Judaism in Malta

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The Judaism in Malta has a long history, documented by numerous preserved places and buildings. These include the catacombs near Rabat , a Jewish gate and a Jewish silk market in Mdina ( The old Jewish Silk Market ), the street name Triq tal-Lhud and a Jewish gate in Valletta ( Jews Sally Port ), Jewish cemeteries. The Jewish mystic Avraham Abulafia lived on the island of Comino (late 13th century) and wrote several writings here, such as the Book of Signs (Seper ha Ot) or the meditation manual Words of Beauty (Imrei Shefer).

The synagogue in Malta is the only Jewish place of worship in the island nation. The new building in the city of Xbiex replaced the synagogue in Valletta that had been in use for centuries and was demolished in the 1980s.

history

The roots of Judaism in Malta go back at least to the 3rd century when the island belonged to the Roman Empire . During the Spanish rule in Malta, from 1493, Jews who were not baptized had to leave the country. So they fled with their families to North Africa , Turkey or the Balkans . Around 1530 the Maltese Knights (Johanniter) took over the island nation. Jews who stayed here were now viewed as slaves , but they were allowed to build their own houses of prayer. After Napoléon conquered Malta in 1798, numerous Jews settled in the cities and were now considered free citizens. During the subsequent British rule, more people of the Jewish faith immigrated. Nevertheless, the Jewish community officially never had more than 500 members, which is why a rabbi was not appointed until the 19th century . During the Second World War , some Jewish families came to the island from Germany, which was ruled by National Socialists .

The old synagogue in the capital, which probably came from the 14th century, was demolished. (One source cites 1979, another source reports that the demolition did not take place until 1995). For this purpose, the congregation in the city of Ta 'Xbiex built a new building, the New Synagogue, which was completed in 1998 and inaugurated in 2000. The construction was financed with donations from Jewish institutions around the world.

A prayer room was set up in Valletta in a five-room apartment that has been converted into a community center. On the front wall stands the Aron Hakodesch with the Torah scrolls , in front of it a desk for the prayer leader and there are chairs for the parishioners.

In Mdina the Jews made up almost a third of the population at times. In this city, the Palazzo Falson , now a museum, served as a synagogue until the middle of the 20th century.

Before the arrival of the Arabs on Malta in 870, there was also a synagogue in the town of Imsida , which was torn down to the ground. The inhabitants then built the Church of the Immaculate Conception .

Finally, in 2013 the congregation opened a Chabad center in the vicinity of the new synagogue in St Julians (Triq Gorg Borg Olivier 83) , in which, among other things, the restaurant L'Chaim, a strictly kosher restaurant, is operated the first in Malta .

In the 21st century, the Jewish community in Malta consists of between 150 and 200 believers - scattered across the three islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino. They represent the most diverse areas of origin ( Sephardic , Ashkenazi , Orthodox , reformers and liberals ). Since the end of the 20th century, the Maltese Jews have grown from Jewish students from other European countries and ten couples from Israel . They earn their living working in computer companies, including trading in products specially tailored to the needs of Jewish life such as cosmetics (including those from the Dead Sea ), kosher food and other kosher snacks. Rabbi Chaim Segal from Israel, brought in 2012 by the Jewish community on the island, leads among other regular Tuesday-school and Shabbat - worship through. The rabbi who previously worked in Malta was called Ohayon, whose descendants continue to live in Malta. The son, Abram Ch. Ohayon is chairman of the Jewish community and at the same time a suitcase manufacturer. The grandson Reuben Ohayon is also active in the community.

The presence of a ritual bath ( mikveh ) is also evidence of active Jewish life in Malta.

There are three Jewish cemeteries in Malta that can be visited by prior arrangement with the local council:

  • Kalkara , here is the smallest burial place (only 100 square meters and surrounded by a wall). It was opened in 1784 and is no longer actively used.
  • Ta 'Braxia in Pietà , it is very close to Valletta's largest non-denominational cemetery and was used from 1834 to 1880 .
  • Marsa (at the southern tip of Grand Harbor), laid out in 1879 and the only still actively used Jewish cemetery in Malta.

Furthermore, more than six Jewish graves in the catacomb system near Rabat (St Paul's, sometimes also called St Agatha's catacombs) have been identified using the menorah symbol above the rock gate.

literature

Web links

Commons : Judaism in Malta  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d The Jewish Community in Malta , accessed March 1, 2017.
  2. ↑ a b Jewish heritage in Malta , accessed March 3, 2017.
  3. ^ A b Robert Fishman: Praying in Valletta , In: Jüdische Allgemeine. April 23, 2015; accessed on March 2, 2017.
  4. ↑ Bomb miracles and the Baroque - Malta has been independent for 50 years . In: Aachener Zeitung. 2014.
  5. ↑ Msida en omgeving (Dutch) on www.googlebooks; accessed on March 2, 2017.