In eastern Portugal, about 2 1/2 miles outside of the city of Guarda, there exists a little town called Belmonte. Today, there are only about 2,500 people who live in this small, unassuming rural area. It is so unassuming, in fact, that no one would ever suspect that it hides a rather remarkable secret.
During the Portuguese Inquisition, Jews living in Portugal were forced to either convert to Christianity or be subjected to religious persecution in the form of death, often by burning at the stake. However, many “New Christians” who had been baptized during this period were still killed, because despite their outward affiliation with Christianity, they still held their Jewish beliefs in secret.
In the year 1506 3,000 Jews were massacred in the city of Lisbon. Among those murdered during the Inquisition were many famous Jews, including Isaac de Castro Tartas, Antonio Serrao de Castro and Antonio Jose da Silva, who later became known as “The Jew.”
Obviously, the options presented to Jewish community members in Portugal at the time were all unfavorable: flee to Amsterdam or Salonika (although few possessed the means to do so), convert to Christianity, or be killed. Worse yet, it was likely that one would convert and still be killed.
There was, however, an extremely small minority that created another option for themselves. Some Jews “officially” converted but continued to practice Judaism in the secrecy of their own homes. These individuals became known as Murrano Jews, or Crypto-Jews.
As the years passed, many Crypto-Jews were discovered and killed. But a very small community was able to live and thrive. This existed in Belmonte. The reason that the community was able to thrive here was because they were situated in a place that was somewhat difficult for the government to reach.
At the time, traveling through the mountains meant days or weeks by horse, not mere hours by car. Additionally, the Jews of Belmonte stayed off the radar by living relatively unassuming lives. They worked as merchants or shop keepers, successfully contributing to the community.
For the better part of 500 years, the Crypto-Jews of Belmonte were able to live this way; quietly continuing to live and practice Judaism. Belmonte is the only place that we know of where secret Jews maintained many practices, including Shabbat, Yom Kippur, Passover, the Fast of Esther, elements of kashrut and numerous prayers. As they were a small group, they kept detailed genealogical charts and carefully arranged marriages within their community.
It was not until the year 1917, many years after the Inquisition was officially ended by a liberal revolt in 1821, that the Crypto-Jews of Belmonte were discovered by a Polish (and Jewish) mining engineer by the name of Samuel Schwartz.
The Jewish community of Belmonte made its public and official return to Judaism in the 1970s, and a synagogue was later opened in 1996. As recently as 2005, Belmonte has become home to a Jewish museum.
By visiting Belmonte today, it is an incredible way to immerse yourself into this secret part of Jewish history. You can visit the old Jewish quarter, which is the still today the home to many Jewish families- the largest Jewish community in Portugal.
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