Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue

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Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue

The Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue ( Hebrew קהל צור ישראל, Eng .: 'Rock of Israel') is located in Recife , the capital of the Brazilian state of Pernambuco . It was founded by Dutch Jews in 1636, making it the oldest synagogue in the New World .

history

During the Dutch rule over northeastern Brazil from 1630 to 1654, numerous Jews emigrated from the Netherlands to New Holland, where the Governor General Johann Moritz Prince of Nassau-Siegen had proclaimed freedom of religion. Many of them were descendants of Portuguese Jews who had fled to the Netherlands for persecution. The Kahal Zur Israel synagogue was founded in 1636 at Rua dos Judeus 203 (today Rua do Bom Jesus ) in Mauritsstad (today Recife). From 1642 Isaac Aboab da Fonseca (1605–1693) was the synagogue's first rabbi. Around 1645 the Jewish community had over 1,600 members. With the expulsion of the Dutch in 1654, most of the Jews emigrated to the Dutch and English colonies in North America. Members of the Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue were among the founders of New York City . With the decline of the Jewish community in Recife, the use of the building as a synagogue also ended.

The building was only demolished in the 20th century. In 1999 the remains of the synagogue (especially the ritual bath ) were excavated by archaeologists. Since 2001, a new two-story building has housed a Jewish Museum, which provides information on the history of Judaism and the synagogue. Because of its historical importance, the synagogue is used by the Jewish population of Recife for weddings and bar mitzvah celebrations.

Picture gallery

  • Exterior view

  • inside view

  • Torah shrine

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Synagogue in Brazilian town Recife considered oldest in the Americas

Coordinates: 8 ° 3 ′ 40.7 ″  S , 34 ° 52 ′ 16.8 ″  W.