על התסמונת האשכנזית של קידוש השם בפורטוגל בשנת 1497

Numerous articles have been published in the last three decades on the subject of medieval Jewish martyrdom. It is a generally accepted notion that there exists a sharp distinction between Ashkenazi and Sefardi Jewry in this respect. While the former preferred death over conversion to Christianity, the latter generally chose to convert, notably during the massacres of 1391 in Spain. Moreover, we often encounter among the Ashkenazim the halakhically problematic form of active martyrdom, namely, the killing of one's own wife and children. This article examines a surprisingly similar phenomenon that occurred in Portugal. In the span of five years between the entry of the Jewish refugees from Spain in 1492 and the so-called 'expulsion' from Portugal, the Jews of that kingdom were subjected to three waves of forced conversion instigated by the Crown. Examining contemporary sources, the author tries to reconstruct those events. He reaches the conclusion that in the first instance (winter 1493) there were generally no cases of martyrdom. In the other two instances, both occurring in 1497 after the announcement of the Edict of Expulsion, there were. He suggests that the first decree caught the Jews by surprise and they were not prepared mentally for it. In the second part of the article there is an attempt to trace the avenues through which Ashkenazi ideals of martyrdom penetrated into Spain. It is also suggested that the spiritual confusion in the wake of the 1391 conversions created the vacuum which was filled by such ideals. The author also points out the necessity of evaluating acts of martyrdom only after closely examining the circumstances of each case rather than accepting traditional scholarly generalizations. Finally, it is his assessment that the martyrdoms in 1497 played an important role in rebuilding the religious identity of the Sefardim which had been eroded by their history of conversions.