since many of them only married individuals that their grandmothers insisted were the only ones permitted to them as was the case in my family - I can not in good conscience tell them to be mehalel shabbat or discourage them from being Jewish since by doing so might be over an issur deoraita of causing Jews not to observe the Torah.
My family is descendants of the anusim of Cuba. I am not ashamed of this fact. Rather, I am proud that we were ale to hold onto Jewish practice for so long under threat and that at the first opportuinty to do so we returned to full Jewish life here in America. I am an Orthodox Rabbi, I went to yeshivot all of my life. For Elementary School I went to Chabad Lubavitch of Miami Beach then I went to higher yeshivot. First I went to Rabbi Yochanan Zweig's Mesivta and Yeshiva in Miami Beach, then to Touro College NYC, then to Yeshiva University where I learned sofrut from Rav Shmuel Schneid of Monsey New York. Then I learned with Rav Aharon Zeigler of Boro Park Brooklyn and he gave me smicha.
I am not ashamed of my "yeshivishe" background. I am proud that I was able to learn and continue my learning to this day. I am dedicated to Torah and dedicated to following the teachings of chazal and the gedolim. I am a Sfardi and follow Sefardic halacha and I am very familiar with Ashkenazik poskim as well since I learned primarily in Litvishe Yeshivot. Are you familiar with ours beyond the Ben Ish Hai?
The articles quoted are not my own. They are the work of Dr. Gary Tobin who organizes the Institute you mentioned. Dr. Tobin is a secular scholar his opinions are his own. I am not the only Orthodox Rabbi that he consults in his studies, he lists me in that context as a consultant. If you had looked further on the page of the Institute you would have seen another Orthodox Rabbi who is a Lubavitcher who also serves as a consultant. I'm not a paid employee, I am a respected scholarly colleague and try to provide as much guidance as possible to the Institute regarding halachic issues. I am proud of my work with them and there are many things that I disagree with and many things I do agree with.
Regarding "actively proselytizing" I have never encouraged non-Jews to convert to Judaism only people of anusim background to return to Judaism. The Kiruv rehokim movement make take offense to your casting their work as proselytizing since they see it as encouraging teshuvah. I encourage return to Judaism for anusim. It is the same thing if you wish to call it "giur" or "giur lechumra" or as Mordechai Eliahu (sefardi posek I am sefardi) calls it "Lashuv darchei avotav" it involves milah, tevilah in a mikvah ksherah and most importantly Kabbalat ol malchut shamayim and kabalat hamitzvot. I am confident in sharing with you that all who have returned or are in the process of returning to Torah lifestyles with me are living observant lives and I am very proud of being involved with them. In fact my entire reason for engaging in this process is my emunah shelemah that the only means for full and unquestionable return is through halacha and its processes. And those who seek me out for help also believe this or they would have long ago sought to be part of Reform or Conservative Communities rather than having to live a life of belonging to a community of people (frum people) where blogs like this could threaten them at any moment with writing about their ancestry or raising questions about them when their actions are leshem shamayim. If we do this to each other -cast doubts about each other, launch witch hunts and in the process violate the Torah prohibition not to remind the ger that he is a ger - how will we be able to attract Rabbanim who will act boldly and without fear to help other Jews. Chevrah - instead of being suspicious of anusim lets celebrate that my ancestors loved Torah so much that they held onto as much as possible even at the risk of their lives in the interior of a Caribbean Island (Cuba) and that the Torah is so strong that after 500 years I was able to learn from such great lamdanim and return and help others return. Please be more sensitive - making it appear that I am continuing some sort of christian replacement theology or any other christian framework is insulting and is clearly an issur deoraita of reminding the ger of his past to cast doubts about him and the 33 other places where the Torah warns us about treating the ger with love and respect. Also the Tshuvot of the Rambam regarding love of the ger specifically siman 448 (new edition), also see psukim Shmot 22:20, Vayikra 19:33,34 sefer hachinuch mitzvah 63. Might wish to see Bava Metzia 59b.
Again: The article quoted is not my own. It is the work of Dr. Gary Tobin. Either you read it wrong by mistake or on purpose to somehow discredit my work either way I deserve an apology.
Rabbeinu Gershom was referring to 'anusim' who were recently separated from the fold. You might note that nobody recommends considering those who were forced to convert to Christianity 2,000 years ago as 'anusim.'
ReplyDeleteWhen Rav Menashe Ben Israel sought out anusim, they could prove their Jewish lineage.
516 years (since the Expulsion, and 625 years since the forced conversions of the 1380s) is a long time. After this long, they are goyim, unless they can establish their genealogy.
I know Rabbi Vinas personally. He considers any hispanic who shows any interest in Juadism to be of the anusim.
Even if a hispanic person follows the same practices that one might expect of an ex-Muslim of Spain (they were expelled at the same time as the Jews), such as a big meal Friday night, avoiding pork, or only marrying families "we know" , Rabbi Vinas assumes they are anusim.
He does not wait for them to come to him, rather he actively seeks them out. This is proselytizing.
Only a Jew can 'return' to Judaism. People who were born Gentiles, such as Rabbi Vinas, do not 'return'.
They Convert.
Interesting how he avoids that word when referring to himself.
Regarding Cuban Jewry, I have met many Cuban Jews and they all tell the same story; living in Cuba was paradise for the Jews until Castro came to power. His statement that they had to wait to come to America to start living Jewishly is ridiculous.
"Jews who were forcibly converted by the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions to Catholicism"
ReplyDeleteNeither Jews nor Muslims were forcibly converted to Catholicism in Spain, Portugal or Italy. They were offered the choice to either convert or leave without any of their assets. Spain was a very assimilated place, not terribly unlike the US today. Many Jews felt that the Inquisition would blow over and they would be able to return to their comfortable lives. They thought that they could be Catholics on the streets and Jews at home. The majority fully assimilated to Catholicism.
It became evident after a few generations that one could not be a Catholic on the streets and a Jew in his home and at that time those who wished to, joined their brethren in Holland. They came, destitute and knowing nothing about the practice of Judaism.
My father's mother's ancestors left Spain in 1492 for Portugal. When the Inquisition followed them to Portugal, they felt they could not survive another penniless, pestilence and disease ridden journey. They stayed in Portugal until 1610 when the family re- joined the community in Holland. By this time 3 generations had been born and they needed to document their Jewish lineage as well as bringing two witnesses who knew their great-grandparents to be Jewish before the Beit Din would issue a certificate of return.
The records of the Beit Din in Holland are in the archives of Bevis Marks synagogue in London. The genealogies of many formerly converso families are also there.
Rabbi Issac Aboab's statement that we should rescue anusim was relative to the 17th century when it was issued. At that time, returnees to Judaism had kept detailed genealogies that were verified by secular records. In addition witnesses who remembered the families as members of the Observant Jewish community were called to verify that they were Jewish and status of the returnee (ie. Kohen, Levy, Yisrael) was also verified. The records of the Batei Din for returnees are available at Bevis Marks. I have seen my own families records (but unfortunately, the technology did not exist at the time to scan them!),.
Approximately 400 years has passed since this time; that is sixteen generations. That is a long time. But it is still not impossible that those who claim to be anusim would have detailed and verifiable genealogies as most of the Sephardic and Muslim families I have met DO actually keep genealogies back hundreds of years.Genealogist Phillip Abensur has helped several Bnai Anusim trace their maternal lines back sixteen generations via civil records. For families who remained in Spain, Portugal and Italy it is easier. I got my father's family's complete genealogy back to 1710 just by writing a single letter to the registrar in Gibraltar!!
Civil records were also kept in the New World. Copies of the archives of Cuban Jewry are kept in several locations throughout the world.
Many of my father's family went to Cuba at the end of the 19th century. Cuba was a paradise for Jews and the community built beautiful synagogues, Jewish schools, cemeteries and mikvot. There was a Maccabee, Jewish Community Center and many Jewish Social clubs. The Jewish community in Cuba became very prosperous and influential in Cuban politics and government.
It is difficult for me to try to understand why the Vinas family did not AT LEAST return to Judaism a century earlier while they were living in Cuba where there was a thriving Jewish community, availability of kosher meat, mikvot, Rabbis, schools and synagogues.
So when Vinas' says "hold onto Jewish practice for so long under threat and that at the first opportuinty to do so we returned to full Jewish life here in America"
This is simply not at all TRUE regarding Jewish life in Cuba.
The articles published on this blog (Daat Torah) back in April, which were translated from Spanish quote Vinas directly. Does anyone dare to make the claim that these are not Vinas' own words? It is an interview not an article or editorial. Vinas' is asked a question about his religious doctrine which he answers in great detail.
http://daattorah.blogspot.com/2008_04_01_archive.html?
Vinas seems to speak from two mouths, one in English which sounds a lot like Judaism and the other, in Spanish which more correctly expresses his soul as it IS his first language, which is CHRISTIANITY!!
The two are in complete conflict with each other. The myth of a Judeo Christian tradition is just that, a myth created by Anti Semites who wish to obliterate Judaism and destroy the Jewish people by blurring the lines between Judaism and Christianity.
Vinas has a better Jewish education that 99% of all JEWS, and CERTAINLY knows EXACTLY what he is doing!!
"My family is descendants of the anusim of Cuba." ...."I am proud that we were ale to hold onto Jewish practice for so long under threat and that at the first opportuinty to do so we returned to full Jewish life here in America."
ReplyDelete""teudah lashuv darchei avotav."
"it "giur" or "giur lechumra" or as Mordechai Eliahu (sefardi posek I am sefardi) calls it "Lashuv darchei avotav" it involves milah, tevilah in a mikvah ksherah and most importantly Kabbalat ol malchut shamayim and kabalat hamitzvot."
"issur deoraita of reminding the ger of his past to cast doubts about him and the 33 other places where the Torah warns us about treating the ger with love and respect."
I had once learned that while a Ger Tzeddek CAN become a Rabbi to teach, write, do sofrut, or even as Onkelot did, become a great commentator, a Ger Tzeddek cannot LEAD a community of Jews.
It is not clear whether or not Manny Vinas purports to be a ger tzeddek or a born Jew.
Rabbi Vinas - I simply don't understand the basis for your conversion of Anusim. Without clear records, in what sense are they different than stam goyim? Where are the discussions in the responsa literature which justifies what you are doing? I saw the letters of Rav Aaron Soloveitchik and Rav Mordechai Eliyahu - in fact I posted them on this blog. I assume you are familiar with the literature Where is the Igros Moshe or Rav Ovadiah Yosef - where is the Achiezer. Where in the last 3 hundred years are there rulings which say that these conjectured descendants of those exiled from Spain and Portugal 500 years ago should be encouraged to convert?
ReplyDeleteRabbi Vinas - a 2nd question?
ReplyDeleteWhat posek told you that it was permitted to be officially part of an organization whose avowed purposed is to convert anyone who thinks they might be Jewish - no matter how far fetched. Since the organization clearly does not hold by Orthodox values - perhaps at best it could be said to be Reform Judaism - what is the heter for your participation in this venture? The only one you have offered is that there is another Orthodox rabbi who also is part of the organization.
Concerning a ger being in position of authority
ReplyDeleteRambam(Hilchos Melachim 1:4): Do not appoint a king who is a ger – even after many generations – unless his mother is a Jew from birth. This is learned from Devarim (17:15) that he must be from your brothers. Not only does this restriction apply to appointing a king but it applies also to any position of authority over others. Thus it applies to being an officer in the army or being a leader of 50 men or even 10. Even the supervisor of an irrigation pond must be a Jew from birth and not a ger. And surely a judge or political leader must be a Jew from birth because (Devarim 17:15) says “from amongst your brothers.” Therefore all positions of power can only be from Jews from birth – who are called your brothers.
However look at Igros Moshe Y.D. 4:26)
According to the lenient opinion, if the people accept a convert as an authority it is Halachically acceptable.
ReplyDelete(Igrot Moshe YD 4 26)
What about a case where the congregation hiring the Rabbi is Conservative but desires to become Orthodox as LPJC was?
How would the Board of a formerly Conservative Ashkenazic shul know if a graduate of Yeshiva University with an Orthodox Semicha who claims to be Sephardic is either a Gentile or a Ger? How would they know the halacha?
Vinas' bio states that he was "raised in a traditional Sephardic home". How would they know that he was not raised in a JEWISH home?
Would this be "a stumbling block before the blind"?
on the part of Manny Vinas? (who if he is a Gentile should not be expected to know anything and if he is a Ger, can only be expected to know what he has been taught).
or on the part of Yeshiva University? (who I would HOPE would look into the background of those in their Semicha programs!!)
or on the part of Rabbi Avi Weiss in whose synagogue Vinas began his outreach career?
The Board members of Lincoln Park Jewish Center sincerely desired to upgrade their observance in hiring a young Rabbi from YU.
LPJC's previous spiritual leader, Rabbi Solomon Sternstein, was also ordained as Rabbi from Yeshiva University (with an M.S.in Education from Yeshiva College). Rabbi Sternstein served the congregation 48 years.
I would imagine that the LAST thing that the Board of LPJC expected upon hiring a YU Rabbi would be
that "His mission is to provide a home for Latinos to engage in Jewish life by serving as a congregation for prayer and learning and as a resource for those of converso (anusim) background who wish to return to Judaism."http://daattorah.blogspot.com/2008_04_01_archive.html
or a spiritual leader who speaks to El Diario-La Prensa,saying about Mel Gibson's The Passion - "I think that message speaks of the passion and energy of the Christian religion" or:
"that although Catholicism kneels down to idols (of the saints, They believe in a single G-d....
uses Mary, Jesus and the saints as intermediaries to arrive at the Father.
This is not idolatry because they are not considered deities. I do not consider Christianity a form of idolatry in that it neither accepts nor has intermediaries for praying to the father that I believe."
(This does not make sense in Spanish either, Avodah Zara is by definition "foreign service", the very fact that Jesus, Mary and the saints are not "foreign service" to Vinas demonstrates an unresolvable conflict with Judaism and brings into question exactly which religion Vinas feels he has returned to).
Shouldn't the Rabbis of RIETS who gave Manny Vinas his Smicha have SOME responsibility to the JEWS who make up the community of LPJC??
Jersey Girl said...
ReplyDeleteAccording to the lenient opinion, if the people accept a convert as an authority it is Halachically acceptable.
(Igrot Moshe YD 4 26)
What about a case where the congregation hiring the Rabbi is Conservative but desires to become Orthodox as LPJC was?
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Your raise some interesting questions - but I don't think it is a clear cut as you imply.
Let's try a different perspective.
What if we have shul which is Conservative and dying out. It doesn't want to change to Orthodox. A candidate is found who is liked by the congregation and clearly has the ability to change it over to Orthodox. He has one liability i.e., he is a ger. He reads through the Igros Moshe Y.D. 4:26 and notes that in an emergency situation where no one else is capable of the leadership role there is grounds for leniency. He also notes there that there is no sin for the ger to serve as a leader the problem is for the congregation to hire him. However if they want to obey him - not because of his title as rav - but because they simply accept him there probably isn't any problem in the first case as we see with Devorah.
Finally in the world of kiruv - hiring a ger is probably the least of their sins. Putting it all together it would not take a world class posek - but the average talmid chachom - to see that in this particular situation at this particular time it would be permitted.
It would also seem that at some point where another rav - who is not a ger- could lead the congregation, it would probably be appropriate for the ger to step aside.
anyone questioning YU's propriety in giving semikha to a convert should know that R' Hershel Schachter, one of the most respected roshey-yeshiva there (and widely considered the poseik for the RWMO community) specifically said that we don't hold by that Rambam.
ReplyDeleteVinas' is asked a question about his religious doctrine which he answers in great detail.
ReplyDeleteR' Viñas simply expresses the dominant Modern Orthodox view, following Tosafot, that shituf is not a violation of idolatry for Non-Jews. All other religions are ‘avoda zara, literally "foreign worship" for Jews, but aren't necessarily a violation of the 7 Noahhide Laws for Non-Jews.
And he doesn't seem to be doing anything different, process-wise, for these descendents of anusím compared to any other converts — even according to that letter from R' Soloveitchik, they still need a full giyur lehhumra before entering into marriage.
Jersey Girl wrote:
ReplyDeleteShouldn't the Rabbis of RIETS who gave Manny Vinas his Smicha have SOME responsibility to the JEWS who make up the community of LPJC??
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According to his web site he did not get semicha from YU but from Rav Ziegler.
Steg wrote:
ReplyDeleteAnd he doesn't seem to be doing anything different, process-wise, for these descendents of anusím compared to any other converts — even according to that letter from R' Soloveitchik, they still need a full giyur lehhumra before entering into marriage.
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That is not what he says. This is the full quote:
"When a person of anusim background approaches me I embrace them and encourage them to observe the mitzvot, from the beginning. The reason is simple - following the idea of safek deoraita lechumra - we pasken that since there is the possibility that these individuals might halachically be Jewish deoraita since many of them
only married individuals that their grandmothers insisted were the only ones permitted to them as was the case in my family - I can not in good conscience tell them to be mehalel shabbat or discourage them from being Jewish since by doing so might be over an issur deoraita of causing Jews not to observe the Torah."
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Clearly he is asserting that possible anusim descendants are treated differently that a stam goy. They are to be encouraged to observe mitzvos and convert. They are to be treated as if they might actually be Jewish. That would also mean that if they were married a Jew that there is a sofek whether they need a get and there is a possible question whether they are mamzerim. In other words according to Rabbi Vinas's understanding they have the same issues as the Ethiopians. Except they don't have a Jewish identity until they meet someone such as Rabbi Vinas. Therefore there is no danger that they will intermarry as Jews as there is with the Ethiopians.
I find this very problematic and I am still waiting for the citations in the literature which justify this approach. The letter from Rav Aaron Soloveitchik and Rav Mordechai Eliayu do not constitute teshuvos.
Perhaps Rabbi Vinas can persuade Rav Belsky to write a justification for this procedure.
Steg wrote:
ReplyDeleteR' Viñas simply expresses the dominant Modern Orthodox view, following Tosafot, that shituf is not a violation of idolatry for Non-Jews. All other religions are ‘avoda zara, literally "foreign worship" for Jews, but aren't necessarily a violation of the 7 Noahhide Laws for Non-Jews.
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I disagree with your reading. Granted that there is a dispute whether shituf is prohibited - for a non Jew. However it is clearly prohibited for a Jew. Rabbi Vinas is saying that he himself doesn't view Christianity as having prohibited practices. He does not draw a distinction between whether it is permitted for a Jew or a goy.
He claimed that he was doing this to curry favor with the goyim. However he is making a major distortion of halacha by saying that Jews don't view the Trinity as problematic. The Yam Shel Shlomo poskened that a Jew should die rather than do such a thing.
He said:
This is not idolatry because they are not considered deities. I do not consider Christianity a form of idolatry in that it neither accepts nor has intermediaries for praying to the father that I believe."
What posek is he relying on to publicly say that Christianity is not considered a form of idolatry?
Since Rabbi Vinas insists he follows the Sefardic poskim how does he explain the following statement of Rav Ovaidah Yosef
Yechave Daas(4:45): Question: Is it permitted for a Jew to visit a Christian church? Answer: In Avoda Zara (17a) indicates that it is prohibited to come close to the door of the temple of idolatry…This is also the understanding of Tosfos. Rambam (Commentary to Avoda Zara 1:4): “Any city of idolatrous non Jews which contains a temple of idolatry – it is prohibited to dwell there. However due to our sins we are in Exile and we are forced to dwell in the lands of worshippers of idols of wood and stone. And therefore if the city itself is prohibited to dwell because of the idolatrous temple there then surely the temple itself is prohibited – and it is almost prohibited even to look at – and surely it is prohibited to enter into it.” This is also the view of the Rashba which is brought in the Tur (Y.D. 149). Similarly the Ritva (Avoda Zara 11b)…Furthermore it is clear from the Rambam(Hilchos Prohibited Foods end of Chapter 11) that Christians have the status of idolaters. Consequently their churches have the status of being actual temples of idolatry. Therefore it is very clear that it is prohibited to visit the Christian churches… In sum it is clear that there is an absolute prohibition of visiting Christian chruches. It is required that tour guides are obligated to be very careful not to cause problems and not cause Jews to transgress this prohibition when they are visiting Israel and bring them to visit churches. Doing such entails the prohibition of not placing a stumbling block before the blind…
daas torah:
ReplyDeletewhy would he need to talk about Jewish halakha for Jews when talking to Non-Jews? He was contrasting Catholics with followers of Santería on their own terms, not as ‘avoda zara if a Jew were to participate in them.
Except they don't have a Jewish identity until they meet someone such as Rabbi Vinas.
ReplyDeleteMany of them do. There are huge numbers of such people out there.
Steg (dos iz nit der šteg) said...
ReplyDeletedaas torah:
why would he need to talk about Jewish halakha for Jews when talking to Non-Jews? He was contrasting Catholics with followers of Santería on their own terms, not as ‘avoda zara if a Jew were to participate in them.
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He is stating that he see nothing wrong with the practice. That statement is simply incorrect.
Steg (dos iz nit der šteg) said...
ReplyDeleteExcept they don't have a Jewish identity until they meet someone such as Rabbi Vinas.
Many of them do. There are huge numbers of such people out there.
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Please provide sources. The studies I have seen says that the number of goyim who think that they might really be Jewish is a very small number - but that a wide variety of organization greater inflate the numbers.
Do some searching on the internet for the groups dealing with anusim. They are not responding to demand ut are agressively creating it.
Toward resolution of the debate regarding purported crypto-Jews in a Spanish-American population: evidence from the Y chromosome.
ReplyDeleteSutton WK, Knight A, Underhill PA, Neulander JS, Disotell TR, Mountain JL.
1: Ann Hum Biol. 2006 Jan-Feb;33(1):100-11
Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York 10003, USA. ws204@nyu.edu
BACKGROUND: The ethnic heritage of northernmost New Spain, including present-day northern New Mexico and southernmost Colorado, USA, is intensely debated. Local Spanish-American folkways and anecdotal narratives led to claims that the region was colonized primarily by secret- or crypto-Jews. Despite ethnographic criticisms, the notion of substantial crypto-Jewish ancestry among Spanish-Americans persists. AIM: We tested the null hypothesis that Spanish-Americans of northern New Mexico carry essentially the same profile of paternally inherited DNA variation as the peoples of Iberia, and the relevant alternative hypothesis that the sampled Spanish-Americans possess inherited DNA variation that reflects Jewish ancestry significantly greater than that in present-day Iberia. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We report frequencies of 19 Y-chromosome unique event polymorphism (UEP) biallelic markers for 139 men from across northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, USA, who self-identify as 'Spanish-American'. We used three different statistical tests of differentiation to compare frequencies of major UEP-defined clades or haplogroups with published data for Iberians, Jews, and other Mediterranean populations. We also report frequencies of derived UEP markers within each major haplogroup, compared with published data for relevant populations. RESULTS: All tests of differentiation showed that, for frequencies of the major UEP-defined clades, Spanish-Americans and Iberians are statistically indistinguishable. All other pairwise comparisons, including between Spanish-Americans and Jews, and Iberians and Jews, revealed highly significant differences in UEP frequencies. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that paternal genetic inheritance of Spanish-Americans is indistinguishable from that of Iberians and refute the popular and widely publicized scenario of significant crypto-Jewish ancestry of the Spanish-American population.
Yasher Koach to Rabbi Manny Vinas.
ReplyDeleteHe is 100% correct in that ignorant blogs can turn true possible geirim away from Torah, especially when all they are doing is for the sake of heaven.
"Finally in the world of kiruv - hiring a ger is probably the least of their sins. Putting it all together it would not take a world class posek - but the average talmid chachom - to see that in this particular situation at this particular time it would be permitted."
ReplyDeleteI will have to respectfully disagree with this statement.
My husband has served two "kiruv" type shuls; the first, a formerly Conservative shul that had recently put up a mechitzah in order to attract young families and the second, with 400 members, but barely a minyan of Shomrei Shabbat.
The number of shailot that came up on a daily basis in both of these situations were numerous and on several occasions questions came up that had not been previously answered.
In many situations a kiruv Rabbi will have only one opportunity to use good judgment in order to make a decision on the spot, the implications of which could affect the entire community.
There is also the pressure on a family who are the sole representatives of observant Jewish life to a community of several hundred.
The fine balance of being a member of a non observant Jewish community you hope to bring closer to observance while at the same time not compromising halacha takes a Herculean amount of strength both physical AND mental. (I wish I could say that we "passed").
A person who goes into a kiruv situation must remain well connected to a strong Jewish community he still considers himself part of because it is very easy for ANYONE in a kiruv to end up "going down" himself rather than "bringing up" those he is there to hopefully help along.
I think that this was the original issue being explored on this blog with regard to EJF's a-halachic position regarding prostelytizing the Gentile spouses in an intermarriage.
It would seem more prudent to send a ger tzeddek to lead a community of strictly observant families than one of non observant families. An observant community will keep any Rabbi on his toes and inspire him to strive even higher in his own learning and observance.
For a ger tzeddek who is without roots in an extended Jewish family and a strong birth community; whose only primal familial reference is Christianity, it is too easy to fall back to Christianity.
A Baal Teshuva can often easily lead others from non Observant Judaism to Torah observance because he has made the journey himself. He is different from a Ger in that his roots and Torah Imecha are 100% Jewish and ingrained from his birth. Even the most non observant Jew is raised with a great deal of Jewish outlook and practice that he is unaware of.
This is the basis of the claims of anusim who contend that despite the fact that they have been separated from the Jewish community for 500 years or 20 generations, that their innate observance of Judaism is so strong that they should be counted fully as Jews in any Jewish community. How much more so then in the case of a Baal Teshuva who is usually no more than one or two generations from observance?
A Ger Tzeddek on the other hand comes from a completely different tradition and his own inbred beliefs about "what is religious" might lead a community to practice a variation of Christianity, which is what seems to have happened at Lincoln Park Jewish Center.
Perhaps someone from RIETS who is also fluent in Spanish might spend a Shabbat undercover in order to judge the situation firsthand.
There are approximately 1 million Arabs in the Middle East who consider themselves Jewish. They practice a religion that very closely resembles Judaism in many aspects and their DNA samples show that they share a common ancestry with Jewish Kohanim .
Why is it that we do not see legions of "kiruv" professionals "reaching" out to these Arabs??
Why is it that only Christians have been converting to Judaism by the thousands for the past twenty years. If there were indeed some kind of spiritual awakening as some claim there is (ie. the days preceding Moshiach) why aren't numbers of Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and all other religions of the world be converting in proportion to their populations?
Why is it only Christians?
Why are groups such as Shalvei Israel only targeting communities that have been Christian?
Why isn't anyone trying to convert en masse a million Israeli Arabs who already live in Israel and who as part of their observance already eschew pork and shellfish, dress modestly, pray several times daily, practice family laws, give tzeddaka, forbid charging interest and base their legal system of Sharia upon our Talmud?
I think that from Rabbi Vinas' statements we can all guess at the answer.
He is stating that he see nothing wrong with the practice. That statement is simply incorrect.
ReplyDeleteHe's talking to Non-Jews about what Non-Jews are doing.
In response to the study that ends with:
ReplyDelete"CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that paternal genetic inheritance of Spanish-Americans is indistinguishable from that of Iberians and refute the popular and widely publicized scenario of significant crypto-Jewish ancestry of the Spanish-American population."
It seems that Rabbi Vinas draws the opposite conclusion...the fact it is indistinguishable makes EVERYONE Jewish! (assuming we hold by Patrilineal descent)
Didn't RIETS give him smicha for Sofrut?
ReplyDelete"Yeshiva University where I learned sofrut from Rav Shmuel Schneid of Monsey New York."
Regarding DNA studies:
"CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that paternal genetic inheritance of Spanish-Americans is indistinguishable from that of Iberians and refute the popular and widely publicized scenario of significant crypto-Jewish ancestry of the Spanish-American population."
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/tcga/tcgapdf/Nebel-HG-00-IPArabs.pdf
"Dr. Michael Hammer of University of Arizona, showed from an analysis of the male, or Y chromosome, that Jewish men from seven communities were related to one another and to present-day Palestinian and Syrian populations, but not to the men of their host communities.
Single-step microsatellite
networks of Arab and Jewish haplotypes revealed
a common pool for a large portion of Y chromosomes,
suggesting a relatively recent common ancestry. The two
modal haplotypes in the I&P Arabs were closely related to
the most frequent haplotype of Jews (the Cohen modal
haplotype).
I guess this explains why my family is constantly being detained and searched in airports, subways, national parks, etc.
A realtor showing my house thought the picture of Ben Ish Hai on the wall was Osama Bin Laden (l'havdil). She ran out screaming. Needless to say, her clients did not buy my house.
There is no such thing as semicha for safrus. It is called kabbalah. YU has safrus training through its Belz School of Music (chazzanus) and then arranges kabbalah through RIETS for people who want it. It requires is a test on the basic halachos of safrus and writing a kosher Megillas Esther. I think the kabbalah used to be signed by Rav Charlop and Rav Bronspiegel and maybe someone else (Rabbi Schneid?). Most people at RIETS have never heard about it. It was only known by the people who learned under Rabbi Schneid.
ReplyDeleteIt might be relevant to know out that Rabbi Schneid is very provocative and anti-establishment. He is hated by the Vaad Mishmeres Stam.
Rabbi Vinas DOES make the distinction on the LPJC website:
ReplyDeleteHe completed his training as a scribe with ordination (kabala in sofrut) at Yeshiva University under the mentorship of Rabbi Shmuel Schneid, a master scribe from Monsey, New York.
Rabbi Viñas also has “Yoreh Yoreh” ordination from Kollel Agudath Achim under the leadership of Rabbi Aharon Zeigler of Boro Park, Brooklyn, New York.
He also has a second “Yoreh Yoreh” ordination from Yeshivah VeKollel Zichron Hizkiahu Yoel of Boro Park Brooklyn, New York.
At present Rabbi Viñas is continuing his studies at Kollel Agudath Achim for semicha as a Dayan – judge “Yadin Yadin” from his Rebbi, Rabbi Aharon Ziegler.
Rabbi Viñas has dedicated his career to serving diverse Jewish communities by bringing Klal Yisrael (all Jews) together regardless of denomination, form of practice, race or ethnicity or any other differences.
http://www.joi.org/bloglinks/Youth%20Is%20Served%20for%20an%20Aging%20Congregation.htm
"Over the last decade, Rabbi Viñas has performed dozens of "ceremonies of return" for people who grew up in Roman Catholic homes watching their grandmothers perform rituals they believed were strange family customs, such as lighting candles on Friday nights. "
I think it is very convenient that certain Ashkenazim almost completely ignore or dismiss the poskim of two of the most authoritative Torah scholars of our modern times. Both Rabbi Soloveichik and Rabbi Eliyahu knew exactly what they were asserting when they signed their names to their poskim. They were obviously clarifications of how halacha applied to the situation of Anusim in this modern time. I find it quite disrespectful to imply that they were not aware or were mistaken or misinformed when they declared their rulings. I also believe that were the shoes switched that the same Ashkenazim would be quite sensitive and willing to help their brothers given the same poskim had the Anusim had names like Goldstein, Katz, or Kaminsky. The Jews that fled the Soviet Union had the many of the same problems as Anusim when it came to their lineage. They were treated in a much better manner. This seems to be quite a double standard in my opinion. The fact remains that this will remain a topic of division in the orthodox Jewish world. Furthermore, the thought that in this day of rampant antisemitism and mortal danger to am Yisrael that people would for some reason find it advantageous to be joined to klal Yisrael without a solid Jewish blood line seems extremely unlikely. How many people were clamoring to be return to their Jewish roots during the beginning of the Shoa? This is also such a time. Consider the danger their families are being put in because of their need to return? This is a factor that deserves no small consideration. More humility is required. Sometimes we think too much of ourselves.
ReplyDeleteThis is great, a whole bunch of Kassars, trying to say who is a Jew. At the end the real Jews are the Sephardic Jews, you talk about discrimination in Germany but you are triying to do Shoach to the Jewish soul of Bnei Anousim.
ReplyDeleteRead this
By all means what is to follow requires further study, and it is an exercise to find truth. This, I hope, will serve to alleviate some anguish that Israel is suffering, which by no means needs to be suffered.
First and foremost, we have spoken about the issues on how the Anusim subject has been treated, both in the Academia and among the common people. 21st century Anusim have been subjected to understand themselves through the mythos of the “marrano”, as “crypto-Judaism” is understood in common parlance. When going to the actual sources – those who actually lived in their own historical periods – one will find the ground levels of how rabbis and Anusim behaved, and how the whole matter was treated. Hardly anyone today has made any efforts to understand the Anusim in their own historical and halakhic contexts. Almost everything as spoken today is disjointed and lacks of tremendous profundity.
At that level, I must agree with Mr. Peretz and Ms. Cohen on the almost annoying misrepresentation that we have experienced; however, it is not the Anusim's fault. The lack of seriousness and proper projection has invaded this matter, and to clear these nuances, one must study, analyze and interpret them in the most favorable way; in no way attack them.
If Judaism represents the unbroken tradition of that awesome event at Sinai – the theophany when God Almighty came down to Earth and established an irrevocable contract (berit) with his people – then by virtue of that contract every Israelite cannot ever loose his / her citizenship.
With the issue to “conversion”, one must clear up what it represents. A convert in Hebrew is translated as “ger”, that is a “naturalized citizen” of Israel. In common parlance, he / she is a proselyte. A ger – in halakhic literature – is an alien who adopts the Jewish Constitution (the Torah) in its entirety. A conversion in Hebrew is called a “giur”, and the strict way of conversion is called a “giur l’humra”, which to my knowledge is applied when the person grew up in the non-traditional frames of Judaism, and with a non-Jewish mother in the matrilineal line. Both are given the name of “ben Abraham” or “bat Sarah”, implying that they are adopted within the Abrahamic family, since Abraham is the father of all Hebrews and the first to explicitly recognize the One God. On all this, I stand to be corrected. However, a ger, though he / she is considered a Jew through the process of naturalization, he / she is forbidden to marry a Kohanim (in case of women). In some communities, people hold reservations about marrying a “ger”, though they should not have any. (Yes Ladies and Gentlemen, this is discrimination). I am not sure of other limitations, but at the outset this is the most prominent I can think about.
The only road that is officially being offered to Anusim today is that of the “giur”, or “giur l’humra” at best. Now, can anyone explain to the Anusim how does this procedure at the metaphysical and traditional levels does not violate the Berit at Sinai, and does uphold the sanctity of His name?
Nowhere, absolutely nowhere, we see from the Sages of Israel – much less from God Almighty – declaring an apostate Israelite a “gentile,” or “worse than gentiles.” One must show four sign post:
<< Yet, even then, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject or spurn them so as to destroy them, annulling My covenant with them: for I HaShem am their God >> [Lev. 26:44]
<< If the heaven above could be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they had done, said HaShem >> [Jer. 31:37]
<< An Israelite, although he sinned, is still an Israelite >> [Sanhedrin 44a]
<< (According to Kings 19:18, there were 7,000 faithful Israelites who) “have not bowed to Baal, we did not see that it occurred to any of our Sages that our forefathers who betrayed God, rebelled against Him and denied Him should be called ‘complete gentiles’ or ‘worse than gentiles,’ and that their sons who repented and worshipped God should be considered proselytes >> [R. She’ adyá ben Maimon ibn Danan, Khemdah Genuzah, 15a]
In views of Divine, Prophetic, Talmudic and post-Talmudic understanding, an apostate Israelite is still an Israelite. It follows that an Anous, who was forced into avoda zara / foreign cult, and their children who are born in a state of duress among non-Jews, are also Israelites:
<< (the children of Anusim), who have never seen the light of the Torah, are no different from Jewish children who have lived as prisoners among non-Jews or with Karaites (Israelites who do not believe in the authority of Oral Torah), even Maimuni, Hiljot, Mamrim III, 3, had compassion on them, and treated them lightly. >> [R. Abraham de Aboab – year 1694 -- Deber Shemuel, No. 45(S. 18c f.)]
It hardly ever occurred to the Sages of Israel in the Ottoman Empire, Italy, Algiers, Morocco, Amsterdam, London – in fact every where the most brilliant luminaries of our tradition flourished – to call Anusim “gentiles” much less “proselytes”. Because, as received in the mouth of Rabbi Samuel de Medina from his teacher R. Taytazak, as confirmed by Gaon Zemah, in relation to the Anusim:
<< . . . if anyone brought up the question about the possibility that the child is from a non-Jewish woman, might answer would be that UNLESS THERE IS PROOF TO THE CONTRARY, we take as fact that the child is from a Jewish woman. Furthermore, we assume that all Marranos are descendants of Jews . . . and just as we assume the father of the Marrano is Jewish, we give as fact that each mother of the Marrano is Jewish >> [Responsa III, 112]
In other words, the proof for the matrilineal descent lies with the accuser . . . Not with the alleged victim. Why? In the Mishna – the compilation of Oral Torah – we find an injunction that says:
<< If a man and his wife went beyond the sea and he and his wife and his children returned and he said, ‘Lo, this is the wife that went with me beyond the sea and these are her children’, he need not bring proof about either the woman or the children. >> [Kiddushin 4:10]
In another responsum, now in regards to the Anusim of Ashkenaz (Germany) in the 12th c., Rabbi Salomon bar Simson said:
<< Whoever talked about them in a demeaning way was a sinner because that person spoke against God. >> [Geshichte der Juden in Deutschland a.a. O. p. 29, Bernfeld a.a. O.S. 192.]
Why? Very simple, to speak wrongs on Israel leads to impiety, as exposed by Maimonides, of blessed memory:
<< It is well known from the account of our rabbis that before the Israelites left Egypt, they corrupted their ways and violated the covenant of circumcision, so that none of them save the tribe of Levi was circumcised . . . Nevertheless, although they were corrupt as all this, God rebuked Moses for saying: What if they do not believe me? [Exod. 4:1]. And he retorted: They are believers, children of believers; believers, as Scripture reports: and the people . . . believed [Exod. 14:31]; sons of believers: because he believed, He reckoned it to his merit [Gen. 15:6]. But you will end up not believing; it is told in Scripture: Because you did not believe Me enough to affirm My sanctity [Num. 20:12]. In fact, he was punished at once, as the rabbis understood: “He who suspects the innocent suffers physically. What is the proof? Moses >> [Iggeret ha-Shemad, Halkin’s translation, (Philadelphia, 1993) p. 17]
Now I am also held accountable.
The very claim of the Anusim carries authority, and establishes the main reference point for rabbinical defense. The Rabbis dialogue underneath the voice of the Anusim. We hardly find any actions to the contrary. And since it is in the majority of opinions to consider Anusim as part of Israel, it follows that it is treated with the utmost respect and care. Therefore, there should be to no one’s amazement to see R. Aaron Soloveichik response when he says:
<< They (the Anusim) must be treated like full Jews in everyway (counted for minyan, given aliyot, etc.) >>
For Judaism to be operative in what we call the “chain of tradition”, the full force the Written and Oral Torah, the commentaries of the Talmud, and the post-Rabbinic tradition as deposited in the Responsa have to operate hand in hand. To render any of these useless, renders the whole “chain” inoperative. For this reason, Maimónides in his Mishne Torah – who in the name of the Sages – says:
<< If a tribunal promulgated a decree, or instituted a rule, or put in practice a norm, and this became widespread among all the people in Israel, and thereafter another tribunal pretends to annul that which was arranged by the first and eradicate such rules, decree or norm, it cannot do it unless it (the second tribunal) surpass the first in wisdom and number. If it surpasses them in wisdom but not in number, or in number but not in wisdom, it cannot annul the dispositions, even if the reason ceased to be for which the said decree or rules were first established . . . >> [MT Hilkhot Mamurim, II.2]
Because it is certain that we all are dwarfs in the presence of the luminaries of the tradition, and when will it happen for us to surpass them? Let me let you into a secret: Never.
And how can anyone explain to the Anusim – with the full use of Halakha – how these most central matters on Israel’s identity do not come violated to its very core through the use of Giur?
Is this perhaps a joke? Can Israel be Israel without what the Sages have known for all times? And how can one invalidate the lineage of another Israelite without first bringing proof? And borrowing an expression from Maimonides, to make Anusim (coerced Israelites) into Gerim (adopted into the house of Jacob) is a “ranter of nonsense.”
Since when is permissible to take advantage of the innocent’s ignorance?
It is certain proving the Ignorance of some individuals through the Anusim filter. And how we prove their ignorance? Ask them how many Rabbis decreed in favor of Anusim; Ask them for how long this went on; Ask them to prove you how their decision to make a Ger from an Anusim validates tradition. They shall remain speechless for they have not been taught; yet they do not seem to have the responsibility to explain themselves either. As Maimonides lamented over 800 years ago:
<< Evidently he considered his remarks free from doubt, in no need for correction. He handed them to someone who was to convey them in every city and town, and in this way brought darkness into the hearts of men. “He sent darkness; it was very dark” (Ps. 105:28) >> [Iggeret ha-Shemad, Chp I]
Yet, ignorance by itself is not a sin.
Under all this, Anusim have every right to resist a “conversion” as understood in the sense of “adoption”. On the other hand, in no way they can, as with any Israelite, remove themselves from practicing Judaism . . .
Giur may be the “only” way as offered by some today, yet I cannot see how this is the correct way.
Again, I must go back to the few Rabbis who are aware (not even knowing) the legal precedence on Anusim, and yet have to conform to the Status Quo to avoid any problems. Yet, let it be known they are not obliged and loop wholes can be found within the system.
In all fairness, you must understand that the whole issue of “conversion” is abhorred in the minds of some Anusim. They have every right to think so.
We know that some people demanded also conversion from Yemenite Jews decades ago, yet the Yemenite community stood on its feet and fought their way through. How does one Jew have the right to invalidate the other’s lineage? Anusim lack the communal aspect, and as a result they cannot defend themselves jointly.
By all that we know on Anusim, no ceremony of “conversion” was ever performed and neither a certificate was ever issued. Can anyone bring me the Responsa from 1400’s to 1800’s that explicitly show how this was ever done? For all we know, Anusim were treated on the same footing as it is done with any Jew today who did not grow up in the ways of tradition.
For all that this is worth . . . 761 years ago, the monastic orders in Spain set out to preach to Jews in their synagogues and convince them to conversion; 611 years ago the violent persecutions and conversions began in Seville; 515 years ago the longest, the most organized machinery for the destruction of the core of Israel (their soul) was founded. The Inquisition aim was to eradicate the Jewish soul from the conversos, believing in the Christian doctrine that through Jesus everyone forms parts of the Church’s body and are no longer their former selves, and Judaism corrupts that “Body” , therefore we had to be treated as a disease that ultimately was cured with fire.
This is what happened to the community that revived Hebrew in its spoken and written forms, whose communities gave us the Codifiers of our Law, the liturgical poems most respected in our traditions, the Science and Translations that spread through the Civilized world, and a good name that speaks of elegance, mutual respect, and brilliant wit; whose descendants opened the doors again to France and England, and the New World .
Giving into Giur l’humra represents inversely the recognition that the Church achieved its aim. Anusim are no longer Israel . . . Anusim are Aliens to be “newly” adopted into the house of Jacob.
Is this how Jews today pay respect to tradition and the berit?
All be well.
Sincerely,
Yoram Torres.
Bright eyes:
ReplyDeleteUsing your reasoning to disqualify an Anusim because of the time elapsed would destroy the evidence on the case for Israel and would support the Palestinian thinking for the rejection to the State of Israel.
If 500 years are "disconnecting" an individual from his/her people, then 2000 years would disconnect a nation from its land.
Remember that all the prophets spoke about the restoration of Israel. Y'hez'qel (Ezekiel 37) wrote about the return of the dry bones and if Israel was divorced 2800 years ago (Hos 1:8-9) and G-d will bring them back, believe me 500 years is a minor issue for HaShem who is powerful to bring his children home!
Besides, these days the assimilation rate is awful, antisemitism is huge and growing, lets focus in what really is important and dangerous for us.
Shalom