# #185: Spanish Inquisition - 350 Years of Jewish Defiance

From **History For The Curious** by R Aubrey Hersh;Mena Reisner.

- **Published:** Tue, 03 Feb 2026 12:56:58 +0000
- **Duration:** 1:07:19
- **Audio:** https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/nmwqjkthahzkag9g/HC078_-_Ep_185_-_Spain_Part_3_Assembled_mixdown87yes.mp3
- **Page:** https://rabbiaubreyhersh.podbean.com/e/185-spanish-inquisition-350-years-of-jewish-defiance/
- **TorahApp:** https://torahapp.org/share/p/3P_history-curious?e=rabbiaubreyhersh.podbean.com%2Ffab9e746-f175-3210-a602-11daebc752ab

<p>The Church was determined to wipe out any vestige of Judaism from Spain, any custom, any law, any practice, and thousands of Jews would pay the price.</p>
<p>Spain was not just one country, however; it spread to the Americas and the Indies, and the stories of individual heroism, ingenuity, and courage are breathtaking.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Timestamps:</p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:00:01 Crypto-Judaism vs. Crusades — constant oversight in Spain  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:00:27 Podcast intro</li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:01:16 Series context — part 3 importance  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:02:58 Post-1492 groups — emigrants, later emigrants, those who stayed  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:03:36 Sephardic diaspora — destinations &amp; trades (Ottoman lands, North Africa, textiles, medicine)  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:04:41 Jewish diplomacy under Ottomans — translators/negotiators, ties to Spain  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:07:14 Crypto-Judaism basics — loss of rabbis, books, reliance on oral tradition &amp; Old Testament  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:09:42 Decline of living memory — mid-1500s generational loss  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:11:40 Core beliefs retained — monotheism, Moses, Torah; examples from Inquisition confessions  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:14:02 Observance statistics from trials — fasting, kashrut, Shabbat, Yom Kippur prevalence  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:15:59 Passing faith to next generation — secrecy, double lives, limited transmission  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:17:32 Inquisition edicts as inadvertent guides to practice  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:19:26 End-of-life rituals — refusal of crucifix, tahara, burial customs  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:23:41 Shabbat practices — hidden candles, inward sweeping, blessings  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:26:31 Church attendance — outward conformity, internal belief strategies  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:27:25 New World/Inquisition — arrival in Americas; Inquisition established in Mexico, Peru, Brazil  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:31:00 Dutch Brazil exception — temporary open practice under Dutch rule, later expulsion 1654  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:32:40 Louis de Carvajal &amp; notable trials — arrests, preserved writings used as evidence  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:36:22 Secret communication/code — phrases, walks, covert declarations of faith  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:39:04 Dangers of disclosure — denunciations even by family; psychological terror of arrest  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:42:40 Arrest/interrogation process — isolation, written records, potential torture  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:45:00 Auto-da-fé description — public spectacle, sanbenito, punishments, executions  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:50:47 Survival customs preserved in remote towns (e.g., burial, food practices)  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:51:07 Reasons many stayed — travel restrictions, family/assets, hope things improve  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:55:46 Reintegration abroad — relearning Judaism, halachic complications (bris, remarriage)  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">0:59:12 Broader Jewish response — limited help; notable rescuers and martyrs  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">1:02:19 Scale of persecution — arrests (100k–150k), deaths (~4–10k estimated)  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">1:05:34 Long-term effects — endogamy, oral legacy, Kabbalah/messianic currents  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">1:06:46 Closing &amp; next steps — possible future series; contact/website/tours info  </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">Action items (end): confirm availability for next series; monitor listener feedback; update website/tours.</li>
</ul>