Jews of Spain -- Feedback needed.

[QuoVadisNation]

Plotinus is correct. The question asks for the specific influence of that faith within a specific nation during a specific time, not the general overview of their religion mixed in with some elements of spanish history.

But seriously, I like it but you need to watch for bias If it's a historical essay, leave any noticable bias behind. But then again, it also depends on whehter this is a college historical essay or a high school one? In which case, it's fine.

 

[amirsan]

Its a high school one I have made some changes, mostly all of what Plotinus has suggested aswell as moving my Thesis to the top of the essay.

I edited the first post, go check it out and tell me any more changes at the moment I should make.

This is my first draft and I plan on going straight to my final draft with all the changes since I have to get it printed tommorrow night. Therefore I have exactly only less then 7 hours to finish this.

As much feedback as possible. Showing me the grammatical errors THE EXACT SAME WAY Plotinus is perfect. Thanks guys!

 

[amirsan]

also, please tell me where specifically you suspect bias. Thanks for pointing that out QuoVadisNation

 

[Plotinus]

It’s certainly looking better. Here are a couple more pointers.

“impacted a role” – you don’t impact a role. Should be either “played a role” or “made an impact”.

“evangestic” should be “evangelistic”.

Don’t say “and/or” – that’s shorthand. I think you just mean “and”.

“whom was the physician” – again you mean “who”. “Whom” is the object, that is, when it is having something done to it. So “Who did this?” but “You did it to whom?”

“…from that of men, however it is still equal” – don’t use a comma as you have here, to turn two separate sentences into one (this is sometimes known as “comma-splicing” and is an increasingly common error these days). Use a semi-colon, or better still, make it two sentences – “…from that of men. However, it is still equal.”

“Many believe that throughout history…” – you have the word “that” appearing twice here. Get rid of one of them, preferably the second one.

“the early 1200’s” – never use an apostrophe in a plural. It should be “the early 1200s”. However, you should never talk about “the 1200s” in any case, because it is ambiguous. It really means the years 1200-1209, but Americans now commonly use it to mean the entire thirteenth century. To avoid ambiguity say “the early thirteenth century” since this is presumably what you mean.

“If upon refusal they were most likely sold as slaves or killed.” – this isn’t a sentence. It should be “If they refused…” or just “Upon refusal…”

“…things looked very badly…” – “badly” is an adverb, so things can’t look it. You mean “things looked very bad”.

“…there is much to prove that” – you can’t actually prove this. You mean there is much evidence supporting this theory.

I still think you need to focus a bit more on medieval Spain and give some more concrete evidence for the role of the Jews. As I said, you should mention some more names from the period and say briefly what they did, as you did for Hasdai ibn Shaprut. You should give his dates and those of anyone else you mention. Like I say, Maimonides is an obvious person to mention. And you’ll get marked down if you claim that Christians think God is male!

 

[QuoVadisNation]

Well, bias is a tricky subject when according to historical essays. I personally find it acceptable to base a conclusion on subjective grounds, (because that’s unavoidable) but you shouldn’t judge a character on their individual creed (or beliefs) but rather their actions which affected the greater history. Don’t introduce individuals simply because they were Jewish, you have to emphasize what they did and how it influenced society within that specific time frame, even if it was meant to be implied all ready from sources outside your paper.

“Many believe Christopher Columbus was a Jew, and there is much to prove that. One of the relevant evidence would be the coincidence of his very first passage in his diary:”

Okay, but how about something like “The influences of Jewish followers within Spain, despite morbid xenophobia existing within this time frame, additionally helped lead Spain into the direction of the kingdom’s dominant status as a European superpower for the next two hundred years. Christopher Columbus is widely accepted as the ‘discoverer’ of the new world and brought a hand into this by bringing back incredible amounts of treasures to the kingdom of Spain. Yet, not many people know that he was, in possible belief, a reportedly confirmed Jew in which he emphasizes traces of the belief in Judaism ….. “quote”,

It’s also imperative that you explain the quote as well, sometimes the quote doesn’t speak for itself. Also, the paragraph I suggested is kind of weird, simply because I'm not sure how to write good paragraphs without a feel for the solid thesis. Sorry about that, but hopefully it'll give you some examples.

Grammer, who needs it? All I need is spell check.

 

[Thorgalaeg]

Soon after, the two large factions of northern Iberia united creating the Spanish nation-state of Ferdinand and Isabella. They defied the Muslim power and slowly drove them away from Spain until they were finally driven out from their last fortification in Grenada in 1492.

This sounds a bit... disparated. The Reconquista started in Iberia seven centuries before Isabela and Ferdinand times. When they married Spain was entirelly christian(excepting Granada, so eastern Andalucia) since centuries before. They only conquered Granada.

 

[Drakan]

.
“...it would be a mistake...to ascribe to Roman legal conceptions an undivided sway over the development of law and institutions during the Middle Ages... The Laws of Moses as well as the laws of Rome contributed suggestions and impulse to the men and institutions which were to prepare the modern world; and if we could have but eyes to see... we should readily discover how very much besides religion we owe to the Jew.” – President Woodrow Wilson, The State.

The whole text is pretty much biassed in favour of the Jews.

As for Roman Law, I can tell you as a Lawyer, that I see no jewish inffluence whatsoever in European Law IMH. As a matter of fact, one of the subjects every law student in Europe, not only Spain, studies is a subject called Roman Law. Continental Law comes directly from the Corpus Iuris Civilis. Civil Law is basically Roman Law. Except for the Anglosaxon law system which follows the Case Law. So it doesn't matter if president Woodrow said this, Spanish Law and European Law come from Roman Law. I'm afraid I just cannot see any trace of Jewish law in our code books. And I seriously doubt any law student, law teacher, lecturer or whom ever can make such a far fetched claim.

In Europe our whole culture is based upon three pillars: Romans, Greeks and Christianity.

As Thorgalaeg points out, La Reconquista started in the thirteenth century, in the Covadonga caves, two centuries before the Catholic Kings.

And with all due respect, the jews are not famous in Spain for their talents in medicine, science etc...The jews were businessmen and lent money at huge interests. In fact, that is why the Catholic Kings expelled them from Spain, because they just owed them huge amounts of money from war loans they could not repay.

The medievel arabs on the other hand enlightened the whole of Europe during the Califato de Córdoba. Cordoba city had more population on the 12th century than it has today. The Arabs are widely reknown for their contributions to the arts, astyronomy, maths, sciemce, warfare, poetry etc the list is neverending. I'm afraid I cannot recall a single jewish name of a famed medievel scholar in Spain. Portraying the Jews in Spain as the intellectuals and acting as the only science beacon in Humanity in those days is unrealistic to say the least. For every jewish name you give me I'll give you twenty arab names only in Spain at the time.

I'm really sorry, but in all our history books I doubt you'll find any names of Jews famous for their artistic contributions. Fernando de Rojas, author of La Celestina, comes to mind, but I believe he was a convert jew. The Arab contribution was by far and large lightyears ahead of the jewish one, not only in medieval Spain but in Europe in those times.

I'm more pro jewish than arab myself, but one just has to know were credit is due in each case. It's difficult not to be biassed in History, but your text is a clear example of being a Jewish propaganda pamphlet. You can flame me for what I've written but I belive I'm being very neutral.

 

[Plotinus]

[Drakan] I think that a lot of European culture is also based on northern European cultures - the Scandinavian and Germanic. There was a myth put about at the Renaissance that only the Greeks and Romans had done anything for civilisation, and while their contribution was obviously huge it's important not to let the Florentines pull the wool over our eyes! After all, we're discussing this in a Germanic language. Going more on topic, you ought to have at least heard of Maimonides, a major Jewish Spanish philosopher. But still you may be right to say that the Muslims made more of a contribution to medieval Spain. This is why I think armisan needs to quantify his statements more: give more examples, say who these people were and what they did. Compare the contribution of Jews under the Muslims to that of the Christians (the Mozarebs) during the same period.

 

[Drakan]

Yes sorry, I'd forgotten about Maimonides, you're completely right of course. I'm sure there are many other relevant jewish names, but the bottomline is that they are far outweighed by their Arab counterparts, at least in Spain at that time.

Hmm, scandinavian and germanic inffluence, very interesting. As much as I admire them deeply I still hold true that Greeks and Romans have the lion share. I have to think of Nietzsche to focus on northern inffluence in Europe. Perhaps being half Spaniard makes me biassed towards the mediterranean cultures. Visigoths were quite inffluential in Spain. And we have many germanic law institutions in our legal codes, that's true.

IIRC all Spanish surnames ending in -ez are of germanic (i.e. visigothic origin) such as: González, Fernández, López...which are all fairly abundant throughout Spain. I'm sure Thorgalaeg can expand on this point, he's much more lectured than myself.

My own first real name in life is of clearly germanic (teutonic) origin. Anyways, Germans and British are amongst my five most admired nations of all times.

 

[Thorgalaeg]

As Thorgalaeg points out, La Reconquista started in the thirteenth century, in the Covadonga caves, two centuries before the Catholic Kings.

Surely you mean in the 8th century. Don Pelayo started the Reconquista in 718 winnig the battle of Covadonga against the arab leader Alcama. In the 13th century Spain was yet christian from the north to Cadiz. Isabel and Fernando married at 1470.

 

[amirsan]

The whole text is pretty much biassed in favour of the Jews.

As for Roman Law, I can tell you as a Lawyer, that I see no jewish inffluence whatsoever in European Law IMH. As a matter of fact, one of the subjects every law student in Europe, not only Spain, studies is a subject called Roman Law. Continental Law comes directly from the Corpus Iuris Civilis. Civil Law is basically Roman Law. Except for the Anglosaxon law system which follows the Case Law. So it doesn't matter if president Woodrow said this, Spanish Law and European Law come from Roman Law. I'm afraid I just cannot see any trace of Jewish law in our code books. And I seriously doubt any law student, law teacher, lecturer or whom ever can make such a far fetched claim.

In Europe our whole culture is based upon three pillars: Romans, Greeks and Christianity.

As Thorgalaeg points out, La Reconquista started in the thirteenth century, in the Covadonga caves, two centuries before the Catholic Kings.

And with all due respect, the jews are not famous in Spain for their talents in medicine, science etc...The jews were businessmen and lent money at huge interests. In fact, that is why the Catholic Kings expelled them from Spain, because they just owed them huge amounts of money from war loans they could not repay.

The medievel arabs on the other hand enlightened the whole of Europe during the Califato de Córdoba. Cordoba city had more population on the 12th century than it has today. The Arabs are widely reknown for their contributions to the arts, astyronomy, maths, sciemce, warfare, poetry etc the list is neverending. I'm afraid I cannot recall a single jewish name of a famed medievel scholar in Spain. Portraying the Jews in Spain as the intellectuals and acting as the only science beacon in Humanity in those days is unrealistic to say the least. For every jewish name you give me I'll give you twenty arab names only in Spain at the time.

I'm really sorry, but in all our history books I doubt you'll find any names of Jews famous for their artistic contributions. Fernando de Rojas, author of La Celestina, comes to mind, but I believe he was a convert jew. The Arab contribution was by far and large lightyears ahead of the jewish one, not only in medieval Spain but in Europe in those times.

I'm more pro jewish than arab myself, but one just has to know were credit is due in each case. It's difficult not to be biassed in History, but your text is a clear example of being a Jewish propaganda pamphlet. You can flame me for what I've written but I belive I'm being very neutral.

Meh, this post seems much more biased now. Remember the ten commandments? They are spread by the Jews, and played a large role in lawmaking but even more in regular morals of an individual.

Might I add you said it yourself, Christianity is basically Judaism with more scripture. Christian bible carries the same Jewish Bible therefore spreads Jewish belief to many parts of the world. There are main differences, however still in core, christianity is a large sect of Judaism.

Lol, they were famed for thier sciences, literacy and trade. Expecially literacy and trade however there were also many famous doctors, I put some references, however your post leads me to believe I should put more evidence and references.

I never downplayed the Arabs in the report, I actually mentioned them as working alongside the Jews. Remember, this report is about Jews, not Arabs. If it was about Arabs then I would mention that long list you mentioned.

Now I dont know what exactly you are trying to prove here. Are you telling me that I, writing this essay, have no point in doing so? I dont understand.

 

[amirsan]

Ok, I am rephrasing QuoVadisNation's passage about christopher columbus... however... do you think I should exclude it completely? Do you think it drives me away from the topic by starting a new topic in the conclusion, which is a bad thing?

 

[LouLong]

First Thorgalaeg corrected the "bugs" about Christian Reconquista and Politnus about your historical approach of divinity.

Then albeit I haven't read completely all the answers, I would like to point out a few things :

- you never mentionned once the term "Sefarads" which is actually the name of the Jews who were in Spain at that time.
- Spanish Golden Age ranges from 1492 to the end of the XVIth century. Therefore Jews had no impact in it. Actually the catholic church motivated the monarchs in telling them the new world had been given to them by (the Christian) God for throwing out the Jews of Spain.
- Not all of them went to Ottoman lands. Many went to North Africa (until 1962 for Algeria) and many went to Italy, especially the Papal States (as surprising as it may seem).
- Jews are important in regard to written culture and urban culture. Their craftsmanship in jewelry and banking (exemples) is not because of any ethnic or religious specificity but because they were mostly forbidden from owning land but were allowed money-lending (which was officially forbidden to the Christians). So they "had" to become specialists in these fields. Besides, their knwoledge of writing and their family networks helped a lot in banking.
- Jewish religion is actually AFAIK the one who has the strongest influence on social literacy which is extremely important for arts such as medicines,etc... that need the compiling of informations over many generations. Some of the "conversos" (converted Jews) were, probably thanks to this tradition, among the top "Christian" writers and clerics ! of later times.
- sometimes religion was mixed with magic as in the Kabbala which influenced (wrongly would I dare to say) many people in later times.

To be honest I think your essay sounds a bit like an elegiac (english ?) of Jews there and then. As much as I think they had important influences your essay sounds to me too positive to be true...

 

[amirsan]

I respect your post LouLong, here are my answers:

- you never mentionned once the term "Sefarads" which is actually the name of the Jews who were in Spain at that time.

Good point.

- Spanish Golden Age ranges from 1492 to the end of the XVIth century. Therefore Jews had no impact in it. Actually the catholic church motivated the monarchs in telling them the new world had been given to them by (the Christian) God for throwing out the Jews of Spain.

Many jews were bankers and infact were very wealthy. Instead of taxing the Jews for years, the monarchs decided to just take them out and take what they left. So thats what they did, and became very wealthy. Not to mention the conversos as you said were very wealthy aswell.

- Not all of them went to Ottoman lands. Many went to North Africa (until 1962 for Algeria) and many went to Italy, especially the Papal States (as surprising as it may seem).

Yeah, I should clarify that, but a majority of them did go to Turkey.

- Jews are important in regard to written culture and urban culture. Their craftsmanship in jewelry and banking (exemples) is not because of any ethnic or religious specificity but because they were mostly forbidden from owning land but were allowed money-lending (which was officially forbidden to the Christians). So they "had" to become specialists in these fields. Besides, their knwoledge of writing and their family networks helped a lot in banking.

How do you suppose I change my essay to agree with this?

- Jewish religion is actually AFAIK the one who has the strongest influence on social literacy which is extremely important for arts such as medicines,etc... that need the compiling of informations over many generations. Some of the "conversos" (converted Jews) were, probably thanks to this tradition, among the top "Christian" writers and clerics ! of later times.

Source? Not that I dont believe, but I think I need a bit more proof to put this in. Its a good fact to add under "development of society" section.

To be honest I think your essay sounds a bit like an elegiac (english ?) of Jews there and then. As much as I think they had important influences your essay sounds to me too positive to be true...

Huh?

 

[LouLong]

Source? Not that I dont believe, but I think I need a bit more proof to put this in. Its a good fact to add under "development of society" section.

Huh?

First part :

well, in Judaism, normally everone should be able to read a part of the Torah.
For Muslims, the Koran is more a recitation (that's what it means in Arabic) which was good in a society where literacy was rare (of course that changed a lot later).
For Christians it seems the clergy prefered to keep its privilege of knowing and reading the Bible to the others. If you add to that the fact it was in Latin...
So even if Christian literacy was often Bible-based, it was definitely not as widespread as among Jews.
Side note : Torah was often in Hebrew which was not the language they spoke (probably never was actually until the creation of Israel after WWII). But in this case it seems they were more likely to be bilingual.

About the second part, well I guess my English is not clear enough and I need to go for a few days so that will wait til then (except if a linguist can understand what I mean).

Bye,

 

[jonatas]

The jews were businessmen and lent money at huge interests.

this isn't the whole story.... the Jews were involved in various economic activities and very much belonged to the middle class... it is necessary to recognize that there was Islamic society and Christian society... in the more secular, advanced Islamic society of the time, Jews had higher status and had a higher degree of integration.... they often held the same stereotypical islamic merchant or scholarly roles as Muslims did and some even rose to such political roles as high as Vizier

also, Jews often were the cultural link between Muslims and Christians at the time, facilitating the dissemination of knowledge... they were especially known for translating philosophical and scientific treatises from Arabic into Latin languages

as the Christians expanded, prospered and grew into the middle class, they began to push the Jews more and more into moneylending... and in Christian Iberia the Jews were never integrated like they had been in Islamic Iberia and consequently suffered more stricture... so their role was definitely altered

it's important not to let the Florentines pull the wool over our eyes! After all, we're discussing this in a Germanic language. .

sure, but speakers of Germanic tongues often have their own historical blind spots

 

[amirsan]

jonatas, please respond quick, and your last post would refer to cultural exchange part correct? It is the part regarding from John adams quote until 3 paragraphs down. I am having serious trouble with this section as it needs to be totally re-written since it has nothing to do with Spain during that time... if what you said does apply then I will definately use it.

My main problem is the difficulty understanding what cultural exchange is.

 

[amirsan]

thanks so very very much to jonatas on instant messenger he has helped me understand exactly what cultural exchange and set me in the right direction for my writing. In the past three hours I have almost completely re-written the whole report pretty much except the role of women.

This is due tommorrow and I am going to finally print it tommorrow morning around 6am eastern.

IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS, THOUGHTS, OPINIONS OR SEE ANY GRAMMATICAL ERRORS, PLEASE POINT THEM OUT NOW.

Its now or never...

Thank you also to everyone here that have helped me, I have taken much advice from almost everyone especially Plotinus regarding grammer, I kept all the suggestions in mind hoping not to do the same mistakes.

Please correct me, Im off to seep.

THE NEW VERSION IS ON THE FIRST POST AND IN THE FOLLOWING POST.

 

[amirsan]

Judaism during the Moorish rule had a profound impact upon Spanish culture in the areas of society, the roles of women, and cultural exchange. It was between 800 and 1200 AD in which the Jews under the control of the tolerant Arab leaders in Spain experienced their most prosperous years in history. As the Islamic armies dominated North Africa and most of Spain a new age of opportunity in sciences, trade, and culture unwrapped for the many who lived there.

Spain was where the Jewish culture and peoples thrived at their best during the middle ages; it was their golden age. Jewish presence in the region began as early as the peak of the Roman Empire during the Diaspora; when many Jews were expelled from Israel to many parts of Europe, mainly the Iberian Peninsula. After the fall of Rome, much of Iberia fell under the Christian leadership of the Visigoths. During this time, Jews were under pressured situations in which they faced conversion, or death.

Nevertheless, this harsh time soon alleviated when the Moors took control of Spain. Many Arab and Muslim nations for a long time were known to be the ones to embrace them, which is probably why many of them were very prosperous, especially in Spain.

The Islamic society during this period in time was very secular, much less prejudice then their Christian counterparts merely miles away. Many similarities between Muslims and Jews developed a high sense of friendship between the two people. They both idealized the practice of mercantilism and scholarship as well as sharing many of the same ideals and beliefs. The Jews became so integrated into the Islamic society that Jewish citizen even became a viceroy to the Caliph; something which can be very uncommon in Christian kingdoms.

As the Jewish population in Spain became more included into Islamic society, so has their influence occupying many professions becoming a large chunk of the middle class. They excelled in arts and crafts like jewelry, goldsmiths, metal workers and silversmiths. Much of their contributions were also in the sciences, most particularly medicine. One of the most famous was a physician by the name Hasdai ibn Shaprut who treated very famous Caliphs.

Not only were the Jews skilled in crafts and sciences, but also they were scholars and deep thinkers. Some of the most famous philosophers and scholars are Maimonides, Abraham ibn Ezra, Solomon Ibn Gabirol and more. One worth mentioning above all is Maimonides. He was a famous doctor and healer, in addition to being a productive writer for his time. One of his most prominent works is the “Mishneh Torah” which is a code of Jewish Law. Although much of his work was very controversial at the time, today it is widely accepted and admired.

In Judaism, the importance and role of women is seen as for the most part separate from that of men. However it is still equal. Many to this date still misunderstand and misinterpret the role of women to a negative way. Many believe that throughout history in Judaism that women are regarded much lower then men in importance and responsibilities when in fact the position of women in the Jewish Law which dates back to ancient times is much better then many modern countries before the turn of the century.

It’s also worth noting that women played a large role in Judaism since Biblical times. Seven of the 55 prophets of the Bible were women. It is also known that one of the Judges (which is a very, very high position in Jewish law and the Bible) was a woman, Deborah and Miriam is one of the liberators of the Children of Israel from the Exodus.

In Spain the situation was very much the same. Jewish belief and ideals towards women are very much similar to those back in the day; therefore there is not much of an importance in the role of women in the Iberian Peninsula.

Medieval Iberia was in a unique situation during this time. Islamic countries were much more secular, highly advanced and very wealthy compared to their Christian neighbors. For many years, Muslims and Jews traveled throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East enhancing their trade and knowledge of the world around them.

Under the Islamic leadership, Jews, Muslims and Christians worked and learned side by side. At many occasions the Jews became the middleman between the two rivaling people. During this time, Spain was divided among the Christians and Muslims. Maintaining a high literacy record, Jews were able to bridge between Christians and Muslim and translate work most particularly from Arab scholars who were much more advance at the time to Latin.

Much of the literature translated was that of philosophy, science and technology. Jews at the time usually knew many different languages and were able to translate between each one. Works as famous and widely used today in every science lab is the Scientific Method developed by the Arabs.

Judaism has played a crucial role upon Spanish culture in the areas of society, the roles of women, and cultural exchange as well as the development of Western Civilization. Using their advanced literacy the Jews have spread the intellectual science and philosophical literature all throughout Europe by translating it so that a Christians and European scientists and philosophers can read it. This played a significant role in civilizing medieval Europe and helping it evolve from a dark age in our time to a more modern era of prosperity. If it wasn’t for them, who knows, it could have taken hundreds of more years for Christians and Europeans to advance in technology leading to a very much different world then we see today.

 

[Drakan]

Yes sorry, I stand corrected Thorgalaeg, the Covadonga battle took place in the 8th century. The Arabs invaded us in 711 an it took us seven centuries to reconquer what is now known as Spain. Naturally there were very long periods of mutual understanding between the Arabs, Christans and Jews.

I believe the Jews also excelled with the Escuela de Traducción de Toledo, which was a scholars place were venerable and doctored jews translated documents as you've pointed out already Amirsan.

And of course I'm not trying to put you off writing a good essay, it's just that I felt it was slightly biassed, that's all.

As for the money lending, i tell you when the Catholic Kings expelled the Jews from Spain it was one of the foolest mistakes in all our history. The Jews were the economic lifeblood of Spain at the time, and without them commerce, trade, and economy just plummeted to say the least.

I still remember a story of Jewish Spanish descendants who after 500 years came from the USA to the city of Toledo. They were carrying the key to the house which had been theres. And believe or not, the key fitted perfectly in the worn lock !! The american family nearly had a heartattack then. Imagine returning to a country from which your ancestors have been expelled unrightfully five centuries ago, and the key that has been passed on like a family heirloom from generation onto the next generation actually works !! Toledo is ahistoric city and many buildings, doors, structures, walls etc...are protected by law, so that explains why the house was still standing there after all this time. This came on the Spanish newspapers.

Jews were forced to become converts (anusim) or to be expelled If they held to their religion. Many Spanish surnames are really from Jewish converts. All surnames which refer to colours, trees, rivers etc were chosen by Jews as their christian surnames, such as: Rojo (remember what I posted of Fernando de Rojas ? His surname, "Rojas" is the plural of red in Spanish), Ala, Abadía, Abanillo, Abarim, Abed, Alcazar, Alcañiz, Alemán, Baltasar, Barba, Barceló, Barcelona, Baro, Barrachina, Barrionuevo, Berenguer, Belluga, Caballero, Cabeza, Cabezudo, Cabra, Cáceres, Cádiz, Caldero, Campo, Canete, Carrillo, Cazorla, Chaves, Chico, Chavariz, Chelva, Chapetel, Colombo, Correa, Dalmau, Darmon, Daroca, David, Dávila, Delgado, Díez, Domenech, Donlope, Dormido, Duarte, Elías, Elisa, Elvira, Enero, Enríquez, Escalera, Escobar, Escribá, Espíritu Santo, Espinosa, Espino, Fabib, Fadol, Fajardo, Farache, Faral, Faras, Farias, Faro, Fernandes, Ferrando, Ferrer, Ferrera, Fierro, Fuertes, Fuster, Gabirol, Galaf, Galiana, Gallego, Gallo, Gálvez, Gaona, Garcés, García, García de Moros, Garro, Gato, Gerona, Gilabert, Gil, Girol, Haro, Hasid, Hassan, Hascan, Henríques, Herrero, Herrera, Hervás, Hierro, Hospital, Hoz, Illesas, Iniesta, Ismail, Izquierdo, Jara, Jaime, Jordán, Julia, Kahn, Kayffman, Kesselman, Kohan, Krispin, La Torre, Lacalles, Laparda, Laparra, Lara, Laredo, Lauria, Leo, Lerin, Levi, Leyba, Macanas, Macia, Machado, Marqués, Mayo, Mazana, Mazín, Medina, Meir, Melero, Nadal, Nájara, Narváez, Navarro, Natanel, Negrín, Nieto, Noé, Obadia, Obrador, Olivera, Oliveros, Olivos, Olmos, Orduña, Orella, Orgaz, Ortega, Osorio, Pacheco, Padre, Padresanto, Padrón, Palache, Palma, Pardo, Paredes, Pujol, Pulgar, Querido, Quersi, Quirós, Rabatoso, Ramírez, Ramos, Ravel, Rebasa, Redó, Reina, Rossel, Rosales, Ros, Saavedra, Sabina, Sagarra, Salama, Salami, Salgado, Salom, Sánchez, Sánchez de Toledo, Sánchez de Ocaña, Sastre, Tabora, Talavera, Tamarit, Tarazona, Tejedor, Terrasa, Thomas, Toledo, Úbeda, Ulloa, Urrea, Usua, Usillo, Vaamonde, Valderrama, Valencia, Valera, Valdellós, Valeriola, Valero, Vall, Valls, Vaquero, Ventura, Zaforteza, Zaragoza, Zarco, Zayat, Zorrila, etc.

More than ten thousand Spanish surnames are of Jewish descendants, including Colom, or Christopher Columbus. And Sánchez (ending in -ez) is not of germanic origin.

As for the inffluence of the Ten Commandments in Law, as I said our legal texts drink directly from Roman and German legal institutions. The romans also forbid to kill your neighbour etc... I've never read that the Jewish religion inffluenced our law codes. But then I could be proved wrong. Good luck with your essay !

http://www.revista-raices.com/enred/enred.php?art=geneal2