Aron Sterk

para os lusófonos:

This is the handbook of the Hebra Kadisa of Bevis Marks edited by H. Moses Gaster. The Ascamot at the end would be based on those of Amsterdam.

A little irony of history? The Napoleonic decree making it mandatory for Jews with mo fixed surname to adopt one was issued in July 1808 in Bayonne:

Many people assume that the conventions of surnames among Portuguese Jews are those of the Anglo-Saxom world. So it might be as well for some to read this:

The two-part article on the pronunciation of Hebrew in the Western Sephardi communities by the late Aron di Leoni has a wealth of information (including info on editions of the Ascamot!):

Not everyone can access JStor. So here are the two articles below:

Some background information on the Jewish cemeteries in Bordeaux which still need recording fully:

A transcripts of the records of the Bet Haim (cemetery) of the Amsterdam community.

For those interested in Sephardic languages, the following two webpages will be of interest (there is much work to be done on the use of Portuguese in western Jewish communities):http://www.jewish-languages.org/judeo-spanish.htmlhttp://www.jewish-languages.org/judeo-portuguese.html

Rather than duplicating information, there is a wealth of stuff relating to the Western Sephardi Diaspora posted in this group:

I have family connections to the communities of Bordeaux and Bayonne that people tend to forget. This article has an interesting list of names at the end:

There are links to some interesting databases here:

Two conferences in Lisbon next year may interest members of this group:

Leonora Duarte was a renowned composer from a rich coverso family in Antwerp. Her father, Gaspar was a collector of contemporary art and owned Vermeer's 'Lady seated at a virginal'

Grande Synagogue de Marseille (1864) was formerly S&P rite. In the 50s they played the organ on Shabbat!!

H. Moses Gaster (156-1939) Haham of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews on Great Britain 1887-1919, Principal Lady Judith Montefiore College (1891-6). The first draft of the Balfour declaration was written at his house on Feb 7th 1917.

By Rephael Montalto, Amsterdam 1685/5446. New York Public Library - Spencer coll.

Teba covering from the Hague 1720-60. collection of the Jewish Museum, Amsterdam.

South Manchester Congregation os Spanish and Portuguese Jews. Formed 1905. This building 1927.

Due to its anomalous status as neither part of the kingdom Navarre or part of the kingdom of France, Bidache was practically a sovereign state from 1560 to 1790 and became a refuge for many including a communtiy of Jews.

Magnificent Torah mantle (capa) 1650s from Amsterdam? with rimmonim that actually look like pomegranates. Now in the V&A London.

Plaque marking the first (S&P) synagogue in the UK founded after the resettlement of 1656; Creechurch Lane (near Bevis Marks - which is the name of a street), London.

Eighteenth century Jewish gravestones in Madras, India. Jewish traders in coral and gemstones from Amsterdam, London and Livorno established a merchant community here under the auspices of the English East India Company in the 17th c. One of the first was Jacques (Jaime) de Paiva (Pavia) who died here in 1687. His widow married the governor of Madras (then called Fort St George) Elihu Yale of Yale...

R Jacob Judah Leon (1602-1675) mada model of the aupposed appearance of the Temple. Engravings were made of this and his writings, model, and pictures became famous throughout Europe. The design of the Esnoga in Amsterdam was influenced by Leon's vision of the Temple.