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

Sephardi Jewry: A History of the Judeo-Spanish Community, 14th-20th Centuries (Jewish Communities in the Modern World)
by Esther Benbassa, Aron Rodrigue

Sephardi Jewry: A History of the Judeo-Spanish Community, 14th-20th Centuries (Jewish Communities in the Modern World)
List Price: $22.95
Our Price: $20.00
You Save: $2.95 (13%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $12.87 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Aron Rodrigue, Esther Benbassa
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2000-02-13
ISBN: 0520218221
Number of pages: 377
Publisher: University of California Press

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

Book Review: Sephardim Refugee Community in the Balkans
Summary: 4 Stars

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.

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

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.

Turkey Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Jews who became refugees
Jews and Muslims: Images of Sephardi and Eastern Jewries in Modern Times ImageJews and Muslims: Images of Sephardi and Eastern Jewries in Modern Times
by Aron Rodrigue
University of Washington Press; Published: 2003-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.79
Price in other shops: $19.95
Sephardi Jewry: A History of the Judeo-Spanish Community, 14th-20th Centuries (Jewish Communities in the Modern World) ImageSephardi Jewry: A History of the Judeo-Spanish Community, 14th-20th Centuries (Jewish Communities in the Modern World)
by Esther Benbassa, Aron Rodrigue
University of California Press; Published: 2000-02-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $21.54
Price in other shops: $22.95
The Jews of Kurdistan: Daily Life, Customs, Arts and Crafts (Magyar Nevelestortenet Forrasai,) ImageThe Jews of Kurdistan: Daily Life, Customs, Arts and Crafts (Magyar Nevelestortenet Forrasai,)
by Ora Shwartz-Be'eri
UPNE; Published: 2003-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.25
Price in other shops: $29.95
Jewish Subjects and Their Tribal Chieftains in Kurdistan (Jewish Identities in a Changing World) ImageJewish Subjects and Their Tribal Chieftains in Kurdistan (Jewish Identities in a Changing World)
by Mordechai Zaken
BRILL; Published: 2007-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $148.61
Price in other shops: $162.00
The Septembers of Shiraz ImageThe Septembers of Shiraz
by Dalia Sofer
Ecco; Published: 2007-08-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.52
Price in other shops: $24.95
Morocco: Jews and Art in a Muslim Land ImageMorocco: Jews and Art in a Muslim Land
Merrell; Published: 2000-10; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops: $59.95
The Jews of Libya: Coexistence, Persecution, Resettlement ImageThe Jews of Libya: Coexistence, Persecution, Resettlement
by Maurice M. Roumani
Sussex Academic Press; Published: 2008-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $54.95
Price in other shops: $77.50
Jewish Life in Muslim Libya: Rivals and Relatives ImageJewish Life in Muslim Libya: Rivals and Relatives
by Harvey E. Goldberg
University Of Chicago Press; Published: 1990-05-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.95
Price in other shops: $26.00
Jews in an Arab Land: Libya, 1835-1970 ImageJews in an Arab Land: Libya, 1835-1970
by Renzo De Felice
Univ of Texas Pr; Published: 1985-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $117.42
From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict over Palestine ImageFrom Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict over Palestine
by Joan Peters
JKAP Publications; Published: 2001-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.88
Price in other shops: $18.95
Similar Books and other products
On Modern Jewish Politics (Studies in Jewish History) ImageOn Modern Jewish Politics (Studies in Jewish History)
by Ezra Mendelsohn
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1993-11-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.32
Price in other shops: $50.00
Hidden Heritage: The Legacy of the Crypto-Jews ImageHidden Heritage: The Legacy of the Crypto-Jews
by Janet Liebman Jacobs
University of California Press; Published: 2002-09-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.90
Price in other shops: $23.95
The Jew in the Medieval World: A Source Book, 315-1791 ImageThe Jew in the Medieval World: A Source Book, 315-1791
by Jacob Rader Marcus, Marc Saperstein
Hebrew Union College Press; Published: 2000-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.33
Price in other shops: $24.95
Manual of Judeo-Spanish: Language and Culture (Studies and Texts in Jewish History and Culture) ImageManual of Judeo-Spanish: Language and Culture (Studies and Texts in Jewish History and Culture)
by Marie-christine Varol
CDL Press; Published: 2008-07-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $35.00
Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewry: From the Golden Age of Spain to Modern Times ImageSephardic and Mizrahi Jewry: From the Golden Age of Spain to Modern Times
by Zion Zohar
NYU Press; Published: 2005-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $20.69
Price in other shops: $23.00
Ladino-English/English-Ladino Concise Dictionary (Hippocrene Concise Dictionary) ImageLadino-English/ English-Ladino Concise Dictionary (Hippocrene Concise Dictionary)
by Elli Kohen, Dahlia Kohen-Gordon
Hippocrene Books; Published: 1999-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $20.94
Price in other shops: $26.95
Out of the Ghetto: The Social Background of Jewish Emancipation, 1770-1870 (Modern Jewish History) ImageOut of the Ghetto: The Social Background of Jewish Emancipation, 1770-1870 (Modern Jewish History)
by Jacob Katz
Syracuse University Press; Published: 1998-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.43
Price in other shops: $19.95
The Jew in the Modern World: A Documentary History ImageThe Jew in the Modern World: A Documentary History
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1995-03-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $44.96
Price in other shops: $69.95
The Jews of Eastern Europe, 1772-1881 (Jewish Culture and Contexts) ImageThe Jews of Eastern Europe, 1772-1881 (Jewish Culture and Contexts)
by Israel Bartal
University of Pennsylvania Press; Published: 2006-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.91
Price in other shops: $22.50
Jews of Spain: A History of the Sephardic Experience ImageJews of Spain: A History of the Sephardic Experience
by Jane S. Gerber
Free Press; Published: 1994-01-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.26
Price in other shops: $21.50
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories