From Christianity to Judaism: Story of Isaac Orobio de Castro (The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization) - Hardcover

Kaplan, Yosef

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0197100600 ISBN 13: 9780197100608

Publisher: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 1989

Synopsis

Isaac Orobio de Castro, a crypto-Jew from Portugal, was one of the most prominent intellectual figures of the Sephardi Diaspora in the seventeenth century. After studying medicine and theology in Spain, and having pursued a distinguished medical career, he was arrested by the Spanish Inquisition for practising Judaism, tortured, tired, and imprisoned. He subsequently emigrated to France and became a professor of medicine at the University of Toulouse before openly professing his Judaism and going to Amsterdam where he joined the thriving Portuguese Jewish community. Amsterdam was then a city of great cultural creativity and religious pluralism where Orobio found open to him the world of religious thinkers and learned scholars. In this atmosphere he flourished and became an outstanding spokesman and apologist for the Jewish community. He engaged in controversy with Juan de Prado and Baruch Spinoza, who were both excommunicated by the Portuguese Jewish community, as well as with Christian theologians of various sects and denominations, including Philip van Limborch. This fascinating biography of Orobio sheds light on the complex life of a unique Jewish community of former Christians who had openly returned to Judaism. It focuses on the particular dilemmas of the converts, their attempts to establish boundaries between their Christian past and their new identity, their internal conflicts, and their ability to create new forms of Jewish life and expression.

About this title

Review:

'Excellent and even extraordinary ... Kaplan's book is more than a biography, even more than a study of an entire community: it is a treasure-house of information and new source material that will make it one of the most important works of Jewish history published in many years... [a] model study of one of the most compelling figures in the world of early modern Jewry.' David S. Katz, English Historical Review 'A worthy introduction to this important figure and the times in which he lived.' David Schonberg, Jewish Book News & Reviews 'A most meticulous piece of scholarship, that carefully weighs all the evidence, corrects previous assumptions about dates and identifications, and makes major use of primary sources to present a detailed and reliable reconstruction of Orobio's life and work ... Raphael Loewe's felicitous and contextually suitable translation ...' Stefan Reif, Jewish Historical Studies 'The translation of Yosef Kaplan's magisterial book is a momentous event, because it makes available the extraordinary story of Isaac Orobio de Castro as told by his extraordinarily gifted biographer.' Angus Mackay, Journal of Ecclesiastical History 'A superb picture of the intellectual and spiritual life of a Marrano ... Kaplan's book is indispensable for understanding what the Amsterdam Jewish community was like. It is also refreshing and important for bringing back to life a most important intellectual of the time who flourished within the community.' Richard K. Popkin, Journal of the History of Philosophy 'A definitive presentation and analysis ... comprehensively considers broader intellectual, cultural and psychological issues as [it] probes in depth the spiritual and geographical journey of Orobio from Catholic Spain and its Inquisition to the relative freedom of Amsterdam. In the process he goes far beyond the printed texts ... While all the religious issues of the day ... receive a thorough penetrating analysis, perhaps the most original sights are to be found in Kaplan's discussion of what he terms one of the most prominent features of the history of Judaism in the seventeenth century, namely the objections voiced by individuals in the Sephardic diaspora against some of the main articles of the Jewish faith ... This innovative volume ought to be of major interest to all students of early modern European religion, thought and society, as well as to those involved in Judaica, Christian-Jewish polemics, the history of skepticism, and Iberian and Dutch history.' Benjamin Ravid, Journal of Religion 'Kaplan's sensitive study enriches our understanding of how this balance was achieved in the life of a gifted crypto-Jew.' Rachael Kohn, Journal of Religious History 'Erudite work which has been made accessible to English readers by Raphael Loewe to whom we must express a debt of gratitude.' S. B. Leperer, L'Eylah 'Kaplan's book is of major importance ... with amazing detective work ... Kaplan has pieced together a portrait of people born on the Spanish-Portuguese border, where they or their parents had fled to avoid persecution ... remarkably well documented by Kaplan.' Richard H. Popkin, New Republic 'Remarquable de finesse et d'erudition, aussi l'aise avec des manuscits qu'avec des concepts, l'A. presente le medecin, le poete, le theologien, le responsable communautaire aux prises avec les sabbateens ou les calvinistes ... Il a enfin un monument qu'il merite.' Dominique Bourel, Bulletin de Judaisme Moderne/Recherches de Science Religieuse 'This solid historical and theological study belongs in every serious library. Loewe's translation is superb.' Menachem Kellner, Religious Studies Review 'The life of Orobio de Castro exemplifies the fate of a whole community of crypto-Jews ... [Kaplan] has recreated the world of the Sephardi Jews in seventeenth-century Amsterdam.' Studia Rosenthaliana

Synopsis:

Translated from the Hebrew, this is a biography of Isaac Orobio de Castro, born Baltazar Alvares, a crypto-Jew from Portugal who was one of the most prominent intellectual figures of the Sephardi Diaspora in the 17th century. After studying medicine and theology in Spain and having pursued a medical career, he was arrested by the Spanish Inquisition for practising Judaism, tortured, tried and imprisoned. He subsequently emigrated to France and became a professor of medicine at Toulouse before openly professing his Judaism and going to Amsterdam in 1662, where he joined the thriving Portuguese Jewish community. Amsterdam was then a city of great cultural creativity and religious pluralism. Here Orobio became a spokesman and apologist for the Jewish community and engaged in controversy with Juan de Prado and Baruch Spinoza, who were both excommunicated by the Portuguese Jewish community, as well as with Christian theologians including Philip Van Limborch. This biography considers the life and the thoughts of Orobio, who became one of the foremost spokesmen of Sephardic Judaism in western Europe at this time.

The text also sheds light on the life of a unique Jewish community of former Christians who had openly turned to Judaism. It focuses on the particular dilemmas of the converts, their attempts to establish boundaries between their Christian past and their new identity and their ability to create new forms of Jewish life and expression.

About this edition

• Publisher: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0197100600
• ISBN 13: 9780197100608
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 601