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 […]
Category Archives: Travels
My Odyssey to Discover and Touch Past and Present Spanish Jewish Life
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 […]
Behind the Scenes at the Esnoga – Amsterdam
Amsterdam’s Portuguese Esnoga (Synagogue) was inaugurated on Shabbat Nahamu, August, 1675. I was graciously invited to speak at the Esnoga over Shabbat to help celebrate the anniversary. The invitation was extended […]
The Montefiore Synagogue – Ramsgate, England
16 Ab is the Nahalah of Sir Moses Mentefiore. He passed away on 28 July, 1885 at the age of 100. Sir Moses is arguably the nineteenth century’s most well known Jew. […]
The Velho Cemetery – London
Hidden behind buildings and walls is England’s oldest surviving Jewish cemetery. It was established after the 1656 resettlement. I visited there with congregant and friend Jack Shlomo. With wisdom he brought along a […]
Bordeaux, France
Bordeaux is one of those Spanish and Portuguese communities that I’d heard about but had never quite understood how it fit in amongst the rest of Western Sephardim. That is […]
Nefuzot Yehuda – Bayonne, France
In terms of Portuguese Jewry Bayonne is somewhat of a misnomer. The Jewish community was actually based on the other side of the Adour River in what is called St Esprit (where […]
