Hadassah hosts staged reading of Inquisition drama

Robert F. Benjamin The story of Iberian Crypto- Jews, or conversos, who during the Inquisition were forced to convert to Catholicism, will be told in dramatic fashion as the Clearwater and the Yachad chapters of Hadassah host a production of Parted Waters.

The staged reading by professional actors is open to the public and will be at Temple B’nai Israel, 1685 S. Belcher Road, Clearwater, on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 3 p.m.

The reading is based on a play by author Robert Benjamin of New Mexico, who will be at a wine and cheese reception at 2 p.m. and at a question and answer session following the performance. After the question and answer session there will be a light buffet of ethnic foods, sponsored by Menorah Manor’s Inn on the Pond. Cost is $18, with funds going to support the two Hadassah chapters.

The performance will be directed by Roxanne Fay, a local actor, director, playwright. She has lined up several local professional actors to take part in the staged reading.

Roxanne Fay The story of the conversos began in 1492 when the Spanish monarch decreed that all Jews in Spain would have to convert to Catholicism or leave the country. A few years later, Portugal did the same. Those who remained and chose to convert in name only became “hidden Jews” and practiced their faith secretly.

According to Dr. Stanley Hordes, a professor and author of To the End of the Earth: A History of the Crypto Jews of New Mexico, there were several hundred thousand Jews in Spain at the time of the decree and about half went into exile, where they could continue to practice their faith openly, and about half remained and converted, some accepting baptism seriously and some in name only.

Among the thousands of immigrants to settle in Spain’s (and Portugal’s) American colonies were Iberian Crypto-Jews. Vestiges of this crypto-Jewish heritage can still be found among the Hispano community, including some who settled in New Mexico.

Horde believes that some families retain only suggestive practices, disconnected from any consciousness of a Jewish past, such as the lighting of candles on Friday night, observance of the Sabbath on Saturday, refraining from eating pork products, and male infant circumcision. In other cases he notes that a knowledge of a Jewish past has been passed down through generations to the present.

Parted Waters, Benjamin’s fictionalized story of three generations of New Mexican Crypto- Jews, was partially inspired by Hordes’ book.

For more information about the performance, contact Marian Wolfert at wolfertmarian@yahoo.com or Sofia Menahem at sofiaflorida@gmail.com.