Jewish responses to the decree of expulsion by king Ferdinand and queen Isabella of Spain (1492)

The expulsion of the Sephardim - the term for Spain's Jews - was a turning point in the history of the Iberian peninsula. A rising tide of religious fanaticism gradually engulfed Spain, leading to the persecution of 1391 and then, in March 1492, to the decree of the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, giving the Jews only a few months to leave. Many converted Jews or conversos who experienced the oppression of the Spanish National Inquisition, left as well. This article discusses the struggle of both Jewish and converso fugitives who had to re-estabhsh their life and their community elsewhere in Europe and the Ottoman empire. The horrible experience certainly left an indelible imprint on those who were expelled and on their descendants, expressed in their historical works, kabbalistic treatises, and Hebrew poems. The works which attempt to come to terms with the expulsion from a theological or mystical point of view are diverse, although closer investigation reveals that some ideas are a continuation of earlier traditions. Yet, the aftermath of the expulsion saw a great upsurge of interest in messianic and mystical topics with revolutionary and innovative elements, such as the kabbabstic teachings of Isaac Luria. Spanish Kabbala after the expulsion has become particularly creative and contributed greatly to the spread of mystical thought as the major form of this lore outside Spain. The reactions and adaptations of the Sephardim to their religious and social life in new (port) cities and countries were inspired by a strong sense of Judeo-Hispanic consciousness and pride. Sephardi survival and persistence has been of far-reaching significance for their new homelands and for the Jewish world as a whole