The Western Sephardim
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Review
This book is the second of a two-volume series on the Sephardic contribution to civilization entitled “The Sephardi Heritage.” Its editor, Richard D. Barnett, was a renowned classicist, historian, and lay leader in the Spanish and Portuguese community in London whose death at age 77 disrupted the publication of this, his final scholarly work. A considerable debt of gratitude is owed to his colleague, Walter M. Schwab, for the three years of his own life and energy that he devoted to realizing the dream that his friend would never see.
While the first volume provides an account of Sephardic society in Iberia until 1492, this second part focuses on the achievements of the Western Sephardim who reconstructed themselves in Europe and the New World after a century or more as New Christians. It is an early attempt at combining the efforts of many specialists within the covers of a single book whose collective merit is greater than the sum of its parts. Though incomplete in several important respects (some of which are acknowledged in the Foreword), it is a pioneer in a genre that remains underdeveloped almost thirty years later.
Many features of the book recommend themselves to the reader. It is one of only a handful of sources in English on the Sephardim in several European ports, including Hamburg, Bordeaux, and Livorno; and the articles on Gibraltar and Scandinavia are among the few in any language. It also devotes several chapters to communities that created a parallel Hispanic culture in the Ottoman Balkans, an unexpected but intriguing addition to a volume of this scope. That it could not include Dr. Barnett’s envisioned index of Sephardic responsa is to be regretted, but in all, its clarity, breadth, and trailblazing go a long way to make up for its deficiencies.
While the first volume provides an account of Sephardic society in Iberia until 1492, this second part focuses on the achievements of the Western Sephardim who reconstructed themselves in Europe and the New World after a century or more as New Christians. It is an early attempt at combining the efforts of many specialists within the covers of a single book whose collective merit is greater than the sum of its parts. Though incomplete in several important respects (some of which are acknowledged in the Foreword), it is a pioneer in a genre that remains underdeveloped almost thirty years later.
Many features of the book recommend themselves to the reader. It is one of only a handful of sources in English on the Sephardim in several European ports, including Hamburg, Bordeaux, and Livorno; and the articles on Gibraltar and Scandinavia are among the few in any language. It also devotes several chapters to communities that created a parallel Hispanic culture in the Ottoman Balkans, an unexpected but intriguing addition to a volume of this scope. That it could not include Dr. Barnett’s envisioned index of Sephardic responsa is to be regretted, but in all, its clarity, breadth, and trailblazing go a long way to make up for its deficiencies.
Contents
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Foreword
Richard D. Barnett The Sephardim of England Richard D. Barnett History of the Sephardim in Germany Hermann Kellenbenz The Sephardim in Scandinavia Hermann Kellenbenz The Sephardim of France Gérhard Nahon The Sephardi Jews of Amsterdam Wilhelmina Chr. Pieterse The Trade of the 'New Christians' of Portugal in the 17th c. Edgar R. Samuel The Sephardim of the Eastern Mediterranean Islands Marc D. Angel The Jewish Community of Gibraltar Tito M. Benady The Sephardi Community of Leghorn (Livorno) Flora Aghib Levi d'Ancona |
1
5 26 41 46 75 100 115 144 180 |
The Jews of Salonica in the Ottoman Period
Joseph Néhama The Jews of Salonica and Greece under Hellenic Rule Joseph Néhama Spanish & Portuguese Jews amongst the Southern Slavs Zvi Loker The Sephardi Communities in the Ottoman Empire Lea Bornstein-Makovetsky The Rise and Decline of the Sephardim in the Levant Eliezer Bashan (Sternberg) The Sephardim of the United States Alan D. Corré Sephardim in Brazil: The New Christians Anita Novinsky The Sephardim of the Caribbean Aubrey N. Newman The Secret-Jewry in the Spanish New World Colonies Seymour B. Liebman Combined Index to Sephardi Heritage Vols. I and II |
203
243 283 314 349 389 431 445 474 497 |