Maimonides and the Explusion from Spain

After studying about the Golden Age of Spain, when Jews and Muslims prospered in Moorish Spain, Jen and I introduced the seventh graders to one of the most important Jews of all time: Moses Maimonides, also known as Rambam (acronym for Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon). Rambam fled Spain with his family when the Almohades, a more radical Islamic party, took hold of Spain. Eventually, he settled in Egypt and became that kingdom's most important physician and rabbi. We spoke about Rambam's efforts to simplify Jewish beliefs into thirteen basic principles. My class focused in particular on a number of these beliefs that maintain their relevance in uniting Jews behind common values and practices.

This week, we started learning about the Expulsion from Spain, the 1492 mass exodus of the Jews of Spain (the Sephardim) to new homes in Europe, Asia, North Africa, and the New World. We shared an awesome book--The Cardinal's Snuffbox, a "choose your own adventure" type of book that traces the types of choices and experiences Sephardic Jews encountered in the 15th - 17th centuries. You may want to check it out from a library or purchase it from URJ press (here). The same author wrote several other similar books, set in different periods of Jewish history, that are also worthwhile.

Students may enjoy the following contemporary description of the plight of the Sephardim: First Hand Account of the 1492 Expulsion by an Italian Jew.