Petrus Alfonsi Vir Illustris et Ex Iudeo: Reading the Dialogue Against the Jews as a Conversion Text

rambam442013

The Converso phenomena was not limited to the late 14th-16th centuries in Iberia. There were earlier occurrences of forced conversions and there were also cases of individuals voluntarily choosing to abandon Judaism. One of the more influential individuals to do so was Petrus Alfonsi. For a review of his life and works see the link below:

Petrus Alfonsi Vir Illustris et Ex Iudeo

Posted by Rabbi Juan Bejarano Gutierrez the director of the B’nei Anusim Center for Education. For a more complete review of Iberian Jewish history and the Crypto- Jewish Experience see The Rise of the Inquisition and Secret Jews: The Complex Identity of Crypto-Jews and Crypto-Judaism

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Published by rambam442013

Rabbi Juan Marcos Bejarano-Gutierrez is a graduate of the University of Texas at Dallas where he earned a bachelor of science in electrical engineering. He studied at the Siegal College of Judaic Studies in Cleveland and received a Master of Arts Degree with Distinction in Judaic Studies. He completed his doctoral studies at the Spertus Institute of Jewish Learning and Leadership in Chicago in 2015. His doctoral dissertation is titled “Complex Identities: Christian and Jewish Attitudes Towards Conversos” and was accepted in September 2015. He also studied at the American Seminary for Contemporary Judaism and received rabbinic ordination in 2011 from Yeshivat Mesilat Yesharim.

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