הסטורי' 1

In 1390, King Ferdinand of Spain died. His son, Henry III, took over at the age of eleven. One of dukes by the name of Ferdinand Martinez saw this as an excellent opportunity to influence the young king. He was close with the royal family, so they listened to him He had an agenda and wanted it carried out. It took him one year to gather enough people to institute גזירות קנ''א.

At this time, the Jews were living peacefully and with little warning, they were persecuted. This began on ר''ח תמוז. Mobs of people went on a march to kill, burn, torture and steal. They gave people the choice- או נצרות או ימות.

The two main kingdoms that were affected were:
1. מלכות קסטיל
2. מלכות ארגון

Some people were killed or sold as slaves, but most were given the choice of Christianity or death. Many people gave up their lives על קדוש ה', but this is the first time recorded in history that many, many more chose to convert. The הלכה is that if one is given the choice by a גוי to convert or die, he must die. This is a יהרג ועל יעבור. There is never a choice to convert.

By choosing נצרות, there was a huge חלול ה'. But the people who chose this really didn’t want to be Christians. They are called אנוסים- they were forced to convert and did it only to save their lives and they expected the whole issue to blow over. But the נוצרים expected them to act like Christians. This caused trouble because when they realized that there were so many disloyal Christians, they killed them because they were heretics.

The whole גזירות קנ''א lasted for only three months and then settled down. However, the אנוסים were still expected to be נוצרים. Some places weren’t reached by the mob and where therefore not affected.

About 2,000 Jews converted, causing an enormous חלול ה'.

In 1413, there was a debate in טורטסה. This was the longest debate between נוצרים and Jews- it lasted for a year and a half. This debate was started by a מומר. The Jews were represented by ר' יוסף אלבו. He was not given a chance to say the truth and the Jews “lost”. The outcome of this debate was that Yidden couldn’t learn גמרא. The law enforcer at this time was not strong though, and they got around it.

In 1469, there was a royal marriage between Ferdinand of ארגון and Isabella of קסטיל. When they married, these two kingdoms united. They wanted to unite the whole Spain, and the Jews helped monetarily and with advice.

An inquisition is a court to make inquests on the religious practices of their followers. The Christians always had such a court system, but did not always have to use it. Now, however, there were so many heretics. Many people were tried, claimed disloyal, burnt and then their properties taken by the inquisition courts.

The first public burning, auto da Fe, took place in 1481. The inquisition was not against frum Jews. It was against disloyal נוצרים.

In 1483, טרקמדה became the grand inquisitor. He was very strong and powerful. In the first few years, 30,000 אנוסים became victims throughout Spain. The inquisition continued for the next 350 years. Books were put out for גוים on how to find אנוסים and maids were bribed to turn in their masters. Before people were burnt, they were tortured mercilessly.

The inquisition made a big, formal judgment- people were given thirty to forty days to confess. They were tried by a judge and witnesses came and told of their disloyalties. Public burnings were often at weddings and other public celebrations. אנוסים had to attend such burnings and appear to be excited so as not to be suspected of being disloyal. Anyone who couldn’t attend had to bring a doctor’s note.

תקופת האחרונים- ספרד:

ר' דן יצחק אברבנל- he wrote a פירוש on תנ''ך and often included information of what was going on in Spain at that time. He came from Portugal. His father had been a financer to the king of Portugal. When his father died, he took over. When the king died, his son became the new king and he wanted to kill the אברבנל. He ran to Spain in order to save his life. When Ferdinand found out about him, he chose him as his finance minister, mainly to help with war against the אלמוחדים. Eventually, the war was won in early 1492.

Now that Ferdinand had gained control of the entire Spain, he wanted everyone to be a Christian, so he made גירוש ספרד. The אברבנל tried to convince him not to do it and tried to bribe him. He almost had him convinced, but טרקמדה convinced the king to go ahead with it.

The גזירה was signed on March 31, 1942 for July 31, 1942- ז' אב- by this date must either convert or leave. Most of the people left by boat and when they came to the harbor, they passed three boats that were preparing to go to America- Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria. This shows us that the עת וים to get rid of us really was bringing us to our survival today, which is because of America.

When they saw that the גזירה was around ט' אב time, they realized that it was from ה' and their אמונה was strengthened.

The captains of the ships knew that the Jews were rich so they took their money and dumped them in the water or on an island. The Jews were faced with sickness, starvation and death, but they remained steadfast in their אמונה. There was a woman who escaped Spain with three children. Her first two died on the way and when she only had one left, she said, “ה', whatever You do, I will remain Your servant”.

Where did the Jews go?
1. Portugal
2. Italy
3. North Africa
4. Ottoman Empire- Turkey
5. Russia
6. Poland

The אברבנל was given the option of staying, but he left with the Jews- just like משה, who grew up in פרעה’s palace but "ויצא אל אחיו". This defines a גדול.
Columbus went to America with the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria. Legend has it that he was from a family of אנוסים. His wife was Jewish. Also, he didn’t leave Spain until י' אב because he didn’t want to go during the “nine days”. He wrote ב''ה on his manuscripts and had a tremendous library of ספרים. He left before inspectors could inspect his ships because he had many אנוסים with him who were escaping to America. Many of them invented sea faring instruments that were used widely after.

ר' יוסף יעבץ- people called him חסיד יעבץ because he was such a great צדיק. He lived during this time and explains to us what was going on.

Sheet- What was the reason for losing the land? Because they left the תורה- "על עזבתם את תורתי"- they didn’t have the proper חשיבות התורה, just like by I חרבן בית . Though there were many people sitting and learning, something was missing. משל- someone’s tooth is hurting. It looks fine, but when he goes to the dentist and they take an x-ray, you can now see how damaged the tooth really is on the inside. Now, there were never as many people sitting and learning in yeshiva as there were in the time of the גירוש. So what wrong was really going on in the inside? The people who were learning can be divided into three groups:
1. People who learnt for six or seven years from great people, but afterwards began to learn secular knowledge and they felt regret for what they had learnt first.
2. Left תורה completely and busied themselves with the גשמיות of עוה''ז.
3. Held onto the תורה, but only learnt it as an intellectual pursuit, to sharpen their minds.
These people learnt not for the purpose of coming close to ה' or to do. There was only a minority who learnt לש''ש and they couldn’t protect their generation.

At the time of גירוש ספרד, there were many people who converted, but many didn’t. Those that didn’t were the simple people of the nation. Someone said, “The reason that they were thrown out of Spain was because of their many עבירות. Those that were so proud of their חכמה converted, but the woman and עמי הארץ gave up their lives.” Really, these weren’t simple people- they were people whose basis for אמונה was pure and unadulterated. They realized that ה' is the only One and with the protection of their אמונה, they stood strong and didn’t convert, giving up their lives על קדוש ה'. Those that were influenced by Greek philosophy and other strange and foreign חכמות, they couldn’t be pure in their אמונה because their heads were full of other impure things. The women were so strong and they influenced their husbands to remain strong and not convert. This pure אמונה kept the Jews in place when the נסיון came.

At first, Portugal, under king Jayo, let people in for a large sum some of money. The next king, Manuel, understood the greatness of having Jews in his country. He realized that they were a great asset and would make his country economically strong.

Manuel wanted to marry the daughter of King Ferdinand. But one of the conditions was that he expel the Jews. He had to make the choice between his marriage and the Jews- he chose her. In 1946, four years after the Inquistion was גירוש פרטגל.

This expulsion was much more difficult because Manuel really wanted the Jews to stay, so he made it harder for them to leave. He forcibly took the children and converted them. He thought that by doing so, parents would stay because they wouldn’t leave their children. Some sneaked their children and left, but most didn’t. Additionally, anyone who left had to leave by way of the capital city. There they were given the choice to convert or become slaves. Many became slaves.

מקומות פליטי של גולי ספרד ופרטגל:

The following פסוקים are to give us חיזוק as כלל ישראל go through difficult times- ה' promises us that He will never forsake us:
1. "ואף גם זאת בהיותם בארץ אויביהם לא מאסתים ולא געלתים לכלותם להפר בריתי אתם כי אני ה' אלוקיכם" (ויקרא כו, מד)- they disgusted ה', but not enough that ה' is going to destroy them. I’m not going to break My treaty with them, ברית בן הבתרים, I am ה'.
2. "ואני זאת בריתי אותם אמר ה' רותי אשר עליך ודברי אשר שמתי בפיך לא ימושו מפיך ומפי זרעך ומפי זרע זרעך אמר ה' מעתה ועד עולם" (ישעי') – I made a treaty with ב''י that My תורה won’t leave from you, your children or your grandchildren forever.

Havens:
1. Ottoman Empire- ה' prepared this place as a haven for כלל ישראל to run to. How? In 1453, the Sultan took over Constantinople and changed it from Christian to Muslim. They captured this area and then went on to capture more lands- this was the start of an empire. At this time, they invited the Jews to come but most didn’t take advantage of this offer. In 1492, after the גירוש, there was an influx of many Jews. The sultan realized that the Jews could help build up his country. He said about the king of Spain, “Can you call such a king wise? He impoverished his own country, thereby enriching mine”.
The Ottomans were a ruthless, barbaric people and weren’t good at business. They were good to the Jews though, because they needed them as doctors, bankers, business men and other officials. Constantinople was the nerve center of the Byzantine Empire and from here they started conquering the rest of the world. This empire lasted from 1453 until after WWI, but the last hundred years were very weak. Constantinople became Istanbul- Jewel of the city. The Jews called Istanbul קושתא.
Next, the Ottomans took over the Balkan Peninsula:
a. Hungry
b. Romania
c. Yugoslavia
d. Bulgaria
e. Serbia
f. Greece
In 1517, they captured the Middle East area, including:
a. א''י
b. Syria
c. Egypt
d. Saudi Arabia
e. North Africa
At this time, the רב was referred to asחַכַם .
Jewish communities:
a. Istanbul- at this time, Istanbul was the biggest Jewish community in the world. The רב was ר' משה בן אליהו קאפשאלי (1410-1500). He was a known מקובל and his דרך in עבודת ה' was סגוף הגוף- afflicting the body. Some people who are extremely comfortable in this world will choose to afflict themselves with יסורים. This דרך is only for certain individuals. He was strict with himself, but kind and caring with others. The sultan revered him and sometimes even asked him for advice. When an influx of גולי ספרד came to Istanbul, he taxed the wealthy businessmen in his community so he could have money to help them settle in.
Whenר' משה בן אליהו קאפשאלי died, ר' אליהו מזרחי (1450-1525) took over. He was born in Istanbul; his family had left Spain before the Inquisition. He wrote a פרוש on רש''י- he reconciles where רש''י and the רמב''ם disagree. He continued to help the גולי ספרד. He was also held in great reverence and was supported by the sultan. He was a רבי to many people who became חכמים in the Ottoman Empire.
b. Salonika- this is present-day Greece. There was a קהילה living here from before בית שני. This is from the oldest קהילות in Europe. It lasted until WWII, but the 1500s was its time of glory. During this time, it thrived. The majority of people living there were Jews. It was a port city. Many Jews were busy with sea trade. Since the port was controlled by Jews, it was closed on שבת. Salonika was known as an עיר ואם בישראל- mother city.
אחרונים:
1. ר' יעקב אבן חביב (1455-1516)- he was from the גולי ספרד. During the גרוש, he ran to Portugal. Four years later was the expulsion from Portugal. On his way out, they snatched his son לוי. They forced a ceremony on him to make his a Christian. ב''ה, they got him back and they ran to Salonika. He built up a whole community there and he was the רב. He wrote the עין יעקב- stories of the גמרא. This became an important ספר for the working class who didn’t have the time or ability to delve into different סוגיות of גמרא. He didn’t live to finish his ספר- it was finished by his son the רלב''ג- ר' לוי בן ר' יעקב אבן חביב
2. מהר''י אבן לב- ר' יוסף אבן לב (1500-1580)- he was a דין in the ב''ד. He was an extremely strong and outspoken personality and he wasn’t afraid to impress פסקי הלכה even on the most wealthy חשובי העיר. He tried to help the poor people and stuck up for their rights. This caused rich people to hate him, but he stood up for what was right. Once, a wealthy person lost a דין. He was upset, and after the case, he was discussing it with the מהר''י אבן לב. The rich man slapped him across the face. This was a huge חלול ה'. There were people standing around and they didn’t do anything. The מהר''י אבן לב was so despaired that he tore his clothing. That night, there was a huge fire that claimed around 200 lives.