Mikve Israel-Emanuel – Curacao
There is a magical feeling in Curacao’s Mikve Israel synagogue (‘Snoa’). Constructed in 1732, it is the oldest surviving synagogue in the Americas. It is gorgeous. With its sand floors and […]
Category Archives: Travels
My Odyssey to Discover and Touch Past and Present Spanish Jewish Life
Curacao – The Caribbean’s Jewish Island
Even today, the signs are all still there. The Maduro and Curiel’s bank, the Senior Curacao Blue liquor, the Gomez store, the Penha building, and the Jewish year 5466 written […]
Hughenden Manor – How Jewish Was Benjamin Disraeli?
Since my arrival at Bevis Marks Synagogue I’ve felt conflicted about Benjamin Disraeli’s place within the S&P narrative. Disraeli was born a Jew in 1804, was a member of Bevis Marks, and is […]
Hamburg, Germany – Gateway to the West
I recently discovered more significant Jewish history in Hamburg than I had ever expected to find there. It turns out that Hamburg played an instrumental role in both the early […]
11th Street Cemetery – New York
Tiny and hidden away is the second cemetery of New York’s first Jewish congregation, Shearith Israel. Located in Greenwich Village on West 11th st., it was in use from 1805-1829. This […]
Andalusia, Spain – Preserving ‘Sepharad’
Throughout much of history the Iberian Peninsula was divided amongst numerous kingdoms. In a sense, even today Spain remains not one but many different countries. I’ve previously visited Spain’s Catalonia […]
Granada, Spain – The End of Sephardic Jewry
Granada is the Andalusia of people’s imagination, with its hills, white stucco buildings, flamenco, tea houses, and the Alhambra. It’s no surprise really that its Moorish influenced culture is still […]
Cordoba, Spain – The Beginning of Sephardic Jewry
Sephardic Jewry began in Cordoba. Cordoba was the seat of the Spanish Caliphate. It therefore was a major centre of Jewish life in early Muslim Andalusia, and it remained so until […]
Seville, Spain – Sephardic Centre Stage
Seville plays centre stage in the story of Sephardic Jewish history. Nearly every major development in the Iberian Sephardic experience was first manifest in this beautiful, historic, vibrant, and atmospheric […]
Antwerp to Amsterdam – Escape and Esnoga
Amsterdam’s Portuguese Esnoga (Synagogue) was inaugurated on Shabbat Nahamu, August, 1675. Four men contributed the largest amounts towards the Esnoga’s construction. Among them was Isaac de Pinto. He was born […]
