Sep 6, 2018 By: stwersky
Dr. Ronnie Perelis is the Chief Rabbi Dr. Isaac Abraham and Jelena (Rachel) Alcalay Associate Professor of Sephardic Studies and director of The Rabbi Arthur Schneier Center for International Affairs.
This past August, he presented at two academic forums in Mexico while he was in the country to continue his research into the rediscovered manuscripts of Luis de Carvajal, which comprise the religious writings of a 16th-century secret Jew in colonial Mexico.
On August 8, Dr. Perelis gave a joint presentation with his research partner, Dr. Jesus De Prado Plumed of the department of history at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), to the Golden Age Literature Seminar at UNAM, directed by Dr. Raquel Barrag谩n, Institute for Philological Research, titled 鈥淓l regreso del manuscrito pr贸digo: nuevas perspectivas de investigaci贸n tras el redescubrimiento de los manuscritos de Luis de Carvajal (鈥淛os茅 Lumbroso鈥), pensador criptojud铆o novohispano鈥 [鈥淭he Return of the Prodigal Manuscript: new perspectives on the newly recovered writings of Luis de Carvajal (鈥淛os茅 Lumbroso鈥), a crypto-Jewish thinker in Sixteenth Century Mexico.鈥漖.
On August 9, Dr. Perelis visited a restored Ashkenazi synagogue in Mexico City鈥檚 historic center known as 鈥淟a Sinagoga Justo Sierra鈥 at the invitation of director Monica Unikel. 鈥淭he Jews who lovingly built this synagogue in the 1940s left the neighborhood long ago,鈥 said Dr. Perelis. 鈥淏ut many Jews still have their stores in the area, and there is a kosher restaurant providing delicious food, a mixture of Mexican and Syrian standards.鈥
The restoration efforts have both preserved the historical significance of this synagogue and placed it within the network of other important buildings in the area dating back to colonial times. It now has a new life as a space for cultural events and classes, and community building. 鈥淚t is a great example of how something so local can become a conduit for a more global encounter and how the past can anchor us as we navigate the future.鈥
On his last day in Mexico City, Dr. Perelis gave a class on the history of the Jews of Mexico during the colonial period to members of Rabbi Marcos Meta鈥檚 Torah study program, Tor谩 VaDaat, that is part of the Monte Sina铆 Syrian Jewish Community. 鈥淚 am very excited to share my research with members of Mexico City鈥檚 vibrant Jewish community because I believe that Carvajal鈥檚 story speaks to contemporary religious concerns. In particular, Carvajal holds a special place in the imagination of local Jews who see him as a forerunner of their own, and very different, Mexican-Jewish life.鈥
Dr. Perelis added that 鈥渢his trip to Mexico inaugurates the Diasporas Project at the Schneier Program in International Relations. The Schneier program will sponsor cultural events, scholarly conferences and student research and service programs exploring the complex realities of life in a global age.鈥
The following week, he presented at Fordham University as part of the Early Modern Workshop鈥檚 annual conference. He spoke about the 鈥淚nquisitorial Prison as a site of Cross-Cultural Encounter: the Case of Manuel Cardoso de Macedo aka Abraham Pelengrino Guer.鈥
Other recent accomplishments include an in iMex Revista, edited by Jacobo Sefam铆 and Matthias Lehman, titled 鈥淩eimagining the Sagrada Familia: Family and Faith in the life of Luis de Carvajal, e Mozo (Mexico, 1590鈥檚),鈥 and an article in Religious Changes and Cultural Transformations in the Early Modern Western Sephardic Communities (edited by Yosef Kaplan, Brill, forthcoming 2018) titled 鈥淧rison Revelations and Jailhouse Encounters: Inquisitorial prisons as places of Judaizing activism and cross-cultural exchange.鈥
