“She Has Them Coming to Judaism”: Tradition and Jewish Affinity in Jewish Wills of Seventeenthcentury Livorno

From its inception, the Jewish community in Livorno enjoyed a unique status, encouraging former conversos to settle there. In Livorno they could live openly as Jews. Thus, it is most interesting to study their attitude to their cultural heritage, according to the wills left by several of the Sephard...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Melcer-Padon, Nourit 1966- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Brill 2018
In: European journal of jewish studies
Year: 2018, Volume: 12, Issue: 2, Pages: 168-202
Further subjects:B Livorno Jewish Sephardi community testaments New Christians New Jews seventeenth-century Spanish language
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Description
Summary:From its inception, the Jewish community in Livorno enjoyed a unique status, encouraging former conversos to settle there. In Livorno they could live openly as Jews. Thus, it is most interesting to study their attitude to their cultural heritage, according to the wills left by several of the Sephardi community’s prominent members. A linguistic analysis of phrases used by three testators is particularly revealing in assessing their positions regarding Judaism. Their words reflect anxiety and determination: a realization of hardships encountered by New Christians on their way to Judaism, and a further realization that only few will adhere to it.
ISSN:1872-471X
Contains:In: European journal of jewish studies
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/1872471X-11221042