BENI ANUSIM

The subject of anusim has a special place in  rabbinic literature . In normal circumstances, a person who abandons  Jewish observance , or part of it, is classified as a  meshumad . Such a person is still counted as a Jew for purposes of lineage, but is under a disability to claim any privilege pertaining to Jewish status: for example, he should not be counted in a  minyan , that is, a  quorum  for religious services. Anusim , by contrast, not only remain Jews by lineage but continue to count as fully qualified Jews for all purposes. Since the act of the original abandonment of the religion was done against the Jew's will, the Jew under force may remain a kosher Jew, as long as the  anús  keeps practising Jewish law to the best of his/her abilities under the coerced condition. In this sense, "kosher" is the rabbinic legal term applied to a Jew who adheres to rabbinic tradition and is accordingly not subject to any disqualification. Rabbinic legal opinions Se‘adyá ben Maim

  Anusim  ( Hebrew :  אֲנוּסִים ,  pronounced  [anuˈsim] ; meaning "coerced") is a legal category of  Jews  in  halakha  (Jewish law) who were forced to abandon  Judaism  against their will, typically while  forcibly converted  to another religion. The term "anusim" is most properly translated as the "coerced [ones]" or the "forced [ones]". ------------------------------------------------------- Yaffah Batya da Costa first visited  Israel  in 1992 on a Holyland tour. Although an agnostic and lapsed Catholic at the time, she had a strong desire to see the land of the Bible. But the visit turned out to be more than just a Holyland tour. It had a dramatic impact on Yaffah and marked a turning point in her life.  "I got whacked!" says Yaffah with vigor. "As soon as my feet hit the tarmac at  Ben-Gurion Airport , I began to weep and had no idea why."  F amily history   Yaffah grew up in a Catholic family in New Bedford,  Massachuse