by R. Peter Shapiro
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Palace intrigue, ethnic cleansing, murder, unrequited love, and the quest for new lands and their riches are all woven together in Michael James Kaplan's novel By Fire and By Water. The story takes place in Spain during the mid 1480's through the late 1490's in the reign of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. In that time frame four world-changing events were simultaneously occurring: the establishment of the New Inquisition in Castile and Aragon, the reconquest of Granada, the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, and Cristobal Colon's (Christopher Columbus) so-called discovery of the Western Hemisphere.

The author opined that these four events when taken together "amounted to a cataclysm, foreshadowing the collapse of the medieval economic, governmental and religious systems and the birth of the modern nation-state." The book's protagonist, Luis de Santangel, is a composite fictional character. He was the Royal Chancellor of Aragon, a widower, with a young son. As a third generation converso he was caught between competing faiths, social classes and loyalties. His problems were complicated because he was a close friend of King Ferdinand. His rival for the ear of the Monarchy was Inquisitor General Tomas de Torquemada whose power and influence over Queen Isabella allowed him to steadily increase the brutality of the Spanish church and the paranoia it inspired.

Without giving away the story, the plot line begins with Santangel's refusal to honor Colon's request to have several documents of Hebrew text translated into Spanish.  Possession of Hebrew texts could subject a converso to loss of property and/or loss of life at the hands of the Grand Inquisitor. When Santangel discovered that the texts had been hidden in his luggage he let curiosity get the better of him and had them translated by a trusted Jew. Then, against his better judgment he along and his chief aide, Felipe, the Jewish translator and a high church official subject themselves to possible sanction by the Inquisitor by studying Jewish and Christian doctrine. The Deputy Inquisitor, Pedro de Arbues, suspected Felipe of conspiring with Jews and conversos. Felipe was arrested and when tortured gave a deposition implicating the study group. Before any action could be taken the Deputy Inquisitor was murdered. The deposition was nowhere to be found.

The scene then moves to Granada, and its Jewish Quarter, situated in the shadow of the Alhambra, a castle and beautiful home of the vizier. Granada was a Spanish province controlled by the Muslims. In this phase of the story the protagonist is Judith Migdal, a Jewess who, due to a prior indiscretion, had limited marriage prospects. When her brother and sister-in-law were murdered on their way to Cairo, she became the sole breadwinner for her nephew Levi and his blind grandfather Baba Schlomo. She apprenticed with Baba Schlomo to be a silversmith, the trade at which she became very proficient. Her life, like that of Santangel, was constricted by conflicting class, religion and loyalties.  Santangel, on a mission for King Ferdinand visited the vizier, by chance met Judith and was captivated by her charms. Santangel had an expectation that they might develop a deeper relationship, notwithstanding their loyalties, class and religious differences. Judith had little interest in Santangel and no allusions that there was any future in a relationship of any kind between a converso and a Jewess.

The final phase of the novel finds King Ferdinand conquering the Muslim province of Granada. He was conflicted by differing opinions offered by others.  Fray Torquemada recommended confiscation of all Muslim lands and possessions, killing the men, raping the women and enslaving the children. Fray Talavera counseled the confiscation of all Muslim lands and possessions. If the Muslims converted to Christianity they would be provided housing in another province, if not, they would be exiled from Spain. Neither option would bode well for the Jews as the Muslims had been their compassionate rulers and protectors.

Christobal Colon won favor with Queen Isabella, and with her support traveled to and from the new world.  The Jews did not fare as well as Queen Isabella took the advice of Torquemada, the Inquisitor General, and decreed that all of the Jews' possessions were to be confiscated and they were to leave Spain. I will leave the reader to discover the fates of the Santangel and Migdal families.

The author raises several issues that foster contemplation and discussion. Two of those areas were of a personal nature to me.

A few months ago I visited Spain, and in particular Barcelona and Girona. The latter, prior to 1492, was a thriving Jewish Community and an important Kabalistic center. Today only a few Jews reside in the city and its synagogue is a museum. Barcelona, prior to 1492 was also a thriving Jewish community but unlike Girona it saw a resurgence in recent decades in its Jewish community that had been substantially decimated during the Holocaust. Today what formerly was its main Jewish Quarter is gone and what remains of the synagogue is a small two-room sub-basement museum. The existing Jewish community, now situated in the suburbs, is currently serviced by Chabad, Orthodox and Reform Synagogues.

1. Why did the Jews not complain about being treated as second class citizens and resist the confiscation of their assets and their expulsion from Spain?
2. What were the similarities and differences as to the plight of the Spanish Jews and those of the Holocaust and the motivation for their respective behavior?

In 1950, shortly after my bar mitzvah, I told my grandfather that one of the guests said he was no longer Jewish and had joined the Unitarian Church. I never forgot my grandfather's terse response. "He was born and raised Jewish and was member of our synagogue. The Jews consider him Jewish and so do those who are not Jewish. A cat can't become a dog by barking. He's Jewish."

1. Were the conversos, "New Christians", perceived as true Christians, by either/or both the Jews and the true Christians?
2. How did the perception of the true Christians and the Jews impact the conduct of the conversos?
3. Was the perception of modern day, conversos, those who converted to Christianity or Christians of mixed marriages different during the Holocaust than during the Spanish Inquisition?
4. Bearing in mind the Inquisition, subsequent pogroms, the Holocaust and Judaism's fragile existence in Europe, what lessons have we learned and what should be the role for Jews in Canada and the United States to insure a viable and stable Jewish homeland?

Please join the conversation relative to issues I have raised or others that may have occurred to you while reading By Fire and By Water.

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