Exiles in Sepharad by Jeffrey Gorsky

Exiles in Sepharad by Jeffrey Gorsky

The dramatic one-thousand-year history of Jews in Spain comes to life in Exiles in Sepharad. Jeffrey Gorsky vividly relates this colorful period of Jewish history, from the era when Jewish culture was at its height in Muslim Spain to the horrors of the Inquisition and the Expulsion. Twenty percent of Jews today are descended from Sephardic Jews, who created significant works in religion, literature, science, and philosophy. They flourished under both Muslim and Christian rule, enjoying prosperity and power unsurpassed in Europe. Their cultural contributions include important poets; the great Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides; and Moses de Leon, author of the Zohar, the core text of the Kabbalah. But these Jews also endured considerable hardship. Fundamentalist Islamic tribes drove them from Muslim to Christian Spain. In 1391 thousands were killed and more than a third were forced to convert by anti-Jewish rioters. A century later the Spanish Inquisition began, accusing thousands of these converts of heresy. By the end of the fifteenth century Jews had been expelled from Spain and forcibly converted in Portugal and Navarre. After almost a millennium of harmonious existence, what had been the most populous and prosperous Jewish community in Europe ceased to exist on the Iberian Peninsula.

"[Exiles in Sepharad is] a nuanced work that acknowledges both the heights and depths of the Jewish experience in Spain, where Jews enjoyed a level of prosperity, acclaim and power not matched anywhere else in Europe"—Sheldon Kirshner, Times of Israel

“A personal and accessible narrative that tells a remarkable story yet is grounded in solid scholarship.”—Rabbi Daniel Bouskila, Sephardic Educational Center

“With a broad scope that will appeal to a wide readership, this work will be useful as a comprehensive resource on the history of the Spanish Jews.”—Gregory B. Kaplan, author of Marginal Voices: Studies in Converso Literature of Medieval and Golden Age Spain

“A lucid, readable summary . . . that brings the key personalities to life and explores the intricate relationship between religious hatred, politics, and economics.”—Rabbi Hayyim Angel, National Scholar at the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals and professor of Bible at Yeshiva University

Jeffrey Gorsky is a lawyer and diplomat at the U.S. Department of State. He is a nationally recognized expert in immigration law, a former U.S. vice-consul in Bilbao, Spain, and a former Iberian intelligence analyst.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780827612518
ISBN 10	0827612516
Title	Exiles in Sepharad
Author	Jeffrey Gorsky
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	The Jewish Publication Society
Year published	2015-06-01
Number of pages	432
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable