Referencia a una sinagoga vieja, ubicada en el actual barrio de La Horta

16th century document found in the Zamora Provincial Historical Archive refers to an old synagogue in the city. Anthropologist Muriel Sastre considers that the use of the adjective "old" points to the old Jewish Quarter, current La Horta neighborhood, as its location.   
  
La antropóloga María Antonia Muriel Sastre ha encontrado un documento del siglo XVI donde se refiere a una sinagoga vieja en Zamora. Aquí su reporte:

En el libro de Acuerdos del Consistorio L/2 del Archivo Histórico Provincial de Zamora del año 1501 del día 29 de enero que fue viernes se dice:

En la dicha çibdad viernes 29 de enero del dicho año estando en consystorio el dicho señor coregidor e licenciado e Gerónimo Vaca e Alonso Ordoñes e Luys de Mella e Garçia de Ledesma e Alonso de Masariegos e Juan de Porras regidores.

Acordaron que de aquí adelante todas las penas que se pudieren aplicar de las fieldades e de otras cosas sean para haser una casa de carneçería donde era la synoga vieja e que lo que rentare la renta de las dichas penas sea para la dicha casa porque donde agora se mata es muy dañoso para la carne e para la çibdad.

Si examinamos con detenimiento el documento dice: “donde era” el verbo en pasado nos indica que en esta fecha ya no existía, y la denominación “sinagoga vieja” parece hacer referencia a que había otra nueva. 

Es posible, por tanto, que se refiera a la sinagoga que debió haber en la judería vieja, que sin saber la localización exacta, hemos visto que se situaría en las inmediaciones de San Leonardo, Santa María de la Horta y la plaza de Santa Lucía, plaza en la que se ubicaron las carnicerías de la ciudad, junto a la plaza de San Juan de Puerta Nueva.

Leer artículo en LOZ

Abraham Saba de España, en Portugal, 1497

Ahora también Portugal

ha cambiado.

En Guimarães,

el pregonero dijo
que todos los libros y las filacterias
tenían que entregarse
en la sinagoga de Lisboa
so pena de muerte.

Escuchamos,

y me quedé temblando.

Antes de llegar a la ciudad,

enterré los manuscritos –
mis últimas memorias de España-
bajo las raíces
de un olivo.

Esta mañana, un hombre

al que habían golpeado
con una correa
por no entregar
un libro de oraciones

fue pateado en el suelo

y llevado a la cárcel.
Aquí, en el patio
de la sinagoga mayor,
ninguno de nosotros sabe
qué pasará después

Autora: Jennifer Barber, Universidad de Suffolk (original en inglés)

Traducción al español: Jesús Jambrina, Viterbo University

El año del reencuentro

Retrato de grupo  de los ponentes y participantes en el Congreso Internacional "Reencuentro e historia de la aljama de Zamora, Julio 3-5, 2013

El año que concluye constituyó el retorno, esperemos que definitivo, de la herencia judía a la escena histórico-cultural de la ciudad. En Julio se celebró un congreso internacional que recibió una atención verdaderamente inusitada, aunque si prestamos oído a lo que trajeron los expertos e investigadores podemos entender el por qué de la misma. Por ejemplo, la existencia de una academia Talmud-Torá en la ciudad, cuya importancia en el siglo XV ayudó a expandir la cultura judía posterior a 1492.

A través de la figura del rabino de Zamora y Gaon de Castilla Isaac Campantón (1360-1463) descubrimos una decena de otros estudiosos de la Torá, el Talmud y la Cábala que nacieron, vivieron y estudiaron en esta ciudad sin que los hayamos estudiado apropiadamente. Nombres como los de Isaac Aboab II, Isaac de León, Samuel Valensí, Jacob Habib, Isaac Arama, Joseph Hayyun, y Abraham Saba por sólo mencionar algunos de los que son conocidos en la historia de Sefarad.

Es cierto que desde Cesáreo Fernández Duro a Leandro Rodríguez, pasando por Guadalupe Ramos de Castro, Carlos Carrete Parrondo, Fuencisla García Casar y Florián Ferrero Ferrero se ha mencionado el tema judío, llevándose a cabo incluso una conferencia en 1981 y una exhibición en 1992, sin embargo, no fue hasta este año que la historia judía de Zamora no despegó de los archivos y los círculos universitarios, ocupando el lugar que merece en la imaginación pública de la ciudad del Duero.

Mucho se ha hablado en estos meses del congreso tanto en la prensa local como la internacional; varios son los proyectos que se han realizado o están en marcha para, finalmente, dar asiento en la casa zamorana al tema sefardí y con ello, no sólo hacer justicia a nuestros antepasados, donde quiera que estén, si no además contribuir a la expansión de la consciencia histórica de cara a un mundo plural y abierto a las diferencias. 

Integrar la Zamora sefardí en la narrativa histórica y cultural local no puede más que rendir frutos de libertad y convivencia en el siglo XXI.

Y no sólo en la ciudad capital, la provincia cuenta con una rica herencia sefardí localizada en sitios como Benavente, Fuentesaúco, Fermoselle, Toro, Villalpando y Sanabria, entre otros. Existen las condiciones para formar una Red de Juderías Zamoranas que, al igual que en la capital, ponga en valor el caudal histórico judío de los pueblos, atrayendo el turismo cultural e impulsando el desarrollo rural. 

El Centro de Interpretación Isaac Campantón, igualmente creado en este año, está en la disposición de colaborar con los interesados en poner proyectos de este tipo en práctica y así trabajar en el estudio, conservación y divulgación de la memoria judía de Zamora, capital y provincia.

Uncovering Jewish Zamora

By Jesús Jambrina; Viterbo University

Full citation: Journal of the Institute for Marrano and Anusim Studies, Vol. 14, pp. 11-13, Dec. 2013, Netanya Academic College, Israel.

“(Zamora) Fair in situation, the uttermost parts of the North”
Isaac Arama (1420-1494)

Zamora is a mid-size city of around 60,000 inhabitants in the northwestern region of Spain. It is well known for its more than 20 Romanesque churches, its celebration of the Catholic Holy Week and its Modernist buildings. Among food and wine connoisseurs, Zamora is known for its excellent wine and its gourmet cuisine. However, until recently, a visitor arriving on a package tour to its Plaza Mayor would never have considered the city one of the richest in Spain´s Jewish history.

Last July more than 20 scholars from various disciplines met at the NH Palacio del Duero Hotel, located in one of the two former Jewish Quarters, to present their research on the city’s Sephardi heritage. Among those presenting were Prof. Abraham Gross, (Ben Gurion University), Ruth Behar (University of Michigan-Ann Arbor), Prof. Leandro Rodriguez (University of Geneva), and Virginia Labrador (University of Valladolid).

The sessions included the premier of the documentaryZamora Sefardí (2013), a set of interviews with scholars either from Zamora or with family backgrounds connected to the city, who discussed their personal stories and research projects exploring the Jewish history of the region.

The event was well attended by local residents and visitors from other Spanish regions such as Galicia, Valencia and Cataluña. Other countries represented were Israel, the United States, Portugal, Cuba, Brazil and Switzerland. Officials from the city of Zamora and the province of the same name welcomed the participants and promised to publish the conference´s findings, as well as to signpost the Jewish Quarters in order to raise awareness of local Jewish history, long forgotten.

Three organizations also came to the conference: The Sephardi Council of Jerusalem City represented by Abraham Haim, Casa Shalom and the Institute for Marrano and Anusim Studies represented by Gloria Mound, and Tarbut Sefarad, represented by Mario Saban.

A conference’s highlights was July 5’s Shabbat celebration at the hotel Palacio del Duero. It was an ecumenical service attended by 26 people: Jews, Catholics, non-denominational, atheists and unaffiliated persons.  In addition to the traditional Shabbat liturgy religious chants, regional folklore and Judeo- Spanish songs were sung by locals, and even Kosher wine was served, provided by a Zamoran who openly stated his commitment to Jewish practice and study. Earlier in the day, Abraham Haim had read an afternoon prayer at the conference Congress including remembrance of the Jewish martyrs from the time of the inquisition (several of Zamora’s residents were prosecuted during the Madrid’s 1680 Auto de Fe).

After the conference, as a follow-up to many of the formal and informal conversations that took place during and around the sessions, I presented a project to the city and the provincial authorities. My suggestions were:

1.    To signpost several places within the two historically documented Zamoran Jewish quarters

2.    To establish a Plaza de los Rabinos honoring the 15th century Talmud Torah School where many of the major Sephardi scholars from before the expulsion came to study

3.    The creation of the Center Isaac Campanton dedicated to the preservation of the Jewish heritage of Zamora, and of Castile and Leon.

Presently, these three proposals are being considered by the City Council. I have reason to believe that we will be able to achieve the allocation of a space to honor this tradition and promote its study.

Hannukia at San Pedro & San Ildefonso Church,
Identified by historian Álvaro López Asencio in 2008

Why Zamora?

When I visited the city for the first time, in 2010, I was shocked by the absence of references to anything Jewish in the city. Since I have always been interested in Jewish literature and culture from Spain, and knew of Zamora’s relatively prestigious position during medieval times, I was curious as to why this was the case. I asked a couple of colleagues and friends in the city, including a relative of mine, and some information immediately surfaced, along with various books and articles.

I remember a fruitful conversation with local historian Florian Ferrero, then director of the Provincial Archives, and from that point on I decided to write a paper on the subject. When I returned to the United States I started to research further and realized that I had stumbled upon something more complex and that I wanted to devote more time to delve into it. Additionally, the project was a good reason for me to return to Zamora, the birthplace of my paternal grandparents.

On that first trip I also met with Mario Saban, president of Tarbut Sefarad, in Barcelona, as well as the organization’s representatives in Madrid, José Manuel Laureiro and Anun Barriuso, who encouraged me to continue with the project and offered their help. I have to say that these three friends were somewhat skeptical about Zamora having a significant Jewish history.

Located at the heart of Old Castile, this is a city known, as I mentioned before, for its strong Catholic culture: Celebrations around saints’ days and the Virgin Mary are very common and dominate popular festivities all year long. More importantly, the Romanesque churches drive national and international tourism. So “Good luck with anything Jewish”, I can imagine my friends and local family members thinking back then.

But the reality was that some fieldwork had already been done on the Jewish heritage of the city, in particular a book titled El pasado judío de Zamora (1992) by prof. María Fuencisla García Casar, which included most of the historical documentation. Additional research by Guadalupe Ramos de Castro was included in her book, Juderías de Castilla and León (1988). Finally several articles by Prof. Carlos Carrete Parrondo (University of Salamanca) confirmed 21 Jewish settlements within the geographic limits of the current province of Zamora, including several that had the status of aljama (community) before 1492.

An earlier conference in 1981 had been dedicated to the Jewish presence in the city, organized by the Ramos de Castro Foundation. Nevertheless, none of this academic work had had an immediate impact on either the official history of Zamora narrative or on its cultural policies.

During my trip in 2010 I did not come across any mention of Jewish heritage, either at the Castilla y León Ethnographic Museum or the Provincial Museum. In spite of several archeological sites being located, according to oral tradition and archeological research, no professional intervention had taken place at the location of the Jewish cemetery, or at the Hostería Real, where a mikveh might still be in existence. And these are only two examples. My research question then was: What could the next steps be?

The first conclusion I arrived at was the necessity to assemble all the previous bibliography, for which I created the zamorasefardi.com webpage. Secondly, I asked myself what new information I could bring to the conversation, which I think is divided into two sections: a) highlighting the importance of Isaac Campanton (1360-1463) through his teaching and his disciples before and after 1492, and b) locating and documenting as much material evidence as possible about the Jewish historical and cultural presence in the city. Thirdly, I saw the need to establish a network of individuals that were currently researching or interested in Zamora´s Jewish history. Exchanges through this network evolved into the international conference that took place July 3-5, 2013. Finally, I proposed the creation of a center of Jewish studies in the city.

I have to say that the first three goals have been fulfilled beyond my expectations and that I am currently working with local authorities and colleagues to advance the fourth, including initiatives to put up signs marking the historically documented Jewish landmarks in Zamora. These last projects have been reported by the local newspaper, La Opinión de Zamora, on August 3 and 7, 2013, as approved by the Municipality, and are ready to be implemented in a short term.

A special discovery

Among all this exciting information about the Jewish heritage of the city of Zamora there is one in particular I would like to share because I think that, if confirmed, it could be important for researchers and other people and organizations working on the history of Sefarad (As Jews called Spain in medieval times).

In early June 2013, as part of my ongoing fieldwork, the owner of a bodega (wine cellar) known as “the Arab Cave” and located in the old Jewish quarter, invited me to visit the place. Its name was a commercial one chosen in the early 1990s by someone who ran an unsuccessful jazz bar on the premises. He was probably inspired by a 1971 article published in El Correo claiming that the place was one of the King Alfonso III’s famous Roman-style baths built in the mid 800s, but misidentified as belonging to Arabs by an El Correo (local daily) reporter.

These baths were referred to in the 19th century by historian Cesáreo Fernández Duro (1830-1908) as likely having been destroyed during the Almanzor invasion in the late 10th century, since they are not mentioned again in the history of the city, not even during the time of King Fernando I’s reconstruction, following years of war with the Muslims of the time. In any case, what caught my attention was that the place enjoys a privileged location at the center of what is broadly known and historically documented as the “old” Jewish quarter.

Once inside the site or “bodega”, I noticed that, besides the regular acoustics of the room, there was a particular point where my voice reverberated in a different way; three other people including the present owner also recognized the special sound effect in that particular spot. This caused us to wonder whether the same effect was repeated at other points in the room.

We discovered that the same reverberation could be perceived at five other spots, right under the center of the bóvedas (vaulted ceilings), causing voices to sound louder to those standing at these points. I then proposed the hypothesis that this place could be a synagogue, or an early Talmud Torah school, probably both.

From my own research I knew that Jews inhabited Zamora at least since1062 c.e., when King Fernando I repopulated the city, inviting, besides Christians and Moors, Jewish workers who established a synagogue in 1094 in the old Jewish quarter. Historical documentation also places the site of the synagogue close to today’s San Leonardo Church, the ruins of which are preserved.

Attendants to the International Congress in 2013 visit what might be the first Synagogue built in Zamora, Spain, in the late 11th century

Javier Palacio García, whose family owns the bodega, remembers that in the early 1970s an excavation took place on the site and that workers recovered several clay vessels, some of them of medium and large size. He also confirmed that neither he nor his family ever noticed the special acoustic effects I refer to above, although they were aware that there were a different type of acoustics in the room.

I immediately got in contact via email with Prof. Higini Arau in Barcelona and he replied, explaining that this type of effects are called acoustic focalizations, and that it is possible to measure them scientifically. He also provided me with contacts at the University of Valladolid in order to conduct scientific research on this site.

It is known that from before Greek and Roman times, acoustic architecture was part of the ancient masonry tradition, and that Jews and Moors both used it in their community buildings. The French archeologist Jean Passini has identified a similar style of architecture in Toledo’s Hamanzeit neighborhood, affirming that this particular style is not Islamic, and that it is consistent with other civil and religious construction in Toledo. Passini, however, does not mention any acoustic quality.

Medieval Jewish Quarter in Toro. According to historical records, after Zamora, Toro is the city with most references to its Jewish past.

I propose that the location of this place in Zamora is particularly important because among the early inhabitants of the neighborhood were Jews, and this place is situated in the area of Plaza Santa Lucía and Zapatería (shoemakers´ business) Street, one of the most frequently mentioned in the historical documentation as part of the Jewish quarter. Therefore, I have valid reasons to identify this place as a potentially Jewish building. If confirmed, it would be the only one discovered so far with these characteristics on the Iberian Peninsula.

This confirmation will add new information to the ongoing research on a mid 15th century Jewish renaissance in Castile right before the expulsion; a renaissance key to the Sephardic expansion across the Mediterranean basin and beyond, including a better understanding of the Bnein Anussim in Central and northern Spain and northeast Portugal.

Documentary telling the story of Jews of Zamora through historical documents and family narratives

Zamora Sefardí from Jesús Jambrina on Vimeo.

Zamora: el centro más importante de estudios judíos en el siglo XV español

On his keynote address at the International Conference in Zamora, Professor Abraham Gross, Ben Gurion University, underlines the importance of Zamora Talmud Torah School, and Rabi Isaac Campanton for the Jewish intellectual tradition in Sefarad (Spain and Portugal) during the 15th century, and beyond. A version of this lecture is available on The Jerusalem Post, Sept. 25, 2013, online here

Dr. Avraham Gross

Ben Gurion University, Neguev, Israel

Conferencia Inaugural* del Congreso Internacional "Reencuentro e historia de la aljama de Zamora, celebrado en el hotel NH Palacio del Duero entre los días 3 y 5 de julio, 2013. 

Introducción

            En la arqueología, es bastante común encontrar una pequeña pieza de alfarería en un sitio de excavación inesperado y luego del minucioso trabajo de encontrar y juntar más fragmentos, ensamblar una bella vasija: una pieza maestra de la antigüedad. A veces, el hallazgo de un fragmento muy pequeño es algo dramático y constituye sólo el primer paso en la reconstrucción a gran escala de algo desconocido o el re-descubrimiento de una ciudad olvidada de gran importancia. Este es el sueño de los arqueólogos.

            Tal evento es bastante raro en la disciplina de la historiografía y mucho más en el estudio de centros culturales, intelectuales y de enseñanza. Normalmente, textos como correspondencia, libros y tratados breves –los frutos del esfuerzo intelectual– son la base del trabajo del historiador. Se hallan a nuestro alcance de manera inmediata. Sin embargo, fue un solo fragmento de información, un eslabón perdido, lo que nos permitió la reconstrucción de lo que voy a proponer a continuación.

            Debo admitir que el título de esta presentación, ubicando a Zamora en la cumbre de la actividad intelectual judía en España, puede parecer dramático y ¡esa es la intención! Revisen la historiografía sobre los judíos en España y no encontrarán casi nada que apunte a la tesis de nuestro tema. Esto se aplica no sólo a la historiografía que estuvo interesada sobre todo en los últimos siglos de conversión y destrucción del mundo judío español y concentró sus esfuerzo en analizar la imposible existencia del triángulo judíos-cristianos nuevos-cristianos viejos, cripto-judaísmo (o marranismo) y la Inquisición. Incluso en estudios judíos internos sobre la historia intelectual no encontrarán una definición de Zamora en los términos sugeridos por nuestro tema.

            La razón es muy sencilla. Con frecuencia, juzgamos los logros intelectuales por su cantidad. Específicamente, por la cantidad de publicaciones. Sin caer en comparaciones cínicas con el elemento principal que articula nuestras carreras académicas ni comentar sobre este, se debe admitir que la evaluación cuantitativa no carece de importancia, históricamente hablando, particularmente cuando queremos evaluar la influencia de alguien. Sin embargo, al tratar con la educación y el aprendizaje religiosos, este no suele ser el caso. Este es especialmente así cuando estudiamos la historia de las academias talmúdicas/rabínicas (en hebreo, yeshivot).

            En la tradición judía, el aprendizaje es uno de los mayores y más importantes requisitos religiosos. La Torá dice que uno debe estudiar “día y noche” y los textos rabínicos –desde la Mishná hasta el presente– están llenos de instrucciones al respecto y de ejemplos de estudiosos que llevaron esto al extremo. Podría decirse que el aprendizaje es la característica principal del judaísmo rabínico hasta el día de hoy. Se trata de aprender por aprender, incluso si no tiene una aplicación práctica. Aprender constituye un fin en sí mismo. Enseñar y educar a muchos discípulos es un imperativo, según lo dice claramente la Mishná. 

Continua aquí. 

Don Quixote Code

By Paul Walsh, JN1, Spain

In 2003 The Da Vinci Code took the world by storm with its claims of secrets hidden within the works of the Italian maestro. Now, a professor of international law presents his own theory on the secret Jewish life of Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, in what one could call "The Don Quixote Code".

"I know who I am and who I may be, if I choose." So wrote Miguel de Cervantes, creator of what is considered to be one of the greatest pieces of literature ever written, Don Quixote de la Mancha. While he may have attested to being sure of his own identity, it is possible that the rest of the world has been wrong about the origin of Cervantes until very recently. Professor Leandro Rodriguéz of Geneva University spoke to JN1 about how the book leaves clues of an unmistakable Jewish connection.

Leandro Rodriguéz, Author, Miguel, Jew of Cervantes:

"What I found is that Don Quixote is entirely Jewish. And the thinking in the book is purely Jewish too, there is nothing Christian about it. First of all, the book refers to a 'stain', he himself says he is a stained lion, and that this stain is larger than the whole of Spain, and it is the stain of the unbaptized, non-Christians that is larger than the whole of Spain."

The next piece of the puzzle is that if Quixote was not from La Mancha, then where did he come from? Leandro believes he hailed from the region of Zamora, where only last July a congress was held describing the area as the world’s most important place for Jewish learning in the 15th century. Connecting Cervantes to this area would support the idea of Don Quixote as a Jewish "converso".

Florián Ferrero, Archive Director: 

"Zamora is a border city, and by being a border city with one that is easily crossed, but at the same time very defendible, when orders to expel the Jews from Spain were made, the population from the interior of Spain made them start coming towards Zamora in order to have Portugal a stone’s throw away. I mean, in less than a day’s walk you could arrive to Portugal. In Zamora there weren’t any large conflicts with the Jewish population. Putting a sign on your back and I don’t know what else, I get the feeling that it was never carried out. It’s a small population, very reduced, but possibly socially important."

In a move worthy of the Da Vinci Code’s protagonist Robert Langdon, Leandro believes that he has located the origins of the myth of Cervantes’ birthplace.

Leandro Rodriguéz, Author, Miguel, Jew of Cervantes:

"So then, in the 18th century, they made up a story about a baptism that took place in the town of Alcala de Henares, and that he was given the name of Miguel de Carvantes. And of course, the years go by and people simply copy from each other. So, then, I noted that this document was a mistake and it was false, and had been invented 150 years after the death of Cervantes."

If the growing body of evidence is to be believed, then Miguel de Cervantes was inspired to write his epic novel by these natural surroundings, in this once-Jewish community.