Crypto Jews’s story to be told at CBS event in Modesto

A series of talks at Congregation Beth Shalom will explore the story of the Crypto Jews, Spanish-speaking Catholics whose Jewish heritage was quashed at the time of the Spanish Inquisition.

Rabbi Yosef Garcia, an international advocate for and expert on Crypto Jews, will speak Nov. 21-23 at CBS about the community’s secret survival from persecution more than 500 years ago through today.

According to a press release from Congregation Beth Shalom’s Rabbi Shalom Bochner, millions of Spanish-speaking Catholics living in the American Southwest and in South America have Jewish heritage. Within the past few decades, many have learned about and reclaimed their Jewish identity.

Garcia, a native of Panama, grew up as a practicing Catholic until he learned of his family’s Jewish heritage. Following a traditional conversion to Judaism, Garcia was ordained and since has ministered to the estimated 35million Spanish-speaking descendants of the Crypto Jews. He heads a Spanish-speaking congregation in Mesa, Ariz.

A former altar boy raised in Panama, Garcia took it for granted he and his family were Catholic until a conversation at a family wedding in 1987. “I was telling my great uncle Chi how amazed I was at the speed I was learning Hebrew, a language that always fascinated me since it was the language of the Bible,” he said in a CBS press release. “I told him it was as if we were Jewish. He looked at me and told me, ‘We are Jewish.’ You could have knocked me over at this point.”

According to the press release, his uncle told him that their family has been Jewish since the time of the Inquisition, when Jews were expelled from Spain and Portugal. To save their lives, Jews outwardly assimilated but kept their religion secret, passing on the lineage through first-born sons. Looking back, Garcia realized he had subtle clues to his heritage, such as seeing his grandmother wear a prayer shawl (mantilla) while lighting candles and saying Hebrew prayers on Friday nights. “As a child, I assumed these were Catholic traditions, not knowing Hebrew,” he said.

Garcia is a co-founder of the Association of Crypto-Jews of the Americas, along with Rabbi Joshua Stampfer, rabbi emeritus of Congregation Neveh Shalom, Portland, Ore. The two created the “Ceremony of Return,” which includes a Certificate of Return that is recognized by the Ministry of Interior of the State of Israel. He also travels to Latin countries to connect with hidden Jews who are eager to reclaim their religion.

While in Modesto, Garcia also will co-lead Shabbat (Sabbath) Services with Beth Shalom’s Bochner, present Latino melodies and prayers and be available for questions.

The congregation will hold services at 7 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday, followed by a lunch talk at noon. The special 1 p.m. Sunday talk will be titled “Who are the Crypto Jews? Hispanic Sefardim Reclaiming their Jewish Heritage.”

This story was originally published November 15, 2014 at 4:00 AM with the headline "Crypto Jews’s story to be told at CBS event in Modesto."