As mentioned last time, the Seneor family were from the upper class of Castilian society at the time of the expulsion. Slight correction: I erroneously wrote that Shlomo Seneor was a brother of the famed Abraham Seneor, but he was more than likely a nephew considering the age difference.
As mentioned in the previous installment, during the period of the expulsion Abraham Seneor (1412-1493) stayed behind, formally converted to the Catholic faith and changed his surname to Coronel. The Coronels were apparently Conversos (pejoratively referred to as Marranos, living outwardly as Catholics but practicing Judaism in secret). One of his grandsons eventually fled to Amsterdam and reverted back to the Jewish faith. Eventually some members of this family made their way to the Land of Israel where they still reside. The man who really put the Israeli branch of the Coronel family on the map appears to have been the remarkable rabbi and scholar Nachman Nathan Coronel (1810-1890). One of his descendants was the Jerusalem-born Member of Knesset David Coren (1917-2011). (The surname had obviously been shortened at some point.)
As late as 2007, an article in the Haaretz newspaper about a gathering of Judesmo (Ladino) speakers contained this intriguing passage:
“There was a descendant of Abraham Senior, who as everyone familiar with the expulsion of the Jews from Spain knows was the rabbi who gave in to pressure from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella and converted to Christianity. Senior’s Jerusalem progeny is, of course, a completely observant Jew, bubbling with good cheer, who called out Ladino proverbs from his seat in the front row.”
This unnamed descendant is in fact the aforementioned former member of Knesset, David Coren, who died several years later in 2011.
By Joel S. Davidi Weisberger
Joel S. Davidi Weisberger runs “Luach Libekha, Tablet Of Your Heart” (formerly Jewish History Channel), a grassroots group dedicated to the dissemination of Jewish history and culture (find them on Facebook). You can also get to know him at the wonderful Cong. Beth Tefillah in Paramus, NJ, where he serves as an assistant. He resides with his wife and son in Fair Lawn and would love to hear from you at [email protected].
