BELMONTE

BELMONTE
BELMONTE, town in northern Portugal near the Spanish frontier. Its medieval community is seldom mentioned in the contemporary records, but there is preserved a Hebrew synagogal inscription of 1296–97, probably originally intended to be placed above the synagogue Ark. After the forced conversion of the Jews in Portugal at the end of the 15th century, Belmonte became a major center of New Christian life. A number of well-known families of the Crypto-Jewish Diaspora bearing this name originally derive from this place. It was here that S. Schwarz first established contact with the surviving Crypto-Jews in 1917. The Crypto-Jewish traditions have been more faithfully preserved here than in any other place in Portugal. Reforms that were introduced by Pombal may have caused paradoxically a decline in Crypto-Jewish practices, although prejudice against the descendants of the New Christians persisted in Portugal. In Belmonte, Crypto-Jewish identity remained very strong. During the 19th century there is evidence that some Jews were aware of the existence of New Christians who considered themselves Jewish or felt a certain affinity towards Jews and Judaism. Some scholars at that time, such as M. Kayserling and J. Latouche, drew attention to this fact. The newly established Jewish community in Lisbon showed little interest in New Christians who visited their synagogue. Arthur Carlos de Barros Basto, a New Christian who was a high-ranking officer in the army, found no warmth there. In 1912, after his visit in Portugal, Nahum Slousch reported that many in Portugal led Jewish lives in secret. It was Schwarz, however, who discovered the Crypto-Jews of Portugal, and especially those of Belmonte. He wrote a full and emotional account of his encounter with the Belmonte Crypto-Jews in his book, published in 1925. Schwarz made efforts to have the Crypto-Jews of Belmonte and others return officially to Judaism. Several Jewish organizations, such as the Alliance Israélite Universelle, and individual Jews like Cecil Roth and Lucien Wolf, joined these efforts with enthusiasm. Barros Basto, who returned to Judaism, and Schwarz at first cooperated but finally ended up as bitter rivals. In 1989 the Jewish Community of Belmonte was officially established. In 1996 the Bet Eliahu synagogue was inaugurated. The return of some Crypto-Jews to normative Judaism was no simple matter, since the rabbis who came to instruct and guide them brought normative Judaism as a definitive alternative to the entire body of practices, prayers, and beliefs that had been considered as authentic Judaism practiced in secret. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Roth, Marranos, index; A. Novinsky and A. Paulo, in: Commentary (May, 1967), 76–81; S. Schwarz, Os Christãos-Novos em Portugal no século XX (1925), 9–12 (Heb. trans. with intro. and notes by D. Stuczynski, 2005); idem, Inscrições hebráicas em Portugal (1923), 23–28; N. Slouschz, Ha-Anusim be-Portugal (1932), 94–99; ESN, 1 (1949), 59. ADD. BIBLIOGRAPHY: F.A.A. Mourâo, "Um caso de persistência socio-cultural," Revista de História (São Paulo), 56 (1977), 589–96; A. Paulo, I. Steinhardt, and A. Kasselman, "The Hidden Jews of Belmonte," in: Jewish Chronicle Colour Magazine (March 17, 1978), 6–19; D.A. Canelo, The Last Crypto-Jews of Portugal, trans. W. Talmon-l'Armee, (1990); J. Adler, "The Road Back," in: Jewish Chronicle Magazine (March 22, 1991), 26–30. (Cecil Roth / Yom Tov Assis (2nd ed.)

Encyclopedia Judaica. 1971.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Belmonte — heißen die Orte Belmonte (Bahia) in Bahia (Brasilien) Belmonte (Cuenca), Gemeinde in der Provinz Cuenca, Spanien Belmonte (Frosinone), Gemeinde in der Provinz Frosinone, Italien Belmonte Mezzagno (Palermo), Gemeinde in der Provinz Palermo,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Belmonte — may mean::;Title:*Prince Belmonte or Princess Belmonte, a Spanish and Italian noble title:;Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church:*Cardinal Domenico Pignatelli di Belmonte:*Cardinal Gennaro Granito Pignatelli di Belmonte:;Character;* Belmonte ,… …   Wikipedia

  • Belmonte — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Belmonte puede hacer referencia a: Lugares Belmonte, un municipio de la provincia de Cuenca, en España Belmonte, una localidad de Polaciones, municipio de Cantabria Belmonte de San José, municipio de la provincia de… …   Wikipedia Español

  • BELMONTE — BELMONTE, Dutch Sephardi family of poets and diplomats of Marrano extraction. The first member of the family to figure in Jewish life was JACOB ISRAEL (1570–1629). Born in Madeira as a Marrano under the name of Diego Nuñez Belmonte, he was one of …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Belmonte — (Balmonte en asturiano) es una villa y una parroquia del concejo asturiano de Belmonte de Miranda, en España. Constituye la capital del concejo. Tiene una superficie de 32,52 km², en la que habitan un total de 688 personas (2004) repartidas entre …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Belmonte — (spr. Bellmonte), 1) Stadt in der spanischen Provinz Cuenca, 3000 Ew.; Geburtsort von Maëstro; 2) Stadt im portugiesischen Bezirk Castelbranco, Schloß; 3000 Ew.; 3) Stadt in Calabria citra (Neapel), am Meere, von dieser benennt sich das Haus… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Belmonte — C est dans la région marseillaise que l on rencontre le plus souvent ce nom visiblement d origine italienne (toponyme signifiant le beau mont) …   Noms de famille

  • Belmonte — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Belmonte (homonymie). Belmonte Géolocalisation sur la carte : Espagne …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Belmonte — 1 Original name in latin Belmonte Name in other language BVM State code BR Continent/City America/Bahia longitude 15.86306 latitude 38.88278 altitude 6 Population 9806 Date 2012 08 03 2 Original name in latin Belmonte Name in other language State …   Cities with a population over 1000 database

  • Belmonte — 1 Admin ASC 2 Code Orig. name Belmonte Country and Admin Code BR.05.2903409 BR 2 Admin ASC 2 Code Orig. name Belmonte Country and Admin Code BR.26.4202156 BR 3 Admin ASC 2 Code Orig. name Belmonte Country and Admin Code PT.06.0501 PT …   World countries Adminstrative division ASC I-II

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”