Spanish and Portuguese Jews

4916: 5019:

distinct and separated from them in any matter.' Nevertheless, in apparent contradiction to that law, in a letter dated Almeirim, February 18, 1519, King Manuel promoted legislation henceforth prohibiting the naming of New Christians to the position of judge, town councilor or municipal registrar in Goa, stipulating, however, that those already appointed were not to be dismissed. This shows that even during the first nine years of Portuguese rule, Goa had a considerable influx of recently baptized Spanish and Portuguese Jews" There are even examples of well-positioned Portuguese Jews, and New Christians, leaving the Portuguese administration to work with the Muslim sultanates of India in an attempt to strike back at Portugal for what it had done to them viz-a-viz the inquisition in Portugal. Moises Orfali of

5095:

century. Due to the inquisition a lot of the Jews of Malacca were either captured or assimilated into the Malacca-Portuguese (Eurasian) community where they continued to live as New Christians. Malacca was the headquarters of Jesuit priest Francis Xavier and it was his discovery of the conversos from Portugal there who had openly returned to Judaism as in the fortresses of India that became the turning point and from whence he wrote to King John III of Portugal to start the inquisition in the East. Prominent Malaccan Jewish figures include Portuguese Rabbi Manoel Pinto, who was persecuted by the Goa Inquisition in 1573 and Duarte Fernandes a former Jewish tailor who had fled Portugal to escape the Inquisition who became the first European to establish diplomatic relations with Thailand.

2694: 7225: 3746:

Thus, the converso descendants who became the Western Sephardim had reverted to Judaism between the 16th and 18th centuries, they did so at a time before the abolition of the Inquisition in the 19th century, and this time frame necessitated their migration out of the Iberian cultural sphere. Conversely, the converso descendants who are today becoming the nascent Neo-Western Sephardim have been reverting to Judaism between the late 20th and early 21st centuries, they have been doing so at a time after the abolition of the Inquisition in the 19th century, and this time frame has not necessitated their migration out of the Iberian cultural sphere.

7213: 4721: 4520: 4638: 3869:

choice of exile or conversion. Unlike in Spain, however, in actual practice Portugal mostly prevented them from leaving, thus they necessarily stayed as ostensible converts to Christianity whether they wished to or not, after the Portuguese King reasoned that by their failure to leave they accepted Christianity by default. For this reason, crypto-Judaism was far more prevalent in Portugal than in Spain, even though many of these families were originally of Spanish rather than Portuguese descent. Over time, however, most crypto-Jews both of Spanish and Portuguese ancestry had left Portugal by the 18th century.

4558: 2656:, the early community continued to be augmented by further New Christian emigration pouring out of the Iberian Peninsula in a continuous flow between the 1600s to 1700s. Jewish-origin New Christians were officially considered Christians due to their forced or coerced conversions; as such they were subject to the jurisdiction of the Catholic Church's Inquisitorial system, and were subject to harsh heresy and apostasy laws if they continued to practice their ancestral Jewish faith. Those New Christians who eventually fled both the Iberian cultural sphere and jurisdiction of the 4755: 4741: 4062: 4076: 7287: 4257: 4229: 13814: 3777:(1887–1961), known also as the "apostle of the Marranos". In 1921, realizing that there were less than twenty Ashkenazi Jews living in Porto, and that recent returnees to Judaism like himself were not organized and had to travel to Lisbon for religious purposes whenever necessary, Barros Basto began to think about building a synagogue and took initiative in 1923 to officially register the Jewish Community of Porto and the Israelite Theological Center in the 4459: 7279: 4090: 6017:(Curaçao), pipe organs came into use during the course of the 19th century, in parallel with developments in Reform Judaism. In Curaçao, where the traditional congregation had an organ set up in the late 19th century, the use of the organ on Shabbat was eventually also accepted, as long as the organ player was not Jewish. In the more traditional congregations, such as London and New York, a free-standing organ or electric piano is used at weddings or 3974: 4352:, but adopted the Spanish and Portuguese rite shortly after the French Revolution and the incorporation of Comtat Venaissin into France. Today there are still a few Spanish and Portuguese communities in Bordeaux and Bayonne, and one in Paris, but in all these communities (and still more among French Jews generally) any surviving Spanish and Portuguese Jews are greatly outnumbered by recent Sephardic migrants of North African origin. 4660:. A synagogue in Holland Park is described as "Spanish and Portuguese" but serves chiefly Greek and Turkish Jews, with a mixed ritual: it is connected to the main community by a Deed of Association. The Manchester Sephardic synagogues are under the superintendence of the London community and traditionally used a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese ritual, which is giving way to a Jerusalem Sephardic style: the membership is chiefly 2597:

and by their steadfast commitment to remain Jewish were thus expelled. Of those who were expelled as unconverted Jews, an indeterminate number nonetheless converted to Catholicism once outside Spain and eventually returned to Spain in the years following the expulsion due to the hardships many experienced in their resettlement. Many of Spain's Jews who left Spain as Jews also initially moved to Portugal, where they were subsequently

5862: 7271: 4243: 13828: 4425:. Since the German occupation of the Netherlands in the Second World War and the mass killing of Jews by the Nazi regime, the Amsterdam synagogue is the only remaining synagogue of the Portuguese rite in the Netherlands: it serves a membership of about 600. On the other hand, the synagogue at the Hague survived the war undamaged; it is now the Liberal Synagogue and no longer belongs to the "Portuguese" community. 6216:, but this is not cantillation in the accepted sense as it is chant-like and does not depend on the Masoretic symbols. There are however the remnants of a cantillation melody in the chant for the verses from the Book of Esther read at the conclusion of the morning service in the two weeks preceding Purim; this melody is also used for certain verses recited by the congregation during the reading on Purim itself. 5104: 4187:) of Venice was originally regarded as the "mother synagogue" for the Spanish and Portuguese community worldwide, as it was among the earliest to be established, and the first prayer book was published there. Later communities, such as in Amsterdam, followed its lead on ritual questions. With the decline in the importance of Venice in the 18th century, the leading role passed to 3878: 4554:, a congregation of Spanish and Portuguese Jews had a synagogue in Creechurch Lane. Both these kings showed their assent to this situation by quashing indictments against the Jews for unlawful assembly. For this reason the Spanish and Portuguese Jews of England often cite 1656 as the year of re-admission, but look to Charles II as the real sponsor of their community. 3824:. The law created a powerful incentive for the descendants of B'nei Anusim to re-discover their Sephardic ancestry, and it spurred a wave of genealogical inquiry and even genetic research. The law remained in force until 2019, therefore applications for Spanish citizenship on the basis of Sephardic ancestry are no longer accepted by the Spanish authorities. 5320:, the majority of Spanish and Portuguese Jews of the 16th and 17th centuries spoke Portuguese as their first language. Portuguese was used for everyday communication in the first few generations, and was the usual language for official documents such as synagogue by-laws; for this reason, synagogue officers still often have Portuguese titles such as 4440:. The Inquisition was not allowed to operate. Nevertheless, their practice of Judaism remained under cover and unofficial, as acts of Judaizing in Belgium could expose one to proceedings elsewhere in the Spanish possessions. Sporadic persecutions alternated with periods of unofficial toleration. The position improved somewhat in 1714, with the 3865:". The ostensible reason given for issuance of the 1492 Alhambra Decree for the conversion, expulsion or execution of the unconverted Jews from Spain was that the unconverted Jews had supported the New Christian conversos in the crypto-Jewish practices of the latter, thus delaying or preventing their assimilation into the Christian community. 2558:—as these were now legally Christians— the discriminatory practices that the Inquisition nevertheless placed upon them, which were often lethal, put immense pressure on many of the Jewish-origin Christians to also emigrate out of Spain and Portugal in the immediate generations following the expulsion of their unconverted Jewish brethren. 2735:, and at one time in London, seems to have arisen primarily as a way for the "Spanish and Portuguese Jews" to distance themselves from Spain in the times of political tension and war between Spain and the Netherlands in the 17th century. Similar considerations may have played a role for ethnic Sephardic Jews in the French regions of 4371:

that was the Christian tradition they were forced into) were encouraged by the Dutch to "come out" openly as Jews. Given the multiplicity of Protestant sects, the Netherlands was the first country in the Western world to establish a policy of religious tolerance. This made Amsterdam a magnet for conversos leaving Portugal.

4176:, though there was considerable mutual religious and intellectual influence between the groups. In a given city, there was often an "Italian synagogue" and a "Spanish synagogue", and occasionally a "German synagogue" as well. Many of these synagogues have since merged, but the diversity of rites survived in modern Italy. 2773:, Spanish and Portuguese Jews were often described as "Ponentine" (Western), to distinguish them from "Levantine" (Eastern) Sephardim from Eastern Mediterranean areas. Occasionally Italian Jews distinguish between the "Portuguese Jews" of Pisa and Livorno and the "Spanish Jews" of Venice, Modena and elsewhere. 5266:, plus various other languages depending on the area of their settlement). Their Early Modern languages also differ from modern Spanish and Portuguese, as spoken by Sephardic Bnei Anusim of Iberia and Ibero-America, including some recent returnees to Judaism in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. 4462:

The main façade of stone of the else half-timbered Portuguese synagogue Neveh Shalom in the courtyard of then Bäckerstr. 12-14 (today's Hoheschulstr.), Altona, dedicated in 1771, closed in 1882. Thereafter Altona's Ashkenazi congregation used the building as winter synagogue, before it was demolished

4370:

gained independence in 1581, the Dutch retained trading links with Portugal rather than Spain, as Spain was regarded as a hostile power. Since there were penal laws against Catholics, and Catholicism was regarded with greater hostility than Judaism, New Christian conversos (technically Catholics, as

3793:

of Spain. In the case of the Xuetes, the entire community of converso descendants was extended a blanket recognition as Jews by Rabbinical authorities in Israel due to their particular historical circumstances on the island which effectively resulted in a strict social isolation of the Xuetes imposed

2596:

which occurred in 1391. As a result of the Alhambra decree and persecution in prior years, it is estimated that of Spain's total Jewish origin population at the time, over 200,000 Jews converted to Catholicism, and initially remained in Spain. Between 40,000 and 80,000 did not convert to Catholicism,

2532:

The main present-day communities of Spanish and Portuguese Jews exist in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, and several other Jewish communities in the Americas have Spanish and Portuguese Jewish roots though they no longer follow the distinctive customs of the Spanish

6246:

and Oriental Sephardim who read it on Friday nights. However, in the two weeks preceding Pesach a passage consisting of selected verses from that book is read each day at the end of the morning service. The chant is similar but not identical to the chant for Shir haShirim in the Moroccan tradition,

6087:

In other parts of the service, and in particular on special occasions such as the festivals, Shabbat Bereshit and the anniversary of the founding of the synagogue, the traditional tunes are often replaced by metrical and harmonized compositions in the Western European style. This is not the case on

4129:

often had strained relations with the papacy. They were also alive to the commercial advantages offered by the presence of educated Spanish-speaking Jews, especially for the Turkey trade. Previously the Jews of Venice were tolerated under charters for a fixed term of years, periodically renewed. In

2623:

During the centuries following the Spanish and Portuguese decrees, some of the Jewish-origin New Christian conversos started emigrating from Portugal and Spain, settling until the 1700s throughout areas of Western Europe and non-Iberian realms of the colonial Americas (mostly Dutch realms, including

10574:

These passages are listed in Rodrigues Pereira, חָכְמַת שְׁלֹמֹה ('Hochmat Shelomoh) Wisdom of Solomon: Torah cantillations according to the Spanish and Portuguese custom. Many other Sephardic traditions use special melodies for these portions as well. However, the Spanish and Portuguese melody is

6051:

than on the soloistic voice quality. In the parts of the service where the ḥazzan would traditionally have a more soloistic role, the basic melodies are embellished according to the general principles of Baroque performance practice: for example, after a prayer or hymn sung by the congregation, the

6046:

are chanted in a manner more similar to the Ashkenazi practice of reading only the first and last few verses of each paragraph aloud). The hazzan's role is typically one of guiding the congregation rather than being a soloist. Thus, there is traditionally a much stronger emphasis on correct diction

5906:

were used in the Spanish and Portuguese synagogues in Hamburg. Particularly in the Amsterdam community, but to some degree also in Hamburg and elsewhere, there was a flourishing of Classical music in the synagogues in the 18th century. There was formerly a custom in Amsterdam, inspired by a hint in

5894:

to a relatively high degree. Not only in Spanish and Portuguese communities, but in many others in southern France and northern Italy, it was common to commission elaborate choral compositions, often including instrumental music, for the dedication of a synagogue, for family events such as weddings

5757:

Although all Sephardic liturgies are similar, each group has its own distinct liturgy. Many of these differences are a product of the syncretization of the Spanish liturgy and the liturgies of the local communities where Spanish exiles settled. Other differences are the result of earlier regional

4117:

trade, in which their links with the Ottoman Sephardim were useful. Other states found it advantageous to allow the conversos to settle and mix with the existing Jewish communities, and to turn a blind eye to their religious status. In the next generation, the children of conversos could be brought

3889:

Scholars are still divided on the typical religious loyalties of the conversos, in particular on whether they are appropriately described as "crypto-Jews". Given the secrecy surrounding their situation, the question is not easy to answer: probably the conversos themselves were divided, and could be

5408:

produced a new translation into contemporary Spanish of the prayers for the New Year and Yom Kippur, and in 1771 a translation of the daily, Sabbath and Festival prayers. There was an unofficial translation into English in 1771 by A. Alexander and others by David Levi in 1789 and following years,

3868:

After the issuance of Spain's Alhambra Decree in 1492, a large proportion of the unconverted Jews chose exile rather than conversion, many of them crossing the border to Portugal. In Portugal, however, the Jews were again issued with a similar decree just a few years later in 1497, giving them the

3781:

of Porto. As mentioned, these communities of modern-day returnees to Judaism are among the first in the emergence of the nascent Neo-Western Sephardim. Neo-Western Sephardim are the modern returnees to Judaism throughout Iberia and Ibero-America emerging from among the population of Sephardic Bnei

3690:

For "Spanish and Portuguese Jews" (Western Sephardim), their historical period as conversos has shaped their identity, culture, and practices. In this respect, they are clearly distinguishable from those Sephardim who descend from the Jews who left Iberia as Jews before the expiration date for the

2750:

As the term "Sephardim" (when used in its ethnic sense) necessarily connotes a link with Spain, the distinguishing feature of the Western subgroup was the added link with Portugal. Thus, as a subset of the Sephardim, "Portuguese" and "Spanish and Portuguese" could be used interchangeably. Finally,

6079:

system as used by most of these. The closest resemblance is to the rituals of Gibraltar and Northern Morocco, as Spanish and Portuguese communities traditionally recruited their ḥazzanim from these countries. There is a remoter affinity with the Babylonian and North African traditions: these are

2684:

recruited from those communities to instruct them in ritual practice. A part of their distinctiveness as a Jewish group, furthermore, stems from the fact that they saw themselves as forced to "redefine their Jewish identity and mark its boundaries with the intellectual tools they had acquired in

5094:

Malacca, Malaysia was in the 16th century a Jewish hub – not only for Portuguese Jews but also for Jews from the middle east and the Malabar. With its synagogues and rabbis, Jewish culture in Malacca was alive and well. Visible Jewish presence (Dutch Jews) existed in Malacca right up to the 18th

3856:

in Spain. Legal definitions of that era theoretically acknowledged that a forced baptism was not a valid sacrament, but the Church confined this to cases where it was literally administered by physical force: a person who had consented to baptism under threat of death or serious injury was still

3745:

The distinguishing factor between "Western Sephardim" and the nascent "Neo-Western Sephardim" is the time frame of the reversions to Judaism, the location of the reversions, and the precarious religious and legal circumstances surrounding their reversions, including impediments and persecutions.

4104:

As Sephardic Jewish communities were established in central and northern Italy, following the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 and from the Kingdom of Naples in 1533, these areas were an obvious destination for conversos wishing to leave Spain and Portugal. The similarity of the Italian

5018:

writes that "King Manuel theoretically abolished discrimination between Old and New Christians by the law of March 1, 1507 which permitted the departure of New Christians to any part of the Christian world, declaring that they 'be considered, favored and treated like the Old Christians and not

4105:

language to Spanish was another attraction. Given their Christian cultural background and high level of European-style education, the new emigrants were less likely to follow the example of the 1492 expellees by settling in the Ottoman Empire, where a complete culture change would be required.

3918:

Conversos of the first generation after the expulsion still had some knowledge of Judaism based on memory of contact with a living Jewish community. In later generations, people had to avoid known Jewish practices that might attract undesired attention: conversos in group 3 evolved a home-made

2780:

distinguishes "medieval Sephardim" (15th and 16th-century Spanish exiles in the Ottoman Empire who arrived as Jews) from "Renaissance Sephardim" (Spanish and Portuguese former converso communities who arrived as New Christians), in reference to the respective times of each grouping's formative

2746:

Another reason for the terminology of "Portuguese" Jews may have been that a relatively high proportion of the families in question had Portugal as their immediate point of departure from the Iberian peninsula, even when their remoter family background was Spanish rather than Portuguese, since

4904:

Philadelphia contained the same basic text, and were designed for use on both sides of the Atlantic: for example, they all contained both a prayer for the royal family and an alternative for use in republican states. The New York community continued to use these editions until the version of

4505:, which had the largest Jewish population in the whole of Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries. For this reason there are still Polish Jewish surnames with a possible Spanish origin. However, most of them quickly assimilated into the Ashkenazi community and retained no separate identity. 2663:

As former conversos or their descendants, Western Sephardim developed a distinctive ritual based on the remnants of the Judaism of pre-expulsion Spain, which some had practiced in secrecy during their time as New Christians, and influenced by Judaism as practiced by the communities (including

4497:

Spanish and Portuguese Jews had an intermittent trading presence in Norway until the early 19th century, and were granted full residence rights in 1844. Today they have no separate organizational identity from the general (mainly Ashkenazi) Jewish community, though traditions survive in some

3851:

Although legend has it that conversos existed as early as the Visigothic period, and that there was a continuous phenomenon of crypto-Judaism from that time lasting throughout Spanish history, this scenario is unlikely, as in the Muslim period of Iberia there was no advantage in passing as a

3741:

and Neo-Western Sephardim is that all three are descended from conversos. "Western Sephardim" are descendants of former conversos of earlier centuries; "Sephardic Bnei Anusim" are the still nominally Christian descendants of conversos; and "Neo-Western Sephardim" are the increasing in number

5004:

states that "From the early decades of the 16th century many New Christians from Portugal came to Goa. The influx soon aroused the opposition of the Portuguese and ecclesiastical authorities, who complained bitterly about the New Christians' influence in economic affairs, their monopolistic

4854:, among others, received numbers of Sephardim. Within a couple of generations, these immigrants mostly converted to Catholicism to better integrate into society. In the 21st century among the Caribbean islands, only Curaçao and Jamaica still have communities of Spanish and Portuguese Jews. 4903:

Despite the Dutch origins of the New York community, by the 19th century all of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish communities in the United States and Canada were very much part of the London-based family. The 19th and early 20th century editions of the prayer book published in London and

5273:

In practice, from the mid-19th century on, the Spanish and Portuguese Jews gradually replaced their traditional languages with the local ones of their places of residence for their everyday use. Local languages used by "Spanish and Portuguese Jews" include Dutch in the Netherlands and

3637:

The main factor distinguishing "Spanish and Portuguese Jews" (Western Sephardim) from other "Sephardim proper" is that "Spanish and Portuguese Jews" refers specifically to those Jews who descend from persons whose history as practising members of Jewish communities with origins in the

3897:

Those who had honestly tried their best to live as Christians, but who, on finding that they were still not accepted socially and still suspected of Judaizing, conceived intellectual doubts on the subject and decided to try Judaism, on the reasoning that suspicion creates what it

4444:, but no community was officially formed until the 19th century. There is a Portuguese synagogue in Antwerp; its members, like those of the Sephardic rite synagogues of Brussels, are now predominantly of North African origin, and few if any pre-War families or traditions remain. 5269:

The use of Spanish and Portuguese languages by Western Sephardim persists in parts of the synagogue service. Otherwise, the use of Spanish and Portuguese quickly diminished amongst the Spanish and Portuguese Jews after the 17th century, when they were adapting to new societies.

4191:(for Italy and the Mediterranean) and Amsterdam (for western countries). Unfortunately, the Livorno synagogue – considered to be the most important building in town – was destroyed in the Second World War: a modern building was erected on the same site in 1958–1962. 5947:

Another important centre for Spanish and Portuguese Jewish music was Livorno, where a rich cantorial tradition developed, incorporating both traditional Sephardic music from around the Mediterranean and composed art music: this was in turn disseminated to other centres.

4769:

From the 16th to the 18th centuries, a majority of conversos leaving Portugal went to Brazil. This included economic emigrants with no interest in reverting to Judaism. As the Inquisition was active in Brazil as well as in Portugal, conversos still had to be careful.

3908:

For these reasons, there was a continuous flow of people leaving Spain and Portugal (mostly Portugal) for places where they could practise Judaism openly, from 1492 until the end of the 18th century. They were generally accepted by the host Jewish communities as

4931:

in Philadelphia. In both congregations, only a minority of their membership has Western Sephardic ancestry, with the remaining members a mix of Ashkenazim, Levantine Sephardim, Mizrahim, and converts. Newer Sephardic and Sephardic-rite communities, such as the

6029:

The cantorial style of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews adheres to the general Sephardi principle that every word is sung out loud and that most of the ritual is performed communally rather than soloistically (although nowadays in the New York community, the

5372:

Castilian Spanish was used as the everyday language by those who came directly from Spain in the first few generations. Those who came from Portugal regarded it as their literary language, as did the Portuguese at that time. Relatively soon, the Castilian

5347:

dialect was preserved in some documents, but was extinct since the late 18th century: for example, Portuguese ceased to be a spoken language in Holland in the Napoleonic period, when Jewish schools were allowed to teach only in Dutch and Hebrew. Sermons in

11414:

Seder Tefilah סדר תפלה: Orazioni quotidiane per uso degli Ebrei Spagnoli e Portoghesi: questo volume contiene le tre orazioni giornaliere, quella del Sabbato e del capo di mese tradotte dall’idioma ebraico coll’aggiunta di alcune note e di qualche poetica

5393:, quotations from the Bible or the prayer book were usually given in Spanish. Members of the Amsterdam community continued to use Spanish as a literary language. They established clubs and libraries for the study of modern Spanish literature, such as the 3686:

and Brazil. For historical reasons and circumstances, Sephardic Bnei Anusim have not returned to the Jewish faith over the last five centuries, In modern times, some have begun emerging publicly in increasing numbers, especially in the last two decades.

5848:

and Shabbat Bereshit, the Hatan Torah and Hatan Bereshit chant two extra verses pertaining to bridegrooms from Isaiah 61:10 and 62:5 at the end of the standard haftarot for the days themselves. This seems to be a unique remnant of the old tradition of

4791:, the first synagogue in the Americas. On the reconquest of the Recife area by Portugal, many of these Jews (it is not known what percentage) left Brazil for new or existing communities in the Caribbean such as Curaçao. Others formed a new community, 6175:

Spanish and Portuguese Torah cantillation has been notated several times since the 17th century. The melodies now in use, particularly in London, show some changes from the earlier notated versions and a degree of convergence with the Iraqi melody.

3682:. Sephardic Bnei Anusim are the contemporary and largely nominally Christian descendants of assimilated 15th century Sephardic Anusim, and are today a fully assimilated sub-group within the Iberian-descended Christian populations of Spain, Portugal, 3085:

to prevent the Jews from choosing the option of exile), are forced or coerced to convert to Catholicism up until the late 15th century, at the expiration of the deadline for their expulsion, conversion, or execution as set out in the decrees. Became

2647:

As the early members of the Western Sephardim consisted of persons who themselves (or whose immediate forebears) personally experienced an interim period as New Christians, which resulted in unceasing trials and persecutions of crypto-Judaism by the

10104: 3860:

Conversos, whatever their real religious views, often (but not always) tended to marry and associate among themselves. As they achieved prominent positions in trade and in the royal administration, they attracted considerable resentment from the

14472: 11560:מחזור לראש השנה זכור לאברהם: Rituel de Roche HaChana, rite séfarade, traduction française des prières par A. Créhange, transcription en caractères latine des principaux passages du Rituel, introduction et règles concernant le Yom Kippour 2d ed. 5009:

observes that despite the start of the inquisition in Portugal, the Portuguese relied heavily on Jews and New Christians in establishing their fledgling Asian empire. The influence of Jews and New Christians in Goa was substantial. In his

4707:). Judith Lady Montefiore College closed in the 1980s, but was revived in 2005 as a part-time rabbinic training programme run from Lauderdale Road, serving the Anglo-Jewish Orthodox community in general, Ashkenazim as well as Sephardim. 4108:

On the other hand, in Italy they ran the risk of prosecution for Judaizing, given that in law they were baptized Christians; for this reason they generally avoided the Papal States. The Popes did allow some Spanish-Jewish settlement at

4194:

Many merchants maintained a presence in both Italy and countries in the Ottoman Empire, and even those who settled permanently in the Ottoman Empire retained their Tuscan or other Italian nationality, so as to have the benefit of the

2549:(which were established over a decade earlier in 1478), they were ultimately linked, as the Inquisition eventually also led to the fleeing out of Iberia of many descendants of Jewish converts to Catholicism in subsequent generations. 5981:). This custom was introduced in London in the early 19th century. In most cases, the choirs have consisted only of men and boys, but in Curaçao, the policy was changed to allow women in the choir (in a separate section) in 1863. 5545:(matzot), is evidence of a traditional pronunciation which did not distinguish between the various sibilants—a trait which is shared with some coastal dialects of Moroccan Hebrew. Since the 19th century, the pronunciations (for 6141:

cantillation is divided into two musical styles. The first is the standard used for all regular readings. A similar but much more elaborate manner of cantillation is used on special occasions. This is normally referred to as

3749:

Although Jewish communities were re-established in Spain and Portugal in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, largely with the help of communities of Spanish and Portuguese Jews such as that in London, these present-day

4130:

the early 16th century, these arrangements were made permanent, and a separate charter was granted to the "Ponentine" (western) community. Around the same time, the state required the Jews to live in the newly established

2585:, including from all its territories and possessions, by 31 July of that year. The primary purpose of the expulsion was to eliminate the influence of unconverted Jews on Spain's by then large Jewish-origin New Christian 11511:

Prières des jours de Rosch-haschana, à l’usage des Israélites du rit portugais, traduites de l’Hébreu avec des notes élémentaires déstinées à faciliter l’intelligence, par Mardochée Venture, nouvelle édition, première

2716:

In addition to the term "Western Sephardim", this sub-group of Sephardic Jews is sometimes also referred to also as "Spanish and Portuguese Jews," "Spanish Jews," "Portuguese Jews," or "Jews of the Portuguese Nation."

5913:, of holding an instrumental concert on Friday afternoon prior to the coming in of the Shabbat, as a means of getting the congregants in the right mood for the Friday night service. An important Jewish composer was 4620:, or chief rabbi, is currently vacant (and has frequently been so in the community's history), the current head being known as the "Senior Rabbi". The day-to-day running of the community is the responsibility of a 3847:

Spanish and Portuguese Jews were originally descended from New Christian conversos (i.e. Jews converted to Roman Catholic Christianity) whose descendants later left the Iberian peninsula and reverted to Judaism.

4799:(later renamed as New York) in 1654, the first Jewish synagogue in what became the United States. Numerous conversos, however, stayed in Brazil. They survived by migrating to the countryside in the province of 6000:

As a general rule, Spanish and Portuguese communities do not use pipe organs or other musical instruments during services. In some Spanish and Portuguese communities, notably in France (Bordeaux, Bayonne), US

14442: 11239:

Frucht vom Baum des Lebens. Ozer Peroth Ez Chajim. Die Sammlung der Rechtsgutachten Peri Ez Chajim des Rabbinerseminars Ets Haim zu Amsterdam. Zeitlich geordnet, ins Deutsche übertragen und in gekürzter Form

4880:, as well as in cities of the southern colonies of South Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia. Since then, many of the former Sephardic synagogues in the southern states and the Caribbean have become part of the 4830:, which many Caribbean Sephardim had supported, many of these communities declined as Jews took advantage of their new-found freedom to move to the mainland, where there were better economic opportunities. 4570:

was opened in 1701 in London. In the 1830s and 40s there was agitation for the formation of a branch synagogue in the West End, nearer where most congregants lived, but rabbis refused this on the basis of

4042:. These places, though treated in most respects as integral parts of Spain, escaped the Inquisition and the expulsion, so these communities regard themselves as the remnant of pre-expulsion Spanish Jewry. 5826: 3919:

Judaism with practices peculiar to themselves, while those in group 2 had a purely intellectual conception of Judaism based on their reading of ancient Jewish sources preserved by the Church such as the

4299:. They lived apparently as Christians; were married by Catholic priests; had their children baptized, and publicly pretended to be Catholics. In secret, however, they circumcised their children, kept 4595:

from 1885 to 1936. A third synagogue has been formed in Wembley. Over the centuries the community has absorbed many Sephardi immigrants from Italy and North Africa, including many of its rabbis and

4546:

led a delegation seeking permission for Dutch Sephardim to settle in England: Cromwell was known to look favourably on the request, but no official act of permission has been found. By the time of

6262:. The chant for the Psalms in the Friday night service has some resemblance to the cantillation mode of the Oriental traditions, but is not in any obvious way dependent on the cantillation marks. 11299:, En Sto Dgo, D.N. Rep. Dom. -New York City, EE UU - 2012-2019, Según las enseñanzas de: Jhajam Yits’jhak de Souza Britto, Rev. Jhajam David de Aharon de Sola Pool y Rev. Jhajam Dr. Moses Gaster. 11231:(ed. Isaac Haim Abendana de Britto): vol. 1, vol. 2, vol. 3, vol. 4, vol. 5, vol. 6 (vol. 2 of new series), vol. 7 (vol. 3 of new series), vol. 8 (vol. 4 of new series), vol. 9, vol. 10, vol. 11, 4134:. Nevertheless, for a long time the Venetian Republic was regarded as the most welcoming state for Jews, equivalent to the Netherlands in the 17th century or the United States in the 20th century. 14153: 3894:

Sincere Christians, who were still subject to discrimination and accusations of Judaizing on the part of the Inquisition; some of these appealed to the Pope and sought refuge in the Papal States.

11536:מנחה חדשה: סדר תפלת ישראל כמנהג ספרד נעתקה ללשון צרפת על ידי אלכסנדר בן ברוך קריהנש: Offrande nouvelle: prières des Israélites du rite espangol et portugais, traduction de A. ben Baurch Créhange 11286:

En Sto Dgo, D.N. Rep. Dom. -New York City, EE UU - 2012-2019, Según las enseñanzas de: Jhajam Yits’jhak de Souza Britto, Rev. Jhajam David de Aharon de Sola Pool y Rev. Jhajam Dr. Moses Gaster.

5762:(died 1939, Hakham of the S&P Jews of Great Britain) has shown that the order of prayers used by Spanish and Portuguese Jews has its origin in the Castilian liturgy of Pre-Expulsion Spain. 3674:

Conversely, those New Christian conversos who have remained as conversos since that time, both those in the Iberian Peninsula and those who moved to the Iberian colonial possessions during the

10249:

Fischel, Walter J. (1960). "The Jewish Merchant-Colony in Madras (Fort St. George) during the 17th and 18th Centuries: A Contribution to the Economic and Social History of the Jews in India".

3719:. These Sephardic communities offered refuge to all Jews, including the Sephardi Jewish-origin New Christian conversos fleeing the Inquisition across Europe, as well as their Eastern European 5498:

pronunciation (where it can be either "ng" or "ny"), but not with any other Sephardi groups. Both these features are declining, under the influence of hazzanim from other communities and of

5308:

Spanish and Portuguese Jews who have migrated to Latin America since the late 20th century have generally adopted modern standard Latin American varieties of Spanish as their mother tongue.

4333:, they gradually avowed Judaism openly. In 1640 several hundred conversos, considered to be Jews, were living at Saint-Jean-de-Luz; and a synagogue existed in Saint-Esprit as early as 1660. 14460: 3904:

Opportunistic "cultural commuters" whose private views may have been quite sceptical and who conformed to the local form of Judaism or Christianity depending on where they were at the time.

5234:.) Both Spain and Portugal have recently made efforts to reach out to descendants of Jews who were expelled from the peninsula in the 15th century, inviting them to apply for citizenship. 3659:

During their period as New Christians, many conversos continued to practise their Jewish faith in secrecy as best they could. Those New Christian conversos of Jewish origin who maintained

4634:(treasurer). Under the current Senior Rabbi, Joseph Dweck, the name of the community has been changed from "Congregation of Spanish and Portuguese Jews" to "S&P Sephardi Community". 3695:, resulting in the 1492 expulsion from Spain and 1497 expulsion from Portugal of all Jews who had not been baptised into the Catholic faith. These expelled Jews settled mainly around the 4479:, was founded in 1652. From the 18th century on, the Portuguese Jews were increasingly outnumbered by "German Jews" (Ashkenazim). By 1900, they were thought to number only about 400. 11553:מחזור ליום כפורים זכור לאברהם: Rituel de Yom Kippour, rite séfarade, traduction française des prières par A. Créhange, Seli’hot, introduction et règles concernant Roche Hachana 4th ed. 4785:

existed in the north-east of Brazil, including Recife. This attracted both conversos from Portuguese Brazil and Jewish emigrants from Holland, who formed a community in Recife called

3596:

The nascent and growing population of returnees to Judaism among the Sephardic Bnei Anusim population whose recent return began in the late 20th and early 21st centuries in Iberia and

10644: 3769:, however, are also not Western Sephardim, but are Neo-Western Sephardim, as they were re-established in the 20th century and early 21st centuries with a campaign of outreach to the 14477: 5039:

due to his inability to reanimate the faith of the New Christians there, Goa and in the region who had returned to Judaism. Goa became the headquarters of the Inquisition in Asia.

3901:

Genuine crypto-Jews, who regarded their conversions as forced on them and reluctantly conformed to Catholicism until they found the first opportunity of living an open Jewish life.

11141:

Bevis Marks Synagogue 1701–2001: A Short History of the Building and an Appreciation of Its Architecture (Survey of the Jewish Built Heritage in the United Kingdom & Ireland)

9959: 5989:

There are early precedents for the use of instrumental music in the synagogue originating in 17th century Italy as well as the Spanish and Portuguese communities of Hamburg and

4699:). This is less a functioning religious college than a committee of dignitaries responsible for community publications, such as prayer books. In 1862 the community founded the " 12099: – Detailed, comprehensive compendium of liturgical customs throughout the year, including tunes and readings, for the Philadelphia and New York branches of the tradition. 6099:

A characteristic feature of Oriental Sephardic music is the transposition of popular hymn tunes (themselves sometimes derived from secular songs) to important prayers such as

4892:

movements, and retain only a few Spanish and Portuguese traditions. Thus, among the pioneers of the Reform Judaism movement in the 1820s there was the Sephardic congregation

3715:

respectively. For centuries, the Sephardic Jewish communities under Ottoman rule provided spiritual leadership to the dispersed Sephardim through their contributions to the

5680:(long e) are all pronounced like the 'e' in "bed": there is no distinction except in length. In some communities, e.g. Amsterdam, vocal shva is pronounced when marked with 8483: 5242:"Spanish and Portuguese Jews" typically spoke both Spanish and Portuguese in their Early Modern forms. This is in contrast to the languages spoken by Eastern Sephardim and 7186: 5055:

or "White Jews" (as opposed to older community which came to be known as the "Malabari Jews" or "Black Jews"). Cochin also attracted New Christians. In his lecture at the

14437: 1149: 4688:. Newer Sephardic rite synagogues in London, mostly for Baghdadi and Persian Jews, preserve their own ritual and do not come under the Spanish and Portuguese umbrella. 10420:

is often as in "they". In both Ashkenazi and modern Hebrew, vocal shva is the indistinct vowel in French "le" and English "the" and sometimes disappears altogether.

5191:, as used in the Netherlands and former Dutch possessions such as Surinam. Also important is the Bevis Marks Synagogue in London, the historical centre of the London 2640:

which later became New York) forming communities and formally reverting to Judaism. It is the collective of these communities and their descendants who are known as

4575:, forbidding the establishment of other synagogues within six miles of Bevis Marks. Dissident congregants, together with some Ashkenazim, accordingly founded the 3938:. Both groups therefore needed extensive re-education in Judaism after reaching their places of refuge outside the peninsula. This was achieved with the help of 4915: 13921: 10592:

That is, the older melody used in Mosul and in most of the Iraqi Jewish diaspora, as distinct from the Baghdadi melody, which belongs to the Ottoman family: see

8820: 8346: 3067:

Those Jews fleeing from Iberia as Jews in the late 15th century at the issuance of Spain and Portugal's decrees of expulsion. Initially settled in North Africa.

11436:

Maḥzor le-yamim nora’im מחזור לימים נוראים: Orazioni ebraico-italiano per il capo d'anno e giorno dell;Espiazione: ad uso degli Israeliti Portoghesi e Spagnoli

4234: 1727: 11704:

Evening and morning service of the begining of the year, which are publicly read in the synagogue by the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, and used by all families

4703:" in Ramsgate, for the training of rabbis. This moved to London in the 1960s: students at the college concurrently followed courses at Jews' College (now the 11154:

Treasures of a London temple: A descriptive catalogue of the ritual plate, mantles and furniture of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Synagogue in Bevis Marks

8974: 1382: 1077: 11371:. En Pennsylvania 2024, Según las enseñanzas de: Jhajam Yits’jhak de Souza Britto, Rev. Jhajam David de Aharon de Sola Pool y Rev. Jhajam Dr. Moses Gaster. 4262: 11824:, London 1857. Second edition publ by the Society of Heshaim with the sanction of the Board of Elders of the Congregation, Oxford Univ. Press, 5691–1931. 11476:

Prières Journalières à l'usage des Juifs portugais ou espagnols .. traduites de l’hébreu: auxquelles on a ajoutés des notes élémentaires, nouvelle édition

1269: 14376: 4095: 3857:

regarded as a voluntary convert, and accordingly forbidden to revert to Judaism. Crypto-Judaism as a large-scale phenomenon mainly dates from that time.

11546:

Erech Hatephiloth où Prières des Grandes Fêtes à l’usage des Israélites du Rite Séfarad. Kippour. Léon Kaan éditeur, traduction française de A. Créhange

10697: 10633:

Dates shown refer to the founding of the community rather than the synagogue building, unless shown otherwise. Italics mean community no longer exists.

8095:

Alonso Calle – treasurer on the first voyage of Christopher Columbus to the Americas; one of the settlers of Sephardic origin who composed the crew

5837:

traditions. The current London minhag is generally close to the Amsterdam minhag, but follows the Livorno tradition in some details—most notably in the

2720:

The term "Western Sephardim" is frequently used in modern research literature to refer to "Spanish and Portuguese Jews," but sometimes also to "Spanish-

3758:

are distinct from "Spanish and Portuguese Jews" as, for the most part, the modern Jewish communities resident in Spain and Portugal also include other

3072:

Those Jews fleeing from Iberia as Jews in the late 15th century at the issuance of Spain and Portugal's decrees of expulsion. Initially settled in the

2477: 5965: 14493: 7741: 6671: 4580: 4561: 4157: 241: 5222:

or synagogues in the Iberian Peninsula have been discovered by archaeologists and restored by both private and governmental efforts. In particular,

14505: 13318: 10932:

A treasury of Sephardic laws and customs: the ritual practices of Syrian, Moroccan, Judeo-Spanish and Spanish and Portuguese Jews of North America.

4579:

in Burton Street in 1841. An official branch synagogue in Wigmore Street was opened in 1853. This moved to Bryanston Street in the 1860s, and to

1264: 10807: 5963:

Already in the 17th century, choirs were used in the service throughout the year in the Amsterdam community. In 1886 the Portuguese vocal society

4964:

of 1494, divided the world between Portugal, and Spain. Portugal was allotted responsibility over lands east of the Tordesillas meridian. In 1498

13866: 13708: 11687:

The Liturgy According to the Spanish and Portuguese Jews in Hebrew and English, as Publicly Read in the Synagogue, and Used By All Their Families

10842: 9718: 1512: 11403:, Jerusalem 2003, available on the National Israel Library website, and reprinted in 1544, also available on the National Israel Library website 5023:

writes that the initially Portuguese colonial and ecclesiastical authorities complained in very strong terms about Jewish influence in Goa. The

10663: 6247:

but does not exactly follow the printed cantillation marks. A similar chant is used for the prose parts of the book of Job on the Ninth of Ab.

4944:, do not come under the Spanish and Portuguese umbrella. The Seattle community did use the de Sola Pool prayer books until the publication of 4409:

was established, with a copious Jewish and general library. This library still exists. The transactions of the college, mainly in the form of

14000: 12391: 10344:

The Pronunciation of Hebrew in the Western Sephardic Settlements (16th–20th Centuries). Second Part: The Pronunciation of the Consonant 'Ayin

1766: 14465: 10648: 5727:‎ (noon) is pronounced "tsahorayim" rather than "tsohorayim". This feature is shared by other Sephardic groups, but is not found in 4806:

In the Caribbean, there were at one point Spanish and Portuguese synagogues in various other Dutch- and English-controlled islands, such as

2751:

almost all organised communities in this group traditionally employed Portuguese rather than Spanish as their official or working language.

14276: 8074: 7362: 6350: 4336:

In pre-Revolutionary France, the Portuguese Jews were one of three tolerated Jewish communities, the other two being the Ashkenazi Jews of

3995: 9864: 9631: 5377:

took on a semi-sacred status ("Ladino", in this context, simply means literal translation from Hebrew: it should not be confused with the

13668: 6109:. This occurs only to a limited extent in the Spanish and Portuguese ritual: such instances as exist can be traced to the book of hymns 4318: 2522: 751: 714: 5442:

The Hebrew of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews from the 19th century and 20th century is characterised primarily by the pronunciation of

12186: 9963: 5075:

trade, etc.) and because India had well-established Jewish communities which allowed them the opportunity to rejoin the Jewish world.

14336: 14056: 11948:

The Choir of the Spanish & Portuguese Jews' Congregation, London, Maurice Martin, Adam Musikant (The Classical Recording Company)

10132: 5164:(Torah scrolls) are usually wrapped in a very wide mantle, quite different from the cylindrical mantles used by most Ashkenazi Jews. 4386:, was established in 1618. These three communities began co-operating more closely in 1622. Eventually, in 1639, they merged to form 3081:

Those Jews in Spain and Portugal who, in an effort to delay or avoid their expulsion (and in most cases in Portugal, in an effort by

2665: 1690: 12215: 10376:

The pronunciation of "g" as in Dutch was originally a peculiarity of Amsterdam: the historic pronunciation was . The use of for

9913:

Vierhundert Jahre Juden in Hamburg: eine Ausstellung des Museums für Hamburgische Geschichte vom 8. November 1991 bis 29. März 1992

9877: 3343:) between the 16th to 18th centuries where they then reverted to Judaism. Initially settled in the Netherlands, London, Italy, etc. 1713: 10505:, a solo piece demanding great vocal dexterity, range and emotional expression, while in a Sephardi synagogue he is asked to sing 5955:, hazzanim sometimes doubled as opera singers, and some liturgical compositions from this period reflect this operatic character. 14148: 13899: 13714: 11857:

Spanish-Portuguese synagogue music in nineteenth-century Reform sources from Hamburg: ancient tradition in the dawn of modernity.

11359: