5: Text excerpt on the term “marrano” from Joshua Teplitsky’s essay in My Jewish Learning.

5: Text excerpt on the term “marrano” from Joshua Teplitsky’s essay in My Jewish Learning.

During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, pogroms and anti-Jewish decrees on the Iberian Peninsula led to the murder of tens of thousands of Jews as well as to the forced conversion and/or expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Spanish and Portuguese Jews.

This excerpt briefly explains the concept of “marrano” in this historical context. The term appears in “The Gilgul of Park Avenue” when the narrator, referencing Charles at the beginning of his Jewish awakening, describes him in this way:

And so, a marrano in modern times, Charles ate his chicken like a gentile—all the while a Jew in his heart.

Suggested Activity: After reading the excerpt, ask students why the narrator describes Charles as a “marrano in modern times” given the term’s historical context. Do students think the analogy works? Or do students find Englander’s use of “marrano” problematic or even offensive given its traumatic origins?

Source: Joshua Teplitsky, "Crypto-Jews," My Jewish Learning, accessed February 26, 2019. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/crypto-jews/