Saturday, November 6, 2010

“Out from Hiding – Evidences of Sephardic Roots among Latinos”

My new book, Out from Hiding, is finally off the press! This book actually began in the spring of ’96 when my father told me the secret of his family’s Sephardic (Jewish) roots. I already knew about my wife’s maternal Sephardic lineage but we had nothing on her Dad nor my Dad and Mom up until recently—now we do.

I never imagined that I’d find such a gold mine of evidences as I did. It’s kind of wild because of the deep veins that had been covered up which are filled facts and information that seems to have no end. Each succeeding shred of evidence gave me the insatiable appetite to take another bite, and another and another.

It all started with a story…an oral history. It progressed into the scouring of volumes of documented histories leading me back through the Southwest, then into Mexico, Spain and on to Israel. This ushered me in to the field of onomastics which is the art and science of the origin of our Sephardic surnames.

Then I bumped into the field of material evidence plum in the middle of little and often hidden gravesites where I found different Sephardic inscriptions and symbols on gravestones. Interesting little objects began to pop out of nowhere which served to prove my point.

Suddenly and out of nowhere, DNA slapped me in the face. We began to get little glimpses of Sephardic DNA among many Hispanic men. The wheels of DNA testing began to press forward as the big picture of our people began to unfold before our very eyes. Meanwhile, DNA scientists began to put the DNA puzzle together as they uncovered patterns and trends of DNA test results among Sephardic men in other countries which were exactly the same as many Hispanic Latinos in our own country. The evidences I’ve found are mind boggling.

What started as a book focusing strictly on the oral histories of 13 Sephardic Anusim men and women developed into a broad and comprehensive statement. It was so interesting to see how the collective profile of these 13 oral histories corroborated specific components within the various chapters of my book. I was glad that despite the gulfs between generations and tens of thousands of square miles between our Sephardic ancestors there can yet be found common bonds that link us all together like a beautiful mosaic.

So there you have it, a bird’s eye view of the evidences which I cover in my book, Out from Hiding. .

Now I’d like to talk to you about the special offer referred to above. If I were a top notch best seller such as John Grisham or Max Lucado it would cost me absolutely nothing to publish and distribute my book; but, the reality is that I’m not. So the costs I’ve incurred are pretty hefty but I won’t complain.

This being the case, I would like to propose to you that for a gift of $100 I will send you a paperback copy of my book which I’ll gladly autograph and write a special dedication to you or to whomever you wish. I’m sure it’ll be an excellent gift during the holidays ahead. I’ll cover the shipping and handling costs.

The book does retail for $16.95 but I feel this would be a mutual blessing to both of us: to me because of all the costs; and for you because you’ll be contributing into the first fruits of this book and getting it dedicated to you. (The hardcover copy of my book retails for $26.95.)

If you’re interested, send me an email ASAP telling me the number of books you’d like along with your name, mailing address and a phone number. I’ll quickly send you the exact information you need for the dedication of the book(s) and where to mail your check or money order. My email address is: negevdell@hotmail.com.

On the other hand, if you’re not in a position to enjoy this special offer and would simply like to order one or more books at retail price send me the same information as stated above and I’ll reply ASAP.

Thanks for bearing with me and blessing me along my trail!

Shalom,

Dell