To write The Naomi Chronicles Saga researching what befell the
Spanish Jews prior to and during the Spanish and
Mexican Inquisitions was necessary. Though living in our time, what
befell Naomi's people (the Sephardim) impacted her life and caused her to
believe that she had 'No Other Choice'. If you love hidden history, I know you'll enjoy the three Sephardic interviews posted today for each women's journey of discovering that they were not who they thought they were is a
unique read. When you realize this generation lack
of knowledge began with the need to hide because The Decree of
Alhambra was enforced by death until it was nullified on March 31, 1992, I think your heart will resonate with the telling.
Corrine’s Voice
I was born in 1929 and
raised in downtown Los Angeles. My religious training was in the Catholic
Church, as all in our family had done for years. In 1984, my son David, who had
research our history, told me that we are Jewish. I paid no attention to him.
In 1974, I found myself drawn to Jewish things. When my grandmother died, my
mother showed me her baptismal certificate. I noticed that her godmother’s last
name was Gold. I asked my mother about that, as Gold is a very unusual last
name for a Spanish person to have because godparents are usually family
members. She told me that her cousin had told her when she was a child that
they were Jews but not to tell anyone. It was then I remembered my grandfather
singing in a strange language out by the chicken coops, and my mother saying,
“He sings like a cantor!”
The realization that we
were not what we seemed or were taught to be gave me a hunger to know more.
Since then I have invested my time and energy to learn all I can about my
Jewish roots. That investigation has made me aware of the charges the
Inquisitor made against my family, revealed the possibility that they may have
come over with Columbus, and the knowledge that they settled in what is now the
southwestern United States. Today, through much work on behalf of my family, I
have acquired the documents to prove what I am saying. Were it not for the
Decree of Alhambra and the Spanish Inquisition, we would still be in Spain, but
due to that decree and its effects upon my family and the Jews still hiding, I
am willing to state that what man meant for evil, God used for good! For in Messiah
Yeshua, I have found my Jewish Messiah and have been able
to own who I am as both a Jew and a believer in my Kinsman Redeemer.
Betty’s Voice
When I was in my early
twenties, my parents took me on a trip to visit relatives in Saltillo, Mexico,
where my grandfather Miguel Narro was born and raised. They were rich and very
Catholic. They had disowned my grandfather when he accepted Yeshua as
his Savior and became a Protestant pastor. Many years later, my great-aunt
Rosario (Rosary) confided to my mother that there had been two rabbis in
the Narro family. After that, my mother wore a Star of David that she had
bought. She told my son John David that we were Jewish. My grandfather refused
to eat pork, but we never knew why. No one ever talked about our Jewish
heritage. However, now I know that some believed we were Jewish and other
family members denied it. My father, David Alcala, most likely had Jewish
ancestry also since Alcala is a Sephardic Jewish name. My
great-grandfather, Ambrosio Alcala, was born in Alcala de Henares, a city in
Spain that had an imposing Jewish presence and two synagogues.
—Elizabeth Alcala-Narro Bennett is a Sephardic Jew whose children bring the
gospel to those in Spain. She worships at a Messianic congregation.
Janice’s Voice
There was a stirring in
my heart to follow my mother’s influence and learn about the Jewish people. I
remember my fourth grade class in parochial school, where Sister Demetrius
instilled within us the fact that the Jews did not kill Christ, but it was our
sins that put him on the cross. Between my schooling and Mom’s love for the
Jewish heritage, there was birthed within me tenderness toward the Jewish
people. As I reached what some would call middle age, this stirring intensified
until I needed to know more. For years, I told people that I was Basque.
However, I never went to the town whose name I bore. Then I met a woman whose
son was a missionary in Spain. I asked him if he could take me to Ulibarri and
he agreed. In 2008, I made the trip to Spain. We traveled throughout the
Navarra region until I finally stepped onto the soil that had been home to my
family centuries before. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that there was a
strong Jewish presence in that region. Could my mother have been trying to tell
me something all those years ago? I will never know for sure. However, my
journey of the heart allowed me to look at my heritage and history with new
eyes. When I returned home, I told my children, “We have a Jewish heritage.”
They rolled their eyes. Months later, my son called and said, “I was waiting
for the metro and was approached by a scholarly man who looked at my badge,
which identifies me by my last name. He read ‘Mireles’ and asked me if I knew
about my name and my heritage. I was able to give him the information you had
shared with us. I was stunned when he gave me additional information, which
proved to me that what you had said was correct! I called you, and I told my
brothers and sisters that what you had said was true.” —Janice Mireles-Ulibarri
has been involved in Messianic Worship since 1999. She served as a volunteer in
the Israeli army in 1999.
Author,
Paula Rose Michelson
Amazon
http://amzn.to/1z8ydzA, www.PaulaRoseMichelson.com
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