Two medieval synagogues

Two out of the three synagogues that remain intact in Spain from the Medieval period are here in Toledo. The third is in Cordoba where were yesterday. At about 5 pm I walked to the Jewish Quarter to investigate both.

The first synagogue I went into is called the Synagogue of El Transito. Originally it was built by Samuel ha-Levi Abulafia and it was joined to his palatial home as his personal place of worship. He was from a very prominent family of Jews who had been served the Castillian kings for many generations and had grown rich and powerful. The founder eventually lost favour of the royal family and he was executed when things went sour for the Jews. It was first built in 1356, just prior to the persecution of the Jews commencing in Spain.

The synagogue was very large and built in a unique style which incorporated Muslim elements. In fact, the stucco wall decorations are in the Mudejar style similar to the ornate Al Hambra in Granada. The wooden ceiling is ornate and clearly influenced by Moorish style. It is possible that the Muslims actually did much of the work as they were the most skilled tradesmen in Spain in that period.

This synagogue is now a Museum of Sephardic Jewish culture. The rooms to the side of the synagogue are filled with interesting Jewish exhibits and the garden has large Jewish tombstones that have been recovered from around Spain from the pre-expulsion period.

The second synagogue I visited is called the Synagogue of Santa Maria la Blanca and it was even more surprising than the first. It is made of columns and arches clearly in the Muslim style. It was converted into a church after the expulsion of 1492 but the essential nature of the building was unchanged. It has now become a museum for its history as a rare 14th-century synagogue.

It was fascinating to tour these two Jewish places of worship, knowing what we know now about what happened to the Jews in Spain and their Sephardic culture. There are a couple of really fascinating Jewish shops near the synagogues in which I also spent some time browsing the books, manuscripts and maps they had for sale. There was an old scroll of the book of Esther for sale. They even had Asterix books for sale in Hebrew. I was tempted but resisted.Read more