The Utilization of Jewish Sources for the Reconstruction of Jewish History: Reconsidering Converso History

In The Utilization of Non-Jewish Sources for the Reconstruction of Jewish History, Ellis Rivkin warns the historian that “the documents of the Inquisition cannot be used as evidence for the religious life of the Converso, but are a source only for what the Inquisition wanted the people to believe about the Converso.” Rivkin challenges what is still one of the two prominent but dissenting schools of thought among historians of the conversos, the school that is classically represented by Yitzhak Baer and Haim Beinart. They maintained that among the conversos were significant numbers of Crypto-Jews who were loyal to Judaism, preserving secretly what they could of their traditions.

Rivkin can be viewed as a pioneer in the dissenting school, which is epitomized by Benzion Netanyahu, who believed that “the Marranos … sought to detach themselves … completely from Judaism, and attach themselves … thoroughly to other nations,” “… out of the Marranos’ free will.” Netanyahu’s methodology is heavily based on an examination of contemporary Jewish texts.

Just as drawing historical conclusions about the lives of Jews and conversos from Inquisitorial records should be done most cautiously, so should great caution be applied in the use of Jewish sources. Given the proliferation of Netanyahu’s view in the historical literature, and the presence of later historians with similar views, such as Norman Roth, it is imperative to examine the assumptions on which their conclusions are based and to bring to light some of the critical weaknesses and inaccuracies in these assumptions.