Ancient synagogue (Barcelona)

The Ancient Synagogue of Barcelona ( ca, Sinagoga Major de Barcelona; es, Sinagoga Mayor de Barcelona) is believed to be an ancient synagogue located in the Jewish quarter of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Medieval rabbi Shlomo ben Adret, leader of Spanish Jewry of his time, was the rabbi of the synagogue for 50 years during the late 13th century.

Dating to as early as the 3rd century, the synagogue has been described as the oldest in Spain and one of the oldest synagogues in Europe. After many centuries of use for other purposes, the building re-opened as a synagogue and museum in 2002. No congregation prays regularly at the Ancient Synagogue, but it is used for festive occasions, such as B'nei Mitzvah and weddings.

History

Archaeological investigations show that the original structure of the building was built in the third or fourth century; whether this structure was the synagogue cannot be said with certainty. The building was significantly expanded during the 13th century. Medieval Barcelona is known to have had several synagogues, and the main synagogue was certainly in the immediate area. King James I visited the synagogue in 1263 at the conclusion of the Barcelona Disputation. Shlomo ben Aderet served as the rabbi of the ''Sinagoga Major'' for 50 years.

The Jews of Barcelona were massacred in 1391. The building was then used for many purposes and its original use was forgotten. Over the centuries, additional stories were added to the building.

In 1987, Jaume Riera y Sans began researching the location of the ''Sinagoga Major''. His research was based on a reconstruction of the route followed by a thirteenth-century tax collector that ended at the ''Sinagoga Major''.

Riera's work led Miguel Iaffa to examine the exterior of the building. Iaffa noted that the structure had been built in compliance with religious requirements that the building should face Jerusalem and that it should have two windows. In fact, the eastward orientation of the building (toward Jerusalem) broke with the northwest/southeast alignment of the streets in its neighborhood.

Iaffa purchased the building in 1995 when its owner put it up for sale. The Call Association of Barcelona ( ca, Associació Call de Barcelona), led by Iaffa, undertook the recovery and restoration of the synagogue. The ''Sinagoga Major'' was opened to the public in 2002, and it drew 20,000 visitors during 2005.

In 2003, two Canadians became the first couple to be married at the ''Sinagoga Major'' in more than 600 years. A New York attorney donated a 500-year-old '' sefer Torah'' (Torah scroll) to the synagogue in 2006.

In January 2009, a right-wing extremist affiliated with the Republican Social Movement attacked the ''Sinagoga Major''. He struck the building's facade repeatedly with a baseball bat, and when a synagogue employee approached him, he beat the worker so severely with the bat the man had to be hospitalized with cerebral contusions and a broken arm. The attacker was detained by police.

See also

* Oldest synagogues in the world

Gallery

File:Entrada de l'Associació Call de Barcelona.jpg, Entrance to the ''Associació Call de Barcelona'' (the synagogue)
File:Menorah from Barcelona Synagogue.JPG, A menorah seen inside the synagogue
File:Torah from Barcelona Synagogue.JPG, The '' sefer Torah'' (Torah scroll) seen inside the synagogue

References

Further reading

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External links

Associació Call de Barcelona

{{Authority control
Barcelona
Religious buildings and structures in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona
3rd-century religious buildings and structures
3rd-century establishments in Spain
Sephardi synagogues
Establishments in Spain in the Roman era
Sephardi Jewish culture in Europe