Spanish and Portuguese Jews

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Spanish and Portuguese Jews

Spanish and Portuguese Jews are a distinctive sub-group of Sephardim who have their main ethnic origins within the crypto-Jewish

Crypto-Judaism

Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes modern-day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar and a very small area of France....
and who shaped communities mainly in Western Europe

Western Europe

Western Europe refers to the countries in the western most half of Europe. This concept has had different meanings, political and cultural as well as geographical issues have influenced the area....
and the Americas from the late 16th century on. These communities must be clearly distinguished from:

Spanish and Portuguese Jews have a distinctive ritual based on that of pre-expulsion Spain, but influenced by the Spanish-Moroccan rite on the one side and the Italian

Italian Jews

Italian Jews can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in Italy or in a narrower sense to mean the ancient community who use the Italian rite, as distinct from newer arrivals who use the Sephardi or Ashkenazi rite....
rite on the other.

Terminology
As well as "Spanish and Portuguese Jews", one sometimes comes across designations such as Portuguese Jews, Jews of the Portuguese nation, Spanish Jews (mainly in Italy) and Western Sephardim.

The use of the terms Portuguese Jews and Jews of the Portuguese nation in some areas (mainly in the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
and Hamburg

Hamburg

Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany , and is the Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits. The city is home to approximately 1.8 million people, while the Hamburg metropolitan area has more than 4.3 million inhabitants....
/Scandinavia

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a historical and geographical subregion in northern Europe that includes the Scandinavian Peninsula. It consists of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark; some authorities also include Finland and some might even include Iceland....
) seems to have arisen primarily as a way for the Spanish and Portuguese Jews to distance themselves from Spain

Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
in the times of political tension and war between Spain and the Netherlands

Netherlands

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Spanish and Portuguese Jews'

Start a new discussion about 'Spanish and Portuguese Jews'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

Spanish and Portuguese Jews are a distinctive sub-group of Sephardim who have their main ethnic origins within the crypto-Jewish

Crypto-Judaism

Iberian Peninsula

Western Europe

the descendants of Jews expelled from Spain
Alhambra decree

The Alhambra Decree was an edict issued on 31 March 1492 by the joint Catholic Monarchs of Spain ordering the expulsion of Jews from the Kingdom of Spain and its territories and possessions by 31 July of that year....
in 1492 and from Portugal
Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....
in 1497, who settled in countries of Southern Europe
Southern Europe

The term Southern Europe, at its most general definition, is used to mean 'all countries in the south of Europe'. However, the concept, at different times, has had different meanings, providing additional Policy, Linguistics and Culture context to the definition in addition to the typical Geography, Phytogeography or Clime approach....
, North Africa
North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa.Geopolitically, the United Nations subregion of Northern Africa includes the following seven countries or territories:...
, the Middle East
Middle East

File:GreaterMiddleEast1.pngThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, western Asia, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East....
, and the Americas
Americas

The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
, and
the present day Jewish communities of Portugal and Spain, which were founded with the assistance of the "Spanish and Portuguese" communities outside the peninsula, but also include other ethnic groups.

Spanish and Portuguese Jews have a distinctive ritual based on that of pre-expulsion Spain, but influenced by the Spanish-Moroccan rite on the one side and the Italian

Italian Jews

Terminology

As well as "Spanish and Portuguese Jews", one sometimes comes across designations such as Portuguese Jews, Jews of the Portuguese nation, Spanish Jews (mainly in Italy) and Western Sephardim.

The use of the terms Portuguese Jews and Jews of the Portuguese nation in some areas (mainly in the Netherlands

Netherlands

Hamburg

Scandinavia

Spain

Netherlands

Bayonne

name= BayonneFile:Bayonne.jpgView of Grand Bayonne across the Adour|r?gion=Aquitaine|d?partement=Pyr?n?es-Atlantiques...
and Bordeaux

Bordeaux

is a Port city on the Garonne in southwest France, with one million inhabitants in its aire urbaine at a 2008 estimate. It is the Capital of the Aquitaine regions of France, as well as the Prefectures in France of the Gironde Departments of France....
given their proximity to the Spanish border. Another reason for this coinage may have been that a relatively high proportion of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews had Portugal as their immediate point of departure from the Iberian peninsula, as the decree forbidding Judaism in Portugal took place some years later than the expulsion from Spain. It could be argued that, while all Sephardim had a link with Spain, the distinguishing feature of the group in question was the added link with Portugal: thus as a subset of the Sephardim "Portuguese" and "Spanish and Portuguese" could be used interchangeably.

In Italy

Italian Jews

Italian Jews can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in Italy or in a narrower sense to mean the ancient community who use the Italian rite, as distinct from newer arrivals who use the Sephardi or Ashkenazi rite....
, the term Spanish Jews (Ebrei Spagnoli) is frequently used, but includes the descendants of Jews expelled from the kingdom of Naples as well as Spanish and Portuguese Jews proper (i.e. converso

Converso

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy, the capital city of the Italian regions Veneto, a population of 271,251 . Together with Padua, Italy, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area ....
, Spanish and Portuguese Jews were often described as Ponentine (western), to distinguish them from Levantine (eastern) Sephardim.

The term Western Sephardim is frequently used in modern research literature, but may be problematic in that it can be found to refer to either Spanish and Portuguese Jews or Moroccan Jews

History of the Jews in Morocco

Morocco Jews constitute an ancient community. Before the founding of Israel in 1948, there were about 250,000 Jews in the country, but fewer than 7,000 or so remain....
or, in some cases, both of these. It is even occasionally used to include Greek and Balkan Sephardim, so as to contrast European Sephardim in general with Mizrahi Jews

Mizrahi Jews

Mizrahi Jews or Mizrahim, , also referred to as Adot HaMizrach are Jews descended from the Jewish communities of the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia and the Caucasus....
.

The scholar Joseph Dan distinguishes "medieval Sephardim" (Spanish exiles in the Ottoman Empire) from "Renaissance Sephardim" (Spanish and Portuguese communities), referring to the respective times of their formative contacts with Spanish language and culture.

History

In Spain and Portugal

Spanish and Portuguese Jews were originally descended from converso

Converso

Conversos and its feminine form conversa referred to Jews or Muslims or the descendants of Jews or Muslims who converted to Catholicism in Spain and Portugal, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries....
s, i.e. Jews converted to Christianity, whose descendants later left the Iberian peninsula and reverted to Judaism.

Legend has it that conversos existed as early as the Visigothic period, and that there was a continuous phenomenon of crypto-Judaism

Crypto-Judaism

Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith; people who practice crypto-Judaism are referred to as "crypto-Jews"....
from that time lasting throughout Spanish history. This is unlikely, as in the Muslim period there was no advantage in passing as a Christian instead of a Jew. The main wave of conversions, often forced, followed major anti-Jewish persecutions in 1391

History of the Jews in Spain

Spanish Jews once constituted one of the largest and most prosperous Jewish communities under Muslim and Christian rule in Spain, before they were expelled in 1492....
. Legal definitions of the time theoretically acknowledged that a forced baptism was not a valid sacrament, but confined this to cases where it was literally administered by physical force: a person who had chosen to be baptized as an alternative to death or serious injury was still regarded as a voluntary convert, and accordingly forbidden to revert to Judaism. Crypto-Judaism as a large scale phenomenon mainly dates from that time.

Conversos, whatever their real religious views, often (but not always) tended to marry and associate among themselves, and occupied prominent positions in trade and in the Royal administration, attracting considerable resentment from the "Old Christians". The ostensible reason given for the expulsion of the Jews from Spain

Alhambra decree

The Alhambra Decree was an edict issued on 31 March 1492 by the joint Catholic Monarchs of Spain ordering the expulsion of Jews from the Kingdom of Spain and its territories and possessions by 31 July of that year....
in 1492 was that the unconverted Jews had supported the conversos in their crypto-Jewish practices and thus delayed their assimilation into the Christian community.

Most of the (previously unconverted) Spanish Jews in 1492 chose exile rather than conversion, many of them crossing the border to Portugal. In Portugal, the Jews were given the choice of exile or conversion in 1497, but were mostly prevented from leaving, thus necessarily staying as ostensible converts whether they wished to or not. 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.

Conversos fell into several groups. Given the secrecy surrounding their situation, they are not easy to distinguish, and scholars are still divided on the relative size and importance of these groups.

Sincere Christians, who were still subject to discrimination and accusations of Judaizing on the part of the Inquisition
Spanish Inquisition

The Spanish Inquisition was an ecclesiastical tribunal established in 1478 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile....
; some of these appealed to the Pope and sought refuge in the Papal States.
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 suspects.
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.
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.

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 till the end of the eighteenth century. They were generally accepted by the host Jewish communities as anusim
Anusim

Anusim , plural for an?s, means "forced conversion" in Hebrew. In Jewish Law, this is the legal term applied to a Jew who was forced to abandon Judaism against his or her will, but does whatever is in his or her power to continue practicing Judaism under the forced condition....
(forced converts), whose conversion, being involuntary, did not compromise their Jewish status.

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 it was important to avoid known Jewish practices that might attract undesired attention: conversos in group 3 evolved a home-made Judaism with practices peculiar to themselves, while those in group 2 had a purely intellectual conception of Judaism based on their reading of Christian sources. Both groups therefore needed extensive re-education in Judaism on reaching their places of refuge outside the peninsula. This was achieved partly with the help of Sephardim living in Italy and partly with that of the 1492 exiles living in Morocco, who were the immediate heirs of the Andalusi Jewish tradition.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Jewish communities have been re-established in Spain and Portugal, largely with the help of foreign Spanish and Portuguese communities such as London. The most recent example, however, the Belmonte Jews

Belmonte Jews

The Belmonte Jews are a Jewish community of marranos that have survived in secrecy for hundreds of years by maintaining a tradition of endogamy and by hiding all the external signs of their faith....
, have chosen to model themselves on the London Masorti (Conservative

Conservative Judaism

Conservative Judaism is a modern Jewish denominations of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s....
) community, using the Ashkenazi rite, rather than on the older Lisbon community which is closer to the Spanish and Portuguese family. It is unknown to what extent crypto-Judaism still exists in Spain and Portugal.

In Italy

As there were already Sephardic Jewish communities in central and northern Italy, following the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 and from the Kingdom of Naples in 1533, this was an obvious destination for conversos wishing to leave Spain and Portugal; the similarity of the Italian language to Spanish was another attraction. Given their Christian cultural background and high level of European-style education they 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. 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 Ancona

Ancona

Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche, a region of central Italy, population 101,909 . Ancona is situated on the Adriatic Sea and is the center of the province of Ancona and the capital of the region....
, as this was the main port for the Turkey 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; while in the next generation, the children of conversos could be brought up as fully Jewish with no legal problem, as they had never been baptized.

The main places of settlement were as follows.

Venice
Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy, the capital city of the Italian regions Veneto, a population of 271,251 . Together with Padua, Italy, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area ....
. The Venetian Republic often had strained relations with the Papacy; on the other hand they were 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 the early 1500s these arrangements were made permanent, and a separate charter was granted to the "Ponentine" (western) community. The price paid for this recognition was the confinement of the Jews to the newly-established Venetian Ghetto
Venetian Ghetto

The Venetian Ghetto was the area of Venice in which Jews were compelled to live under the Venetian Republic. It is from its name, in the Venetian language, that the word "ghetto", used in many languages, is derived....
. Nevertheless for a long time the Venetian Republic was regarded as the goldene medinah for Jews, equivalent to the Netherlands in the seventeenth century or the United States in the 1900s.
Sephardic immigration was also encouraged by the Este princes, in their possessions of Reggio
Reggio

Reggio is the name of two Italian towns:* Reggio Calabria, in the South, also called Reggio di Calabria or, in ancient times, Pallantion, Rhegion, ''Febea, ''Regium, ''Rhegium Julium, ''Risa, ''Rivah...
, Modena
Modena

Modena is a city and a comune on the south side of the Padan Plain, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.An ancient town, it is the seat of an archbishop, but is now best known as "the capital of engines", since the factories of the famous Italian sports car makers Ferrari, De Tomaso, Lamborghini, Pagani and...
and Ferrara
Ferrara

Ferrara is a city in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara.It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north....
. In 1598 Ferrara was repossessed by the Papal States, leading to some Jewish emigration from there.
In 1593, Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany

Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609, having succeeded his older brother Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany....
, granted Portuguese Jews charters to live and trade in Pisa
Pisa

Pisa is a city in Tuscany, central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the Arno River on the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa....
and Livorno
Livorno

Livorno or Leghorn is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the Capital of the Province of Livorno and the third-largest port on the western coast of Italy, having a population of approximately 170,000 residents as of the year 2007....
.

On the whole the Spanish and Portuguese Jews remained separate from the native Italian rite Jews
Italian Jews

Italian Jews can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in Italy or in a narrower sense to mean the ancient community who use the Italian rite, as distinct from newer arrivals who use the Sephardi or Ashkenazi rite....
, 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 this diversity of rites remains in modern Italy.

The Scola Spagnola
Spanish Synagogue (Venice)

The Spanish Synagogue is one of the two functioning synagogues in the Venetian Ghetto of Venice. It is open for services from Passover until the end of the High Holiday season....
of Venice
Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy, the capital city of the Italian regions Veneto, a population of 271,251 . Together with Padua, Italy, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area ....
was originally regarded as the "mother synagogue" for the Spanish and Portuguese community world wide, as it was among the earliest to be established, and the first prayer book was published there: later communities, such as Amsterdam, followed its lead on ritual questions. With the decline in the importance of Venice in the eighteenth century, the leading role passed to Livorno
Jewish community of Livorno

The Jewish community of Livorno, although the youngest among the historic Jewish communities of Italy, was for some time the foremost because of the wealth, scholarship, and political rights of its members....
(for Italy and the Mediterranean) and Amsterdam (for western countries). The Livorno synagogue was destroyed in the Second World War: a modern building was erected in 1958-62.

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 Ottoman Capitulations
Capitulations of the Ottoman Empire

Capitulations of the Ottoman Empire were contracts between the Ottoman Empire and European powers, particularly France. Turkish capitulation s, or ahdnames, were generally bilateral acts whereby definite arrangements were entered into by each contracting party towards the other, not mere concessions....
. Thus in Tunisia there was a community of Juifs Portugais, or L'Grana (Livornese), separate from, and regarding itself as superior to, the native Tunisian Jews (Tuansa). Smaller communities of the same kind existed in other countries, such as Syria, where they were known as Señores Francos, though they generally were not numerous enough to establish their own synagogues, instead meeting for prayer in each other's houses.

In the Netherlands

During the Spanish occupation of the Netherlands converso merchants had a strong trading presence there. On the independence of the United Provinces
Dutch Republic

The Republic of the Seven United Netherlands was a European republic between 1581 and 1795, in about the same location as the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands, which is the successor state....
in 1581, the Dutch retained trading links with Portugal (rather than Spain, which was regarded as a hostile power). As there were penal laws against Catholics, and Catholicism was regarded with greater hostility than Judaism, conversos were encouraged to "come out" as Jews, and given the multiplicity of Protestant sects the Netherlands were the first country in the Western world to establish a policy of religious tolerance. This made Amsterdam a magnet for conversos leaving Portugal.

There were originally three Sephardi communities: the first, Beth Jacob, already existed in 1610, and perhaps as early as 1602; Neve Shalom was founded between 1608 and 1612 by Jews of Spanish origin. The third community, Beth Israel, was established in 1618. These three communities began co-operating more closely in 1622. Eventually, in 1639, they merged to form Talmud Torah, the Portuguese Jewish Community of Amsterdam which still exists today. The current synagogue, sometimes known as the Amsterdam Esnoga
Amsterdam Esnoga

The Esnoga , also known as the Snoge or Portuguese Synagogue, is a 17th-century Sephardic synagogue in Amsterdam. Esnoga is the Ladino word for synagogue....
, was inaugurated in 1675.

At first the Dutch conversos had little knowledge of Judaism and had to recruit rabbis and hazzan
Hazzan

A hazzan or chazzan is a Jewish cantor, a musician trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the synagogue in songful prayer.There are many rules relating to how a cantor should lead services, but the idea of a cantor as a paid professional does not exist in classical rabbinic sources....
im from Italy, and occasionally Morocco and Salonica, to teach them. Later on Amsterdam became a centre of religious learning: a religious college Ets Haim was established, with a copious Jewish and general library (which still exists), and its transactions were published in a periodical, Peri Ets Haim. There were formerly several synagogues in other cities such as The Hague
The Hague

The Hague is the third largest city in the Netherlands after Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with a population of 475,904 and an area of approximately 100 km?....
. Since the Second World War the Amsterdam synagogue is the only one that remains, and serves a membership of about 600.

The position in the Spanish Netherlands (modern Belgium
Belgium

* A small German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium....
) was rather different. Considerable numbers of conversos lived there, in particular in Antwerp
Antwerp

||-||-||-||}Antwerp is a city and municipality in Belgium and the capital of the Antwerp in Flanders, one of Belgium's three regions....
, and 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, and sporadic persecutions alternated with periods of unofficial toleration. The position improved somewhat in 1713, with the cession of the southern Netherlands to Austria, but no community was officially formed till the nineteenth century. There is still a Portuguese synagogue in Antwerp, but its members, like the Sephardim of Brussels, are now predominantly of North African origin and few if any pre-War families or traditions remain.

In France
In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries conversos were also seeking refuge beyond the Pyrenees
Pyrenees

The Pyrenees are a mountain range in southwest Europe that form a natural border between France and Spain. They separate the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of continental Europe, and extend for about from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean Sea ....
, settling at Saint-Jean-de-Luz
Saint-Jean-de-Luz

Saint-Jean-de-Luz is a commune in France of the Pyr?n?es-Atlantiques D?partements of France in France. It is in the traditional province of Lapurdi of the Basque Country ....
, Tarbes
Tarbes

Tarbes is a France town and commune in France, in the d?partement in France of Hautes-Pyr?n?es, of which it is the pr?fecture. It is part of the historical region of Gascony....
, Bayonne
Bayonne

name= BayonneFile:Bayonne.jpgView of Grand Bayonne across the Adour|r?gion=Aquitaine|d?partement=Pyr?n?es-Atlantiques...
, Bordeaux
Bordeaux

is a Port city on the Garonne in southwest France, with one million inhabitants in its aire urbaine at a 2008 estimate. It is the Capital of the Aquitaine regions of France, as well as the Prefectures in France of the Gironde Departments of France....
, Marseille
Marseille

"Marseille" is the second-largest city of France and forms the third-largest aire urbaine, after those of Paris and Lyon, with a population recorded to be 1,516,340 at the 1999 census and estimated to be 1,605,000 in 2007....
, and Montpellier
Montpellier

Montpellier is a city in the south of France. It is the capital of the Languedoc-Roussillon Regions of France, as well as the H?rault Departments of France....
. 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 the Sabbath and feast-days as far as they could, and prayed together. King Henry III of France
Henry III of France

Henry III of France , born Alexandre-?douard de Valois-Angoul?me, was King of France from 1574 to 1589, and as Henry of Valois, first elected List of Polish rulers#Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and List of Lithuanian rulers#Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1573 to 1574....
confirmed the privileges granted them by Henry II of France
Henry II of France

Henry II , of the House of Valois and the son and successor of Francis I of France, was King of France from 31 March 1547, until his death....
, and protected them against such slanders and accusations as those which a certain Ponteil brought against them. Under Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII of France

Louis XIII reigned as List of French monarchs and List of Navarrese monarchs from 1610 to 1643....
the conversos of Bayonne were assigned to the suburb of St. Esprit. At St. Esprit, as well as at Peyrehorade, Bidache, Orthez
Orthez

Orthez is a commune in France and the chief town of Canton of Orthez of south-western France, in the Pyr?n?es-Atlantiques d?partements of France and in the region of Aquitaine, 40km NW of Pau, Pyr?n?es-Atlantiques on the Southern railway to Bayonne....
, Biarritz
Biarritz

Biarritz is a town and commune in France which lies on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic Ocean coast, in southwestern France. It is a luxurious seaside town and is popular with tourists and surfers....
, and St. Jean de Luz, they gradually avowed Judaism openly. In 1640 several hundred conversos, considered to be Jews, were living at St. Jean de Luz; and at St. Esprit there was a synagogue as early as 1660.

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

File:Juden 1881.JPGAshkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish ethnic divisions of the Rhineland in the west of Germany....
of Alsace-Lorraine
Alsace-Lorraine

Alsace-Lorraine was a territorial entity created by the German Empire in 1871 after the annexation of most of Alsace and the Moselle region of Lorraine in the Franco-Prussian War....
and the Jews of the former Papal enclave of Comtat Venaissin
Comtat Venaissin

The Comtat Venaissin, often called the Comtat for short , is the former name of the region around the city of Avignon in what is now the Provence-Alpes-C?te d'Azur region of France....
(who originally had their own Provençal rite, but have since adopted the Spanish and Portuguese rite). All were emancipated at the Revolution. Today there are still a few Spanish and Portuguese communities in Bordeaux and Bayonne, and one in Paris, but they are greatly outnumbered by Sephardim of North African origin.

In Britain

There were certainly Spanish and Portuguese merchants, many of them conversos, in England at the time of Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England

Elizabeth I was List of English monarchs and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the House of Tudor....
; another notable marrano
Marrano

Marranos or secret Jews were Sephardi who were forced to adopt Christianity under threat of expulsion but who continued to practice Judaism secretly, thus preserving their Jewish identity....
was the physician Rodrigo Lopez
Rodrigo López

For other uses of this term, Rodrigo Lopez .'Rodrigo L?pez Mu?oz' is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies organization....
. In the time of Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was an English people Military history of the United Kingdom and Politics of England leader best known for his involvement in making England into a republican Commonwealth and for his later role as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
, Menasseh ben Israel
Menasseh Ben Israel

Manoel Dias Soeiro , better known by his Hebrew language name Menasseh Ben Israel , was a Spanish and Portuguese Jews rabbi, Kabbalah, scholar, writer, diplomat, printer and publisher, founder of the first Hebrew printing press in Amsterdam in 1626....
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. In the time of Charles II
Charles II of England

Charles II was the Monarchy of Kingdom of England, Kingdom of Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland.His father Charles I of England Regicide#The regicide of Charles I of England at Palace of Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War....
and James II
James II of England

James II and VII was List of English monarchs, List of Scottish monarchs, and King of Ireland from 6 February 1685. He was the last Roman Catholic Church monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of Kingdom of England, Kingdom of Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland....
we find a congregation of Spanish and Portuguese Jews worshipping at synagogue in Creechurch Lane, and both these kings showed their assent to this situation by quashing indictments against the Jews for unlawful assembly. For this reason Spanish and Portuguese Jews often cite 1656 as the year of re-admission, but look to Charles II as the real founder of the community.

Bevis Marks Synagogue
Bevis Marks Synagogue

Bevis Marks Synagogue is located off Bevis Marks, in the City of London. The synagogue, affiliated to London's Spanish and Portuguese Jews community , is the oldest synagogue in the United Kingdom still in operation and is a listed building....
was opened in 1701. 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 this was refused on the basis of Ascama 1, forbidding the establishment of other synagogues within six miles of Bevis Marks. This led to the formation of the West London Synagogue
West London Synagogue

The West London Synagogue of British Jews was established on the 15 April 1840, and is the oldest Reform Judaism synagogue in Great Britain....
in Burton Street. An official branch synagogue in Wigmore Street was opened in 1853. This moved to Bryanston Street in the 1860s, and to Lauderdale Road in Maida Vale
Maida Vale

Maida Vale is a residential district in West London between St John's Wood and Kilburn, London. It is part of City of Westminster. The area is mostly residential, and mainly affluent, consisting of many large Edwardian blocks of mansion flats....
in 1896. (A private synagogue existed in Highbury
Highbury

Highbury is an area in the London Borough of Islington....
from 1883 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 hazzan
Hazzan

A hazzan or chazzan is a Jewish cantor, a musician trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the synagogue in songful prayer.There are many rules relating to how a cantor should lead services, but the idea of a cantor as a paid professional does not exist in classical rabbinic sources....
im. The current membership includes many Iraqi Jews
History of the Jews in Iraq

Iraqi Jews are Jews born in Iraq or of Iraqi heritage. The history of the Jews in Iraq is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c....
and some Ashkenazim in addition to the original families: the Wembley community is predominantly Egyptian
History of the Jews in Egypt

Egyptian Jews constitute perhaps the oldest Jewish community outside Israel in the world. While no exact census exists, the Jewish population of Egypt was estimated at fewer than a hundred in 2004,...
.

These three synagogues are all owned by the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish community Sahar Asamaim (Sha'ar ha-Shamayim), and have no separate organisational identity. The community is served by a team rabbinate: the post of Haham, or chief rabbi, is currently vacant (and has frequently been so in the community's history). The day-to-day running of the community is the responsibility of a Mahamad, elected periodically and consisting of four parnasim (wardens) and one gabbai (treasurer). Former members of the mahamad are known as velhos (elders), while individual community members are known as yehidim.

In addition to the three main synagogues there is a chapel at Ramsgate associated with the burial place of Sir Moses Montefiore
Moses Montefiore

Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, Kt was one of the most famous United Kingdom Jews of the 19th century. Montefiore was a finance, banker, philanthropist and Sheriff of London....
. There also exists a synagogue in Holland Park, described as "Spanish and Portuguese" but mainly for Greek and Turkish Jews and with a mixed ritual: this is connected to the main community by a Deed of Association. The two Manchester Sephardic synagogues are under the superintendence of the London community and use a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese ritual, but are largely Syrian
Syrian Jews

Syrian Jews derive their origin from two groups: those who inhabited the region of today's Syria from the History of Ancient Israel and Judah and those Sephardim who fled to Syria after the Alhambra decree ....
in population, with some Turkish, Iraqi and North African Jews. The London community formerly had oversight over some Baghdadi
Baghdadi Jews

The Baghdadi Jews are one of the main Jewish communities of India.The "Baghdadi" Jewish community of India is so called because its members were chiefly descended from Iraqi Jewish immigrants to India who moved to that country during the British Raj....
synagogues in the Far East, such as the Ohel Leah Synagogue
Ohel Leah Synagogue

The Ohel Leah Synagogue and its next-door neighbors, the Jewish Recreation Club and the Jewish Community Center, have formed the center of Jewish social and religious life in Hong Kong for over a century....
in Hong Kong and Ohel Rachel Synagogue in Shanghai
Shanghai

Shanghai is the List of cities in the People's Republic of China by population in China and one of the List of metropolitan areas by population in the world, with over 20 million people....
. Newer Sephardic synagogues in London, mostly for Baghdadi and Persian Jews, preserve their own ritual and do not come under the Spanish and Portuguese umbrella.

Like the Amsterdam community, the London Spanish and Portuguese community early set up a Medrash do Heshaim (=Ets Haim). This however is not so much a functioning religious college as a committee of dignitaries responsible for community publications such as prayer books. In 1862 there was founded the "Judith Lady Montefiore College" in Ramsgate, for the training of rabbis. This moved to London in the 1960s: students at the College simultaneously followed courses at Jews' College. It closed in the 1980s, but was revived in 2005 as a part-time rabbinic training programme run from Lauderdale Road.

In the Americas

From the sixteenth to the eighteenth century a majority of conversos leaving Portugal went to Brazil. However, this figure includes people who migrated for purely economic reasons and had no interest in reverting to Judaism; and the Inquisition was active in Brazil as well as in Portugal.

Dutch Sephardim were interested in colonisation, and formed communities in both Curaçao
Curaçao

Cura?ao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The island area of Cura?ao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Cura?ao , is one of five islands of the Netherlands Antilles of the Netherlands Antilles, and as such, is a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands....
and Paramaribo
Paramaribo

Paramaribo is the Capital and largest city of Suriname, located on banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 250,000 people....
, Suriname
Suriname

Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname is a country in northern South America. Originally, the country was spelled Surinam by English settlers who founded the first colony at Marshall's Creek, along the Suriname River, and was Geographical renaming Nederlands Guyana, Netherlands Guiana or Dutch Guiana....
, which still exist. Between 1630 and 1654 a Dutch colony also existed in the north-east of Brazil, including Recife
Recife

File:P?r-do-Sol_na_Jaqueira.jpgRecife is the fourth largest Metropolitan area in Brazil and the capital of the state of Pernambuco. The population was 1,549,980 in 2007....
. This attracted both conversos from Portuguese Brazil and Jewish emigrants from Holland, who formed a community in Recife
Recife

File:P?r-do-Sol_na_Jaqueira.jpgRecife is the fourth largest Metropolitan area in Brazil and the capital of the state of Pernambuco. The population was 1,549,980 in 2007....
called Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue
Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue

Kahal Zur Israel was the first Jewish congregation in the "New World". It was established by immigrants from the Netherlands and joined by New Christians who were already living in the colony....
, 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
Curaçao

Cura?ao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The island area of Cura?ao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Cura?ao , is one of five islands of the Netherlands Antilles of the Netherlands Antilles, and as such, is a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands....
and to form a new community in New Amsterdam (New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
): see Congregation Shearith Israel
Congregation Shearith Israel

Congregation Shearith Israel, often called The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, is the Oldest synagogues in the United States, although its current building dates only to 1897....
. A large number of conversos, however, stayed in Brazil, migrating to the countryside in the province of Paraiba
Paraíba

Para?ba is one of the States of Brazil of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean coast, where lies the easternmost point of the Americas, a cape called Ponta do Seixas....
and away from the reinstated Inquisition, which was mostly active in the main cities. In the United States, synagogues have since been formed at Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island

Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, Rhode Island, United States, about 30 miles south of Providence, Rhode Island....
and Philadelphia as well as in the southern states. Many of the synagogues in the southern states and the Caribbean have since become part of the Conservative
Conservative Judaism

Conservative Judaism is a modern Jewish denominations of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s....
, Reform
Reform Judaism

Reform Judaism refers to the spectrum of beliefs, practices and organizational infrastructure associated with Reform Judaism in Reform Judaism and in Reform Judaism ....
or Reconstructionist
Reconstructionist Judaism

Reconstructionist Judaism is a modern American-based Judaism Jewish denominations based on the ideas of the late Mordecai Kaplan . The movement views Judaism as a progressively evolving civilization....
movements, retaining only a few Spanish and Portuguese traditions.

Despite their ultimate Dutch origin, in the nineteenth century the communities in the United States were very much part of the London family. The nineteenth and early twentieth century editions of the prayer book published in London and Philadelphia contained the same basic text, and were designed for use equally on both sides of the Atlantic: for example they all contained a prayer for the Royal family, followed by an alternative for use in republican states. The New York community continued to use these editions until the De Sola Pool version was published. On the other hand, in the first half of the twentieth century the New York community employed a series of hazzanim from Holland, so that musically speaking their tradition remains close to that of Amsterdam.

The Spanish and Portuguese synagogues of the United States conserve varying degrees of Sephardic tradition, but the majority of their membership is now ethnically Ashkenazi. Unlike in England, newer Sephardic communities, such as the Syrian Jews
Syrian Jews

Syrian Jews derive their origin from two groups: those who inhabited the region of today's Syria from the History of Ancient Israel and Judah and those Sephardim who fled to Syria after the Alhambra decree ....
of Brooklyn
Brooklyn

Brooklyn is one of the five Borough of New York City, located at the western end of Long Island. An independent city until its consolidation with New York in 1898, Brooklyn is New York City's most populous borough, with 2.5 million residents, and second largest in area....
and the Greek and Turkish Jews of Seattle, do not come under the Spanish and Portuguese umbrella, though the latter group did use the de Sola Pool prayer books until the publication of Siddur Zehut Yosef in 2002.

Some recent communities have been formed in the southern states, such as Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States of America and the largest city within the state of Texas. As of the 2007 U.S. Census estimate, the city has a population of 2.2 million within an area of 600 square miles ....
and Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida

Miami is a global city in southeastern Florida, in the United States. Miami is the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, the most populous county in Florida....
, with a strong Spanish-speaking element, aiming at outreach to anusim
Anusim

Anusim , plural for an?s, means "forced conversion" in Hebrew. In Jewish Law, this is the legal term applied to a Jew who was forced to abandon Judaism against his or her will, but does whatever is in his or her power to continue practicing Judaism under the forced condition....
.

Synagogues

Most Spanish and Portuguese synagogue
Synagogue

A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer.Synagogues usually have a large hall for prayer , smaller rooms for study and sometimes a social hall and offices....
s are, like those of the Italian Jews
Italian Jews

Italian Jews can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in Italy or in a narrower sense to mean the ancient community who use the Italian rite, as distinct from newer arrivals who use the Sephardi or Ashkenazi rite....
and the Romaniotes
Romaniotes

The Romaniotes are a Jewish population who have lived in the territory of today's Greece and neighboring areas with large Greek populations for more than 2,000 years....
, characterised by a bipolar layout, with the tebáh
Tebah

Tebah may refer to:* Bimah*Tebah, Afghanistan...
(bimah) near the opposite wall to the Hechál
Hekhal

The Hekhal , Hebrew Language ?????, also known as the Sanctuary or Holy, was the part of Tabernacle and Temple in Jerusalem between the outer altar, where most Korban were performed, and the Holy of Holies originally containing the Ark of the Covenant....
(Ark). The Hekhál has its parochet
Parochet

Parochet is the curtain on the front of the Aron Kodesh in a synagogue that covers the Sifrei Torah . In most cases, behind the parochet is also a door....
(curtain) inside its doors, rather than outside. The sefarim
Sefer Torah

A Sefer Torah is a specially hand-written copy of the Torah or Pentateuch, which is the holiest book within Judaism and venerated by Jews. It must meet extremely strict standards of production....
(Torah scrolls) are usually wrapped in a very wide mantle, quite different from the cylindrical mantles used by most Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews

File:Juden 1881.JPGAshkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish ethnic divisions of the Rhineland in the west of Germany....
. Tikim — wooden or metal cylinders around the sefarim — are usually not used, though it is reported that these were in use in the Portuguese Jewish community in Hamburg.

The most important synagogues, or esnogas, as they are usually called amongst Spanish and Portuguese Jews, are the Amsterdam Esnoga
Amsterdam Esnoga

The Esnoga , also known as the Snoge or Portuguese Synagogue, is a 17th-century Sephardic synagogue in Amsterdam. Esnoga is the Ladino word for synagogue....
and those in London and New York. Amsterdam is still the historical centre of the Amsterdam minhag, as used in the Netherlands and former Dutch possessions such as Surinam. Also important is the Bevis Marks Synagogue
Bevis Marks Synagogue

Bevis Marks Synagogue is located off Bevis Marks, in the City of London. The synagogue, affiliated to London's Spanish and Portuguese Jews community , is the oldest synagogue in the United Kingdom still in operation and is a listed building....
in London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
, the historical centre of the London minhag. The Snoa (1732) of the Mikvé Israel-Emanuel congregation in Curaçao
Curaçao

Cura?ao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The island area of Cura?ao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Cura?ao , is one of five islands of the Netherlands Antilles of the Netherlands Antilles, and as such, is a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands....
is considered one of the most important synagogues in the Jewish history of the Americas.

Language
Characteristic language traits of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews are the use of both Spanish
Spanish language

Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade....
and Portuguese language
Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and Portugal. It is derived from the Latin language spoken by the Romanization Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago....
s — and often a mixture of the two — in parts of the synagogue service. Otherwise, the use of Spanish and Portuguese quickly diminished amongst the Spanish and Portuguese Jews after the 1600s, and from the mid 1800s on, Spanish and Portuguese were in practice replaced with local languages in everyday use. Local languages used by Spanish and Portuguese Jews include Dutch (in the Netherlands
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
and Belgium
Belgium

* A small German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium....
); Low German
Low German

Low German or Low Saxon is any of the regional language varieties of the West Germanic languages spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands....
in the Hamburg
Hamburg

Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany , and is the Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits. The city is home to approximately 1.8 million people, while the Hamburg metropolitan area has more than 4.3 million inhabitants....
/Altona
Altona

Altona may refer to:* Altona, Hamburg, Germany** Altona-Nord, Hamburg, Germany*Altona, Illinois, United States*Altona, Indiana, United States...
area; and English in Great Britain
Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
, Ireland
Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
, USA and Jamaica
Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. It is about south of Cuba, and west of the island of Hispaniola, on which Haiti and the Dominican Republic are situated....
.

Portuguese
Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and Portugal. It is derived from the Latin language spoken by the Romanization Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago....

Because of the relative high proportion of immigrants through Portugal
Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....
, the majority of Spanish and Portuguese Jews of the 16th and 17th centuries spoke Portuguese as their first language. Portuguese was primarily 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 Parnas dos Cautivos and Thesoureiro do Heshaim. As a basic academic language, Portuguese was used for such works as the halakhic manual Thesouro dos Dinim by Menasseh Ben Israel
Menasseh Ben Israel

Manoel Dias Soeiro , better known by his Hebrew language name Menasseh Ben Israel , was a Spanish and Portuguese Jews rabbi, Kabbalah, scholar, writer, diplomat, printer and publisher, founder of the first Hebrew printing press in Amsterdam in 1626....
, and controversial works by Uriel da Costa
Uriel da Costa

Uriel da Costa or Uriel Acosta was a philosopher and skeptic from Portugal....
. Portuguese is also used — some times purely, other times in a mixture with Spanish and Hebrew — in connection with announcements of mitsvót
Mitzvah

This article is about commandments in Judaism. For the Jewish rite of passage, see Bar Mitzvah and Bat MitzvahMitzvah is a word used in Judaism to refer to the 613 Mitzvot given in the Torah and the Mitzvah#Rabbinical_mitzvot instituted later for a total of 620....
in the esnoga
Synagogue

A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer.Synagogues usually have a large hall for prayer , smaller rooms for study and sometimes a social hall and offices....
, in connection with the Mi shebberakh prayer, etc. The Judeo-Portuguese
Judeo-Portuguese

Judeo-Portuguese or Lusitanic is the generally extinct Jewish language of the Jews of Portugal....
dialect was preserved in some documents, but it is not used in everyday speech. It has had some influence on the Judeo-Italian dialect of Livorno
Livorno

Livorno or Leghorn is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the Capital of the Province of Livorno and the third-largest port on the western coast of Italy, having a population of approximately 170,000 residents as of the year 2007....
, known as Bagitto.

Portuguese ceased to be a spoken language in Holland after the Napoleonic period, when Jewish schools were only allowed to teach in Dutch and Hebrew.

Castilian
Spanish language

Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade....
(Spanish)
Castilian
Spanish language

Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade....
(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 themselves at that time. Relatively soon, the Castilian Ladino took on a semi-sacred status, and works of theology as well as reza books (siddur
Siddur

A siddur is a Judaism prayer book, containing a set order of List of Jewish prayers and blessings. This article discusses how some of these prayers evolved, and how the siddur, as we know it today has developed....
im) were often written in Castilian rather than in Portuguese. ("Ladino", in this context, simply means literal translation from Hebrew: it should not be confused with the Judaeo-Spanish
Judaeo-Spanish

Judaeo-Spanish is a Romance languages derived from Old Spanish language. As a Jewish language, it is influenced heavily by Hebrew language and Aramaic, but also Arabic language, Turkish language and to a lesser extent Greek language and other languages where Alhambra Decree settled around the world, primarily throughout the Ottoman Empire....
vernacular of Balkan, Greek and Turkish Sephardim.) Members of the Amsterdam community continued to use Spanish as a literary language, and established clubs and libraries for the study of modern Spanish literature, such as the Academia de los Sitibundos (founded 1676) and the Academia de los Floridos (1685).

In England the use of Spanish and Portuguese continued until the mid-eighteenth century: it is notable that the 1740 translation of the prayers was in Spanish, while the 1771 translation by A. Alexander was in (not very good) English. Today there is no tradition of using Spanish, except for the hymn Bendigamos
Bendigamos

Bendigamos is a prayer said after meals according to the custom of Spanish and Portuguese Jews. It is similar in meaning to the Birkat Hamazon that is said by all Jews....
, the translation of the Biblical passages in the prayer-book for Tishngáh be-Ab
Tisha B'Av

is an annual ta'anit in Judaism, named for the ninth day of the month of Av in the Hebrew calendar. The fast commemorates the destruction of the Solomon's Temple and Second Temples in Jerusalem, which occurred about 656 years apart, but on the same date....
and in certain traditional greetings.

Hebrew
The Hebrew of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews as we know it from the 1800s and 1900s is characterised primarily by the pronunciation of (Beth Rafé) as a hard b (e.g., Abrahám, Tebáh, Habdaláh) and the pronunciation of (‘Ayin
Ayin

' or ' is the sixteenth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician alphabet, Aramaic language, Hebrew language and Arabic alphabet ....
) as a voiced velar nasal (Shemang, Ngalénu). The hard pronunciation of Beth Rafé differs from the v pronunciation of Moroccan Jews
History of the Jews in Morocco

Morocco Jews constitute an ancient community. Before the founding of Israel in 1948, there were about 250,000 Jews in the country, but fewer than 7,000 or so remain....
and the Judaeo-Spanish
Judaeo-Spanish

Judaeo-Spanish is a Romance languages derived from Old Spanish language. As a Jewish language, it is influenced heavily by Hebrew language and Aramaic, but also Arabic language, Turkish language and to a lesser extent Greek language and other languages where Alhambra Decree settled around the world, primarily throughout the Ottoman Empire....
Jews of the Balkans, but is shared by Algerian Jews
History of the Jews in Algeria

Jews and Judaism have a rather long history in Algeria, but the country's Jewish population was severely depleted by emigration during the political tensions of the late twentieth century....
and Syrian Jews
Syrian Jews

Syrian Jews derive their origin from two groups: those who inhabited the region of today's Syria from the History of Ancient Israel and Judah and those Sephardim who fled to Syria after the Alhambra decree ....
. The nasal pronunciation of ‘Ayin is shared with traditional Italian
Italian Jews

Italian Jews can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in Italy or in a narrower sense to mean the ancient community who use the Italian rite, as distinct from newer arrivals who use the Sephardi or Ashkenazi rite....
pronunciation, but not with any other Sephardi groups. Both these features are declining, under the influence of hazzanim from other communities and of Israeli Hebrew
Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic languages of the Afro-Asiatic languages. Modern Hebrew is spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Classical Hebrew is used for prayer or study in Jews communities around the world....
.

The sibilants , , and are all transcribed as s in earlier sources. This, along with the traditional spellings Sabá (Shabbat), Menasseh (Menashe), Ros(as)anáh (Rosh Hashana), Sedacáh (tzedaka), massoth (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 1800s, the pronunciations (for and [ts] for have become common — probably by influence from Oriental Sephardic immigrants, from Ashkenazi Hebrew
Ashkenazi Hebrew

Ashkenazi Hebrew is the pronunciation system for Biblical Hebrew language and Mishnaic Hebrew language favored for Liturgy use by Ashkenazi Judaism practice....
and, in our times, Israeli Hebrew
Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic languages of the Afro-Asiatic languages. Modern Hebrew is spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Classical Hebrew is used for prayer or study in Jews communities around the world....
.

The (Tav
Taw (letter)

Taw or Tav is the twenty-second and last letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician language, Aramaic language, Hebrew language Tav and Arabic alphabet ....
rafé) is pronounced like t in all traditions of Spanish and Portuguese Jews today, although the consistent transliteration as th in 17th century sources may suggest an earlier differentiation of and . (Final is occasionally heard as d.)

In Dutch-speaking areas, but not elsewhere, (gimel) is often pronounced [] like Dutch "g". More careful speakers use this sound for gimel rafé (gimel without dagesh), while pronouncing gimel with dagesh as [].

Dutch Sephardim take care to pronounce he
He (letter)

He is the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician alphabet , Aramaic alphabet, Hebrew alphabet , Syriac alphabet and Arabic alphabet ....
with mappiq
Mappiq

The mappiq is a diacritic used in the Hebrew alphabet. It is part of the Masoretes' system of niqqud , and was added to Hebrew language orthography at the same time....
as a full "h", usually repeating the vowel: vi-yamlich malchutéh^e.

The accentuation of Hebrew adheres strictly to the rules of Biblical Hebrew, including the secondary stress on syllables with a long vowel before a Shevá
Schwa

In linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, schwa can mean the following:*An stress and tone neutral vowel sound in any language, often but not necessarily a mid-central vowel....
. Also, the shevá na‘ in the beginning of a word is normally pronounced as a short eh (Shemang, berít, berakháh). Shevá na‘ is also normally pronounced after a long vowel with secondary stress (ngomedím, barekhú). However it is not pronounced after a prefixed u- (and) or ha- (the), unless the intervening consonant is doubled or the prefix has meteg: ubne, not u-bene; lamnatseahh, not la-menatseahh.

Vocal shevá
Niqqud

In Hebrew language orthography, niqqud or nikkud is the system of diacritical signs used to represent vowels or distinguish between alternative pronunciations of consonants of the Hebrew alphabet....
, segol
Niqqud

In Hebrew language orthography, niqqud or nikkud is the system of diacritical signs used to represent vowels or distinguish between alternative pronunciations of consonants of the Hebrew alphabet....
(short e) and tsere
Niqqud

In Hebrew language orthography, niqqud or nikkud is the system of diacritical signs used to represent vowels or distinguish between alternative pronunciations of consonants of the Hebrew alphabet....
(long e) are all pronounced like the 'e' in "bed": there is no distinction except in length. In some communities, e.g. Amsterdam, vocal shevá is pronounced [] when marked with ga'ya (a straight line next to the vowel symbol, equivalent to meteg), and as [] when followed by the letter yod
Yodh

Yodh is the tenth letter of many Semitic History of the alphabet, including Phoenician language, Aramaic language, Hebrew language Yud , Syriac alphabet and Arabic alphabet ....
: thus va-nashubah and bi-yom (but be-Yisrael).

The differentiation between kamatz gadol
Niqqud

In Hebrew language orthography, niqqud or nikkud is the system of diacritical signs used to represent vowels or distinguish between alternative pronunciations of consonants of the Hebrew alphabet....
and kamatz katan
Niqqud

In Hebrew language orthography, niqqud or nikkud is the system of diacritical signs used to represent vowels or distinguish between alternative pronunciations of consonants of the Hebrew alphabet....
is made according to purely phonetic rules without regard to etymology, which occasionally leads to spelling pronunciation
Spelling pronunciation

A spelling pronunciation is a pronunciation that, instead of reflecting the way the word was pronounced by previous generations of speakers, is a rendering in sound of the word's spelling....
s at variance with the rules laid down in the grammar books. For example, ??? (all), when unhyphenated, is pronounced "kal" rather than "kol" (in "kal ngatsmotai" and "Kal Nidre
Kol Nidre

Kol Nidre or Kol Nidrei is a Jewish services recited in the synagogue at the beginning of the evening service on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement....
"), and ????????? (noon) is pronounced "tsahorayim" rather than "tsohorayim". This feature is shared by other Sephardic groups, but is not found in Israeli Hebrew
Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic languages of the Afro-Asiatic languages. Modern Hebrew is spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Classical Hebrew is used for prayer or study in Jews communities around the world....
. It is also found in the transliteration of proper names in the Authorised Version
King James Version of the Bible

The Authorized King James Version is an English language translation of the Christian Bible begun in 1604 and first published in 1611 by the Church of England....
, such as "Naomi", "Aholah" and "Aholibah".

Liturgy

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 variations in liturgy from pre-expulsion Spain. Moses Gaster
Moses Gaster

Moses Gaster was a Romanian-born Jewish-United Kingdom scholar, the Hakham of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, London, and a Hebrew language linguistics....
(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.

As compared with other Sephardic groups, the minhag
Minhag

Minhag is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. A related concept, Nusach , refers to the traditional order and form of the Jewish services....
of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews is characterised by a relatively low number of cabbalistic
Kabbalah

Kabbalah is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mysticism aspect of Judaism. It is a set of esoteric teachings that are meant to explain the relationship between an infinite, eternal and essentially unknowable Creator deity with the finite and mortal universe of His creation....
additions. The Friday night service thus traditionally starts with Psalm
Psalms

Psalms is a book of the Hebrew Bible , included in the collected works known as the "Writings" or Ketuvim....
29, “Mizmor leDavid: Habu LaA.”. In the printed siddurim of the mid-17th century, “Lekhah Dodi
Lekhah Dodi

Lekhah Dodi is a Hebrew-language Religious Jewish music recited Friday at dusk, usually at sundown, in synagogue to welcome Shabbat prior to the Maariv ....
” and the Mishnaic passage Bammeh madlikin are also not yet included, but these are included in all newer siddurim of the tradition except for the early West London
West London Synagogue

The West London Synagogue of British Jews was established on the 15 April 1840, and is the oldest Reform Judaism synagogue in Great Britain....
and Mickve Israel (Savannah)
Congregation Mickve Israel

Congregation Mickve Israel, in Savannah, Georgia, is one of the oldest synagogues in the United States, the congregation having begun in 1733. The synagogue, located on Squares of Savannah, Georgia#Monterey Square in historic Savannah, was consecrated in 1878, and is a rare example of a Gothic revival architecture-style synagogue....
Reform
Reform Judaism

Reform Judaism refers to the spectrum of beliefs, practices and organizational infrastructure associated with Reform Judaism in Reform Judaism and in Reform Judaism ....
prayerbooks, both of which have Spanish and Portuguese roots.

Of other, less conspicuous, elements, a number of archaic forms can be mentioned — including some similarities with the Italian
Italian Jews

Italian Jews can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in Italy or in a narrower sense to mean the ancient community who use the Italian rite, as distinct from newer arrivals who use the Sephardi or Ashkenazi rite....
and Western Ashkenazi traditions. Such elements include the shorter form of the Birkat hammazon
Birkat Hamazon

Birkat Hamazon, , known in English as the Grace After Meals, , is a set of Hebrew language blessings that Halakha prescribes following a meal that includes bread or matzoh made from one or all of wheat, barley, rye, oats, spelt....
which can be found in the older Amsterdam
Sephardic Jews in the Netherlands

As a result of the Inquisition, many Sephardim left the Iberian peninsula at the end of the 15th century and throughout the 16th century, in search for religious freedom....
and Hamburg/Scandinavian traditions. The Livorno
Jewish community of Livorno

The Jewish community of Livorno, although the youngest among the historic Jewish communities of Italy, was for some time the foremost because of the wealth, scholarship, and political rights of its members....
(Leghorn) tradition, however, includes many of the cabbalistic additions found in most other Sephardi
Sephardi Jews

Sephardi Jews are a subgroup of Jews originating in the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa, usually defined in contrast to Ashkenazi or Mizrahi Jews....
traditions. The current London minhag is generally close to the Amsterdam minhag, but follows the Livorno tradition in some details — most notably in the Birkat hammazon
Birkat Hamazon

Birkat Hamazon, , known in English as the Grace After Meals, , is a set of Hebrew language blessings that Halakha prescribes following a meal that includes bread or matzoh made from one or all of wheat, barley, rye, oats, spelt....
.

Music

Historical
The ritual music
Religious Jewish music

This article describes the principal types of religious Jewish music from the days of the Temple to modern times. For more detail on the history, see History of religious Jewish music....
of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews differs from other Sephardi music in that it is influenced by Western European Baroque
Baroque music

Baroque music describes a period or style of European classical music approximately extending from Dates of classical music eras. This era is said to begin in music after the Renaissance music and was followed by the Classical music era....
and Classical music
Classical period (music)

The dates of the Classical period in Western music are generally accepted as 1750 to 1825. However, the term classical music is used colloquially to describe a variety of Western musical styles from the 9th century to the present....
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 and circumcisions and for festivals such as Hosha'na Rabbah on which the halachic restriction on instrumental music did not apply.

Already in 1603, the sources tell us that harpsichord
Harpsichord

A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when each Key is pressed....
s were used in the Spanish and Portuguese synagogues in Hamburg
Hamburg

Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany , and is the Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits. The city is home to approximately 1.8 million people, while the Hamburg metropolitan area has more than 4.3 million inhabitants....
. 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 1700s. An important Jewish composer was Abraham de Casseres; music was also commissioned from non-Jewish composers such as Christian Joseph Lidarti. There was formerly a custom in Amsterdam, inspired by a hint in the Zohar
Zohar

The Zohar is widely considered the most important work of Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism. It is a mystical commentary on the Torah , written in medieval Aramaic language....
, of holding an instrumental concert on Friday afternoon prior to the coming in of the Sabbath, as a means of getting the congregants in the right mood for the Friday night service.

The same process took place in Italy, where the Venetian community commissioned music from non-Jewish composers such as Carlo Grossi
Carlo Grossi

Carlo Grossi was an Italian composer born about 1634. He died in 1688 at Venice....
and Benedetto Marcello
Benedetto Marcello

Benedetto Marcello was an Italy composer, writer, advocate, magistrate, and teacher....
.

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.

Choirs
Already in the 17th century, choirs were used in the service on holidays in the Amsterdam community. This custom was introduced in London in the early 1800s. 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.

Instrumental music

There are early precedents for the use of instrumental music in the synagogue originating in 17th century Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
as well as the Spanish and Portuguese communities of Hamburg
Hamburg

Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany , and is the Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits. The city is home to approximately 1.8 million people, while the Hamburg metropolitan area has more than 4.3 million inhabitants....
and Amsterdam
Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the Capital of the Netherlands and List of cities in the Netherlands with over 100,000 people of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands of North Holland in the west of the country....
and in the Ashkenazic community of Prague
Prague

Prague is the Capital and World's largest cities of the Czech Republic. Its official name is Hlavn? mesto Praha, meaning Prague, the Capital City....
. As in most other communities (until the rise of the Reform movement
Reform Judaism

Reform Judaism refers to the spectrum of beliefs, practices and organizational infrastructure associated with Reform Judaism in Reform Judaism and in Reform Judaism ....
in the 19th century) the use of instrumental music was not permitted on Shabbat or festivals.

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
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
(Bordeaux
Bordeaux

is a Port city on the Garonne in southwest France, with one million inhabitants in its aire urbaine at a 2008 estimate. It is the Capital of the Aquitaine regions of France, as well as the Prefectures in France of the Gironde Departments of France....
, Bayonne
Bayonne

name= BayonneFile:Bayonne.jpgView of Grand Bayonne across the Adour|r?gion=Aquitaine|d?partement=Pyr?n?es-Atlantiques...
), USA (Savannah
Savannah, Georgia

Savannah is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Chatham County, Georgia, Georgia , United States. Savannah was established in 1733 and was the first colonial and state capital of Georgia....
, Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is a city in Charleston County, South Carolina in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is the largest city and county seat of Charleston County....
, Richmond
Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the Capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county....
) and the Caribbean
Caribbean

The Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and Northern America, east of Central America, and to the north of South America....
(Curaçao
Curaçao

Cura?ao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The island area of Cura?ao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Cura?ao , is one of five islands of the Netherlands Antilles of the Netherlands Antilles, and as such, is a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands....
), pipe organs came into use during the course of the 19th century, in parallel with developments in Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism

Reform Judaism refers to the spectrum of beliefs, practices and organizational infrastructure associated with Reform Judaism in Reform Judaism and in Reform Judaism ....
. In Curaçao
Curaçao

Cura?ao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The island area of Cura?ao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Cura?ao , is one of five islands of the Netherlands Antilles of the Netherlands Antilles, and as such, is a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands....
, where the traditional congregation had an organ set up in the late 1800s, 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 benot mitzvah
B'nai Mitzvah

In Judaism, a Bar Mitzvah or a Bat Mitzvah is a Jewish boy or girl who has coming of age. The terms are also commonly used to refer to the ceremony celebrating this coming of age....
(although never on Shabbat or Yom Tob), in the same way as in some English Ashkenazi
Ashkenazi Jews

File:Juden 1881.JPGAshkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish ethnic divisions of the Rhineland in the west of Germany....
synagogues.

Current practice
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 solistically. The ?azzán
Hazzan

A hazzan or chazzan is a Jewish cantor, a musician trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the synagogue in songful prayer.There are many rules relating to how a cantor should lead services, but the idea of a cantor as a paid professional does not exist in classical rabbinic sources....
’s rôle is typically one of guiding the congregation rather than being a soloist. Thus, there is traditionally a much stronger emphasis on correct diction and knowledge of the musical minhág
Nusach

Nusach is a concept in Judaism that has two distinct meanings. One is the style of a prayer service ; another is the melody of the service depending on when the service is being conducted....
than on the solistic voice quality. In the parts of the service where the ?azzán would traditionally have a more solistic rôle, the basic melodies are embellished according to the general principles of Baroque
Baroque music

Baroque music describes a period or style of European classical music approximately extending from Dates of classical music eras. This era is said to begin in music after the Renaissance music and was followed by the Classical music era....
performance practice: for example, after a prayer or hymn sung by the congregation, the ?azzán often repeats the last line in a highly elaborated form. Two- and three-part harmony is relatively common, and Edwin Seroussi
Edwin Seroussi

Edwin Seroussi is a leading contemporary israel Musicology of Uruguayan origin.He was born at Montevideo, and settled in Israel in 1971. He is currently professor of musicology and director of the Jewish Music Research Centre at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
has shown that the harmonies are a reflection of more complex, four-part harmonies in written sources from the 18th century.

The recitative style of the central parts of the service, such as the Amidah
Amidah

The Amidah , also called the Shmona Esre , is the central prayer of the Siddur. As Judaism's prayer par excellence, the Amidah is often designated simply as tfila in Rabbinic literature....
, the Psalms
Psalms

Psalms is a book of the Hebrew Bible , included in the collected works known as the "Writings" or Ketuvim....
and the cantillation
Cantillation

Cantillation is the ritual chanting of readings from the Bible in synagogue Jewish services.The chants are rendered in accordance with the special signs or marks printed in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible to complement the letters and vowel points....
of the Torah is loosely related to that of other Sephardi and Mizra?i
Mizrahi Jews

Mizrahi Jews or Mizrahim, , also referred to as Adot HaMizrach are Jews descended from the Jewish communities of the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia and the Caucasus....
communities, though there is no formal maqam
Maqam

Maqam is a musical mode structure that characterizes the art of music of countries in North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. In this area we can distinguish three main musical cultures which all belong to the Maqam family, namely the Persian, the Arabic and the Turkish....
system as found in other traditions. The closest resemblance is to the rituals of Gibraltar and Northern Morocco, as Spanish and Portuguese communities traditionally recruited their ?azzanim from these countries. There is a remoter affinity with the Babylonian and North African traditions: these are more conservative than the Syrian and Judaeo-Spanish
Judaeo-Spanish

Judaeo-Spanish is a Romance languages derived from Old Spanish language. As a Jewish language, it is influenced heavily by Hebrew language and Aramaic, but also Arabic language, Turkish language and to a lesser extent Greek language and other languages where Alhambra Decree settled around the world, primarily throughout the Ottoman Empire....
traditions, which have been more heavily influenced by popular Mediterranean and Arabic music.

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 Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah is a Jewish holiday commonly referred to as the "Judaism New Year." It is observed on the first day of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, as ordained in the Torah, in ....
and Kippúr
Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur , also known in English as the Day of Atonement, is the most solemn and important of the Jewish holidays. Its central themes are Atonement in Judaism and Repentance in Judaism....
(Yom Kippur), when the whole service has a far more archaic character.

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 Nishmat and Kaddish
Kaddish

Kaddish refers to an important and central prayer in the Jewish Jewish services. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of Names of God in Judaism's name....
. This occurs only to a limited extent in the Spanish and Portuguese ritual, and can be traced to the book of hymns Imre no'am (1628), published in Amsterdam by Joseph Gallego, a hazzan originating in Salonica. Certain well-known tunes, such as El nora aliláh and Ahhot ketannáh, are shared with Sephardi communities world-wide with small variations.

Cantillation

Spanish and Portuguese traditional cantillation
Cantillation

Cantillation is the ritual chanting of readings from the Bible in synagogue Jewish services.The chants are rendered in accordance with the special signs or marks printed in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible to complement the letters and vowel points....
has several unique elements. Torah cantillation is divided into two musical styles. The first is the standard used for all regular readings. A separate manner of cantillation is used on special occasions. This is normally referred to as High Tangamim or High Na'um. It is used for special portions of the Torah reading. These are: Chapter 1 of Bereshit (on Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah

Simchat Torah is a celebration marking the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. Simchat Torah is a component of the Bible Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret , which follows immediately after the festival of Sukkot in the month of Tishrei ....
); the Shirat ha-Yam; the Ten Commandments
Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments, or Decalogue, are a list of religious and moral imperatives that, according to Judeo-Christian tradition, were authored by God and given to Moses on the mountain referred to as "Biblical Mount Sinai" or "Mount Horeb" in the form of two stone tablets....
; the Song of Moses; the concluding sentences of each of the five books; and several other smaller portions. The term High Tangamim refers to the elaborate musical rendition of the cantillation notes - yet it is borrowed from the use of a second Masoretic notation for the Ten Commandments common among most Jewish rituals.

The rendition of the Haftarah
Haftarah

The haftarah or haftorah is a series of selections from the books of Nevi'im of the Hebrew Bible that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Judaism....
(prophetic portion) also has two (or three) styles. The standard, used for most haftarot, is nearly identical with that of the Spanish-Moroccan nusach
Nusach

Nusach is a concept in Judaism that has two distinct meanings. One is the style of a prayer service ; another is the melody of the service depending on when the service is being conducted....
. A distinctly more somber melody is used for the three haftarot preceding the ninth of Ab (the "three weeks".) On the morning of the Ninth of Ab
Tisha B'Av

is an annual ta'anit in Judaism, named for the ninth day of the month of Av in the Hebrew calendar. The fast commemorates the destruction of the Solomon's Temple and Second Temples in Jerusalem, which occurred about 656 years apart, but on the same date....
a third melody is used for the Haftarah - although this melody is borrowed from the melody for the Book of Ruth
Book of Ruth

The Book of Ruth is one of the books of the Ketuvim of the Tanakh and of the Historical Books of the Old Testament. It is a rather short book, in both Judaism and Christianity scripture, consisting of only four chapters....
.

There is a special melody used for the Book of Esther
Book of Esther

The Book of Esther is one of the books of the Ketuvim of the Tanakh and of the Historical Books of the Old Testament. The Book of Esther or the Megillah is the basis for the Jewish celebration of Purim....
; in London this is a cantillation system in the full sense, while in some other communities it is chant-like and does not depend on the Masoretic symbols. The books of Ruth, read on Shavuot
Shavuot

is a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan . Shavuot commemorates the anniversary of the day Names of God in Judaism#In English gave the Ten Commandments to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai....
, and Lamentations
Book of Lamentations

The Book of Lamentations is a book of the Bible Old Testament and Judaism Tanakh. It is traditionally read by the Jewish people on Tisha B'Av, the fast day that commemorates the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem....
, read on the Ninth of Ab, have their own cantillation melodies as well. There is no tradition of reading Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes is a book of the Hebrew Bible. The English name derives from the Greek language translation of the Hebrew #Title.The main speaker in the book, identified by the name or title Qohelet, introduces himself as "son of David, and king in Jerusalem." The work consists of personal or autobiographic matter, at times expressed in aph...
.

Most Spanish and Portuguese communities have no tradition of liturgical reading of the Shir haShirim (Song of Songs
Song of songs

Song of Songs is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. It may also refer to:In music:*Song of songs , the debut album by David and the Giants...
), unlike Ashkenazim who read it on Pesach 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, 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.

Unlike in Oriental Sephardic traditions, there is no cantillation mode for the books of Psalms, Proverbs
Book of Proverbs

The Book of Proverbs is a book of the Hebrew Bible , included in the collected works known as the "Writings" or Ketuvim....
and the poetic parts of Job
Book of Job

The Book of Job is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job , his trials at the hands of Satan, his theological discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, and finally a response from God....
. The chant for the Psalms in the Friday night service has some resemblance to the cantillation mode of the Oriental traditions, but is not dependent on the cantillation marks.

Communities, past and present

Western Europe

Belgium
Belgium

* A small German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium....
and the Netherlands
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
>

Amsterdam
Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the Capital of the Netherlands and List of cities in the Netherlands with over 100,000 people of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands of North Holland in the west of the country....
Congregation Talmud Torah
Amsterdam Esnoga

The Esnoga , also known as the Snoge or Portuguese Synagogue, is a 17th-century Sephardic synagogue in Amsterdam. Esnoga is the Ladino word for synagogue....
, Visserplein (1639) http://www.esnoga.com synagogue opened 1675
Antwerp
Antwerp

||-||-||-||}Antwerp is a city and municipality in Belgium and the capital of the Antwerp in Flanders, one of Belgium's three regions....
Portuguese synagogue, Hovenierstraat (1898)
synagogue opened 1913; membership and ritual now mainly North African
The Hague
The Hague

The Hague is the third largest city in the Netherlands after Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with a population of 475,904 and an area of approximately 100 km?....

closed after Second World War

France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....

Bayonne
Bayonne

name= BayonneFile:Bayonne.jpgView of Grand Bayonne across the Adour|r?gion=Aquitaine|d?partement=Pyr?n?es-Atlantiques...

Bordeaux
Bordeaux

is a Port city on the Garonne in southwest France, with one million inhabitants in its aire urbaine at a 2008 estimate. It is the Capital of the Aquitaine regions of France, as well as the Prefectures in France of the Gironde Departments of France....

Paris
Paris

Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
Temple Buffault (1877) http://www.buffault.net/Temple_BUFFAULT.html membership mainly Algerian
Carpentras
Carpentras

Carpentras is a town and communes of France in the departments of France of Vaucluse in the Provence-Alpes-C?te d'Azur regions of France of France....

formerly used the Provençal rite
Hachmei Provence

Provence a province in southern France, was a great Torah center in the times of the Tosafists. The rabbis of Provence were separately classified as Hachmei Provence - the wise of Provence, or Proven?al rabbis....
, since assimilated to the Bordeaux Portuguese minhag

Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....

Hamburg
Hamburg

Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany , and is the Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits. The city is home to approximately 1.8 million people, while the Hamburg metropolitan area has more than 4.3 million inhabitants....
Beth Israel

Altona
Altona

Altona may refer to:* Altona, Hamburg, Germany** Altona-Nord, Hamburg, Germany*Altona, Illinois, United States*Altona, Indiana, United States...
Neweh Schalom

Glückstadt
Glückstadt

Gl?ckstadt, a town of Germany in Schleswig-Holstein, on the right bank of the Elbe river, at the confluence of the small river Rhin, and 28 miles NW of Altona, on the railway from Itzehoe to Elmshorn....

Great Britain
Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....

London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
Bevis Marks Synagogue
Bevis Marks Synagogue

Bevis Marks Synagogue is located off Bevis Marks, in the City of London. The synagogue, affiliated to London's Spanish and Portuguese Jews community , is the oldest synagogue in the United Kingdom still in operation and is a listed building....
(synagogue opened 1701) http://www.bevismarks.org.uk (under construction); http://www.sandp.org/opening.htm (old site) community Sahar Asamaim dates from 1656, owns all three synagogues
Lauderdale Road synagogue (1896)
replaced Bryanston Street branch synagogue (1866-1896)
Wembley
Wembley

Wembley Central is an area located in HA postcode area, UK which forms the Western part of the London Borough of Brent. It is best known as the location of Wembley Stadium, which is the home of English football....
Synagogue (1977) http://www.wsps.org.uk/ community formed in 1962; membership mainly Egyptian
Manchester
Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. Manchester was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1853....
Withington
Withington

Withington is a suburb of the City of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south of Manchester City Centre, about south of Fallowfield, north-east of Didsbury, and east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy, near the centre-to-south edges of the Greater Manchester Urban Area; in the Manchester Withington ....
Congregation of Spanish and Portuguese Jews, West Didsbury
the congregation also has a synagogue in Lansdowne Road (formerly a separate congregation)
Salford
Salford

Salford lies at the heart of the City of Salford, a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. Salford is located by a meander of the River Irwell, which forms its boundary with the city of Manchester to the east....
Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue
formerly at Cheetham Hill
Cheetham Hill

Cheetham Hill is an inner city area of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. As an Wards of the United Kingdom it is known as Cheetham and has a population of 12,846....
(the old building is now the Manchester Jewish Museum
Manchester Jewish Museum

Manchester Jewish Museum tells the story of the Jewish community in Manchester, England over the last 200 years. It occupies the former Spanish and Portuguese Jews on Cheetham Hill Road and is a grade II* listed building ...
)
Leeds
Leeds

Leeds is located on the River Aire in West Yorkshire, England. It is the urban core and administrative centre of the wider metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds....
Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue of Leeds (est. 1924; dissolved in late 1940s )

Portugal
Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....

Lisbon
Lisbon

Lisbon is the Capital and largest city of Portugal. It is also the seat of the Lisbon and capital of the Lisbon region. Its municipalities of Portugal, which matches the city proper excluding the larger continuous conurbation, has a municipal population of 564,477 in , while the Lisbon Metropolitan Area in total has around 2.8 million inha...
Sha'aré Tikvá
Lisbon Synagogue

The Lisbon Synagogue, called Shaar? Tikvah is a historical synagogue in the city of Lisbon, in Portugal.There have been Jews in Lisbon at least since the Middle Ages, but the community suffered a major blow in 1497, when an edict by Manuel I of Portugal ordered Jews either to convert to Christianity or to leave the country....
http://membres.lycos.fr/shaaretikva/
Oporto
Porto

Porto , also Oporto in English, is Portugal's second city and capital of the Norte, Portugal NUTS II region. The city is located in the estuary of the Douro river in northern Portugal....

Ponta Delgada
Ponta Delgada

Ponta Delgada is a city and municipality on S?o Miguel Island in the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal. The city proper has a population of 46,102 and the municipality has a population of 64,516 for a total area of 233.0 km?....
, Azores
Azores

The Azores is a Portugal archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, about 1,500 km from Lisbon and about 3,900 km from the east coast of North America....
Sinagoga Porta do Céu (Shaar ha-Shamain)

Belmonte
Belmonte (Portugal)

Belmonte is a municipality in Portugal. It has a total area of 118.8 km? and a total population of 7,662 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of five parishes and is located in the district of Castelo Branco ....

see Belmonte Jews
Belmonte Jews

The Belmonte Jews are a Jewish community of marranos that have survived in secrecy for hundreds of years by maintaining a tradition of endogamy and by hiding all the external signs of their faith....

Mediterranean

Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....

Livorno
Livorno

Livorno or Leghorn is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the Capital of the Province of Livorno and the third-largest port on the western coast of Italy, having a population of approximately 170,000 residents as of the year 2007....
Comunità ebraica di Livorno
Jewish community of Livorno

The Jewish community of Livorno, although the youngest among the historic Jewish communities of Italy, was for some time the foremost because of the wealth, scholarship, and political rights of its members....
(1593) http://www.comunitaebraica.org/main_eng.htm original synagogue built 1603; present synagogue opened 1962
Venice
Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy, the capital city of the Italian regions Veneto, a population of 271,251 . Together with Padua, Italy, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area ....
Scola Spagnola
Spanish Synagogue (Venice)

The Spanish Synagogue is one of the two functioning synagogues in the Venetian Ghetto of Venice. It is open for services from Passover until the end of the High Holiday season....
(1550)

Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
Tempio Spagnolo, Via Catalana

Gibraltar
Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory shares a border with Spain to the north....

Gibraltar
Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory shares a border with Spain to the north....
Sha'ar Hashamayim (1724)
synagogue opened 1812

Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....

Jerusalem
Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and its List of Israeli cities in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if Positions on Jerusalem East Jerusalem is included....
Congregation Sha’arei Ratzon (1981) http://www.esek.com/sr/ located in the Istanbuli Synagogue in Jerusalem's Old City and following the London minhag

Americas

Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....

Montreal
Montreal

Montreal, or Montr?al, is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada of Quebec and the List of largest cities and second largest cities by country List of the 100 largest municipalities in Canada by population....
Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue of Montreal
Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue of Montreal

The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue of Montreal also known as Shearith Israel is a Montreal synagogue, located on St. Kevin Street in Snowdon, Quebec, which is the oldest Jewish institution in Canada....
(1768) http://www.spanishportuguese-mtl.org/ current synagogue opened 1947

USA

New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
Congregation Shearith Israel
Congregation Shearith Israel

Congregation Shearith Israel, often called The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, is the Oldest synagogues in the United States, although its current building dates only to 1897....
(1654) http://www.shearith-israel.org/ first synagogue built 1730; current building dates from 1897
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island

Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, Rhode Island, United States, about 30 miles south of Providence, Rhode Island....
Touro Synagogue
Touro Synagogue

The Touro Synagogue is a synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, that is the Oldest synagogues in the United States still standing in the United States,...
"Congregation Jeshuat Israel" (1658) http://www.tourosynagogue.org synagogue opened 1763
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population city in the United States. It is the fifth-largest metropolitan area and fourth-largest urban area by population in the United States, the nation's fourth-largest consumer media market as ranked by the Nielsen Media Research, and the 49th-most...
Mikveh Israel
Kahal Kadosh Mikveh Israel

Congregation Mikveh Israel, Mikveh Israel synagogue, officially called Kahal Kadosh Mikveh Israel is a synagogue located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was founded in the 1740s....
(1745) http://www.mikvehisrael.org/ present synagogue opened 1829
Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States of America and the largest city within the state of Texas. As of the 2007 U.S. Census estimate, the city has a population of 2.2 million within an area of 600 square miles ....
Qahal Qadosh Ess Hayim (2005) http://www.esshayim.org/
Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida

Miami is a global city in southeastern Florida, in the United States. Miami is the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, the most populous county in Florida....
Comunidad Nidhé Israel, judios hispano-portugueses de Florida (2007) http://www.qqsnidheisrael.org
Aventura, Florida
Aventura, Florida

Aventura is a Planned city city located in northeastern Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city name is from the Spanish language word for "adventure," and was named "Aventura" after one of the developers of the original group of condominiums in the area remarked to the others, "What an adventure this is going to be." The name predates the well...
Beit Don Yitzhak Abravanel: Merkaz Klita L'Bnei Anusim http://beit-abravanel.com/
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the Capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county....
Beth Shalome (1789-1898) http://www.bethahabah.org/index.htm since merged into congregation Beth Ahabah
Congregation Beth Ahabah

Beth Ahabah is a Reform Judaismsynagogue in Richmond, Virginia. Founded in 1789 by Spanish and Portuguese Jews as Kahal Kadosh Beth Shalome it is one of the Oldest synagogues in the United States....
, which is now Reform
Reform Judaism

Reform Judaism refers to the spectrum of beliefs, practices and organizational infrastructure associated with Reform Judaism in Reform Judaism and in Reform Judaism ....
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is a city in Charleston County, South Carolina in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is the largest city and county seat of Charleston County....
Congregation Beth Elohim (1750) http://www.kkbe.org/ now Reform
Reform Judaism

Reform Judaism refers to the spectrum of beliefs, practices and organizational infrastructure associated with Reform Judaism in Reform Judaism and in Reform Judaism ....
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia

Savannah is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Chatham County, Georgia, Georgia , United States. Savannah was established in 1733 and was the first colonial and state capital of Georgia....
Congregation Mickve Israel
Congregation Mickve Israel

Congregation Mickve Israel, in Savannah, Georgia, is one of the oldest synagogues in the United States, the congregation having begun in 1733. The synagogue, located on Squares of Savannah, Georgia#Monterey Square in historic Savannah, was consecrated in 1878, and is a rare example of a Gothic revival architecture-style synagogue....
(1733) http://www.mickveisrael.org/ now Reform
Reform Judaism

Reform Judaism refers to the spectrum of beliefs, practices and organizational infrastructure associated with Reform Judaism in Reform Judaism and in Reform Judaism ....
New Orleans Nefutzot Yehudah http://www.tourosynagogue.com/ since merged into Touro Synagogue (New Orleans)
Touro Synagogue (New Orleans)

Touro Synagogue is the name of a Reform Judaism synagogue in New Orleans, Louisiana, named after Judah Touro, Isaac Touro's son.The New Orleans Touro Synagogue is one of the Oldest synagogues in the United States....
(1828), now Reform
Reform Judaism

Reform Judaism refers to the spectrum of beliefs, practices and organizational infrastructure associated with Reform Judaism in Reform Judaism and in Reform Judaism ....

Caribbean

Willemstad, Curaçao Mikve Israel-Emanuel
Curaçao synagogue

The Mikv? Israel-Emanuel Synagogue , in Willemstad, Cura?ao, is the oldest synagogue in the Americas. It is commonly known as the Snoa .The community dates from the 1650s, and consisted of Spanish and Portuguese Jews from the Netherlands and Brazil....
(1730) http://www.snoa.com now Reconstructionist
Reconstructionist Judaism

Reconstructionist Judaism is a modern American-based Judaism Jewish denominations based on the ideas of the late Mordecai Kaplan . The movement views Judaism as a progressively evolving civilization....
Jamaica
Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. It is about south of Cuba, and west of the island of Hispaniola, on which Haiti and the Dominican Republic are situated....
Neveh Shalom (1704) http://www.ucija.org merged into the United Congregation of Israelites (1921)
St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Saint Thomas is an island in the Caribbean Sea, a county and constituent Districts and sub-districts of the United States Virgin Islands of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States....
Beracha Veshalom Vegmiluth Hasidim, Charlotte Amalie (1796) http://www.onepaper.com/synagogue/ now Reform
Reform Judaism

Reform Judaism refers to the spectrum of beliefs, practices and organizational infrastructure associated with Reform Judaism in Reform Judaism and in Reform Judaism ....
Barbados
Barbados

Barbados , situated just east of the Caribbean Sea, is an independent Continental Island-island nation in the western Atlantic Ocean. Located at roughly 13? North of the equator and 59? West of the prime meridian, it is considered a part of the Lesser Antilles....
Nidhe Israel Synagogue
Nidhe Israel Synagogue

The Nid?e Israel Synagogue is currently the only synagogue situated in Bridgetown, Barbados. It also holds the distinction of being one of the oldest synagogues in the western hemisphere and a Barbados National Trust property....
, Bridgetown (1651)
now Conservative
Conservative Judaism

Conservative Judaism is a modern Jewish denominations of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s....

Suriname
Suriname

Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname is a country in northern South America. Originally, the country was spelled Surinam by English settlers who founded the first colony at Marshall's Creek, along the Suriname River, and was Geographical renaming Nederlands Guyana, Netherlands Guiana or Dutch Guiana....

Paramaribo
Paramaribo

Paramaribo is the Capital and largest city of Suriname, located on banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 250,000 people....
Sedek Ve Shalom Synagogue (1735)

Neve Shalom (1716 to 1735)
sold to Ashkenazim in 1735
Jodensavanne
Jodensavanne

Jodensavanne was an attempt to establish an autonomous Jewish territory in Suriname, South America. Jodensavanne is located in Para District about 50km south from Paramaribo on the Suriname River....
Congregation Bereche ve Shalom (1639 to 1832)

Brazil
Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....

Recife
Recife

File:P?r-do-Sol_na_Jaqueira.jpgRecife is the fourth largest Metropolitan area in Brazil and the capital of the state of Pernambuco. The population was 1,549,980 in 2007....
Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue
Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue

Kahal Zur Israel was the first Jewish congregation in the "New World". It was established by immigrants from the Netherlands and joined by New Christians who were already living in the colony....
(1637 to 1654)
recently restored as museum and community centre

Prominent rabbis

Menasseh ben Israel
Menasseh Ben Israel

Manoel Dias Soeiro , better known by his Hebrew language name Menasseh Ben Israel , was a Spanish and Portuguese Jews rabbi, Kabbalah, scholar, writer, diplomat, printer and publisher, founder of the first Hebrew printing press in Amsterdam in 1626....
Jacob ben Aaron Sasportas
Jacob ben Aaron Sasportas

Jacob ben Aaron Sasportas was a Rabbi, Kabbalah, and anti-Sabbatai Zevi; born at Oran 1610; died at Amsterdam April 15, 1698; father of Isaac ben Jacob Sasportas....
Saul Levi Morteira
Saul Levi Morteira

Saul Levi Morteira was a Dutch rabbi of Portuguese people descent.In a Spanish poem Daniel Levi de Barrios speaks of him as being a native of Germany ....
Isaac Aboab da Fonseca
Isaac Aboab da Fonseca

Isaac Aboab da Fonseca was a rabbi, scholar, kabbalist and writer. In 1656, he was one of several elders within the Portuguese-Israelite community in the Netherlands who excommunicated Baruch Spinoza for the statements this philosopher made concerning God....
Jacob Abendana
Jacob Abendana

Jacob Abendana , was Hakham#Among the Sephardim of London from 1680 until his death. Jacob was eldest the son of Joseph Abendana and brother to Isaac Abendana....
David Nieto
David Nieto

David Nieto was the Hakham of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews community in London, later succeeded in this capacity by his son, Isaac Nieto....
Raphael Meldola
Raphael Meldola (Sephardic Rabbi)

Raphael Meldola, English Rabbi. Born in Livorno 1754; died in London June 1, 1828.One of the most prominent members of the Meldola family. He received a thorough university training, both in theological and in secular branches, and displayed such remarkable talents that when only fifteen years old he was permitted to take his seat in the r...
D. A. de Sola
David de Aaron de Sola

David de Aaron de Sola was a rabbi and author, born in Amsterdam, the son of Aaron de Sola. When but eleven years of age he entered as a student the bet ha-midrash of his native city, and after a course of nine years received his rabbinical diploma....
Isaac Leeser
Isaac Leeser

Isaac Leeser was an United States rabbi, author, translator, editor, and publisher; pioneer of the Jewish pulpit in the United States, and founder of the Jewish press of America....
Abraham de Sola
Abraham de Sola

Alexander Abraham de Sola was a Canada Rabbi, author, Orientalist, and scientist. Originating from a large renown family of Rabbis and scholars, De Sola was recognized there as one of the most powerful leaders of Orthodox Judaism in the United States during the latter half of the nineteenth century....
Sabato Morais
Sabato Morais

Sabato Morais was an Italian-American rabbi, leader of Kahal Kadosh Mikveh Israel, pioneer of Italian Jewish Studies in America, and founder of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City....
Moses Gaster
Moses Gaster

Moses Gaster was a Romanian-born Jewish-United Kingdom scholar, the Hakham of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, London, and a Hebrew language linguistics....
David de Sola Pool
David de Sola Pool

David de Sola Pool was an United States Rabbi....
Shem Tob Gaguine
Shem Tob Gaguine

Shem Tob Gaguine was a British Sephardic Rabbi. Scion of a famous History of the Jews in Morocco Rabbinical dynasty.He had an early posting as rabbi of the Sephardi Jews community in Manchester....
Solomon Gaon
Solomon Gaon

Solomon Gaon was Sephardic Rabbi and Hakham of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews of the British Commonwealth....
Marc D. Angel
Marc D. Angel

Marc D. Angel is Rabbi emeritus of Congregation Shearith Israel, the historic Spanish and Portuguese Jews Synagogue in New York City.Born in Seattle's Sephardi Jews community, his ancestors are Sephardim from Turkey and Rhodes and he grew up speaking Judeo-Spanish at home....
Yaaqob haLevi de Oliveira
Mordekhai Levi Lopes
Eliezer Tabor
Hayyim Angel
Hayyim Angel

Rabbi Hayyim Angel is the Rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel, also known as The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue on Manhattan's Upper West Side. He is the son of Rabbi Marc D....

Other prominent personalities

first-generation Sephardic exiles: Don Isaac Abarbanel, Solomon ibn Verga
Solomon Ibn Verga

Solomon Ibn Verga was a Spain historian and physician. His relationship to Judah ibn Verga cannot be determined; it is certain, however, that he was not the son of the latter, for he never refers to Judah as his father....
, Abraham Zacuto
Abraham Zacuto

Abraham Zacuto was a Sephardi Jews astronomer, astrologer, mathematician and historian who served as Royal Astronomer in the 15th century to King John II of Portugal....
, Elijah Capsali, Abraham ben Salomon de Torrutiel Ardutiel, Yosef ben Tzadiq of Arévalo
Doña Gracia Nasi
Gracia Mendes Nasi

Gracia Mendes Nasi was one of the wealthiest Jewish women of Renaissance Europe. She married into the eminent international banking and finance House of Mendes, and was the aunt of Joseph Nasi, who became a prominent figure in the politics of the Ottoman Empire....
Joseph Nasi
Joseph Nasi

Don Joseph Nasi was a Jewish diplomat and administrator, member of the House of Mendes, and influential figure in the Ottoman Empire during the rules of both Ottoman Dynasty Suleiman I and his son Selim II....
Abraham Cohen Herrera
Abraham Cohen de Herrera

Abraham Cohen de Herrera also known as Alonso Nunez de Herrera or Abaham Irira was a Philosophy of religion and Kabbalah. He is supposed by the historian Heinrich Graetz to have been born in 1570....
Balthazar (Isaac) Orobio de Castro
Balthazar (Isaac) Orobio de Castro

Balthazar Orobio de Castro was a Jewish philosopher, physician and apologist, born at Bragan?a, Portugal about 1617, and died at Amsterdam on November 7, 1687....
Uriel da Costa
Uriel da Costa

Uriel da Costa or Uriel Acosta was a philosopher and skeptic from Portugal....
Baruch Spinoza
Baruch Spinoza

Baruch or Benedict de Spinoza was a Netherlands Philosophy of Iberian Jews origin. Revealing considerable scientific aptitude, the breadth and importance of Spinoza's work was not fully realized until years after his death....
Isaac Pinto
Isaac Pinto

Isaac Pinto was an important United States Jew in Colonial America.Pinto prepared the first Jewish prayer-book published in America, which was also the first English translation of the Siddur....
Gershom Mendes Seixas
Gershom Mendes Seixas

Gershom Mendes Seixas was the first native-born Jewish minister in the United States. He was the minister of Congregation Shearith Israel, the Spanish and Portuguese Jews Synagogue of New York from 1768 to 1776 and again from 1784 to 1816....
David Ricardo
David Ricardo

David Ricardo was a political economy, often credited with systematizing economics, and was one of the most influential of the classical economicss, along with Thomas Malthus and Adam Smith....
Moses Montefiore
Moses Montefiore

Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, Kt was one of the most famous United Kingdom Jews of the 19th century. Montefiore was a finance, banker, philanthropist and Sheriff of London....
Grace Aguilar
Grace Aguilar

Grace Aguilar , an English people novelist and writer on Jewish history and religion, was born in Hackney of Jewish parents of Portuguese descent....
Isaac D'Israeli
Isaac D'Israeli

Isaac D'Israeli was a British writer and scholar. He was born in Enfield Town, England, the only child of Benjamin D'Israeli , a Jewish merchant who had emigrated from Cento in Italy in 1748, and his second wife, Sarah Syprut de Gabay Villa Real ....
Judah P. Benjamin
Judah P. Benjamin

Judah Philip Benjamin was an American politician and lawyer. He was born a British subject in the West Indies, became a citizen of the United States and then the Confederate States of America....
- politician and lawyer
Emma Lazarus
Emma Lazarus

Emma Lazarus was an USA poet born in New York City.She is best known for writing "The New Colossus", a sonnet written in 1883; its final lines were engraved on a bronze plaque in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty in 1912....
- poet
Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry....
Moses Angel
Moses Angel

Moses Angel was headmaster at the Jews' Free School in Bell Lane, Spitalfields from 1842 onwards. He has been described as 'the single most significant figure in Anglo-Jewish religious and secular education in the 19th century'....
Philip Guedalla
Philip Guedalla

Philip Guedalla was a British barrister, and a popular historical and travel writer and biographer. He is remembered now mainly for a biography of the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, and his wit and epigrams, one example being "Even reviewers read a Preface," another being "History repeats itself....
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo
Benjamin N. Cardozo

Benjamin Nathan Cardozo was a well-known United States lawyer and jurist, remembered for his significant influence on the development of American common law in the 20th century, in addition to his modesty, philosophy, and vivid prose style....
Labor MK Ophir Pines-Paz
Ophir Pines-Paz

Ophir Pines-Paz is an Israeli politician and former Interior Minister of Israel. He is currently a member of the Knesset for the Israeli Labor Party, and the Chairman of the Knesset Internal Affairs and Environment Committee....

See also

Sephardim
History of the Jews in Spain
History of the Jews in Spain

Spanish Jews once constituted one of the largest and most prosperous Jewish communities under Muslim and Christian rule in Spain, before they were expelled in 1492....
Spanish Inquisition
Spanish Inquisition

The Spanish Inquisition was an ecclesiastical tribunal established in 1478 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile....
Alhambra Decree
Alhambra decree

The Alhambra Decree was an edict issued on 31 March 1492 by the joint Catholic Monarchs of Spain ordering the expulsion of Jews from the Kingdom of Spain and its territories and possessions by 31 July of that year....
History of the Jews in Portugal
History of the Jews in Portugal

The history of the Jews in Portugal is directly related to Sephardi Jews history, a Jewish ethnic divisions that represents communities who have originated in the Iberian Peninsula ....
Portuguese Inquisition
Portuguese Inquisition

The Portuguese Inquisition was formally established in Portugal in 1536 at the request of the King of Portugal, Jo?o III. Manuel I of Portugal had asked for the installation of the Inquisition in 1515, but was only after his death that the pope acquiesced....
Sephardic Jews in the Netherlands
Sephardic Jews in the Netherlands

As a result of the Inquisition, many Sephardim left the Iberian peninsula at the end of the 15th century and throughout the 16th century, in search for religious freedom....
History of the Marranos in England
History of the Marranos in England

The History of Marranos in England consists of the Marranos' contribution and achievement in England....
Sephardic Judaism
Sephardic Judaism

Sephardic Judaism is the practice of Judaism as observed by the Sephardi Jews and Mizrahi Jews, so far as it is peculiar to themselves and not shared with other Jewish groups such as the Ashkenazi Jews....
(for liturgy etc.)
Anusim
Anusim

Anusim , plural for an?s, means "forced conversion" in Hebrew. In Jewish Law, this is the legal term applied to a Jew who was forced to abandon Judaism against his or her will, but does whatever is in his or her power to continue practicing Judaism under the forced condition....
Marrano
Marrano

Marranos or secret Jews were Sephardi who were forced to adopt Christianity under threat of expulsion but who continued to practice Judaism secretly, thus preserving their Jewish identity....

Bibliography

General

Angel, Marc D.
Marc D. Angel

Marc D. Angel is Rabbi emeritus of Congregation Shearith Israel, the historic Spanish and Portuguese Jews Synagogue in New York City.Born in Seattle's Sephardi Jews community, his ancestors are Sephardim from Turkey and Rhodes and he grew up speaking Judeo-Spanish at home....
: Remnant Of Israel: A Portrait Of America's First Jewish Congregation: ISBN 1-878351-62-1
Barnett, R. D., and Schwab, W.,. The Western Sephardim (The Sephardi Heritage Volume 2): Gibraltar Books, Northants., 1989
Birmingham, S., The Grandees: America's Sephardic Elite: Syracuse 1971 repr. 1997 ISBN 0-8156-0459-9
de Sola Pool, David
David de Sola Pool

David de Sola Pool was an United States Rabbi....
and Tamar, An Old Faith in the New World: New York, Columbia University Press, 1955. ISBN 0-231-02007-4
Dobrinsky, Herbert C.: A treasury of Sephardic laws and customs: the ritual practices of Syrian, Moroccan, Judeo-Spanish and Spanish and Portuguese Jews of North America. Revised ed. Hoboken, N.J.: KTAV; New York, N.Y. : Yeshiva Univ. Press, 1988. ISBN 0-88125-031-7
Gubbay, Lucien and Levy, Abraham, The Sephardim: Their Glorious Tradition from the Babylonian Exile to the Present Day: paperback ISBN 1-85779-036-7; hardback ISBN 0-8276-0433-5 (a more general work but with notable information on the present day London S&P community)
Hyamson, M.
Moses Hyamson

Rabbi Dr. Moses Hyamson was an Orthodox Judaism rabbi, former head Dayan of the London Beth Din and between 1911 and 1913, acting Chief Rabbi of the British Empire....
, The Sephardim of England: A History of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish Community 1492-1951: London 1951
Katz and Serels (ed.), Studies on the History of Portuguese Jews: New York 2004 ISBN 0-87203-157-8
Laski, Neville, The Laws and Charities of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation of London
Meijer, Jaap (ed.), Encyclopaedia Sefardica Neerlandica: Uitgave van de Portugees-Israëlietische Gemeente: Amsterdam, 1949-1950 (2 vol., in Dutch)
Samuel, Edgar, At the End of the Earth: Essays on the history of the Jews in England and Portugal: London 2004 ISBN 0-902528-37-8
Studemund-Halévy, Michael & Koj, P. (publ.), Sefarden in Hamburg: zur Geschichte einer Minderheit: Hamburg 1993–1997 (2 vol.)

Caribbean Jews

Ezratty, Harry A.500 Years in the Jewish Caribbean: The Spanish & Portuguese Jews in the West Indies, Omni Arts Publishers (November 2002); hardback ISBN 0-942929-18-7, paperback ISBN 0-942929-07-1
Spanish and Portuguese Jews in the Caribbean and the Guianas: A Bibliography (Hardcover) John Carter Brown Library (June 1999) ISBN 0-916617-52-1
Arbell, Mordechai. The Jewish Nation of the Caribbean: The Spanish-Portuguese Jewish Settlements in the Caribbean and the Guianas ISBN 965-229-279-6
Arbell, Mordechai. The Portuguese Jews of Jamaica ISBN 976-8125-69-1

Synagogue Architecture

Kadish, Sharman; Bowman, Barbara; and Kendall, Derek, 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): ISBN 1-873592-65-5
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: London 1951 ASIN B0000CI83D

Ritual

Brandon, I. Oëb, (tr. Elisheva van der Voort), Complete manual for the reader of the Portuguese Israelitic Congregation in Amsterdam: Curaçao 1989.
Gaguine, Shem Tob
Shem Tob Gaguine

Shem Tob Gaguine was a British Sephardic Rabbi. Scion of a famous History of the Jews in Morocco Rabbinical dynasty.He had an early posting as rabbi of the Sephardi Jews community in Manchester....
, Keter Shem Tob, 7 vols (in Hebrew)
Salomon, H. P., Het Portugees in de Esnoga van Amsterdam. (A Língua Portuguesa na Esnoga de Amesterdão): Amsterdam 2002 (in Dutch). Portuguese phrases used in the synagogue service, with a CD showing correct pronunciation.
Whitehill, G. H., The Mitsvot of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation, London (Sha'ar Hashamayim): A guide for Parnasim: London 1969

Reza books (siddurim)

Italy

Venice edition, 1524: reproduced in photostat in Remer, Siddur and Sefer Tefillat ?Hayim, Jerusalem 2003
Libro de Oraciones, Ferrara 1552 (Spanish only)
Fiorentino, Salomone, Orazioni Quotidiane per uso degli Ebrei Spagnoli e Portoghesi, Vienna 1802

Netherlands

Menasseh ben Israel
Menasseh Ben Israel

Manoel Dias Soeiro , better known by his Hebrew language name Menasseh Ben Israel , was a Spanish and Portuguese Jews rabbi, Kabbalah, scholar, writer, diplomat, printer and publisher, founder of the first Hebrew printing press in Amsterdam in 1626....
, Orden de Ros Asanah y Kipúr: Amsterdam 1630 (Spanish only)
Seder ha-tefillot ke-minhag K"K Sefardim, with Dutch translation (S. Mulder): Amsterdam 1837
Seder ha-mo'adim ke-minhag K"K Sefardim (festivals), with Dutch translation (S. Mulder): Amsterdam 1843
Seder le-Rosh ha-Shanah ke-minhag K"K Sefardim (Rosh Hashanah), with Dutch translation (S. Mulder): Amsterdam 1849
Seder le-Yom Kippur ke-minhag K"K Sefardim (Yom Kippur), with Dutch translation (S. Mulder): Amsterdam 1850
Tefillat Kol Peh, ed. and tr. Ricardo: Amsterdam 1928, repr. 1950

English-speaking countries

David Nieto
David Nieto

David Nieto was the Hakham of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews community in London, later succeeded in this capacity by his son, Isaac Nieto....
, Orden de las Oraciones de Ros-Ashanah y Kipur, London 1740
The Order of Forms of Prayer (6 vols.), David Levi: London 1789-96, repr. 1810
Forms of Prayer According to the Custom of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, D. A. de Sola
David de Aaron de Sola

David de Aaron de Sola was a rabbi and author, born in Amsterdam, the son of Aaron de Sola. When but eleven years of age he entered as a student the bet ha-midrash of his native city, and after a course of nine years received his rabbinical diploma....
, London 1836
Siddur Sifte Tsaddikim, the Forms of Prayer According to the Custom of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, Isaac Leeser
Isaac Leeser

Isaac Leeser was an United States rabbi, author, translator, editor, and publisher; pioneer of the Jewish pulpit in the United States, and founder of the Jewish press of America....
, Philadelphia (6 vols.) 1837-8
Forms of Prayer According to the Custom of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, Abraham de Sola
Abraham de Sola

Alexander Abraham de Sola was a Canada Rabbi, author, Orientalist, and scientist. Originating from a large renown family of Rabbis and scholars, De Sola was recognized there as one of the most powerful leaders of Orthodox Judaism in the United States during the latter half of the nineteenth century....
, Philadelphia 1878
Book of Prayer of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation, London (5 vols.), Moses Gaster
Moses Gaster

Moses Gaster was a Romanian-born Jewish-United Kingdom scholar, the Hakham of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, London, and a Hebrew language linguistics....
, 1901
Book of Prayer of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews’ Congregation, London (5 vols.): Oxford (Oxford Univ. Press, Vivian Ridler
Vivian Ridler

Vivian Ridler, Order of the British Empire was born in Cardiff and worked as Printer to the University at Oxford University Press from 1958 to 1978....
), 5725 - 1965 (since reprinted)
Book of Prayer: According to the Custom of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, David de Sola Pool
David de Sola Pool

David de Sola Pool was an United States Rabbi....
, New York: Union of Sephardic Congregations, 1954 (later edition 1979)
Gaon, Solomon
Solomon Gaon

Solomon Gaon was Sephardic Rabbi and Hakham of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews of the British Commonwealth....
, Minhath Shelomo: a commentary on the Book of prayer of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews: New York 1990 (based on de Sola Pool edition)

Musical traditions

Adler, Israel: Musical life and traditions of the Portuguese Jewish community of Amsterdam in the XVIIIth century. (Yuval Monograph Series; v. 1.) Jerusalem : Magnes, 1974.
Aguilar, Emanuel & De Sola, David A.: ???? ????. Sephardi melodies, being the traditional liturgical chants of the Spanish & Portuguese Jews’ Congregation London. Publ. by the Society of Heshaim with the sanction of the Board of Elders of the Congregation. Oxford Univ. Press, 5691 - 1931.
Kanter, Maxine Ribstein: “High Holy Day hymn melodies in the Spanish and Portuguese synagogues of London,” in Journal of Synagogue Music X (1980), No. 2, pp. 12–44
Kramer, Leon & Guttmann, Oskar: Kol Shearit Yisrael: Synagogue Melodies Transcontinental Music Corporation, New York, 1942.
Lopes Cardozo, Abraham: Sephardic songs of praise according to the Spanish-Portuguese tradition as sung in the synagogue and home. New York, 1987.
Rodrigues Pereira, Martin: ??????? ???????? (‘Hochmat Shelomoh) Wisdom of Solomon: Torah cantillations according to the Spanish and Portuguese custom Tara Publications, 1994
Seroussi, Edwin: Spanish-Portuguese synagogue music in nineteenth-century Reform sources from Hamburg : ancient tradition in the dawn of modernity. (Yuval Monograph Series; XI) Jerusalem : Magnes, 1996. ISSN 0334-3758
Seroussi, Edwin: "", from Horowitz and Orfali (ed.), The Mediterranean and the Jews: Society, Culture and Economy in Early Modern Times
Swerling, Norman P.: Romemu-Exalt : the music of the Sephardic Jews of Curaçao. Tara Publications, 1997. ISBN 0-933676-79-4

Discography

Musiques de la Synagogue de Bordeaux: Patrimoines Musicaux Des Juifs de France, (Buda Musique 822742), 2003.
Talile Zimra - Singing Dew: The Florence-Leghorn Jewish Musical Tradition, Beth Hatefutsot, 2002.
Choral Music of Congregation Shearith Israel, Congregation Shearith Israel, 2003.
Traditional Music of Congregation Shearith Israel (Shearith Israel League) 3 CD's.
Jewish Voices in the New World: Chants and Prayers from the American Colonial Era: Miliken Archive (Naxos) 2003
Sephardic Songs of Praise: Abraham L. Cardozo (Tara Publications)
The Western Sefardi Liturgical Tradition: Abraham Lopes Cardozo (The Jewish Music Research Center- Hebrew University) 2004
A Sephardi Celebration The Choir of the Spanish & Portuguese Jews' Congregation, London, Maurice Martin, Adam Musikant (The Classical Recording Company)
Kamti Lehallel - I Rise in Praise Daniel Halfon, (Beth Hatefutsot) 2007

External links

Educational Institutions

(rabbinic training programme in London)

Musical links

(temporarily non-functioning links)
(includes instructions for downloading musical notation font)
- Another cantillation resource

Other

Spanish and Portuguese Jews

Terminology

History

In Spain and Portugal

In Italy

In the Netherlands

In France

In Britain

In the Americas

Synagogues

Language

PortuguesePortuguese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and Portugal. It is derived from the Latin language spoken by the Romanization Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago....

CastilianSpanish languageSpanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade.... (Spanish)

Hebrew

Liturgy

Music

Historical

Choirs

Instrumental music

Current practice

Cantillation

Communities, past and present

Western Europe

FranceFranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....

Great BritainGreat BritainGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....

PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....

Mediterranean

ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....

GibraltarGibraltarGibraltar is a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory shares a border with Spain to the north....

Americas

CanadaCanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....

USA

Caribbean

Prominent rabbis

Other prominent personalities

See also

Bibliography

General

Caribbean Jews

Synagogue Architecture

Ritual

Reza books (siddurim)

Italy

Netherlands

English-speaking countries

Musical traditions

Discography

External links

Educational Institutions

Musical links

Other

Portuguese
Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and Portugal. It is derived from the Latin language spoken by the Romanization Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago....

Castilian
Spanish language

Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade....
(Spanish)

France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....

Great Britain
Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....

Portugal
Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....

Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....

Gibraltar
Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory shares a border with Spain to the north....

Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....