Resources for a Study of Sephardism and Gracia Mendes

Lesson Plans

Tracing Expulsions

Resources for teacher	The map of Expulsions in the section "A Timetable of the Jews In Iberia"
Resources for students	Copies of the map. White-out or white paints and brushes, one color marker.


SetupObjective	To build a simple "movie" of the history of the expulsions.
Activity	Each student or group is assigned a range of years in the 500 year period 1100-1500. Each examines their copy of the map and whites out any country or city that is devoid of Jews in (at least half of) their time period. The dates can be determined from the arrows. Thus, Wales and England will be white after 1290; France will be white after 1306. Any country that receives Jews during their time period can be colored with their colored marker. At the end, the maps can be arranged into a flip book.
Closure	Depending on age, they probably know that there are Jews in all of the European countries now. What might it have been like to return to a country hundreds of years after Jews were expelled. What might it have been like to remain in such a country and try to hide one’s Jewishness.

Newcomers and Old Religions

Resources for teacher
Resources for students	Deuteronomy 12: 29. When the Lord your God shall cut off the nations from before you, where you go to dispossess them, and live in their land; 30. Take heed to yourself that you be not snared by following them, after they are destroyed from before you; and that you inquire not about their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? that I may also do likewise.

Setup	Discuss what it’s like to move to a new neighborhood or school. How does one learn "the rules" — where the best convenience stores are, what’s the quickest way to school, etc. Ask if anyone has ever tried to grow plants. Was it successful? How did they learn what to do?
Objective	For students to see aspects of biblical history as reflections of common historical patterns
Activity	Begin with dictum that Roman Christians were instructed not to ask Rabbis to bless their fields. Why would they ever do this? Agriculture is inherently risky. When a people comes to an area where there are successful farmers, they would naturally attempt to mimic the existing practices. If the Jews have a Rabbi bless their fields, that might be what works. Move to discussion of the passage from Deuteronomy. As Jews moved into Canaan, would they not naturally tend to do what the successful Canaanite farmers did?
Closure	How does a people moved to a new place maintain their own traditions when adopting those of the people around them? Can or should they attempt to remain isolated?

Courage: Conversion

Resources for teacher

During and after the Sephardic experience in Spain and Portugal Jews had a limited number of choices. Remaining a Jew in public was not an option, and governments went so far as to force Jews to convert to Christianity. One option was to actually convert and to accept the beliefs of their new faith. A second option was to attempt to leave the country. A third was to pretend to accept the new religion but to practice the Jewish religion in secret. None of these was free of danger. Those who chose to embrace new beliefs were frequently seen as second-class Christians: held to a higher standard and generally less welcome.

Resources for students

Setup	When can it be courageous to do something that others think is wrong? Can it be courageous to do something that you think is wrong?
Objective	To consider with sympathy those who chose to convert under pressure in Spain and Portugal. To think beyond the easy answer that these people we not courageous.
Activity	In what ways did those who truly converted show courage?. Possible themes to elicit: As believers in Judaism, they might have felt that they were angering God As parents it would be difficult to explain to children why they were making the conversion — is there a risk here that children would begin to disbelieve much of what the parents told them? How would a parent answer the question "Were we wrong before when we were Jews?"
Closure	Is the right thing always courageous? Is the courageous thing always right?

Secrets and Lies

Resources for teacher

During and after the Sephardic experience in Spain and Portugal Jews had a limited number of choices. Remaining a Jew in public was not an option, and governments went so far as to force Jews to convert to Christianity. One option was to pretend to accept the new religion but to practice the Jewish religion in secret. Those who practiced their Judaism secretly were liable to be exposed, in which case they would probably be tortured and killed.

Resources for students

Setup	Do children always do what their parents want? [Good for a laugh, right?] Do they always understand; do they always want to understand?
Objective	How would you, as a parent choosing to retain your Judaism secretly, explain the change in religion to children?
Activity	Children can role play, with two being parents and others being children. This can be free-form, or the teacher can (secretly) assign roles to the children, such as Uninterested Buys into it; this is a great game Whatever you say, I won’t do But isn’t lying bad? Now I won’t be able to play with my friends anymore Too young to understand The goal of the parents would be to have the children buy into the new situation and to understand the need for secrecy.
Closure	Recall the four kinds of children from the Passover Seder, to whom the story is told in four different ways. What does that tell you about real family situations?
Other:	Some other play-acting possibilities. Older children might take on any of these as a play-writing assignment rather than an improvisation. Your small child has made friends with a Catholic child. How would you deal with the possibilities that, in play, a small child might let slip some of your Jewish practices? Your teenaged child has been invited to join an exclusive club by the most popular kids in the grade. Although the rabbis have permitted many non-Jewish practices (such as eating pork) when necessary to keep up the masquerade, this club engages in practices that are not permitted. How would you explain why the child could not join?

Humanists and History

Resources for teacher

Those who chose to embrace new beliefs were frequently seen as second-class Christians: held to a higher standard and generally less welcome. Those who practiced their Judaism secretly were liable to be exposed, in which case they would probably be tortured and killed.

Resources for students

Setup	What things that used to be important don’t seem that way any more?
Objective	For students to consider the meaning to them of Jewish history.
Activity	Why should secular humanists care? If we don’t believe that there’s any kind of god who pays attention to us, why should we care about how those people struggled with the issue of conversion. Shouldn’t we just recognize that we’re smarter than they were, and get on to something more interesting
Closure	How do we keep memories alive in our traditions?

What is Lying?

Resources for teacher

Resources for students

Tanakh: Exodus 12:13. You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.


Setup	Is lying wrong? Are there good lies? White lies? What makes a lie good or bad? What do the Ten Commandments say about lying?
Objective	To consider the fine lines of distinction that may have been made to allow the Marranos to continue to practice their religion
Activity	(The teacher will want to note that while the Commandment literally prohibits only false testifying, it has been understood for millennia to refer to any kind of falsification.) If the commandment says "Thou shalt not lie" is it acceptable to lie about religion? Depending on age, this can tie into a number of situations about when lying might be ok : The principal outlaws video games in school but you think you should be able to do what you want during recess. Is it ok to bring your Gameboy as long as you only play during recess, even though it breaks the rules? You know that some of your friends smoke behind the school. A police Officer asks you about it — technically this place is part of the school and the law says that your friends could be expelled. During the Vietnam War people tried various methods to avoid being drafted into a war they didn’t believe in. Assuming that they were right that the war was wrong, and possibly illegal, were they right to lie about their health (or do things to temporarily create symptoms) to avoid the draft?
Closure	Who gets to decide when it’s right to break a rule. Who gets to decide when it’s just to apply punishment? Must the two always agree?

Cuisine and Information

Resources for teacher

Beatriz Nünez was arrested by the Spanish Inquisition in the spring of 1485. She and her husband, Fernan Gonzalez Escribano, had converted from Judaism to Christianity a few years earlier, but Beatriz still kept a kosher home. One of their maids, Catalina Sanchez, was a witness for the prosecution. Among the particulars of the family Jewish practices that s she denounced to the Tribunal was a recipe for a Sabbath stew made of lamb and chickpeas and hard-boiled eggs. The Guadalupe Inquisition found Beatriz guilty of being an unrepentant heretic and burned her alive in 1485.

… Our research has a somber side as well. Through these recipes we also can see how societal pressures related to eating were especially intense for the conversos on the Iberian Peninsula. Preparing a stew on Friday night for its consumption on Saturday put that family at risk because it was an open announcement that the family had not completely abandoned its Jewish practices. For that reason the Inquisition consistently asked questions of the accused's neighbors and house staff about the foods that were or were not consumed and how they were prepared. For the converso family struggling both to maintain its traditions and to evade the Inquisition, the preparation of each Sabbath stew or plate of matzo for Passover was at once an act of defiance against the pressures of assimilation and the risks of disclosure and an affirmation of pride in the preservation of family and religious heritage.

A Drizzle of Honey, David M. Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson, St Martin’s Press, 1999

Resources for students

Newspaper clipping of a supermarket ad advertising special discounts for users of the market’s special identification card.

Setup	How does what you eat or don’t eat tell others about your hobbies or beliefs.
Objective	To speculate about whether the modern information society and the safeguards it needs to protect its citizens?
Activity	Why do markets want to give these discounts? What do they do with the data they collect on you? What can they do with the data they collect?
Closure	I don’t think this lesson should have a closure. Perhaps the students will want to do further fact finding on this matter?

Other:

Biscuits on Passover?

Resources for teacher

Recipe: Maria Alvarez's Rollillos Passover Biscuits

Makes 4 large rolls

8 Tbs. water, plus more if needed

2 Tbs. olive oil

1/2 tsp. pepper

6 Tbs. honey, warmed

4 eggs, beaten

3 1/2 cu, flour, sifted

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.

2. Beat the first five ingredients together in a small bowl.

3. Place the flour in a large bowl. Add the liquid mixture to the flour all at once using a fork, beating as little as possible. If necessary to get the dough to form a mass, add more water, a tablespoon at a time. q. Divide the dough into four equal pieces. On a floured board, press each piece into a 3/4-inch thick cake.

5. Bake them on the prepared cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes or until they are a light brown color. 6. Remove them to a rack.

(From: A drizzle of Honey, David M. Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson, St Martin’s Press, 1999)

Resources for students

Tools and materials for recipe.

Setup	What are the regulations for Passover concerning bread? (Exodus 12: 15. Seven days shall you eat unleavened bread; the first day you shall put away leaven out of your houses; for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.) What is leavening? Are biscuits allowed? Popovers?
Objective	1. To appreciate the existence of cultural differences in foods 2. To understand how different groups may interpret biblical laws differently.
Activity	Prepare recipe. During preparation, students might be interested to know that this is a medieval recipe as well as a Sephardic one. Some facts about medieval cookery: No American staples (tomatoes, corn, bananas, potatoes, chili peppers). Used turnips, parsnips, quince. Spices like allspice and paprika not available until after the 16^th century. Popular spices were galingale, grains of paradise, pepper, cassia, cardamom. Many flavors mixed — 8-10 seasonings in one dish. Sweet tooth shows as taste for sugar or honey or cinnamon-plus-sugar which latter might be used even on eggs, vegetables and meat.
Closure	Did the biscuits rise? Do they look like matzoh? Would you be willing to make these for your next Seder?

Sephardic Kharoset

Resources for teacher

Recipe:

1 cup pitted dates, halved 1 cup dark or light raisins (or a mixture)

1 large apple, peeled (if desired), cored, and cut into large pieces l/2 cup walnut pieces

1/2 cup blanched slivered or whole almonds

1 medium-sized navel orange, peeled and cut into chunks

About 2 tablespoons sweet red Pesach wine

Put all the ingredients, except the wine, through the coarse blade of a food grinder, or coarsely grind them together in a food processor fitted with the steel blade (in batches, if necessary), or chop by hand. Add the wine and mix or process to form a soft, slightly coarse mixture. Refrigerate the kharoset in a covered container, and serve it chilled. (The kharoset gets slightly firmer when chilled.) It will keep fresh for 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Makes about 3 cups.. (From The Jewish Holiday Cookbook, Gloria Kaufer Greene, Times books)

Containers for students to take the kharoset home.

Resources for students

Appropriate amounts and tools

Setup	Ask whether anyone has visited another place where different kinds of foods were available, or familiar foods were prepared in a different way.
Objective	To learn that different Jewish communities have different foods
Activity	Follow the recipe
Closure	Would it be nice to have foods from other Jewish cultures on your seder plate?

Sephardic Cookies


Resources for teacherResources for students	Appropriate ingredients and tools

Setup	This is probably a recipe to hand out for students and parents to do at home. But the supporting materials for either of the other recipes would work as well to support a lesson in which these cookies were made.
Objective
Activity
Closure

Status of Women — The Get

Resources for teacher

A get is a divorce from a rabbinical court. Even today in some branches of Judaism a get can only be issued to a man. Women who have obtained civil divorces but cannot arrange for their husbands to arrange for a get are called "chained women." In many cases the husbands attempt blackmail by offering to obtain the get only if the women pay them large amounts of money. The scriptural authority of this is from Deuteronomy 24, in such passages as:

[Deuteronomy 24:1] 1. When a man has taken a wife, and married her, and it comes to pass that she finds no favor in his eyes, because he has found some uncleanness in her; then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.

Resources for students

Setup	How have rules about marriage changed from your parents’ or grandparents’ times? What do you see as the differences?
Objective	To learn about a very problematical problem in modern Israel and some American Jewish communities.
Activity	Since there is no comparable statement about women obtaining a divorce, it is not believed to be possible according to the law of Moses. If a women has a civil divorce, why do you think she cares about a get? What would you do if you had to offer advice to such a woman? What possible ways are there to understand the behaviors of the men in these situations? Would you consider this to be a human rights issue?
Closure	(This might be a topic that students would be interested in doing some research on and discussing further.) One way to close is to point out, as noted in the section on Women of Influence, that as early as the 12^th century Spanish Jews wrote marriage contracts in which the right of divorce was granted to women.

Religious Conformism Today

Resources for teacher

In America, there are many Jews who do not believe in God but who join synagogues and temples to be with other Jews, and as a result go to services where they pray to and praise God in public. Often, since the prayers are in Hebrew, they do not understand in detail what they are saying, but just as often they do. They are not required to keep their disbelief a secret, and would not be forced to leave the congregation if they admitted it, but would probably suffer some quiet disapproval (at least) if they were to be outgoing about it.

Resources for students

Setup	Have you ever attended a religious service. Did you feel comfortable? Did the adults you were with enjoy it? Did they understand it?
Objective	A discussion of different varieties of Judaism and belief, and of the place for non-believers in the American Jewish community.
Activity	Are there any ways in which this situation is comparable to others, such as that of the crypto-Jews, where admitting the truth could lead to expulsion, torture and death? In a society where religious affiliation is an important definition of who you are, is this kind of crypto-disbelief morally acceptable? Is the United States such a society?
Closure	Do you think that non-believers might feel more comfortable in a group like yours? Why and why not? Why is it they haven’t joined?