Sephardic Jews in the Netherlands of Sephardic Jewry in Amsterdam, the Mahamad also closely controlled the process of re-judaization - that is helping those whose families had been secretly living as Jews while being outwardly Catholic return to a full Jewish life. In this process, several individuals rejected Rabbinic Judaism or advanced ideas outside of the norms of Judaism at that time and were disciplined by the Mahamad through the process of herem, which could be anything from denial of Torah honors to an outright ban on the individual. The most famous of those to receive a full ban herem was philosopher Baruch Spinoza, whose
Handbook of Denominations most stocked book by OCLC in 2005. Handbook of Denominations The Handbook of Denominations, also known as Abingdon's Handbook of Denominations, by Frank S. Mead and Samuel Hill, is a reference work on religious denominations, particularly but not exclusively Christian ones, based in North America or extensively represented there (i.e., the Roman Catholic Church). Published by the Nashville, Tennessee-based United Methodist Publishing House, is intended to be an authoritative guide to the history, polity, and doctrines of various religious groups. The work is periodically updated to keep pace with changes in the groups chronicled and to document the formation of