Portugese Synagoge

In the main building there is no running water, electricity or heating, pretty remarkable since it’s still fully in use. It’s the second oldest functioning synagogue in Europe, and i don’t think there has been an modernization to it since the beginning, it’s like walking back in time. There are a couple audio tour explanations in the synagogue, but it’s worth just sitting and enjoying the place for awhile.

a look into the past, but from the present… there was a 12 EUR fee to enter but its’ worth it because it’s good for a month, and entry into the museum across the street. An audio guide in English and a Kippah «skullcap» is optional & provided at the front entrance. Bike parking is available right outside the entrance too. The Esnoga aka temple building is from another time and the inside is vast with a bima made of wood. The floors are wood and have sand on them and the pews are wooden too. You can sit on one of the benches and contemplate the history and area from 1600’s until present day. There is a very informal and relaxed atmosphere of peacefulness for people of all cultures and religions to enjoy. Very inspiring in the quiet nooks and areas towards the back with the Sukkah and Buttresses. Visited July 2013

See Toni’s review…
An Addendum… Blankets included in the women’s balcony area!

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