Finding your Soulmate Why Marry?

The Call from Within

Why marry? The question is so maddening because there seems to be very little rational reason to support such a drastic move. Whichever way the issue is presented, the obvious cons considerably outweigh any pros which may be suggested. What logic lurks behind a commitment which lasts an eternity? Would anyone in their right mind sign a job contract which contains a binding lifetime obligation when so many jobs are available which do not require such an extreme commitment? So why enter a binding marriage proposition? While the marriage contract does contain an escape clause, invoking this clause invariably causes unspeakable pain and emotional havoc. Why not enjoy relationships for their natural duration and then move on when the eroded passion ceases to justify the maintenance of the relationship? Why would any sane person willingly consent to stick with a relationship even after it deteriorates to the point that it is rocky and challenging at best?

Would anyone in their right mind sign a job contract which contains a binding lifetime obligation?Admittedly, the improved economic standing of women and the elimination of much of the stigma attached to remaining single have caused the marriage rate to decline in recent decades. Nevertheless, despite the decrease in societal and peer pressure to marry, latest statistics show that more than three quarters of the adult population is married!

So why do we marry? According to Kabbala, the compulsion to rush into a lifelong commitment is an expression of the human soul's deepest ambitions. The subliminal signals emanating from the soul have caused the logic-defying institution of marriage to be an integral part of the human fabric since the dawn of time. The soul's desire to connect and commit makes the aspiration for marriage one of our most basic instincts.

What is the soul's agenda? What does it stand to gain from hooking up with another soul? The Mystics explain that two primary considerations drive the soul's desire to marry: a desire to be complete and its need to transcend itself.

1+1=1

In the first marriage ever, Adam and Eve were initially created as a single, two-faced body. The single being was split in two -- a man and a woman -- and then reunited in matrimony. In the world of souls, the partition and reunification of the male and female components of individual souls occurs continually. Every body is occupied by half a soul, and both body and soul only reach a state of completion when they are reunited with their bashert, their long-lost other half.

The attraction to the opposite sex actually stems from the soul's innate desire to reunite with its soulmateThe Talmud says that each soul's bashert(predestined soulmate) is determined before its birth. The two may be born continents apart with seemingly nothing in common, but Divine destiny ensures that everyone's path intersects with their bashert's.

[In rare instances, due to external spiritual factors which may intervene, it is possible for people to marry spouses who are not their basherts. Even in such instances, however, eventually the two original soulmates will marry -- whether later on in life as a second marriage, or in a future incarnation of the two souls.

Thus the attraction to the opposite sex, so often reviled as a weakness associated with base carnal urges, actually stems from the soul's innate desire to reunite with its soulmate.
 

Extreme care must be taken not to misuse the sacred and potent power of sexual attraction by expending it in a context other than marriage. SeeDating the Jewish Way for more on this subject.

The Commitment Itself is the Objective

Whereas bodily needs and tendencies are decidedly egocentric, the soul is totally selfless. Commitment without the expectation of a commensurate return benefit may sound absurd when talking the language of the body, but is music to the ears of the soul. The soul's most fervent wish is to transcend itself. Marriage offers the soul the opportunity to express its altruistic nature.

Marriage is about two souls who put their individual needs aside, and commit themselves 100% to the success of the relationship.

The Ultimate Goal

Aside for the bride and grooms' commitment to each other, Jewish marriage involves an additional two commitments. Firstly, it is a commitment to the continuity of the Jewish nation. Jewish parents raising Jewish children with Jewish values is our non-violent way of combating the Crusaders, Chmielnicki, Hitler, and all the other bigots who aspired to relegate the Jewish people to the annals of history.
 

Marriage is also a commitment to actualizing the Divine plan which spawned all of creationSecondly, marriage is also a commitment to actualizing the Divine plan which spawned all of creation. G‑d desired a home, and it is our mission to sanctify the world, making it a hospitable abode for its Creator. The ammunition we were provided to accomplish this task are the Torah and its commandments; and the home is the first frontier. Man and woman are the perfect team to implement this plan. When working in harmony they have the ability to make the home an epicenter of holiness whose rippling waves affect the neighborhood, the country, the world, and the cosmos.

Because of the considerable role marriage plays in the actualization of the master plan for creation, G‑d expends considerable time and energy (as it were) on "playing matchmaker."

"With what is He occupied since [the six days of Creation]?" theMidrash asks. "He is preoccupied with matching together couples," is the answer! Every individual wedding is a vital piece in the grand puzzle which when completed will usher all of creation into its intended state of redemption.

Jewish marriage is about two people who commit themselves 100% to the success of G‑d's relationship with creation.

How did the Sephardic Jews ended up In Mexico and America?

 

Jewish nation, much of the Jewish population was sent into exile throughout the Roman Empire. Many were sent to the IBERIAN peninsula. The area became known by the Hebrew word SEPHARD meaning "far away". The JEWS in SPAIN and PORTUGAL became known as SEPHARDIM or SEPHARDI, and those things associated with the SEPHARDIM including names, customs, genealogy and religious rites, became known as SEPHARDIC. Sephardic names were well developed in Aragon by the year 1213. (Note reference 22, below.) Many of the names were of Hebrew derivation. A much lesser number were composed of a first name and a geographic location, many times the result of conversion.

The Jewish nation in Iberia, numbering approximately 750,000 in the year 1492, were banished from Spain by royal decree of Ferdinand and Isabella. (Ferdinand's grandmother was Jewish.) (For a description of the 1492 expulsion as written in 1495, see the link in Section IV, Lore) The Jews of Portugal, were banished by royal decree several years later. Relief from the banishment decrees and restoration of civil rights was promised to those Jews who remained and converted to Catholicism. These converts were called CONVERSOS or MARRANOS (converts or pigs in Spanish) and ANUSIM (forced ones in Hebrew). Some of the Jewish population converted in name only, other converted by choice. All of the Jews, whether those who left the country with their Jewish religious beliefs intact, and those that were converted are described as being SEPHARDIM or being of SEPHARDIC heritage.

Many of the SEPHARDIM left Spain after conversion because life as a "new Christian" or Marrano was not as promised. "Clean Blood" laws were established to deny the "new Christian" the same civil rights as the "old Christian". Many left the Iberian peninsula where some reverted, and others did not. The converted population that remained under the influence of Spanish or Portuguese control or the control of countries heavily influenced by the Catholic Church could not openly revert to Judaism for fear of punishment inflicted by the inquisition. The punishment for reversion or secret adherence varied from humiliation to death by fire. Many Hispanics today practice Jewish customs without knowing the source. Many are still secret Jews.

The Sephardic Jews escape to America in 1492

The history of the Jews in the Americas dates back to Christopher Columbus and his first trip crossing the Atlantic was on 3 August 1492, when he left Spain and eventually "discovered" the New World. Your departure date was also the day when the Catholic Monarchs Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon decreed that the Jews of Spain either had to convert to Catholicism, depart the country or face death for defiance of the monarch .

There were at least seven Jews (or crypto-Jews, Marranos, or sincere Jewish converts to Catholicism) who sailed with Columbus on his first voyage including Rodrigo de Triana, who was first to sight land (Columbus later assumed credit for this), Hernan Cortez, Maestre Bernal, who served as the expedition's doctor, and Luis de Torres, the interpreter, who speaks Hebrew and Arabic, which was believed would be useful in the East - their destination. Another Jewish Viceroy Don Luis de Carvajal introduced over 200 families of Jews to America, brought in from Portugal sarpado vessels on their way to New Spain dela settlements.

LUIS DE CARVAJAL FUNDA EL REINO DE LEON (Monterrey La capital De Los Judios)

Luis de Carvajal the Younger was the nephew and designated heir named the first governor of Nuevo Reino de Leon. Possibly the largest tract of land granted by Spain to anyone, (360,000 square leagues) The Lands of the Kingdom of Leon was given by Philip II and was extended from eastern Mexico through the southwestern USA.
(See below map)




















When Luis learned that he was a Jew, the impact on him was enormous. A man of culture, literature and the verses he knew how to play the harp and sing, knew several languages and possessed a great spirit, Luis was unable or unwilling to hide their faith. It was around that could convince anyone to observe the "law of Moses"; prayers attributed to him are recited to inquisitors of a century after his subsequent death of the victims. He was arrested, and cells become Inquisitions his cell mate, a monk, to Judaism.

He also changed his name to Joseph Lumbroso: Joseph after the biblical dreamer, since Luis also has inspired dreams and Lumbroso which means the Enlightened One. After his first arrest, torture and imprisonment - knowing that a second arrest meant the game - not to yield. Jose Luis was denounced by a new one. His second arrest was marked with religious pride and perseverance that made its mark even in his executioners. The suicide attempt, hoping to escape the allegation and others under torture. He discussed those sent to convert him eloquence, knowledge and spirit. More info on Luis de Carvajal HERE.

This map shows the nearly 200,000 Spanish Jews who went into exile in Portugal, northern Europe and the entire Mediterranean basin were called Sepharades or Sephardim, based on the Hebrew name for Spain.

This summary of the countries the Jews were expelled from helps trace our ancestry through Europe.

70 Jews defeated in Judea by Romans, Diaspora begins, 100,000 Jewish slaves exported

673 Jews expelled from Spain
855 Jews expelled from Italy
1180 Jews expelled from France
1290 Jews expelled from England
1360 Jews expelled from Hungary
1348 Jews expelled from Germany
1348 the Black Death raged in Germany
1394 Jews expelled from France
1421 Jews expelled from Austria
1445 Jews expelled from Lithuania
1492 Jews expelled from Spain
1497 Jews expelled from Portugal
1687 Jews no longer welcome in Norway
1693 major famine in France
1710 Black Death in Denmark and Sweden

Seymour Liebman, in his seminal book The Jews of New Spain, translated the words of Father Luis Contreras walked to his fate: "He was always such a good Jew and reconciling their understanding, which was very deep and sensitive, with its very inspired Divine determination to defend the Law of Gd - the Mosaic - and to fight for it. I do not doubt that if he had lived before the Incarnation of our Redeemer, would have been a heroic Hebrew and his name would have been so famous in the Bible as are the names of those who died in defense of their rights when necessary. "

LISTS OF SURNAMES WITH USED BY SEPHARDIC JEWS WHEN THEY LANDED IN AMERICA

The names listed on this site have been identified as Sephardic by civil and religious records and creditable authors. These names have been used by Spanish and Portuguese Jews and conversos and many are found today, world wide in Hispanic and Sephardic communities and references. Some names may no longer exist in their old form. While not an expert in patronymics, some names, such as ABRAVANEL are unmistakably of Hebrew origin. Other names, such as IBN YAHIA, appear to be of Arabic origin. Still other names such as CASTRO and FRANCO appear to be of Hispanic origin, the vast majority of these names belonged to Jews at the time of expulsion. Still other names (conversion names or Christian names) were assigned to Jews at conversion, such as DE SEVILLA and SANTA MARIA. Many of these names were the family names of the Christian "sponsors".

Many of the names have been changed in the course of migration from one country to another, such as Pena to Penha. Other names have incorporated a prefix such as D', Da, De, or Do, with the surname, so that D'Avila could be spelled DAVILA. Other names normally found with a prefix, may be listed with or without the prefix. For example, d' ANDRADE, da ANDRADE, de ANDRADE, may be listed as ANDRADE or ANDRADE 'D. The following prefixes may sometime be interchangeable; Aben, Ibn, Aven, Avin and Ben. These prefixes may be found separated or attached to the stem name. It would be prudent to search for names both with and without prefixes.

One should check for variations in spelling. For example, the names Sejas, Cejas, Aceijas, Seixas, Aseixas, Acejas, Acezas, Asexas, Azeixas, and Xexas are considered variants of the same name. It should also be noted that many Sephardim who left the Iberian Peninsula and practiced Judaism, changed their names and used aliases to protect their families who remained in Spain and Portugal.

Some individuals insist that all names ending in ez in Spain and es (meaning son of) elsewhere, denote Sephardic heritage. This is may or may not be the case.

Not all individuals bearing these names may be SEPHARDIM, or of SEPHARDIC origin, nor are they necessarily Jewish or secret Jews. The authors of references from which names were extracted have identified the names as Jewish at one time.

No inference is made that Hispanics carrying the names found below are Jewish. We have added a DNA capability to explore the ethnic origin of Anusim/Sephardic/Jewish names. The names on this site are provided only as an aid to genealogical research.

Many of the references listed on this site can be obtained through your municipal public library system or through the Inter-library Loan program or purchased from a commercial firm on this site.

SEPHARDIC NAMES SEARCH ENGINE CLICK HERE

re: hhtp://www.sephardim.com

For more information go to http://www.familytreedna.com/default.aspx?c=1

Family Tree DNA is the pioneer and the world's largest DNA testing company in the new field of genetic genealogy.
If you are looking for that long-lost relative or ancestor, or if you feel that some day, someone may use a DNA repository to look for long-lost relatives, you should consider doing this simple DNA test.

Your ancestors left clues in your DNA which you can use to determine your deep ancestral origins and to link you with others in recent time. We can compare your results with our database - the largest of its kind in the world - and tell you whether those clues indicate possible Jewish ancestry and whether you match others who are Jewish. Our Jewish comparative databases are the largest in the world, containing records for Ashkenazim and Sephardim, as well as Levites and Cohanim.

Y-DNA: Males can test their Y-DNA to determine the origin of their paternal line, including the possibility of Jewish and Cohanim ancestry. Note that the Y-DNA strictly checks the paternal line, with no influence from any females along that line. Females do not receive the Y-DNA, and therefore females cannot be tested for the paternal line. If you are a female and would like to know about your paternal line, you would need to have a brother or a male relative from that line to be tested.

mtDNA: Both males and females can test their mtDNA to determine the origin of their maternal line. We compare your results with the data from the landmark study published by Dr. Doron Behar, our Chief mtDNA Scientist, and quoted by NY Times, CNN, BBC, and other major media outlets. Note that the mtDNA strictly checks the maternal line, with no influence from any males along that line. Both males and females receive the mtDNA from the mother.

Como llegaron los Judios Sefarditas a America Latina, Estados Unicos y a Mexico?

Para este enlace en Espanol http://wordsofthetorah.com/sefarditas.html

BUSQUE SU APELLIDO JUDIO SEFARDITA

OPRIMA AQUI

Que es la comida Cashrut o Kosher?

 QUE ES COMIDA CASHRUT o KOSHER?

El cashrut (del hebreo כַּשְׁרוּת, "correcto" o "apropiado"; aquello que cumple con los preceptos del cashrut es casher, כָּשֵׁר, conocido también por su pronunciación en yídish, kósher) es la parte de los preceptos de la religión judía que trata de lo que los practicantes pueden y no pueden ingerir, basado en los preceptos bíblicos del Levítico 11. Tales reglas, interpretadas y expandidas a lo largo de los siglos, determinan con precisión qué alimentos se consideran puros, es decir, cuáles cumplen con los preceptos de la religión y cuáles no son casher (éstos últimos se llaman, en hebreo, trefá, טְרֵפָה).
Usualmente se asocia la idea de cashrut con dos de las costumbres alimenticias de los judíos: la que establece que los cárnicos no deben ser consumidos al mismo tiempo que los lácteos; y la que prohíbe a los judíos comer carne porcina en cualquiera de sus formas (Levítico 11:7). Esta idea de lo que es casher es sólo parcialmente correcta, pues el concepto en realidad es mucho más vasto y se extiende a prácticamente todos los alimentos y, ciertamente, a los mencionados anteriormente.
La etiqueta casher (aunque es más frecuente la palabra kosher) que reciben ciertos productos alimenticios indica que dichos productos respetan los preceptos de la religión judía, y que por tanto se consideran puros y aptos para ser ingeridos por los practicantes de dicha religión.

Alimentos explícitamente prohibidos

La Torá permite el consumo de los animales terrestres que tienen pezuñas hendidas y rumian (estas dos características deben darse al mismo tiempo). El cerdo, la liebre, el tejón, el camello y varios animales más no cumplen ese requisito; por lo tanto, las reglas del cashrut establecen que no se deben consumir las carnes de estos animales.
De los animales acuáticos, está permitido el consumo de los que tienen aletas y escamas (estas dos características deben darse al mismo tiempo). Por lo tanto el consumo de las langostas, camarones, ostras, cangrejos, tiburón y bagre está prohibido.
En las aves, la distinción es menos clara: la Torá provee una lista explícita de aves impuras, sin explicar el por qué lo son. Aunque la mayoría son aves de rapiña o carroñeras, de modo que las interpretaciones rabínicas suelen colocar todas las aves de presa y de carroña entre las "no casher". Debido a que la definición del cashrut es menos clara con las aves, se ha generado una larga polémica entre los estudiosos del judaísmo respecto a si las aves provenientes del Nuevo Mundo (p. ej. el pavo) eran casher o no, pues éstas no son mencionadas en la Torá. En el caso del pavo, la mayoría de las opiniones se decantan en considerarla como casher, pero aun así existen opiniones encontradas en algunas corrientes.

Entre los insectos alados, algunos pocos están permitidos, como la langosta y el saltamontes, mientras que todo el resto de los insectos voladores están prohibidos. Asimismo lo están roedores, reptiles, anfibios e insectos rastreros.
Hay que notar que la prohibición se extiende a todos los productos derivados de los animales mencionados anteriormente, tales como las vísceras, leche, huevos, etc. Una notable excepción es la miel de abejas, que es considerada ampliamente como casher, mientras que las abejas en sí no lo son. Una explicación común de esto es que la miel es un producto de las flores, aunque las abejas lo almacenen en sus cuerpos y luego en sus panales. También debe considerarse que la miel es explícitamente mencionada varias veces en la Torá como un producto noble, formando parte incluso del nombre poético dado varias veces a Israel: "tierra que mana leche y miel". Cabe notar que existen opiniones afirmando que la miel referida en dicha frase es la miel de higos o dátiles, y no la miel de abeja.

Shejitá

Paquete de crema con uno de los más aceptados símbolos certificados de kosher: la U circulada.
Las reglas del cashrut establecen también que los animales permitidos deben ser matados de cierta manera para ser consumibles. Los animales que han muerto por causas naturales, con enfermedades o defectos en sus órganos internos, están prohibidos.
La matanza ritual o shejitá es efectuada por el shojet y consiste en un corte profundo y uniforme en la garganta del animal, con un cuchillo perfectamente afilado y sin defectos. No es raro que el shojet y el rabino sean la misma persona.
El propósito de este corte es que el animal sufra lo menos posible.
Desangramiento

La Torá prohíbe explícitamente el consumo de sangre, de modo que los animales y sus carnes deben ser desangrados totalmente antes de ser consumidos, salándolos. Los peces están exentos de esta regla.
La prohibición se extiende a otros alimentos: una mancha de sangre en un huevo lo convierte en no casher o taref.

Grasas y órganos prohibidos

Ciertas partes de los animales considerados como casher están prohibidos, en particular, las grasas que se encuentran alrededor de los órganos vitales y del hígado, así como el nervio ciático. En algunas comunidades judías solamente se consumen los cuartos delanteros de los animales para evitar que se trate de carne o grasas que no son kosher.
Símbolos de identificación para el consumidor

Los productos alimenticios comerciales sujetos a inspección rabínica se identifican por símbolos de acuerdo a la institución que realiza la inspección. Se denominan Hejsher. Por ejemplo:
Una letra U encerrada en un círculo. Responde a la Unión Ortodoxa, es uno de los más aceptados en el mundo.
Diversos diseños con la letra K (de kosher) rodeada de otras letras, gráficos o símbolos.

Separación de cárnicos y lácteos

La Torá expresa explícitamente y en varias oportunidades que "un cabrito no debe ser cocido en la leche de su madre" (Éxodo 23:19; Éxodo 34:26; Deuteronomio 14:21). Esta afirmación se extiende a la idea que los lácteos y los cárnicos provenientes de mamíferos no deben ser consumidos juntos. Aunque las fuentes rabínicas han extendido la prohibición también hacia los lácteos y las aves. Está permitido consumir pescado y lácteos, o huevos y lácteos al mismo tiempo.

Los alimentos se clasifican en: lácteos, cárnicos y neutros (Parve). Las aves se clasifican como cárnicos pese a no cumplir la norma de ser carne de animal rumiante de pezuña hendida. Los peces se clasifican como neutros. Los alimentos neutros pueden ser consumidos tanto con lácteos como con cárnicos.

Aunque con respecto a los pescados hay quienes no los comen juntamente con carnes (de animales o de aves) y acostumbran a lavar los utensilios con los que se ha comido pescado antes de utilizarlos para comer carnes.
La separación se aplica también para los utensilios utilizados para prepararlos. Se asume que la cocina perteneciente a una familia judía practicante tiene un juego de sartenes, cucharas, platos y hasta fregadero dedicados a los platillos hechos a base de lácteos, y otra completa para los cárnicos y aves.
La separación entre el consumo de unos y otros varía en función de la corriente del judaísmo a la que el comensal pertenezca, y de cuál se consuma primero. Si se consumen carnes primero, se prohíbe el consumo de lácteos durante varias horas, pues se considera por tradición que las carnes suelen dejar residuos en los dientes.
Si se consume lácteos primero, para consumir carnes basta limpiarse la boca, y consumir algún alimento sólido como el pan según algunas corrientes, en otras es necesario dejar pasar un pequeño período. Salvo en el caso que el lácteo sea del tipo untuoso y deje residuos en los dientes.
Como con el resto de los alimentos, una cantidad ínfima de lácteo convierte a un platillo en completamente lácteo según las reglas del cashrut, igualmente con los cárnicos.

Utensilios

Los utensilios de cocina son también considerados dentro de las reglas del cashrut. Como se mencionó anteriormente, el contacto de cierta clase de alimento (ya sea lácteo o cárnico) con los platos, cucharas, vasos, sartenes, etc., los convierte en exclusivos para la clase de alimento que los toque. Cualquier utensilio (por ejemplo, para carnes) que llegue a entrar en contacto con la otra clase (los lácteos), se convierte en no casher e inapto para servir a la cocina.
Los observantes de la norma casher deben tener mucho cuidado para evitar que ambas clases de utensilios se arruinen mutuamente, incluso en el instante de lavarlos.

Productos de la vid

El proceso de elaboración del vino debe ser llevado a cabo en su totalidad por judíos, desde el momento en que se pisan las uvas; esta prohibición se remonta a la época en la cual el vino era utilizado en el culto a los ídolos. Un vino que había sido usado en libación era llamado "Iain Nesej", por lo cual comienza a regir la prohibición de que cualquier idólatra (incluso si era judío) que tocara el vino ya lo impurificaba para su consumo, porque podría haber planeado utilizarlo como idolatría y eso ya era suficiente para inutilizarlo para su consumo.
Hoy en día, a pesar de que no es tan común la idolatría, la prohibición sigue en pie, por ello existe el "Iain Mevushal", vino hervido o pasteurizado, que no se impurifica al tacto de un idólatra, y que es el que comúnmente se emplea en los ritos judíos.
Por ello todos los productos derivados de la uva requieren certificación rabínica.

El uso de la sal

La carne para ser considerada Casher no debe contener sangre, por lo cual pasa por un proceso de salado y lavado para ser apta para el uso. Hoy en día la carne Casher se vende mayormente con el proceso de salado hecho.

Lista de animales impuros

Esta es la lista de animales que son considerados impuros.
águila
buitre
camaleón
camelidos (Camello y Llama)
caracol
cerdo
murciélago
cigüeña
cisne
cormorán
cuculidae
buitre quebrantahuesos
leporídae (liebre y conejo)
mochuelo
mustela nivalis
hurón
pelícano
ratón
sauria
topo
Otros animales impuros


abulón
almeja
ardilla
asno
ballena
caballito de mar
cacatúa
calamar
camarón
cangrejo
canguro
cebra
cocodrilo
cuervo
delfín
elefante
erizo
estrella de mar
gato
guepardo
gusano
hormiga
langosta
lince
lobo
loro
Mantarraya
medusa
mono
ornitorrinco
oso
pantera
perro
pingüino
rata
serpiente
equidna
tiburón
tigre
tortuga
wombat
zorro