The Last Jew by Noah Gordon Page B

against the Jews if they refused to convert. It was known that the sovereigns had personally arranged and attended the public conversion ceremonies and had served as godparents at the baptism.
    Rabbi Seneor had changed his name to Fernando Nuñez Coronel, and Rabbi Melamed had changed his name to Fernando Pérez Coronel.
    A few days later Seneor was appointed governor of Segovia, a member of the royal council, and chief financial administrator to the crown prince. Melamed was appointed chief royal accountant and he too became a permanent member of the royal council.
    Isaac Abravanel refused to convert. He and his brothers Joseph and Jacob renounced the large debts owed to them by the king and the queen, and in exchange they were allowed to leave the country, taking with them one thousand gold ducats and some valuable belongings made of gold and silver.
     
    Helkias and Aron were less fortunate, like the vast majority of the Jews struggling with calamity. The Jewish multitude was told that no one was allowed to take gold, silver, money, or precious stones from the realm. They were advised by the throne to sell everything they owned and use the proceeds for 'common goods' which they could sell when they reached their new homelands. But almost immediately King Ferdinand declared that in Aragon some of the Jewish land, homes, and chattels should be seized because of revenues 'owed' the Crown.
    Jews in Toledo rushed to sell their property before a similar move by the monarchs would make it impossible to do so, but the process was a charade. Their Christian neighbors, knowing that the property must be abandoned or the Jews would die, ground prices down mercilessly, offering a few sueldos for real estate that should have sold for many maravedíes, or even many reales. A donkey or a vineyard changed hands for a piece of common cloth.
    Aron Toledano, offered almost nothing for his goat farm, turned to his older brother for advice. 'I don't know what to do,' he said helplessly.
    Helkias had been a prosperous and sought-after artisan all his life, but the bad times had come when he was in a financial trough. He had been paid only a deposit on the reliquary. When it had been stolen before delivery no more money was forthcoming, although to make the ciborium he had invested heavily in the purest silver and gold. A number of wealthy patrons now held back their payments for objects delivered, sensing that events might make it unnecessary for them to settle their debts.
    'I don't know what to do, either,' he admitted. He was in desperate straits, but he was saved because of the efforts and tender heart of an old and devoted friend.
     
    Benito Martín was an Old Christian, a goldsmith who lacked the creative genius that had earned Helkias his reputation as a worker of silver. Most of Martín's work was simple gilding and repair. Both of them were young men when Benito had discovered that in his own city of Toledo a Jew created things of wonder out of precious metals.
    He sought out the Jewish artisan and spent as much time with him as he could without becoming a nuisance, learning new ways to design silver and gold and spurred to extend his vision of the work of his own hands.
    In the process of relearning his craft, Benito Martín had discovered a man.
    Helkias had welcomed him and invited a sharing of skills and human experiences. Benito's admiration gradually had ripened into a true and certain friendship, so deep that during better times Martín had brought his children to the synagogue to visit the Toledano family at Passover, and to the sukkah during the Feast of Tabernacles. His daughter Lucía had become Yonah's best friend, and his son Enrique was Eleazar's most frequent playmate.
    Now Benito was ashamed of the injustice rampant in Toledo, and he came to walk with Helkias one evening, early enough so they were able to stroll along the cliff top and greet the coming of night.
    'Your house is sited so wonderfully, and your workshop has