Abstract:

Spinoza's grandparents were Portuguese New Christians who continued living part of their time in Antwerp, even after coming to Amsterdam in 1605. They didn't affiliate with any of the Sephardic congregations. When Henrique Garces, Spinoza's grandfather, died in 1619, he was buried outside the fence of the cemetery, and circumcised after death. He was then given his Jewish name Baruch Senior. His wife wanted to be buried next to him, but the parnasim decided to bury her in another place. Spinoza must have heard about this story, and his contempt about the ceremony of circumcision, as expressed in his TTP, was probably influenced by his family experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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