Heritage Hunters 4 Part I Maimonides on Crypto-Judaism

Raiders of the Unknown (Mystic-Skeptic Radio)

In this week’s show the topic is Maimonides on Crypto-Judaism. This presentation took place in 2010 in San Antonio during the 20th Annual Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies Conference. I presented on this subject to discover some insights on the halachic (Jewish legal) status of Crypto-Jews. I explored the writings of the halakhic master Maimonides, one of his works Iggeret ha-Shemad (Letter on Martyrdom) stands out regarding his perspective on the Anusim of his time. Maimonides writes: “Now if he did not surrender himself to death but transgressed under duress and did not die, he did not act properly and under compulsion he profaned G-d’s name. However, he is not to be punished by any of the seven means of retribution. Not a single instance is found in the Torah in which a forced individual is sentenced to any of the punishments, whether the transgression was light or grave. Only he who acts voluntarily is subject as Scripture directs: "But the person…who acts defiantly…that soul shall be cut off" (Numbers 15:30). This Epistle to the Moroccan Jewish community of the 12th century deals with their forced conversions to Islam; as compared to the modern day Anusim who are the descendants of those who were forced to convert to Catholicism. This letter is a response to an unidentified rabbi who wrote to the Jews of Morocco condemning them as heretics. At the time of this presentation there was one contemporary scholar of religious law who agreed with the 12th Century rabbi and considers the Rambam’s letter a fiasco. Haym Soloveitchik, believed the letter written by Maimonides contradicted the Mishnah Torah and has a “flimsy position and (a) make shift” argument. This letter and it’s critique are relevant to the debate of Modern-day Conversos or Anusim. As there are two prevalent views regarding this issue either in their Muslim or Christian forms. On one side the Jewish community helps them achieve repentance as expressed by the Rambam. And on the other condemns them as Soloveitchik clearly indicates in his critique of the Rambam’s letter.

Mystic-Skeptic Radio produces programs such as Uncensored & Raiders of the Unknown. Some of the ongoing series are: Jesus The Israelite, Anti-Semitism Rising & Paul's Legacy (all available on our YouTube channels). In the past 8 years we have featured academics (Amy Jill Levine) , presidential candidates( Howie Hawkins), Commentators (Jay Michaelson) , Advocates (Vanessa Guillen), Scholars(John Dominic Crossan) and Holistic Healers (Rosemary Gladstar). We have taken deep dives on the topics of human trafficking, ancient civilizations, demonology and the occult, social movements, controversial topics and many of the current affairs affecting our society. Join us as as we explore the mystic-skeptic mind space…