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Spanish and Portuguese Jews

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Spanish and Portuguese Jews, also less precisely known as Portuguese Jews, Jews of the Portuguese nation, Spanish Jews (mainly in Italy) and Western Sephardim, is that distinctive sub-group of Sephardim who have their main ethnic origins within the crypto-Jewish communities of the Iberian peninsula and who shaped communities mainly in Western Europe and the Americas from the late 16th century on. These communities are clearly distinguishable from both the pre-expulsion Iberian Jewish settlements and the 19th and 20th century Jews in Spain and Portugal through their amalgamation of both Spanish and Portuguese elements on the one side and of Italki (Italian-Jewish) elements on the other.

Painting of the Amsterdam Esnoga — considered the mother synagogue by the Spanish and Portuguese Jews — by Emanuel de Witte (ab. 1680).

The use of the terms Portuguese Jews and Jews of the Portuguese nation in some areas (mainly in the Netherlands and Hamburg/Scandinavia) seems to have arisen primarily as a way for the Spanish and Portuguese Jews to distance themselves from Spain in the times of political tension and war between Spain and the Netherlands in the 17th century. Similar considerations may have played a rôle in the case of Bayonne and Bordeaux 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. In Italy, 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. conversos). 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 or, in some cases, both of these. This term is also occasionally used to separate European Sephardim (which includes the Balkan Sephardim (also known as Ottoman Sephardim, Eastern Sephardim, and the Judaeo-Spanish) of the former Ottoman empire) from Mizrahi Jews.

History and geography

Important communities

West Europe

Mediterranean

  • Former Ottoman Empire
    • Jerusalem: Congregation Sha’arei Ratzon - Spanish & Portuguese congregation located in the Istambouli Synagogue in East Jerusalem [2]and following the London minhag
    • Tunisia: there was a community of Livornese Jews who called themselves "L'grana" and kept themselves separate from the native Tunisian Jews

Americas

Language

Characteristic language traits of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews are the use of both Spanish and Portuguese language — 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 and Belgium); Low German in the Hamburg/Altona area; and English in Great Britain, Ireland, USA and Jamaica.

Portuguese

Because of the relative high proportion of immigrants through Portugal, 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. As a basic academic language, Portuguese was used for such works as the halakhic manual Thesouro dos Dinim by Menasseh Ben Israel. Portuguese is also used — some times purely, other times in a mixture with Spanish and Hebrew — in connection with announcements of mitsvót in the esnoga, in connection with the Mi shebberakh prayer, etc.

Castilian (Spanish)

Castilian (Spanish) was used as the everyday language by those who came directly from Spain in the first few generations. Relatively soon, the Castilian Ladino took on a semi-sacred status, and works of theology as well as reza books (siddurim) 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 vernacular of Balkan, Greek and Turkish Sephardim.) Members of the Amsterdam community continued to use Spanish as a literary language, as did the Portuguese themselves, and established clubs and libraries for the study of modern Spanish literature. Today there is no tradition of using Spanish, except for the hymn Bendigamos, the translation of the Biblical passages in the prayer-book for Tishngáh be-Ab 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 Template:Hebrew (Beth Rafé) as a hard b (e.g., Abrahám, Tebáh, Habdaláh) and the pronunciation of Template:Hebrew (‘Ayin) as a voiced velar nasal (Shemang, Ngalénu). The hard pronunciation of Beth Rafé differs from the v pronunciation of Moroccan Jews and the Judaeo-Spanish Jews of the Balkans, but is shared by Algerian Jews and Syrian Jews. The nasal pronunciation of ‘Ayin is shared with traditional Italki pronunciation, but not with any other Sephardi groups. The Template:Hebrew (Tav 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 Template:Hebrew and Template:Hebrew.

The sibilants Template:Hebrew, Template:Hebrew, Template:Hebrew and Template:Hebrew are all transcribed as s in earlier sources. This, along with the traditional pronunciations 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 [š] (for Template:Hebrew and [ts] for Template:Hebrew have become common — probably by influence from Oriental Sephardic immigrants, from Ashkenazi Hebrew and, in our times, Israeli Hebrew.

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. 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).

The differentiation between kamatz gadol and kamatz katan is made according to purely phonetic rules without regard to etymology, which occasionally leads to spelling pronunciations at variance with the rules laid down in the grammar books. For example, כָל (all), when unhyphenated, is pronounced "kal" rather than "kol" (in "kal ngatsmotai" and "Kal Nidre"), and צָהֳרַיִם (noon) is pronounced "tsahorayim" rather than "tsohorayim". This feature is shared by other Sephardic groups, but is not found in Israeli Hebrew. It is also found in the transliteration of proper names in the Authorised Version, such as "Naomi", "Aholah" and "Aholibah".

Ritual

The minhag of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews is characterised by a relatively low number of cabbalistic additions, and the Friday night service thus traditionally starts with Psalm 29, “Mizmor leDavid: Habu LaA.”. In the printed siddurim of the mid-17th century, “Lekha Dodi” and the Talmudic study session are also not yet included, but these are included in all newer siddurim of the tradition except for the West London and Mickva Israel (Savannah) Sephardi Reform prayerbooks.

Of other, less conspicuous, elements, a number of archaic forms can be mentioned — including some similarities with the Italian Jewish and Western Ashkenazi traditions. Such elements include the shorter form of the Birkat hammazon which can be found in the older Amsterdam and Hamburg/Scandinavian traditions. The Livorno (Leghorn) tradition, however, includes many of the cabbalistic additions found in most other Sephardi 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.

 
Ashkibenu (Hashkiveinu) and Yigdal from the Spanish and Portuguese Jews’ Congregation in London, harmonised by Emanuel Aguilar.

Music

History

The ritual music of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews differs from other Sephardi music in that it is influenced by Western European Baroque and Classical music to a relatively high degree. Already in 1603, the sources tell us that harpsichords were used in the Spanish and Portuguese synagogues in Hamburg. Particularly in the Amsterdam community, but to some degree also in Hamburg and elsewhere, there was a flourishing of classical music in the synagogues in the 1700s. Important composers of the time include Abraham de Casseres, Christoph Giuseppe Lidarti and others.

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.

Pipe organs

Some places, notably in France (Bordeaux, Bayonne), USA and the Caribbean (Curaçao), pipe organs came into usage in the course of the 19th century — a practice which was viewed as more acceptable amongst Spanish and Portuguese Jews than in most other traditional and Orthodox Sephardi and Ashkenazi communities. The general rule was that the organ would not be played on Shabbat. In Curaçao the use of the organ on Shabbat was eventually also accepted, as long as the organ player was not Jewish. There is no organ in the London and Amsterdam 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 ḥazzán’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 than on the solistic voice quality. In the parts of the service where the ḥazzán would traditionally have a more solistic rôle, the basic melodies are embellished according to the general principles of Baroque performance practice. Two- and three-part harmony is relatively common, and E. Seroussi 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, the Psalms and the cantillation of the Torah is related to that of other Sephardi and Mizrahi communities, its affinities being with the more conservative Babylonian and Moroccan traditions, rather than the Syrian and Judaeo-Spanish traditions which have been more heavily influenced by popular Mediterranean and Arabic music. One reason for this may be that Spanish and Portuguese communities traditionally recruited their ḥazzanim from Gibraltar and Northern Morocco.

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 Hashana and Kippúr (Yom Kippur), when the whole service has a far more archaic character.

Synagogues

 
Interior of the Amsterdam Esnoga: We see the tebáh (reader’s platform) in the foreground, and the Hekhál (Ark) in the background.

Most Spanish and Portuguese synagogues are, like those of the Italkim and the Romaniotes, characterised by a bipolar layout, with the tebáh (bimah) near the opposite wall of the Hekhál (Ark). The Hekhál has its parokhet (curtain) inside its doors, rather than outside. The sefarim (Torah scrolls) are usually wrapped in a very wide mantle, quite different from the cylindrical mantles used by most Ashkenazi Jews. 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 and those in London and New York. Amsterdam is now usually considered the “mother synagogue” for the entire Spanish and Portuguese community, though in early days the leading role belonged to the Scuola Spagnola in Venice. It is also 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 in London, the historical centre of the London minhag. The Snoa (1732) of the Mikvé Israel-Emanuel congregation in Curaçao is considered one of the most important synagogues in the Jewish history of the Americas. Communities in the United States, such as New York, have been influenced by both the Amsterdam and the London traditions: in the nineteenth century Philadelphia maintained particularly close relations with Bevis Marks and the two communities published identical prayer books.

See also

Bibliography

General

  • 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 0881250317
  • Hyamson, M., The Sephardim of England: A History of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish Community 1492-1951: London 1951
  • Studemund-Halévy, Michael & Koj, P. (publ.): Sefarden in Hamburg : zur Geschichte einer Minderheit. Hamburg, 1993–1997 (2 vol.)

Ritual

  • Rodrigues Pereira, Martinus M.: חָכְמַת שְׁלֹמֹה (‘Hochmat Shelomoh) : Wisdom of Solomon. Tara Publications, 1994
  • Whitehill, G. H., The Mitsvot of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation, London (Sha'ar Hashamayim): A guide for Parnasim: London 1969
  • Gaguine, Shem Tov, Keter Shem Tob, 7 vols (in Hebrew)

Reza books (siddurim)

  • Book of Prayer: According to the Custom of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews David de Sola Pool, New York: Union of Sephardic Congregations, 1979
  • Book of prayer of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews’ Congregation, London (5 vols.): Oxford (Oxford Univ. Press, Vivian Ridler), 5725 - 1965
  • Gaon, Solomon, Minhath Shelomo: a commentary on the Book of prayer of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews: New York 1990.

Music

  • 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.: טללי זמרה. 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
  • Lopes Cardozo, Abraham: Sephardic songs of praise according to the Spanish-Portuguese tradition as sung in the synagogue and home. New York, 1987.
  • 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
  • Swerling, Norman P.: Romemu-Exalt : the music of the Sephardic Jews of Curaçao. Tara Publications, 1997. ISBN 0933676794
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