¿Existió o no Jesús, el Mesías? Did Jesus, the Messiah, exist or not?
Tras hacerse esa pregunta, cientos de cristianos colombianos se han convertido al judaísmo. Noticias Caracol devela el misterio de estos conversos que llevan la kipá y el talit. Algunos, incluso, sugieren que son descendientes de los llamados ‘marranos’, a los que la historia ubica en el siglo XV.
After taking that question, hundreds of Colombians who were Christians converted to Judaism. Noticias Caracol unraveled the mystery of these converts who wear the kippah (yarmulke) and tallit. Some even suggest that they are descendants of the so-called (marranos) ‘pigs’, which Spanish Jewish places history in the fifteenth century.
See the video (in Spanish): “¿Existió o no Jesús, el Mesías?”
To see the video with English subtitles:
Memoirs of a Jewminicana 
Clearly, the news folks wanted to do more of an attention grab with that title than think things through, but it's a really cool article! Thanks for sharing.
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Hola Aliza.
I just found your blog and I am enjoying it.
The video was very interesting. I had heard that in Antioquia there were probably a large group of descendants of forced Jewish converts. I agree with you that the title makes no sense.
The question for these people was not if Jesus existed, but if he was the Jewish messiah. Since he did not fulfill during his lifetime the expected deeds of the Moshiach, we must conclude that he was not the Jewish Messiah.
I am Catholic of Portuguese descent (the Azores island), but I have my own opinions about Judaism. I don't believe that Jesus is the Jewish messiah. I believe that he was a teacher for Christians, and that is the only sense in which he can be called an anointed one (Messiah or Christ.) That usage of the word is much different from the Jewish meaning and Christians need to be clear about that.
My own background may contain Jewish ancestors, but I would have to take a genetic test to find out. Studies done on Azoreans show that 10% of the gene pool may have Jewish components, so it is possible. I find great joy in the fact that these Colombianos have found peace in Judaism, their original faith. G-d bless them all.
But the title makes no sense at all.
David Costa
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The comments section was rather unpleasant.
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Thanks for portraying this great community in your blog. I am in constant contact with them and one of the things that hurts them is the fact that they feel so isolated from the Jewish world. Despite the kind words of the Rabbi in the clip, the Colombian Jewish communities (including his own) show little respect, admiration or love for these converts: to the point where they cannot even enter the doors of the other synagogues.
I am currently preparing the subtitles of the second installment of this series which portrays another wonderful Orthodox community in Bogotá (the one in this video is in Bello, a suburb of Medellín).
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The comments section started getting pretty nasty; these people were being called illiterate and backwards, and that they should be prayed for. I pray for their continued success and that someday soon Rabbi Gribetz will call me so I can convert!
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I can only imagine, Ruby. I'm avoiding reading the comments section of just about any article now (even mine!). The things people will write are truly scandalous!
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Really interesting video!
I don't understand though, are these converts not being accepted as Jews by the community because they don't live up to their conversion standards? Or are they just not willing to accept so many converts at once?
Either way I pray only the best for these people!
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Yello, from what I hear from sources with experience in the area, there's a lot of racism and the Jewish community there is very insular.
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Ah, but I should note that the racism goes both ways, though obviously not in the case of these righteous converts, there is animosity between the non-Jews and Jews…as well there is more places.
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In a place where the Church is a very influential influence, perhaps the Jewish community in Colombia fears danger or reprisal for embracing a large number of individuals who “defected” from Catholicism, in their view (not mine). They are likely acting out of a combination of fear, prejudice, and insularity.
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thank you for posting this video. I watched the other “regreso a las raices” also, and it really spoke to me.
I found back to Judaism after a 4 generations hiatus (which allowed my family to go through the shoah quite unscathed).
At age 17, I discovered my jewish roots and decided to “come back to the fold”. It was sometimes a quite lonely journey and I drew strength from stories about the Anussim.
I like the respect they express for people who come back to their jewish roots in “regreso a las raices”.
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