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Beth Yaacov Synagogue (Madrid)

Coordinates: 40°26′07″N 03°42′00″W / 40.43528°N 3.70000°W / 40.43528; -3.70000
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For similarly named synagogues, see Congregation Beth Jacob.
Beth Yaacov Synagogue
Spanish: Sinagoga Beth Yaacov
The Jewish Community of Madrid (CJM) building, in 2006, which houses the synagogue
Religion
AffiliationJudaism
RiteNusach Sefard
Ecclesiastical or organisational statusSynagogue
OwnershipJewish Community of Madrid
StatusActive
Location
Location3 Calle Balmes, Chamberí, Madrid
CountrySpain
Beth Yaacov Synagogue (Madrid) is located in Madrid
Beth Yaacov Synagogue (Madrid)
Location of the synagogue in Madrid
Geographic coordinates40°26′07″N 03°42′00″W / 40.43528°N 3.70000°W / 40.43528; -3.70000
Architecture
TypeSynagogue architecture
StyleModernist
Date established1917 (as a congregation)
Groundbreaking1964
Completed1968
MaterialsBrick
Website
cjmadrid.org
[1]

The Beth Yaacov Synagogue (Spanish: Sinagoga Beth Yaacov), also known as the Beth Jacob Synagogue or the Synagogue of Madrid, is a Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 3 Calle Balmes, in the Chamberí district of Madrid, Spain. When it opened in 1968, it was the first new synagogue[citation needed] building built in Spain since the Catholic Monarchs of Spain expelled the country's Jews in 1492.

History

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Early developments

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Jewish life in Spain's major cities existed in the later decades of the 19th century, but only coalesced into organized bodies around the time of World War I. The Jewish Community of Madrid (CJM) was formally established in 1917.[2] The CJM prayed at the Midras Abordonel synagogue on Calle Príncipe. It was the first Jewish house of worship in Spain since 1492,[citation needed] but was not a new building.[3]

However, after the victory of Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War in 1939, the Spanish right-wing moved against so-called "enemy elements" purportedly working in the interests of Bolsheviks and a "Judeo-Masonic conspiracy". The government subsequently shut down the synagogue in Madrid.[2]

In 1949, the community moved to the Lawenda Oratory. A decade later, the Community moved to Calle de Pizarro.[4]

By the late 1960s, the Jewish community in Madrid had grown rapidly for several reasons. Spain's 1967 Law on Religious Freedom granted full public religious rights to non-Catholics, including Jews.[5] In addition, Israel’s victory over the coalition of Arab states in the Six-Day War in 1967 pushed a large population of Jews in Morocco to emigrate to Spain. This included future Chief Rabbi of Madrid Yehuda Benasouli.[6]

Construction

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In 1959, the Jewish community in Madrid received permission to open an official synagogue. The community previously had operated out of a private home.[7] In 1964, the Jewish community in Spain was officially legalized as a political entity as part of Franco's "25 years of peace" celebration. That year, the Jewish communities in Madrid and Barcelona created the Israelite Communal Council,[2] and construction of a new synagogue building in Madrid began.[8]

The rectangular building, designed by a Spanish architect,[9] included a main sanctuary with seating for 550 people and space for education, social, and community activities. The total cost of $250,000 was covered by funds raised by the local community and $150,000 from the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.[10]

The sanctuary is decorated with the Hebrew inscriptions modeled after the Synagogue of El Transito in Toledo.[8]

Early history

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On December 16, 1968, the Beth Yaacov synagogue opened on Balmes Street in the Chamberí district of Madrid, at a ceremony attended by 600 locals and Jewish dignitaries from across the world.[10] It was the first new synagogue built in Spain since 1492.[6] The synagogue's first rabbi was Benito Garson, who had immigrated to Madrid from Tetuan, Spanish Morocco, and had earned his rabbinic ordination in London.[11] On the same day as the opening, the Spanish Ministry of Justice officially repealed the Alhambra Decree of 1492 that expelled practicing Jews from Spain.[4] A letter announcing the repeal was presented to Samuel Toledano, leader of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain, and read from the pulpit of Beth Yaacov synagogue, which would serve the city's 2,500 Jews. Notably, the repeal ended the requirement that Jews obtain official permission from the Spanish government to hold religious services.[10]

In 1972, the synagogue was vandalized by right-wing extremists associated with far-right paramilitary organization Warriors of Christ the King.[12]

Queen Sofia attended Shabbat services at the synagogue in June 1976, marking the first time in modern Spanish history that a member of the royal family had visited a Jewish house of worship. In addition, the visit was Sofia's first public appearance since her husband King of Spain Juan Carlos I assumed the throne.[13]

1990-present

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King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia visited the synagogue on March 31, 1992, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Alhambra Decree. The king wore a white yarmulke and prayed for peace with approximately 250 people in an 85-minute ceremony, in what the Los Angeles Times called "a remarkable gesture of reconciliation."[14]

While Queen Sofia had previously visited the synagogue, the event was the first visit by a Spanish king to a Jewish house of worship in the modern era. The Spanish royals were joined by Israeli President Chaim Herzog, Herzog's predecessor Yitzhak Navon, Rabbi Solomon Gaon and other Israeli and Spanish officials. Also present were descendants of Abraham Senior and Isaac Abarbanel, who had unsuccessfully petitioned King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to retract the edict.[15][16]

Since 1997, Moshe Bendahan has been the mara d’atra of the Beth Yaacov synagogue, as the Chief Rabbi of Madrid. Bendahan's family fled Morocco in 1964, and he began his rabbinic service in Spain in 1986, the same year that Spain and Israel formally established diplomatic relations.[17]

The Beth Yaacov Synagogue functions as the Jewish community of Madrid's (CJM) main Orthodox synagogue. The building houses the CJM's offices, rabbinate, a mikveh, and a history museum.[18][19]

As of 2012, the Beit Yaacov synagogue was one of seven synagogues serving the approximately 20,000-strong Jewish community in Madrid.[3]

In 2021, the Spanish National Police arrested a 68-year-old man for graffitiing a Nazi swastika on one of the protective bollards outside the synagogue.[20]

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  • The synagogue's entrance door
    The synagogue's entrance door
  • Close up of the entrance door
    Close up of the entrance door

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Beth Yaacov Synagogue in Madrid". Historic Synagogues of Europe. Foundation for Jewish Heritage and the Center for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. n.d. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "About". Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "The Madrid City Council commemorates with a plaque the first synagogue that opened in the city after the expulsion of the Jews". Europa Press. December 4, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Abre sus puertas la sinagoga Bet Yaacov, único templo sefardí en Madrid". Madrid Diario (in Spanish). December 16, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  5. ^ Curvino, Melissa (2013). "Church-State Cooperation Does Not Violate a Guarantee of Religious Freedom: A Study of the 1978 Spanish Constitution and 1979 Concordat with the Catholic Church". Emory International Law Review. 27 (1). Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Spivak, J.A. (July 2, 2010). "Madrid's chief rabbi, Yehuda Benasouli, dies at 77". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  7. ^ "Jews in Madrid Permitted to Open Synagogue; First Since Expulsion". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. October 2, 1959. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Madrid". JGuide Europe. Fondation du judaïsme français. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  9. ^ "Spanish Make Plans for Dedication of Madrid Synagogue, First New One Since 1492". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. December 4, 1968. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  10. ^ a b c "Spanish Government Formally Rescinds 1492 Decree Ordering Expulsion of Jews". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. December 17, 1968. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  11. ^ "Dr. Gaon Expresses Confidence About Future of Jewish Community in Spain". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. November 19, 1968. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  12. ^ "Synagogue Desecrated by Right-wing Extremists; Worst in Years". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. February 3, 1972. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  13. ^ "Queen Sophia of Spain Guest at Jewish Sabbath Services". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. June 1, 1976. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  14. ^ Montabano, William (April 1, 1992). "After 500 Years, a Wrong Redressed : Religion: Spain's Juan Carlos prays with Israeli president in Madrid synagogue on anniversary of expulsion of Jews". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  15. ^ Hadad, Herbert (March 29, 1992). "Sephardim Commemorate Their 500-Year Journey of Survival". New York Times.
  16. ^ "King of Spain Pays Tribute to Jews 500 Years After Edict of Expulsion". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. April 1, 1992. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  17. ^ Rose, Binyamin (December 16, 2016). "Spain on the Mend". Mishpacha. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  18. ^ Jimenez Glassman, Linda (August 3, 2008). "Jewish Madrid: where to find a synagogue, a kosher restaurant…". European Jewish Press. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008.
  19. ^ "Museum of History of the Jewish Community of Madrid". Official website of Tourism of the city of Madrid. City of Madrid. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  20. ^ "Detenido un hombre de 68 años por pintar una esvástica frente a la sinagoga de Chamberí". Europa Press (in Spanish). August 13, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
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