A Tribute to my Grandmother
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Please allow me to pay tribute to the my late paternal grandmother, 'Maria Helena de Souza Velho Pimentel' - I'm proud to be her grandson!. She was born on the Azorean island of 'São Miguel'. In 1996, I began to research the possibility of Jewish roots in my family, and during the course of my research, I soon realized that my grandmother observed a number of rituals that were consistent with those observed in Jewish families today! Through consultations with my father, it immediately became clear that rituals she observed in her lifetime were not 'Christian', as we always believed, but Jewish! I still remember how she used to implore us to 'kiss the bread', if it fell on the floor, or how she would light candles for 'baby Jesus' every friday night (lighting candles for 'baby Jesus', was a clever crypto-Jewish trick that was used so as not to arouse the suspicion of Catholic neighbours). I also learned from my father, that grandma would cover up the mirrors in her home for a certain period of time when someone in the family passed away. My maternal grandmother, 'Maria Boa Nova Pereira Medeiros' did that as well, and there is compelling evidence that she descended from Jewish lineage as well! This is something that I also found most interesting: My grandmother's parents lived within close proximity to a church, and yet they hardly ever attended! A stark contradiction to the regular church going regimen of devout Portuguese Catholics. Furthermore, I was told that my grandmother's father 'João de Souza Velho', was the 2nd or 3rd cousin of the famous American marching band leader, 'John Phillip Souza', son of Marrano parents. Some Saturdays, my grandmother and my aunt would enthusiastically proclaim, 'Sábado é o Dia da Glória', meaning, 'Saturday is the Lords Day'. I discovered that this saying was common among the Portuguese Crypto-Jews. There is ample evidence that my grandmother was a descendant of 'Conversos/New Christians'. That fact that she observed bonified Jewish practices, is proof positive that a great effort was made in her family to secretly keep their Jewish faith alive. Even my late aunt 'Adriana Pimentel Lima Augusto', observed the same traditions/rituals - she adopted them from my grandmother! It is a well known fact that many Jewish traditions were passed down from mother to daughter, throughout the generations. When I was growing up, the above mentioned rituals and traditions seemed rather insignificant to me, but of course, I was too young to know any better. I don't believe that my grandmother knew of her Jewish roots, and if she did, she certainly never said so, however, it is certainly possible that my great-grandparent's did. Had I not embarked on my own personal, 'Journey of Self Discovery', it's likely that I would have never known about my family's Jewish heritage. My father, 'Manuel Jacinto Furtado Pimentel', was very helpful with the family information, but I would be remiss if I didn't credit you, prima Rufina, for all the patience, guidance and support you always eagerly provided! May the B'nai Anussim, descendants of the Conversos, continue to honour the memory of their ancestors - long live the Sephardim! AdeusShalom, http://www3.sympatico.ca/geoles
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E-mail: Rufina Bernardetti Silva Mausenbaum