WHO ARE THE ANUSIM
Diaspora Era Jews
Middle Ages
Join us on an adventure to remote locations visiting Jewish communities that have survived in isolation, or in secret for hundreds to thousands of years, forgotten by mainstream branches of Judaism.
Anusim, (plural, Hebrew: אֲנוּסִים) or Anousim is a Hebrew word for a legal category of Jews in Halacha (Jewish law) who were forced to abandon Judaism against their will, typically most were forcibly converted to another religion. The word "Anusim" (plural), most properly translated as the "forced ones", is also used to express an extreme violation. Today most non-Hebrew-speaking academics outside of Israel recognize the Anusim under a variety of names, but the term "Crypto-Jews", (Crypto is Latin, meaning secret or hidden), is emerging as one of the acceptable ethnographic categories.
Many equate the Anusim with those who fled Castle and Aragon, (Spain) in 1492 under the Alhambra decree and Inquisition which provided the options to convert or flee. However, extensive research reveals that The Anusim start further back in history to include the Menashe, exilic Jews of the Diaspora after the destruction of the first and second temples. They are often referred to as the "Lost Tribes". More recently, Polish Jews in the 21st century rediscovering their family's hidden heritage before the Nazi atrocities are the Bnei Anusim, (sons of the forced ones). This also includes Russian Jews under communism with a Jewish designation on their identity cards as the only connection to their ancestral past. As well as descendants of Jews expelled from lands all over the world at various times throughout history.
What the Bnei Anusim, (living descendants of Anusim), share in common is the conscience or unconscious remnants of their Jewish ancestors through family customs, beliefs, stories, religious practices. Today DNA can be added to the milieu for discerning the identity of the Bnei Anusim who've been disenfranchised from mainstream branches of Judaism. Located in small isolated pockets at the furthest reaches of the globe, many of the Bnei Anusim are aware of their Jewish heritage, but in other cases, the passage of time, the threat of persecution, and isolation have completely erased their knowledge about the origins of their beliefs and lingering Jewish traditions, which frequently become woven together with the dominant regional religions they've adopted.
The surviving Bnei Anusim have endured for generations despite cultural assimilation, discrimination, isolation, violence, and persecution. Today they are the living pages of our shared Jewish history that has been missing for too long, and they are a physical testament to the eternal bond between G‑d and the Jewish people.
Temple Period
Modern Period
The first Jewish diaspora, or exile
refers to the dispersion of Israelites out of their ancestral homeland of Judea and Samaria which caused their subsequent settlement in other parts of the globe. The two Temple Exilic Periods happened in 586 BCE with the temple destroyed by the Babylonians, and in AD 70 with the second temple destroyed by Romans. The descendants of these exiled Jews are referred to as the Bnei Menashe (sons of Manasseh), or "Lost Tribes".
The new world colonies offered the promise of sanctuary from intolerance and persecution. Unfortunately, more often than not the inquisition would arrive employing their insidious methods for extracting Judaizers from within the newly found colonies. Some Jews would flee seeking more tolerant lands. For those who could not leave, their Jewish practice often became absorbed into their new Christian identity in the form of what today can be described as unusual family customs and superstitious practices.
Between 1190 CE and 1492 there
were many expulsions, massacres
and forced conversions from lands throughout Europe, and around the Mediterranean basin. Their decedents represent by far the largest segment of Bnei Anusim that can now be found today. They are known by a variety of names such as Conversos, New Christians, Moriscos, Marranos, Neofiti, and Mesumad, just to name a few.
Levels of Anusim Assimilation
True Judaizers
Some were forcibly converted, and some openly converted to buy time against persecution, while others refused to convert and would often pay the ultimate price. Despite their apostasy or not, they all held firmly to their Jewish practice, often gathering in secret for tefillah, (prayer), Torah study, and to celebrate lifecycle events. They would only marry within other active Jewish families.
Quasi Judaizers
These false converts represented Jews who simply wanted to survive, or sought social and political advantages, but were not willing to completely abandon their Jewish beliefs after being forced to adopt a new religion under pain of death, and under social scrutiny for suspicion of being secret Judaizers. They would often maintain discrete practices or prayers within their homes that were only shared among close family members. For centuries they would rely on "Edicts of Faith" (publicly posted lists of crimes to help citizens report suspected Judaizers), for knowledge about Jewish practice. Passive Judaizers would often marry within other Passive Jewish families or tolerant Christian families.
Judaizing Reformers
The Jews who'd adopted the ideology within movements or denominations of the dominate religion in their region, usually Christianity or Islam. They found fellowship with others who challenged the authorities that oppressed minority religions or refom movements. These movements were critical of contradictions, abuses, and discriminations within the Catholic Church or the Caliphate. Their knowledge of religious texts such as the Christian Old Testament and the Quran established them in an elevated biblically literate position among their peers. Judaizing Reformers could have been within a spectrum of Quasi Judaizers wanting to bring about a policy of greater tolerance, or they could have been True Converts with a advocating progressive reforms.
True Converts
A small number of Jews did genuinely convert to the dominant religion of a region. In the Iberian Peninsula, they were often referred to by the diminutive, "Mesumad" by their Jewish counterparts. Both the Quasi Judaizers and True Converts were often more heavily scrutinized, investigated, and tortured by the Inquisition or local Imam under suspicion of secretly Judaizing for the same practices that were also performed by old Christians or Muslims.
WHO ARE THE ANUSIM?
Discover crypto-Judaic heritage around the world.
