Your editor has descended from the Sierra da Estrella where she duly visited port wine estates, castles and convents, plus a synagogue for crypto-Jews in Belmonte called Sinagoga Eliahu. That refers to Elijah the Prophet who will, according to Jewish theology, announce the coming of the Messiah.
The trouble is that not all the crypto-Jews want to rush to join orthodox Judaism despite having kept the faith for more than 500 years hiding their beliefs from the Inquisition and pretending to be Catholics.
One problem is the role of women is much more important in rabbi-less crypto-Judaism than in normal Judaism, and the ladies apparently are not looking forward to being put up in the balcony rather than leading prayers and instructing children in the Jewish way of life, however atentunated since Jews were officially expelled in 1496. To better hide what they are up to crypto-Jewish tradition is maintained by old women rather than younger men. But the only variant of Judaism being offered in the Upper Duoro towns where Crypto-Jews live is official Orthodox Judaism, with prayers in Hebrew led by men, and women up in the balcony and silent.
Oy!
The big news in Portugal this month is that they finally have persuaded Microsoft to add a spell-checker in Portuguese spelled the Portuguese rather than the Brazilian way. And some folks up the Duoro river (the border with Spain in the north) have been offered jobs in Spain because there are villages without pre-retirees over the border. It is interesting that Spain, with an official 20% unemployment rate, cannot find Spanish local people willing to settle in a geriatric village where there is work to be done. Portuguese unemployment is officially 4.6%, vastly lower. But Portuguese benefits for being unemployed are much lower and likely to be cut further by the new budget.
Up in the mountains the saying is that “bad winds and lazy brides come from Spain.” Along with Inquisitors of course.
More for paid subscribersfrom Canada, Brazil, and Israel follows starting with a note from Martin Ferera.
