From Dr. Victoria Atlas (Session I- Madrid/Toledo):

Few places in the world have such fascinating Jewish roots as Spain. All the more so as we are talking 1500 years of uninterrupted history, full of amazing love stories (perpetuated in stone and legends), incredible and bewitchingly beautiful places, where dramatic events took place and a unique people formed part of a kaleidoscope of Histori(es) that render any novel dull.

In a blitz-trip through the Jewish (hi)story of Spain we’ll go traipsing through dazzling castles, palaces, synagogues and streets – in Toledo, Segovia, Granada and Madrid. We’ll learn how Jewish wise men changed the kings’ will, what Columbus’s discovery of America and the expulsion of Jews from Spain had in common and also, why it took Jews over 400 years to return to Spain.

See you on December 13 as we bring the cobbled streets of the past and the present of Jewish Spain to life.

Watch a teaser, see my Sixty Second Site

From Rabbi Haim Casas (Session II – Cordoba):

The Córdoba of Maimonides
Córdoba, founded by Rome, became the most populous city in the West in the 10th century. It was a Crucible of cultures, and witness to the greatest cultural splendor of Judaism and medieval Islam. The labyrinth of its streets contains the history of the coexistence of Jews, Christians and Muslims. Although that coexistence was never easy, nevertheless, it Córdoba a powerful example of how cultural diversity can enrich a society. A city unique for its beauty, Cordoba is worth discovering in depth.
The Jewish quarter of Córdoba is one of the best preserved medieval Jewish quarters in all of Europe. Home of great thinkers and unsurpassed beauty, its streets and houses keep secrets that fascinate both locals and visitors. In it we can visit the only medieval synagogue preserved until today in Andalusia. Discover with us the fascinating history of this neighborhood, declared a world heritage site by UNESCO. We’ll dive into the life and work of its most famous inhabitants such as the great thinker Maimonides, and the splendor of the Three Cultures.

Watch a teaser, see my Sixty Second Site

From Moises Hassan (Session III – Seville):

Sevilla, the capital of Andalucía, the southern region of Spain, lies mostly along the right bank of the Guadalquivir river (from the arabic al wadi al-kvir –the big river-) in the land region known as the Guadalquivir Basin. Population of Sevilla is about 700,000 people with a minimal Jewish presence nowadays. However, Sevilla, which had the second largest Jewish population in all the Kingdom of Castile during the middle ages, is also where the destruction of Spanish Jewry began in June of 1391. The bloodshed of Sevilla was the first of many and within two months, they extended like wildfire all throughout Castile and Aragon, reaching even Gerona (next to the border with France). These pogroms led to mass conversions and, eventually, to the expulsion in 1492.

Join me in “visiting” key sites related to the Jewish past of Seville. We’ll focus mainly on aspects of Judaism in the city, where Jews first settled upon their return back to Spain in the 1860’s after almost 400 years of absence. During our “virtual journey” we will be able to “see” and to understand what was and also what it is to be a Jew in Sevilla, then and now.

Watch a teaser, see my Sixty Second Site

From Dominique Tomasov Blinder (Session IV – Barcelona):

Who was David Oliver and where did he come from?
How did Marcos Menkes become a worldwide known manufacturer of Flamenco dance shoes?
Who started the wedding wear “pret a porter”?
Jews started arriving in Spain since the early 1900’s after centuries of absence, having been kicked out
in 1492 by the Catholic kings Isabel and Ferdinand. Involved in all fields of science, industry and culture, they have contributed their talents and know-hows to the development of this country, once again.
In a very amenable way, I will introduce you to some of these figures who settled in Barcelona and whose initiatives had a long reach beyond the Pyrenées and the coasts of the Mediterranean.

From Dani Rotstein (Session V – Majorca):

During the Inquisition, the Crypto-Jews or Chuetas publicly professed Catholicism while privately adhering to Judaism. Synagogues were secretly built in private homes. Signs of this “secret” community can still be found today with many of the current jewelry shops having been kept within their families for generations beforehand.
We will visit the inside of the permanent exhibit in the Jewish Quarter Interpretation Center inaugurated in 2015 as we trace the footsteps of the Medieval Jews who walked the narrow alleyways of the casco antiguo – or old town. We will learn about the famous failed boat escape of 1688 when 40 Crypto-Jews tried to flee the Inquisition of the island unsuccessfully. We will look for clues and hints that suggest a robust Jewish community that was extinguished over centuries in the fires of the Inquisition.
In this new and cutting-edge virtual tour, I’ll bring a wealth of Jewish informal education straight to your living room, pulling back the curtain on the Spanish island’s secret Crypto-Judio and Converso history. Don’t miss your chance to discover a unique 600-year-old community, one that the global Jewish world is helping bring back to life!