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

by Esther Benbassa, Aron Rodrigue

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.

Genres: History, Judaism, Jewish

380 pages, Paperback

First published February 13, 2000

Reviews

[Curlemagne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book in 2011...how the world has changed.

This is a dense & thorough academic text best suited for readers with a working knowledge of Jewish tradition and Balkan/Ottoman geography. The authors assume their audience are fellow scholars; it was the first text published to be so comprehensive on a topic that had been mostly ignored previously.

I appreciate how they debunk a lot of common exoticizing myths about Sephardim & Sephardi history (particularly the “Golden Ages”) and it was good, if depressing, to revisit the details of the Inquisition and expulsion. I did skim some of the Zionism sections tho, as the country-by-country exploration of local underground movements got tiring. The Holocaust chapter was vivid, awful, and important bc Sephardim are so overlooked in typical Holocaust curricula. A good Yom Kippur read in that regard.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I discovered this book when I was working at a bookstore. At the time, I thought there might be Sephardic Jewishness in my background, and I knew very little about the people. Since that time, though, more research has shown that I may not be Sephardic, but I still own the book, so planned to read it. This year (2022), I decided it was time to finally read it. Right now (end of June/beginning of July 2022), I'm reading Maisie Dobbs #11, which is about Sephardic Jews in Gibraltar in the late 1930s, so I figure reading specifically about Sephardic Jews would be a good book to read next.

I appreciate that the prologue informs the reader of what was going on prior to the 14th century. As someone who doesn't know this history very well, it helped set the scene for me.

The rest of the book is... meh. There were definitely good aspects, and I learned stuff, but at times it felt like there was so much minutiae (lots of statistics, at times; lots about lots of different groups; etc.). It's still a good midway rating (e.g., 2.5/5) book, though.