A Jewish-related historical question

Elenitsa

writing as Marina Costa
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Hello!

I have a question which might have been more appropriate for the historical side (since it is early 1700s), but it needs knowledge about Judaism specifics, so it is better located here.

One of my characters (not the main one) is a Russian Jew who had run away, with his family, after one of the pogroms, at very short time after his Bar Mitzvah. After having travelled through several countries (and being subject to some hatred/violence there too) he arrived to the conclusion that he'd better hide his Jewish origin in order to survive. (I know, not the first, nor the last, neither the norm). As a sailor, what he became, living among the others, he learnt to fake attention on Sundays when the church was rigged aboard the ship, without actually participating, to avoid medical controls (not difficult if healthy, in those times)... He never drinks wine, he never gambles, he has to eat pork when aboard the ship because this is what to be eaten, but he would never do it by his choice (i.e never ashore) and he tries his best not to mix meat and dairy... Things like this.

My question is - what could happen in order to make him confess to a Spanish Catholic crewmate that he is a Jew? I think he wouldn't do it just casually, but after something had happened and he had not much choice than to confess it. Please, help.
 

SAWeiner

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He'd be circumcised and they wouldn't be. So, if he is literally caught with his pants down....