The Jewish Home | AUGUST 4, 2022
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The Miracle of Jewish Survival
T
he Navi Yeshayah calls out, “Your heart will muse in dread, ‘Where is the one who counts? Where is the one who weighs? Where is one who counts [all these] towers?’” (Yeshayah 33:18). Where can one locate the scribe, where can one locate the analyst? Who can possibly describe the full extent of the pain, the overwhelming burdens of suffering, the bottomless grief, that has been brought upon our people? Are there words? Are there expressions that can capture the tragic saga of our history? The answer is no. There are no words. To borrow the phrase from the Vidui on Yom Kippur, “What can we say … what can we tell?”
Burned at the Stake
June 30, 1680, marked the celebration of the marriage of King Charles II of Spain and his French bride, Marie Louise d’Orléans. This most historic marriage merited fabulous festivities. A magnificent auto-da-fé was held in Madrid, with victims gathered from Inquisition tribunals all across Spain. A seventeen-year-old girl, Francisca Negueyra, was one of the eighteen Marranos
condemned to die at this event. As was the custom, the mournful procession of terrified victims and “holy” clergymen snaked its way through the city streets past great multitudes of joyous onlookers. The procession entered the main city square, where pyres had been prepared for the executions. The king and queen were joined by hundreds of dignitaries, who were seated all around the public square. Suddenly, the voice of the young girl rang out, loud and clear, breaking the eerie silence. “Have mercy, Madame Queen! How can I renounce the faith that I drank in with my mother’s milk?” The young girl’s cries could have pierced a heart of stone. But there was no response at all from the Catholic majesties. They sat on their thrones impassively. The ceremony proceeded. King Charles II took the oath to annihilate the enemies of the church and to always provide any needed aid to the Inquisition. A lit torch was then placed in his hand, and he ignited the pyre with his own hand. The king and queen remained seated as the flames rose up, engulfing the entire wood structure, their hearts
