The Shepardic Heritage in Oporto

The history of the Jewish people in Portugal (as in the rest of the Iberian Peninsula) probably dates back to the first diaspora, or exile, of the people of Israel and Judah, around 586 BC, during the invasion of the kingdom by Nebuchadnezzar II (Emperor of Babylon).

“There are lots of people that identify the mythical Tarshish, where Solomon ordered the searches for the fabulous wealth that the Bible attributes to him (1 Kings 9, 26-28) with Tartessos in southern Spain, where the Phoenician colonization would have been affirmed. In the 6th century BC, the prophet Abdias also speaks of the deported Jews at Sefarad* (Abd. 20). ”

*Sefarad = Iberia

The second diaspora occurs in 70 AD, with the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, again dividing the Jewish people by the communities of Eastern Europe, known as the Ashkenazi, and those of North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, known as the Sephardites.

The Sephardites successfully established themselves in Portugal between the 5th and 15th centuries and persisted in secrecy until today, having contributed strongly to the social, economic and cultural development of what would become Portugal. One of the most important centers of the Jewish presence in the country was located along the Douro River, between Lamego and Oporto.

Oporto had, not one, but several Jewries throughout history, the first of which, from the 12th century, was located next to the Cathedral, on the current street of Santana.

Another well-known Jewry was the one located in the area of the Market Ferreira Borges, with the synagogue located on the current street of Comércio do Porto.

Finally, the “last” known Jewry, from the period of D. Manuel, before the expulsion or forced conversion of the Jews, known as Judiaria do Olival, connected the area of Miragaia to the Monastery of S. Bento da Vitória, which was the location of another synagogue in the city.

With the expulsion of the Sephardites, many ventured into the ships and caravels that regularly sailed from the customs port to the New World, having founded, among others, the first Jewish community in the USA in the beggining of the 17th century, in New Amsterdam, now New York.

Although secretly, the Jewish community of Porto has survived, until today, mainly in the Boavista area, near the Botanical Garden, where, thanks to the strong contribution of a Portuguese convert, Artur Barros Basto, during World War II, the most recent synagogue in Oporto, Kadoorie Mekor Haim, was financed and built, as a result of the special cooperation of the Kadoorie, name given to the Jews from Macao, China.

The city of Oporto represented, in different ways, a bastion of hope for the Jewish community. If you want to know more about the Hebrew presence in Portugal, we will be happy to accompany you! Book now!