Shofetim – Sephardic Burial Customs
One of the few practices that every Jew performs is the ritual washing of hands upon leaving a cemetery (Shulhan Arukh, YD 276:4). The rinsing is meant to spiritually cleanse […]
Tag Archives: Cemetery
Pisa, Italy – Yup, Sephardic Too!
When you think Pisa, you think one thing and only one thing. To my delight, I discovered that Pisa should also be known for something else, and that is its […]
Lido, Italy – Venice’s Jewish Cemetery Island
Venice’s Jewish cemetery is reachable only by boat. It is located on the island of Lido, just to the east of the lagoon city. In fact, it’s been Venice’s place […]
Curacao’s Jewish Archives and Cemeteries
You can’t have a Caribbean Jewish history like Curacao’s Mikve Israel-Emanuel without leaving a footprint. These physical echoes not only tell us about the past, but they also can tell […]
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 […]
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 […]
Nidhe Israel – Bridgetown, Barbados
With its white sandy beaches, blue skies, and year-long warm weather, it’s difficult to imagine that the island of Barbados was once home to a thriving Spanish and Portuguese Jewish […]
Shalom Says Hello 