A while ago we saw a YouTube clip about the Portuguese Synagogue and were excited to be able to see it. When we arrived it was enshrouded in protective fabric as it's in the midst of a major renovation. One of the walls that was outside the fabric was leaning noticeably. The synagogue was completed in 1675. The Jewish community was established earlier in that century by Sephardic Jews fleeing Spain and Portugal. Because of historic and ongoing tensions between the Dutch Republic and Spain, they identified as Portuguese Jews. The establishment of the synagogue was precipitated by the unmasking of the false Messiah, Shabbetai Zvi, a Turkish Jew who claimed to be the Messiah but converted to Islam when threatened by the Sultan. Shocked, the Portuguese Jews decided to build the synagogue, as it was clear they were staying in Holland. The synagogue, which is also referred to as the Esnoga, has no electricity. There is no heat and what light there is comes from the many windows and from brass chandeliers which hold candles. According to the free audioguide it gets so cold during the winter that icicles form on the candles. There's a smaller Winter Synagogue that is heated. It wasn't open to the public today.
When it was completed, the Portuguese Synagogue was the largest synagogue in the world. Unaccountably it was one of the only synagogues not destroyed by the Nazis during WWII. It was restored in the 1850s and 1950s, but has been maintained in its original form, hence the lack of electricity. Inside, the synagogue is designed in the Sephardi tradition, with the wooden Ark and bimah at opposite ends of the interior. The ceiling is high and arched. The seating, which is on benches from a synagogue built in 1639, is arranged in two equal halves which face each other across a central aisle. The floor is covered with fine sand to absorb dirt and moisture from shoes and muffle noise.
Both Alan and I noticed that it was less ornate and elegant than our memory of the oldest British synagogue, which we visited on a Jewish London Walk, but when I just looked it up I discovered that Bevis Marks Synagogue, which was completed in 1701, was modeled on the Portuguese Synagogue, although it does have electricity now. I also learned that Bevis Marks was severely damaged by terrorist bombings in 1992 and 1993, after we saw it, but has been restored. How sad that such ancient beauty should be targeted. It glows in our memories. read more