Alonso de Espina and the Fortress of Faith

rambam442013

This is the fifth video that will discuss my work on Crypto-Judaism. The first book in a four-volume series is titled Secret Jews: The Complex Identity of Crypto-Jews and Crypto-Judaism. This fifth video discusses Alonso de Espina, the author of the Fortalitium Fidei (The Fortress of Faith).

His treatise sought to combat various heresies including Judaism. For De Espina, the solution was clear. Judaism had to be uprooted at its core to properly fight heresy among Conversos.

I also discuss the interesting case of the Convero Ramon Splugues.

Posted by Rabbi Dr. Juan Marcos Bejarano Gutierrez the director of the B’nei Anusim Center for Education. He is the author of The Converso Dilemma: Halakhic Responsa and the Status of Forced Converts

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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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