#solomon molcho

[hyperpotamianarch]

All right, then. Question number 1: Where are Jews in Lyra's world?

Now, you might find this interesting that with a somewhat theocratic Christian Europe - it's not that surprising that Lyra encounters no Jews. Not just due to some assumption that they'll be heavily oppressed and likely subject to genocide - though it's certainly possible - but because during the 16th century (when Lyra's world deviated further from ours), Jews weren't allowed in Britain or Scandinavia, which covers most everywhere Lyra went to. Jews weren't allowed to Scandinavia until the 19th century, and were only allowed back Britain during the 17th century - during the time of Cromwell.

Now, obviously the Magisterium isn't exactly the Catholic church, and we don't know of any possible doctarine changes due to Calvin becoming pope. If anyone who sees this has some ideas - please do tell me. Also, I have no idea how this will affect the Anglican Britain. It's obvious from the books that the Magisterium has a hold there, and I find the lack of mention of the monarchy in the book very interesting, but Henry the 8th predates Calvin by a couple of years. I'm hoestly curious to know what happened on that end.

But, I promised you a review of Jewish historical events of the time. Well, you may not expect this but it's time for... THE SPANISH INQUISITION!!!

Yeah, well. he Jews of Spain were either banished or forced to convert by 1492, and following that - the same happened in Portugal in 1497. Since Calvin was active around the 1530s, it means that the last big historical event for Jews was that. Not very pleasant, really. In other, slightly happier news - with the advent of printing press, books could be more available - and books are essentially the basis of Jewish faith. The Shulchan Aruch, one of the most basic books of Jewish Halacha, was printed at 1565. But yeah, that's a bit later.

Going back to the Jews from the Iberian Peninsula, though - some of the banished became pirates. So, in the case you want to write an adventure story in the 16th-17th centuries, you can definitely have a Spanish-Jewish pirate in it, likely with a vendetta against Spain or Portugal (or both).

On another note, and here we get to what I really wanted to talk about, this was the time two very interesting False Messiahs came to be: David Reubeni and Solomon (Shlomo) Molcho. David Reubeni was a mysterious wanderer, claiming to come from the Israelite kingdom of Khabor - supposedly a kingdom of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Menasseh. He claimed to be descende from King David, though, and that he's the leader of the kingdom military while his brother Joseph is king. He said he was sent by his brother to ask the Christian kings for modern weaponry (such as cannons) and aid in retaking the land of Israel from the Ottoman Empire.

Shlomo Molcho was the son of two Prtugese Anusim - forced converts to Christianity - who converted back to Judaism following Reubeni's visit to the court of king John (João) III of Portugal. He had somewhat different views on how salvation might come to the Jewish people - he thought it would include salvation from Christians as well as Muslims, and considered it to be more spiritual, though predated by a flood in Rome and an Earthquake in Portugal. Both of which apparently occured. Also, he may or may not have been more knowledgeable about Judaism than Reubeni, especially after going to study from Rabbi Joseph Taitazak in Salonica. He considered Reubeni his superior, however.

In our world, they didn't manage to do much. Reubeni didn't get the European military aid he hoped for and likely spent his last days in a German prison, while Molcho was executed for returning to Judaism and was considered a Jewish Martyr - a Jew who died to sanctify G-d's name, choosing death over returning to Christianity.

Now, all of that did happen around the 1430s, somewhat close to the time Calvin would've been elected Pope in Lyra's world. I'm not sure it'll matter much, since Clemens VII liked Molcho and it didn't save him from execution, but it might have some effect. All things considered, the likelihood of Reubeni and Molcho becoming more significant figures in the histiry of Judaism is slim. However, I now have an idea for a fic called "the Jewsade" in which these two lead a Jewish army to retake the holy land (and failing, perhaps resulting in some of the effect of Sabbateanism earlier on), so I might write that.

All that doesn't give us much to work with. We don't know what Calvin and the Magisterium might decide regarding Jews - will they have more or less strict policies than our world's contemporary Catholics? Dependig on that, Judaism in western Europe might either take a huge blow or continue as usual. I'm not sure what will happen in Eastern Europe, and if the Jewsade will come to be... let's just say that the Ottoman empire isn't going to like it, and it's going to have a lasting negative effect. Which is really bad, because many of the Iberian Jews went there after their banishment. So, essentially, the Jewsade likely will do more harm than good. Can't say it's surprising.

Anyway, I think I do have cause to believe that there will be a major Jewish center in Eastern Europe, living in constant peril as it always was. No Jews in Britain or Scandinavia, probably. Depending on whether the Jewsade will actually happen, Judaism might live on in the Ottoman Empire as it did in our timeline, perhaps even flourish - or it might not. Oh, and there should be a Jewish community in the Netherlands, made mostly of Portugese Jews. Italian Jews might have a really hard time - with the Papacy seat moving to Geneva, the Papal State will be likely abolished. Apparently it was anyway in our timeline, but in certain periods it offered relative safety to Jews.

During the long time of Papal unquestioned authority, the Catholic higher-ups sometimes got involved in making sure Jews survive. Occasionally. It might be that with a theocracy that doesn't have a pope, especially with Enlightenment (maybe) not really happening and Emancipation not existing even in people's dreams, Jews will have a much rougher time. No possibility of a State of Israel, I'm afraid (and sure some of you are relieved to hear it) - without emancipation, the thought likely won't cross people's minds.

Those, at least, are my thoughts. What do you think? What will the alterations in history in Lyra's world bring to Jews and Judaism?

All right. So, first: if you are either Jewish, like His Dark Materials, or both, please reblog. If you aren't any of those but know someone who is - please share it with them. I want to get as many thoughts on this as possible.

In essence, I just want to ask two simple questions. I have the beginnings of answers for myself, but Judaism is nothing if not full of discourse and many opinions on one topic. So, again: reblog. Share your thoughts and opinions. Hopefully, it will give us a wide variety of possibilities and answers.

The two questions are: where are Jews in Lyra's world? And what are the theological and Halachic concequences of having dæmons?

I intend to share my opinions in two separate reblogs, but please share your thoughts even if you don't see mine. The short version is that I looked about events in Jewish history around John Calvin's time for the first question (pope John Calvin being the major alternation of history in HDM). As for the second question - I have some thoughts relating to the Chabad thought stream. Elaborations, again, going in reblogs.

Thank you in advance!

(PS, question number 1 was handled once by the sadly deactivvated user the Tea Detective, though their full post disappeared. Link to a reblogging of the first half: here. Note, another reblog mentions other religions - feel free to discuss them, I'm focusing on Judaism because I'm Jewish. Another post asking this question was posted here, so have fun with it. Meanwhile, this post is about dæmons and religions in general and lightly touches Judaism.)

[aheavenlylake]

things i have learned from reading through chapter 22 ("kabbala and kinnanhora") of mr. max i dimont's "jews, g-d and history: 2nd edition":

there were a bunch of "magnificent psychos and crackpots, adventurers and charlatans" presenting themselves as false messiahs and/or prophets to both jews and christians between the 13th and 18th centuries

one of those crackpots was a jewish man called sabbatai zevi who declared himself the messiah, married an egyptian prostitute, and was later imprisoned by the turkish sultan because he proclaimed he was going to depose the sultan. the sultan gave him the option of either death or converting to islam, so sabbatai converted and continued to declare himself as the jewish messiah. the sultan threw him back in prison and he died there.

sabbatai's crackpot successor was another jewish man called jacob frank who, after studying kabbalah and joining the remains of sabbatai's cult following, said that the way to redemption was through impurity, namely through seances peppered with orgies. he was ahead of his time, really. he later said that he was sabbatai's reincarnation and taught a new interpretation of the christian trinity: the father, the holy spirit, and sabbatai. jacob got a lot of riches from devotees and ended up calling himself "baron de frank". he got himself excommunicated from the polish jewish community and was pretty much the reason why the first ever and only talmud burning took place in poland. the king of poland was his godfather somehow?? the christian church put him in prison for 13 years, he was then released when the russians invaded, and the empress maria theresa of austria (marie antoinette's mom) called him a "man with the gospel". and then he died of apoplexy. his daughter eve carried on his legacy "by combining the scholasticism of the zohar with the mysteries of her bedroom".

the (supposedly jewish, although no one is really sure) dwarf david reuveni entered venice riding a white horse and told the pope that he was the brother of the king of the lost tribe of reuben and wanted the pope's help in supporting a jewish crusade against the turkish muslims. and the pope entertained this! in the middle of the spanish inquisition!! and then!! the king of portugal agreed to help david's cause! because of this, the king of portugal temporarily put a stop to the persecution of the iberian jews and the jews ended up calling david the messiah. yeah, it's a mess.

a man called diogo pires converted to judaism, circumcised himself, and took the name solomon molcho. he traveled to palestine to escape the inquisition, then traveled to venice some years later to start preaching about a coming judgement day and sharing the news that he was, in fact, the messiah.

by this point, solomon and david joined forces and decided to meet with emperor charles v in germany to suggest allying with them and their supposed jewish army forces against the muslim turks. apparently, the emporer wasn't interested because he arrested them and then sent them to italy where they would be tried in the inquisition. solomon was later burned at the stake and david was exiled to spain and died there some years later.

basically, there were a bunch of really weird people claiming to be the next messiah for jews and christians alike. and yes, some of it is ridiculously funny, but it also was a cultural response to the reality that many jews faced during the medieval and early modern eras. europe was reeling from the crisis of the late middle ages, jews were suffering from pogroms and the inquisition, and people all over europe were feeling hopeless and lost. in fact, a lot of this strife and chaos and specifically the excitement and disappointment in a string of false prophets and messiahs in european jewish communities led to the hasidic movement, which gave back to european jews some of that hope and faith and mystic connection to g-d that they had been longing for!

[sinusoidalisay]

BALABAL NI SOLOMON MOLCHO (1500-1532) Gawa sa puting telang lino na binurdahan gamit ang sinulid na silk. Tinatayang ginamit ang balabal/stole o “robe” na ito sa sinaunang sinagoga sa Bohemia o kanlurang lupain ng mga Czech noong ika-15 siglo. Medyo nakakakilabot ang istorya sa likod ng balabal na ito. Si Solomon Molcho (Hebrew: שלמה מולכו‎ Shlomo Mol'kho, ay isang batang hudyong Portuges, isang martyr, na naniwalang ang hinihintay ng mga hudyo na Mesias o ang hinihintay na hari ng Israel mula sa lahi ni David at lulupig sa mga kaaway ng mga Judio at magbubuklod muli sa mga tribo ng Israel ay nasa katauhan ni David Reubeni, isang hudyong manlalakbay. Sapamamagitan ng inquisition, ipinasunog ng buhay sila kapwa ni emperador Charles V noong 1532 dahil sa salang apostasiya. Halos magkasing edad kami ni Solomon Molcho nang isuot nya ito. Sinubukan kong tumayo sa harap ng balabal sa eskaparate para kunwari ay nakapagsuot na rin ako ng ganito karangyang balabal. Pero sobrang laki, at hindi sukat para sa isang asyanong gaya ko. Masyadong mahaba, malapad at mukhang mabigat. Marahil nga ay iba ang balabal na nakalaan para sa akin at para sa atin.🙂 #SPBBDay2 #Prague2020 #Europe2020 #EchuserongPrague (at Maiselova Synagoga) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-kNA8FJLgf/?igshid=qbjc0nquxn0s

[cmuguiaministerio]

Una Guía al cuarto episodio del Ministerio Del Tiempo: Los Rabinos de España

En el cuarto episodio de la serie, el público ve con repetición la brutalización de un rabino se llama Abraham Levi. Su historia demuestra la persecución sistemática de personas semíticas que siguió la reconquista de la península ibérica por los católicos. Desafortunadamente, aunque Abraham Levi fue, en realidad, un rabino español durante la inquisición, su representación en el episodio reduce sus contribuciones culturales a un texto no hasta escrito por judíos, sino egipcios. Además, Levi fue una figura minor en la historia de los judíos. Había muchos ejemplos de rabinos en el tiempo de Levi con un impacto más grande en las historia.

  Para expandir en el episodio, he proveído la historia general de rabinos en la península ibérica y destacado dos de los judíos más influyentes de sobre la época:

  Rabinos de España y Portugal

  Judíos han estado viviendo en la península ibérica desde la derrota del Segundo Gran Templo cerca 205 AEC. Sin una sede central, los judíos del mundo perdieron una estructura de liderazgo singular. En su lugar, las comunidades judías de Europa establecieron una serie de jerarquías locales. Así nació el papel del “rabino,” un líder con una responsabilidad espiritual a su comunidad, pero rara vez al judaísmo en conjunto.

  Antes del reinado musulmán, judíos vivía bajo los romanos, los visigodos, y el Sacro Imperio Romano. Bajo los visigodos, había un tiempo breve de tolerancia con respeto a los judíos. Pero, después de poco tiempo, los visigodos se convirtieron a cristianismo y adoptó muchas de las reglas antiguas y romanas sobre el (mal) tratamiento de judíos. Finalmente, bajo el Sacro Imperio Romano, apareció la práctica de Criptojudaísmo. Ser judío en una manera pública era una acción peligrosa y unas veces criminal bajo el imperio. Reyes Sacros Romanos como los Toledos creó 80 leyes específicamente hechas para hacer la vida en más difícil por judíos, especialmente rabinos quien se enfrentaba encarcelamiento por hacer cosas como bendecir comidas kosheres o planear comidas comunales. Entonces, muchos judíos se convirtieron a cristianismo públicamente, pero continuaban practicando judaísmo en la privacidad de sus hogares.

  Durante el reinado de los musulmanes (siglos VIII - XI), la vida judía mejoraba en casi cada medido. Los Muros dio a los judíos el título de <<dhimmi>>, un tipo de protección legal que, mientras no la ciudadanía completa, garantizó el derecho de rabinos de hacer investigación literaria y científica, y dirigir sus comunidades en el rezo. Los Rabinos eran imprescindibles en traducir textos griegos y latinos al árabe, español, y portugués. Sin embargo, esta época no existía sin violencia contra judíos. Especialmente durante los años finales del reinado musulmán, cuando los lideres Muros cambiaron su enfoco de proteger ciudadanos a luchar cristianos castellanos, el monto atracos contra comunidades judíos en Toledo y Grenada se creció.

  Cuando, en los 1490 's, católicos retomaron la península, la violencia contra judíos y el enjuiciamiento de rabinos se hicieron en común y fueron apoyados por el gobierno castellano. Esto es lo que se ve en el episodio.

  Fuentes y más lectura:

The Jews of Iberia: a Short History. 978-1537118147

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/spain-virtual-jewish-history-tour

  Nachmanides (1195 - 1270)

Nacido Moshe Ben Nahman, su obra causaba ondas en los campos de la medicina, el misticismo, y la teología. Originalmente de Catalonia, Nachmanides llegó a ser conocido como uno de los médicos más efectivos y lucrativos en la península. 

  Como erudito de Torah, él se hizo famoso por su énfasis en una relación personal con Dios, y la capacidad de fuerzas universales y místicos de tener impacto en la vida cotidiana. Su tipo específico de misticismo se convirtió en la base de un tipo de judaísmo que continúa a este día: la Kabbalah. Estudiantes de la Kabbalah, siguiendo el ejemplo de Nachmanides y otros rabinos con ideas afines, investigan, por erudición y ritual, la esencia pura de Dios. Las escrituras de Nachmanides también tienen que ver con el derecho de judíos de reinterpretar la Torah para servir las necesidades del tiempo. 

  Él era una figura polémica entre los cristianos y los musulmanes como resultado de sus debates públicos contra sacerdotes de ambas religiones. Por ejemplo, el rey cristiano Jaime I de Aragón, después de oír sobre el talento retórico de Nachmanides, le invitó para discutir el valor del nuevo testamento. Nachmanides fue tan exitoso en estos debates, y tan severo contra los cristianos, que fue expulsado de España.

  Vivía las últimas partes de su vida en Israel. Aunque la tierra estaba en desorden como resultado de las cruzadas, Nachmanides sentía un amor fuerte por la región, y su escritura sobre la importancia de una presencia judía en el país formó los el principio del movimiento Sionismo.

  Entonces, se puede ver la importancia de Nachmanides en la historia. ¿Pero cómo se conecta él al episodio? Ambos Nachmanides y Abraham Levi tienen una relación mística con la Torah. Los dos también tuvieron problemas con la iglesia en una exposición sumamente pública. Además (y yo opino que esto es el <<kicker>>) ambos hombres trabajan con literatura que forma la base de un cuerpo gubernamental.

  Abraham Levi

Nachmanides

  Fuentes y más lectura:

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/moshe-ben-nachman-nachmanides-ramban

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nahmanides

Ministerio del Tiempo temporada 1, Capítulo 4. Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española, S.A. 2015.

  Yosef Karo (1488 - 1575)

Por los judíos del mundo, y especialmente los judíos europeos, Yosef Karo es visto como mezcla de Adam Smith, John Locke, Louis XIV, y Warren Burger todo en una persona. Como Locke o Smith y sus influencias en la cultura del oeste, la escritura de Karo se considera la filosofía más central a la cultura del judaísmo moderno. Como Louis XIV, el comportamiento de Yosef Karo se convirtió en la norma para todos en su comunidad. Como Warren Burger, sus opiniones legales permanecen autoritarias a este día. Sin su erudición religiosa, no habría Hasidim, ni reconstruccionismo, ni un entendimiento moderno del Talmud (un compendio de leyes, tradiciones, y comentarios rabínicos. Muchos judíos consideran este texto segundo solamente a la Torah).

  Nacido Yosef Efraím Qaro, él era niñito cuando empezó la gran inquisición. En algún punto de su niñez, se mudó a Turquía. Pasaba su juventud haciéndose en un erudito de Torah formidable. Para cuando se mudó a Israel en 1536, había escrito libros en español, arameo, y hebreo, cada uno una obra clásica de teología. Él era tan prolífico que ganó el nombre <<Maran,>> arameo por <<nuestro maestro.>> Su obra más famosa debe ser Bet Yosef (Casa de Yosef), un libro de proporciones bíblicas que analiza y critica leyes judías. En el libro, Karo directamente declara que el mal tratamiento de los judíos por los castellanos ha puesto a riesgo todo el judaísmo. Continúa por decir que es necesario que tengan todos judios del mundo un vocabulario compartido para discutir el Talmud, aun si no pueden ponerse de acuerdo en cómo seguir los leyes.

  La violencia que ve Abraham Levi en el episodio es la misma violencia que incitó al trabajo de Karo. Pero las conexiones no paran allí. Una de las imágenes más fuertes del episodio es la muerte de Levi por estar quemado en la estaca. Yosef Karo vio a su colaborador cercano y mentor, Solomon Mulcho, estar quemado en la estaca. Este evento traumático se atribuye con convencer a Karo la necesidad de unir a los judíos del mundo para codificar su cultura como acto de protección contra sociedades no amables.

  Abraham Levi a la estaca, como Molcho

Yoseph Karo

  Fuentes y más lectura:

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/joseph-karo

  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-ben-Ephraim-Karo

  CARO, JOSEPH B. EPHRAIM por Louis GInzberg, profesor de estudios talmúdicos a Jewish Theological Seminary of America, http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4065-caro-joseph-b-ephraim#668

  Ministerio del Tiempo temporada 1, Capítulo 4. Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española, S.A. 2015.

  ¿Y qué?

Es importante ver un episodio sobre un choque entre culturas en un contexto histórico. En el episodio cuatro, un entendimiento de los logros y vidas de rabinos ibérica ayudará al espectador a comprender lo que está en juego por Levi y su comunidad. Cuando la tropa trabaja para salvarle a Levi, en realidad están intentando preservar la tradición de rabinos como Nachmanides y Karo.

[mioritic]

“Flag and coat of Schelomoh Molcho, which he carried and wore on his way to visit Charles V in Regensburg shortly after 1530.”

Sam Waagenaar, The Pope’s Jews (LaSalle: Open Court, 1974)