Moti Benmelech, Author at סגולה

The Price of Dissent – Uriel da Costa

A converso who returned to his roots, Uriel da Costa found the Judaism practiced in Amsterdam a far cry from the faith he’d encountered in the Bible. The Jewish community’s response to his puzzled objections...

Articles

Issue 49 | October 2019

Messenger from the fabled country of the lost tribes of Israel

Who Was David Ha-Reuveni?

Moti Benmelech

David Ha-Reuveni arrived in Venice outlandishly dressed in “striped silk according to the Ishmaelite custom” and “a white scarf, with which he covered his head and most of himself” (Letters of Daniel of Pisa, quoted...

Issue 33 | August 2016

Once Bitten, Twice Shy – Portuguese Jewry

Moti Benmelech

Manuel of Portugal had to choose between his Spanish bride – and her powerful parents – and his faithful Jewish subjects. The Portuguese monarch preferred to have his cake and eat it too, and...

Articles

Issue 31 | April 2016

Salvation at Stake – Shlomo Molkho

Moti Benmelech

The product of two worlds, New Christian Diogo Pires secretly delved into Jewish mysticism even as he rose through the ranks of Portuguese society. Then a visitor from the kingdom of the ten lost tribes...

Articles

Issue 33 | August 2016

Moti Benmelech

The Price of Dissent – Uriel da Costa

Who Was David Ha-Reuveni?

Once Bitten, Twice Shy – Portuguese Jewry

Salvation at Stake – Shlomo Molkho

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