Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue of Montreal

B”H Since I am traveling on business to Canada later this year, I decided to do some research on the … More

The Sabbatean Prophets

B”H Traveling on business can be difficult but one benefit is that it gives me the opportunity to read. I … More

Spanish Judaism, the Inquisition, and Identity in the New World

B”H Roger Martinez, a professor at the University of Colorado and former president of the Society of Crypto-Judaica Studies, and … More

Conversos and Samaritans: Unlikely Comparisons

In 2014, I had the opportunity to present a brief lecture on comparisons between Conversos and Samaritans in rabbinic literature. … More

George Washington’s Letter to the Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island

Visiting the Touro Synagogue this week was an amazing experience. I knew about its history but actually walking into the … More

The Touro Synagogue

This video shows my recent visit to the Touro synagogue in Newport Rhode, Island. I stopped by the historic Spanish-Portuguese … More

Forced Converts and Contemporary Coercion

The problem of conversion under physical duress may seem relevant to history of Spanish and Portuguese Jews forced to convert … More

Vicente Ferrer and the Post 1391 Era

The Dominican friar Vicente Ferrer had participated in the onslaught of the Jewish communities in 1391 by eagerly accepting Jews at … More

Was Miguel de Cervantes a Crypto-Jew?

The debate regarding whether the great writer  Miguel de Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote, had a Converso background and … More

The Expulsion of Jews in Spain and Portugal

The expulsion of Jews from Castile and Aragon in 1492 and from Portugal in 1497 was the culmination of a … More