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Doña Gracia Nasi:

Chaya Sara a 16th Century Religious Zionist
Oppenheim

At the age of eighteen, Beatrice de Luna married her
uncle, Francisco Mendes-Benveniste – the most prominent
merchant in Lisbon and the undercover rabbi of the converso
community. But the marriage between Beatrice and A map of Ferrara, c.1600. (PHOTO: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
Francisco was short lived. Francisco died in 1535, leaving
Beatrice and their young daughter, Ana, behind. According
to Francisco’s will, he divided his fortune between Beatrice
and his brother, Diogo Mendes. Overnight, Beatrice Mendes
became one of the wealthiest women in the world. At the
age of 25, it became her responsibility to take over the
commercial pursuits and covert religious responsibilities
of her deceased husband.

Diogo Mendes relocated to Antwerp, the leading financial
center in Europe, where Beatrice, Ana, and Beatrice’s
sister Brianda soon joined him. As Antwerp was under
the jurisdiction of Spain, Beatrice and her family were
still forced to live as crypto-Jews for fear of being caught
by the Inquisition. Nevertheless, she began to use her
resources to design an underground network that helped
hundreds of crypto-Jews flee Spain and Portugal. The
Mendes family business owned trading ships that traveled
between Lisbon and Antwerp, and soon enough these ships
were carrying Jewish fugitives in addition to spices and
(PHOTO: BRONZINO/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
bullion. Once the crypto-Jews arrived in Antwerp, Beatrice
provided instructions and money to cross the treacherous
y the mid-1500s, most of the world knew her name:
Doña Gracia Nasi, a veritable Woman of Valor and range of the Alps to the port city of Venice. From there,
an unapologetic Jew who utilized her vast wealth transportation was arranged to bring them to the Ottoman
Bon behalf of her nation. As a businesswoman, she Empire – including the holy land of Israel.
managed an enormous company of trading ships that sailed Beatrice, the steward of immense wealth, was now a target.
across the globe, carrying spices, silver, and Jews fleeing Claims of Judaizing were brought against her dead husband
the Spanish Inquisition. Doña Gracia defied expectations Francisco Mendes in the hopes of draining Beatrice of her
by living openly as a Jew while dressed at the height of money, and she was forced to pay a large bribe to the Holy
contemporary fashion, confronting kings, emperors, popes, Roman Emperor Charles V. Considering the many suitors,
and sultans to advance the causes of the Jewish people. who, with an eye to the family’s affluence, aggressively
sought to marry Ana, Beatrice decided to relocate to Venice
Doña Gracia Nasi was born Beatrice de Luna in about 1510
in Lisbon, Portugal to a family of affluent crypto-Jews who in 1544. The family did not live in the Jewish ghetto, and
had fled the Spanish Inquisition. However, even in Portugal, instead maintained a Catholic pretense while living among
the family was forced to convert to Catholicism along with the upper class along the Grand Canal.
many others in 1497. As conversos, her family maintained an Beatrice relocated to Ferrara in 1549 where the ruler, Ercole
outward Catholic façade while secretly practicing Jewish II, Duke of Este, hoped to bring the commercial assets of
tradition. Conversos generally possessed two sets of names: the Mendes family to his city. Ferrara was home to a large
their Christian names (which were given after baptism) Sefardic community that consisted of many ex-conversos
and their Jewish names (if they maintained that identity from the Iberian Peninsula. For the first time, Beatrice
in private). At home, Beatrice was known as Gracia, the and her family could live openly as Jews. In Ferrara,
Iberian equivalent of the Hebrew name Chana. Beatrice assumed her Jewish name: Doña Gracia Nasi.

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