The non-Jewish origins of the Sephardic Jews / Paul Wexler.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wexler, Paul.

Series:

SUNY series in anthropology and Judaic studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sephardim--Origin.

Sephardim.

Jews--Spain--Origin.

Jews.

Jews--Africa, North--Origin.

Ladino language--Foreign elements--Arabic.

Ladino language.

Berbers--Social life and customs.

Berbers.

Proselytizing--Judaism--History.

Proselytizing.

Spain--Ethnic relations.

Spain.

Africa, North--Social life and customs.

Africa, North.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (340 p.)

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, c1996.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Based on the premise that Jewish languages such as Judeo- Arabic, Ladino, and Yiddish offer crucial clues to ethnic origins, Wexler (linguistics, Tel-Aviv U.) challenges the prevailing view that Sephardic Jewry originated in Spain, asserting that they were in fact descended from Berber proselytes. The author finds remnants of this North African Berber and Arab substrate in the language and culture of the Sephardic Jews and presents an array of linguistic (as well as historical, literary, and ethnographic) data in support of his hypothesis. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Abbreviations and Citations

Preface

1 Approaches to the Study of Jewish Ethnicity and Ethnic Myths

2 Conversion to Judaism in the Asian, African, and Iberian Lands up to c.1200 A.D.

3 The North African Homeland of the Sephardic Jews and the Origin of the Term "Sephardic"

4 The Berbero-Arab Roots of the Sephardic Jews

5 The Processes of Judaization

6 Findings and Challenges

Bibliography

Index of Names and Topics

Index of Segments, Words, and Phrases

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 249-291) and indexes.

ISBN:

9781438423937

1438423934

OCLC:

794701333