Why Did Spanish Jews Convert to Christianity?

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This a short, academic text that assumes a lot of background knowledge on the part of the reader.

The issue is why did Spanish Jews become converso Christians/crypto-Jews? Initially, it seems that Rabbi Juan Gutierrez's answer is Christian violence. Rabbi Guitierrez cites the violence against the Jews in the Rhineland during the First Crusade. The purpose of this is to contrast the survival of German Jewish communities with the complete destruction of Spanish Jewish communities. German Jews accepted martyrdom or feigned conversion to return to Judaism when conditions changed.

Rabbi Gutierrez explains that dissimulation and false conversions were generally accept in Islam and Judaism. There was a folklore tradition that St. Peter was a feigned Christian whose mission was to protect Jews. Likewise, another tradition held to the existence of a Jewish Pope. Rabbi Gutierrez doesn't explain the significance of this, but it does set up the next section about the treatment of Jews forced to convert.

The issue of the treatment of forced converts was a difficult issue. Some, including Maimonides, argued for a gentle treatment and the recognition of secret Jews as Jews. Others held that Jews who compromised in any way had apostatized in all ways. Ultimately, it seems that the “Anti-Maimonides” faction prevailed, repudiating Maimonides approach to reason and instituting a more mystical, confusing approach to Judaism, including Kabbalism, reincarnation and necromancy. It seems that the anti-Maimonides faction was willing to dogmatize these elements as essential to Judaism. Rabbi Gutierrez explains:

“However, the most significant differentiation in the approach of Nachmanides and Maimonides was not merely the anti-rationalism of the former, but his belief in and moreover interest in the “the science of necromancy.” In a critical passage, Nachmanides argued that rationalism could be disregarded on the evidence of necromancy.[131] The fact that Nachmanides viewed necromancy as a basis for seeing rationalism as futile opposed the views of Maimonides who viewed sorcery and witchcraft as lies and falsehood. Nachmanides went as far as opposing the Maimonidean view by attacking “those who pretend to be wise and emulate the Greek (i.e., Aristotle). Rabbi Moses ben Nachman was also an ardent believer in chirognomy and chiromancy which he described as “ancient and authentic sciences.”

It seems that the conflict between these factions demoralized the Spanish Jewish community. There were social and economic attractions to becoming Christian. In addition, the “anti-Maimonides” was a new approach to Judaism “which may have made Christian ideas more acceptable,” according to Rabbi Gutierrez. According to Rabbi Gutierrez:

“Combating the Maimonidean tradition, Rabbi Solomon ben Aderet defended “the true mystical traditions which are in the hands of the sages of Israel.” Unintentionally, Rabbi Solomon ben Aderet cited ideas favorably from Ashkenazic mystical circles which resembled Christian trinitarianism.”

I'm not sure I followed the argument based on the sounds of the word “Baruch,” so I will take the author's word for the impact of the argument.

Ultimately, Rabbi Gutierrez concludes that all of these factors possibly contributed to the decision of Iberian Jews to convert.

This book does cover a wide range of issues and provides an overview of those issues. I would have appreciated more factual details about the collapse of the Jewish population in Spain. I learned near the end of the book that “Jewish communal life collapsed at the end of the 14th century and well into the 15th century.” This was news to me. It obviously informs the key question of the book, but there was nothing in the book about that collapse. I am probably not the target reader of this book, but I would have followed the book better if that had been explained at the beginning.