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SEPTEMBER 24, 24, 2020 2020 || The The Jewish Jewish Home Home SEPTEMBER
The Wandering
Jew
Memories of Portugal By Hershel Lieber
Overlooking a square in Lisbon
I
always wanted to visit Portugal. Why Portugal? Why not?! We had already made two trips to Spain visiting Madrid, Barcelona, Granada, Seville, Cordoba, and Toledo. We were in Gibraltar twice, and I was there a third time, too. Now was the time to visit the other great nation on the Iberian Peninsula, Portugal. Like Spain, Portugal had a documented Jewish presence for about a thousand years until the Inquisition. Jewish creativity and culture blossomed for many of those years, and the economy of the country was greatly developed by Jewish merchants. The Jews, in return, were given special rights and privileges though the country was staunchly committed to its strict Catholic doctrine. Jewish personalities abounded, the most famous being Rabbi Isaac Abravanel, who was the treasurer of King Alfonso I. The Golden Years of Jewish life on the Iberian Peninsula culminat-
Belem Tower in Lisbon
ed with the Order of Expulsions, first in Spain in 1492, after which over 100,000 Jews fled to Portugal from where they were again expelled in 1496. Jewish history continued in the form of conversos (also known as marranos) who outwardly practiced Christianity but secretly observed Judaism. These Jews were the targets of the tribunals of the Inquisition and subject to the fires of the Auto de Fe. With the exception of some of the residents of the community of Belmonte, most of those conversos eventually melded into the local Catholic population and lost their Jewish heritage. Nevertheless, the vast majority of Jews fled Portugal and emigrated to Amsterdam, Constantinople, Brazil, Morocco, and other places. In the 19th century, with the abolishment of the Inquisition, some Jewish families from Morocco and Gibraltar returned. The first synagogue was inaugurated in 1904. Enough of history. And avanca
para Portugal, onwards to Portugal. And so, on Wednesday, May 16, 2012, our plane touched down in Lisbon Portela Airport. Since our trip would only be for eight days, we had to cram in a lot of sights and activities into a short span of time. After checking into the Don Pedro Hotel, we davened, ate brunch, and took a taxi to the Belem area of the city. The sights that were most impressive were the former monastery and its courtyards and the Monument of Discoveries. Though the monastery is currently not used as a church, we were still hesitant to enter the building but were amazed at the architectural beauty and magnificence of the structure. The ship-like Monument, which juts out toward the Atlantic Ocean, is a testament to the great Portuguese explorers who were prominent in discovering the New World, the Western Hemisphere. Belem Tower was another gem that we were able to explore before we headed back to our hotel.
We picked up some vegetables and fruit at a nearby supermarket, heated up our grilled chicken and couscous, and planned for tomorrow while enjoying our dinner. We still managed to take an hour walk before going to sleep. Surprisingly, we were
Typical tiled buildings in Lisbon
