{"product_id":"from-christianity-to-judaism-the-story-of-isaac-orobio-de-castro-9781904113140","title":"From Christianity to Judaism: The Story of Isaac Orobio De Castro","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIsaac Orobio de Castro, a crypto-Jew from Portugal, was one of the most prominent intellectual figures of the Sephardi Diaspora in the seventeenth century. After studying medicine and theology in Spain, and having pursued a distinguished medical career, he was arrested by the Spanish Inquisition for practising Judaism, tortured, tired, and imprisoned. He subsequently emigrated to France and became a professor of medicine at the University of Toulouse before openly professing his Judaism and going to Amsterdam where he joined the thriving Portuguese Jewish community. Amsterdam was then a city of great cultural creativity and religious pluralism where Orobio found open to him the world of religious thinkers and learned scholars. In this atmosphere he flourished and became an outstanding spokesman and apologist for the Jewish community. He engaged in controversy with Juan de Prado and Baruch Spinoza, who were both excommunicated by the Portuguese Jewish community, as well as with Christian theologians of various sects and denominations, including Philip van Limborch.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis fascinating biography of Orobio sheds light on the complex life of a unique Jewish community of former Christians who had openly returned to Judaism. It focuses on the particular dilemmas of the converts, their attempts to establish boundaries between their Christian past and their new identity, their internal conflicts, and their ability to create new forms of Jewish life and expression.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Excellent and even extraordinary  ... Kaplan's book is more than a biography, even more than a study of an entire community: it is a treasure-house of information and new source material that will make it one of the most important works of Jewish history published in many years... [a] model study of one of the most compelling figures in the world of early modern Jewry.' \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDavid S. Katz, English Historical Review \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'A worthy introduction to this important figure and the times in which he lived.'  David Schonberg, Jewish Book News \u0026amp; Reviews  'A most meticulous piece of scholarship, that carefully weighs all the evidence, corrects previous assumptions about dates and identifications, and makes major use of primary sources to present a detailed and reliable reconstruction of Orobio's life and work ... Raphael Loewe's felicitous and contextually suitable translation ...' \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eStefan Reif, Jewish\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eHistorical Studies \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'The translation of Yosef Kaplan's magisterial book is a momentous event, because it makes available the extraordinary story of Isaac Orobio de Castro as told by his extraordinarily gifted biographer.' \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAngus\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eMackay, Journal of Ecclesiastical History \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'A superb picture of the intellectual and spiritual life of a Marrano ... Kaplan's book is indispensable for understanding what the Amsterdam Jewish community was like.  It is also refreshing and important for bringing back to life a most important intellectual of the time who flourished within the community.'  \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRichard K. Popkin, Journal of the History of Philosophy \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'A definitive presentation and analysis ... comprehensively considers broader intellectual, cultural and psychological issues as [it] probes in depth the spiritual and geographical journey of Orobio from Catholic Spain and its Inquisition to the relative freedom of Amsterdam.  In the process he goes far beyond the printed texts ... While all the religious issues of the day ... receive a thorough penetrating analysis, perhaps the most original sights are to be found in Kaplan's discussion of what he terms one of the most prominent features of the history of Judaism in the seventeenth century, namely the objections voiced by individuals in the Sephardic diaspora against some of the main articles of the Jewish faith ... This innovative volume ought to be of major interest to all students of early modern European religion, thought and society, as well as to those involved in Judaica, Christian-Jewish polemics, the history of skepticism, and Iberian and Dutch history.' \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBenjamin Ravid,\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eJournal of Religion\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'Kaplan's sensitive study enriches our understanding of how this balance was achieved in the life of a gifted crypto-Jew.'  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRachael Kohn,\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eJournal of Religious History\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'Erudite work which has been made accessible to English readers by Raphael Loewe to whom we must express a debt of gratitude.' \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eS. B. Leperer\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eL'Eylah \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'Kaplan's book is of major importance ... with amazing detective work ... Kaplan has pieced together a portrait of people born on the Spanish-Portuguese border, where they or their parents had fled to avoid persecution ... remarkably well documented by Kaplan.' \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRichard H. Popkin, New Republic\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'Remarquable de finesse et d'erudition, aussi l'aise avec des manuscits qu'avec des concepts, l'A. presente le medecin, le poete, le theologien, le responsable communautaire aux prises avec les sabbateens ou les calvinistes ... Il a enfin un monument qu'il merite.' \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDominique Bourel, Bulletin de Judaisme Moderne\/Recherches de Science Religieuse\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'This solid historical and theological study belongs in every serious library.  Loewe's translation is superb.'\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMenachem Kellner, Religious Studies Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'The life of Orobio de Castro exemplifies the fate of a whole community of crypto-Jews ... [Kaplan] has recreated the world of the Sephardi Jews in seventeenth-century Amsterdam.' \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eStudia Rosenthaliana\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePreface to the Hebrew Edition\u003cbr\u003ePreface to the English Edition\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eList of plates\u003cbr\u003eMaps and Tables\u003cbr\u003eList of Abbreviations\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom Portugal to Spain: The Alvares de Orobio Family \u003cbr\u003eUniversity Studies: Osuna and Alcalá • The Plague at Málaga, 1637: Baltazar Alvares’ Account\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eA Long Brush with the Inquisition, 1639–1643\u003cbr\u003eIsabel Luis and Andrés de Narváez • Violante de Paz, her Children, and her Brother José de Castro • Manuel Alvares and Santiago Luis\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eBuilding a Career in Andalusia\u003cbr\u003eProfessor at Seville and Service to the Duke of Medinaceli • Scientific Discussion of Phlebotomy • Cádiz\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eImprisoned by the Seville Inquisition\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eFreedom\u003cbr\u003eThe Last Years in Spain • Toulouse • Associations with the Price of Condé and the King of France • Amsterdam: The Dutch Jerusalem\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eDoubt and Certainty\u003cbr\u003eOrobio de Castro’s Questions to Rabbi Moses Raphael d’Aguilar • Isaac Orobio and Juan de Prado: Intellectual Ferment in Sephardi Amsterdam\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003ePhilosopher, Communal Leader, Physician\u003cbr\u003eRaymond Lull’s Philosopht Debated • Communal Activity within the Portuguese Congregation • Medical Practice in Amsterdam • Personal Standing and Material Circumstances\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eIsaac Orobio and Sabbateanism\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eFacing Calvinists and Catholics\u003cbr\u003eDebate with a Huguenot on Salvation • ‘Divine Forewarning’ against Catholic ‘Idolatry’ • Tracts on the ‘Seventy Weeks and the ‘Suffering Servant’ • Judaism \u003ci\u003evis-à-vis\u003c\/i\u003e Christianity\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003ePhilosophers, Theologians, and Poets\u003cbr\u003eSpinoza and Metaphysics: Meeting the Challenge • A ‘Friendly Conversation’: Isaac Orobio and Philip van Limborch • Poets, Poetasters, and Patrons: \u003ci\u003eThe Academia de los Floridos\u003c\/i\u003e • Last Days\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Intellectual World of Orobio de Castro\u003cbr\u003eThe Hispanic Heritage • Between Scholasticism and Fideistic Scepticism • Political and Social Attitudes\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom Crypto-Judaism to Open Judaism\u003cbr\u003eA New Jewish Perspective on \u003ci\u003eConverso\u003c\/i\u003e Life • The Jewish World: From Dreams to Reality • Israel and the Gentiles • The Jewish Fate: Exile and Redemption\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e\u003cp\u003eEpilogue\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAppendices\u003cbr\u003eA   The Iconography of Isaac Orobio\u003cbr\u003eB   Poetical Account of the Plague of Málaga, 1637, by Baltasar Alvares (Isaac Orobio de Castro)\u003cbr\u003eC   Schedule of Moveable Property of Baltasar (Isaac) Orobio Sequestrated by the Inquisition at Cádiz, August 1654\u003cbr\u003eD   Membership of the \u003ci\u003eAcademia de los Floridos\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eE   Manuscripts of Works by Isaac Orobio de Castro\u003cbr\u003eF   Orobio’s Letters to Prado’s Son: A Textual Comparison\u003cbr\u003eG   Translations of Orobio’s Works in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries\u003cbr\u003eH   Works Attributed to Orobio\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBibliography\u003cbr\u003eName Index\u003cbr\u003ePlace Index\u003cbr\u003eSubject Index\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Liverpool University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53191446135127,"sku":"9781904113140","price":999.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/from-christianity-to-judaism-the-story-of-isaac-orobio-de-castro-9781904113140","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}