The "Portuguese Marranos Committee"
of London at the Bevis Marks synagogue was formed when the discovery of
secret Jews in Portugal became known in the Jewish World
Land was purchased by Baron Edmond
de Rothschild of Paris
and the building, was donated by Elie Kadoorie.
This achievement was a result of the effort of
CAPTAIN BARROS BASTO
·
Probably a majority of Portugal's population are a result of
the forced baptism in the 15th/16th
centuries and the compulsory intermarriage of New and Old
Christians.
·
The New York
Times of December 6, 1996 reported that
Five hundred years after
King Manuel I forced thousands of Jews to leave or embrace
Roman Catholicism, Portugal offered atonement today for the
royal edict.
The solemn commemorations were the culmination of a process
begun by former President Mario Soares in 1988 when he first
apologized to Jews for centuries of persecution suffered by
their ancestors during the Grand Inquisition.
Events included the inauguration of a synagogue in the small
eastern town of Belmonte, where Jews secretly preserved
their religion and traditions for centuries,
Portugal's President, Jorge Sampaio, joined Israel's
Parliament Speaker, Dan Tichon, and officials of the
Portuguese Government and Catholic Church for prayers today
in Lisbon's synagogue.
Then, speaking before a packed Parliament, President Sampaio
called the expulsion of Portugal's Jews an ''iniquitous
act with deep and disastrous consequences'' for
Portugal, at the time one of Europe's richest and most
powerful nations. He called the action ''a renunciation
of the best we were and had.''
·
According to a
recent European Union survey, Portugal is the least anti-semitic
country in the Union..
·
There are Marrano returnee communities in Porto, Lisbon and
Belmonte and the Algarve with a permanent rabbi in Lisbon
and in Porto (through Shavei Israel).
·
New Jewish translations in Portugese such as by Jairo
Fridlin, the editor and publisher of Sefer, Brazil's
foremost publisher of Jewish books of the first complete
Hebrew bible (Tanach),and
the two volume Kitzur Shulchan Aruch by the Chabad-Lubavitch
publishing house
www.chabad.org/news/article_cdo/aid/639515/jewish/Landmark-Work-a-First-for-Portuguese-Speaking-Jews.htm
·
Portuguese kosher wine is now available
·
Many marranos we met while in Porto have been to Israel and
have formally converted to Judaism.
·
A big chanukia (similar to the one in Golders Green, London)
is lit each year in the centre of Porto
·
In January 2007 a Mikve, presented by the Abecassis family,
was formally inaugurated in Porto in the presence of the
Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel and the Israel ambassador to
Portugal
·
A synagogue, mikveh and Jewish museum in Belmonte
·
Many communities around the world are now collaborating with
and helping Portugese jewry
·
April 19, 2008, will see a ceremony sponsored by the Lisbon
Council to commemorate the 2000 Jews burnt in two enormous
bon fires in the 1506 Jewish massacre in Lisbon. It will be
called the MEMORIAL TO THE VICTIMS OF INTOLERANCE and
include sculpture contributed by the Catholic and Jewish
communities
Two Israeli organisations concerned with emerging communities are
Shavei Israel and Kulanu
Shavei Israel,
(Hebrew:
שבי
ישראל,
Israel returns) was founded by Michael Freund in 2004 comprising
academics, educators and rabbonim whose main goal is to locate "lost
Jews" and assist them in returning (Hebrew "teshuva"
תשובה)
to Judaism. It is involved with emerging communities in Spain,
Portugal, South and Central America and Mexico, It sponsors rabbis
and teachers worldwide. Rabbis are currently posted in Palma de
Mallorca, Spain, Porto in northern Portugal, Brazil, and at the
Shavei Israel Hebrew Centers in Mizoram and Manipur, North-East
India. Machon Miriam, is the only Spanish-language conversion and
return institute in Jerusalem from which crypto-Jews graduate each
year and proceed to formal conversion by Israel’s Chief Rabbinate.
It helps converts to Judaism make Aliyah. Books on Judaism have
been published in a dozen languages, including Chinese, Japanese,
Mizo, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Russian and German. Plans are
also underway to send rabbis to the remaining Subbotnik communities
in Russia..
Kulanu
is also dedicated to finding and assisting lost and dispersed
remnants of the Jewish people. For their newsletters go to
www.kulanu.org/newsletters/
Spain
is seeing a revival in its Jewish heritage. For example Jews
settled in Girona (Gerona) near Barcelona in the ninth century. It
eventually became a Kabbalah centre and was the home of Rabbi Moses
ben Nahman (Ramban). Till September 15 2008 it is showcasing its
Jewish heritage with a special package called “The Doors of
Remembrance.” which includes a dramatized walking tour allowing
entrée to private courtyards and gardens. Recently, much of the
Call de Girona has been restored under the supervision of the Centre
which also houses the Jewish History Museum (Museu d'Història dels
Jueus).
There are many internet sources . Girona (Gerona) where Jews had settled
in the ninth century
and eventually became a Kabbalah centre and the home of
Rabbi Moses ben Nahman (Ramban) now has a Jewish Museum.
Ladina-Association of Sephardic Culture
Rua Nova Da Alfandega, No. 108-1, 4050-431
Porto, Portugal,
(351)222 088 152/ (351) 91 424 1288 (mobile)
www.ladina.blogspot .com
On Sunday December 17, 2006 at 17h30, Ladina will hold a public
ceremony, lighting the 3rd candle on a giant three metre(10 feet)
Hanukkahia (Menorah) in the Olival, the old Jewish quarter of Porto,
Portugal. It is the first time since the forced baptism of Portuguese
Jews (Sephardim) in 1497 that such a ceremony has been held in Portugal
even though a great number of Portuguese people are of Jewish descent.
Some historians estimate that approximately one fifth of Portugal's one
million people in 1497 were forcibly converted. These Jews became known
as New Christians or Marranos (ostensible Catholics with Jewish hearts).
Following the forced baptism, the King compelled intermarriage between
New Christians and Old Christians so that today a majority of Portugal's
population is a result of that mixture. There is virtually no anti-semitism
in Portugal. Portugal was a safe haven for Jews during the second world
war. According to a recent European Union survey, Portugal is the least
anti-semetic country in the Union. Jewish values, traditions, and
culinary habits continue to this very day in Portugal. The Catholic
church has lost much of its power, unlike the days of the Inquisition
when prominent Jewish intellectuals, such as Antonio Homem, chancellor
of Coimbra university, head priest of the cathedral in Coimbra, advisor
to the pope, but burned alive in Lisbon in 1624 for being a secret
rabbi! His file in the national archives occupies more than 1,000 pages.
Recently, following the pioneer work of Captain Barros Basto who
constructed a magnificant synagogue for Marranos in Porto in 1938 at a
time when synagogues were being burned througout Europe, a Jewish
renaissance emerged in Portugal. Hardly a month goes by without a new
book on Jewish history or culure. The torah was recently translated into
Portuguese for the first time after 500 years. Portuguese kosher
products such as olive oil and wine are now available for the first time
in 500 years. There are Marrano Returnee communities organized in Porto,
Lisbon and Belmonte. There is a fledging community in the Algarve. For
the first time since the pioneer work of Captain Barros Basto, the
Apostle of the Marranos (see Cecil Roth, the History of the Marranos),
there is a permanent rabbi (courtesy Shavei Israel) at the Kadoorie
Mekor Haim synagogue in Porto, which the Captain called the Jewish
Cathedral of the North!
For more information in English or Portuguese please visit the ladina
blog at www.ladina.blogspot .com or contact Manuel Azevedo or Jorge
Neves at the above phone numbers.
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