CORDOBA, Spain - It seems a bit unusual. In one of the most Catholic countries in the world, I am watching a Jewish man prepare challah bread to celebrate the Shabbat in Cordoba, Spain.
“This is the only challah bread in Cordoba,” said Haim Casas. “I had to teach them how to make it.”
Today, there are only 25 Jews in Cordoba, Casas says. “But it wasn’t long ago that there were no Jews at all,” he added.
Casas himself was raised as a Catholic. As a teen, however, Casas researched his family heritage and believes that his Spanish ancestors were among those forced to give up their Jewish religion or face death.
“People ask ‘Are you Jewish or are you Spanish?’ because it is impossible to be both. But I am officially a Jew in Spain … Here we say ‘mazel bueno,’” Casas said, combining the Spanish word “bueno” for good and the Jewish phrase for good luck – “mazel tov.”
As director of Casa de Sefarad, Casas has seen an increase in visitors wanting to know more about Jewish heritage in Spain. Opened in 2008, Casa de Sefarad is a small museum devoted to Sephardic-Judaic-Spanish tradition.
“We are not part of a Jewish Disneyland,” he said. “Casa de Safarad is a house where Jews once lived. It is now a private, self-supported cultural center.”
About 30,000 visitors a year come to Casa De Safarad – a marked increase over the early years. “Fifteen percent maybe are Jewish,” Casas said. “The rest are people who want to learn more about the Jewish tradition in Cordoba.”
MEMORIES OF SEFARAD
Located in the old Jewish Quarter of Cordoba, the beautiful 14th century house has five exhibition rooms that showcase “Memories of Sefarad.” The Domestic Life Room showcases objects and embroidered textiles used by the Sephardim. The Women from Al-Andalus Room spotlights how Jewish, Christian and Muslim women were exceptionally prominent during the Jewish time in Cordoba. Women poets, singers, philosophers, librarians and many more enriched the community’s cultural life.
The Jewish Quarter of Cordoba Room honors property names that inhabit the history of the city and the synagogue. The Celebrations and Holidays Room illustrates the diversity and exceptional nature of the feast days and celebrations in the Hebrew tradition. The Sephardic Music Room salutes language and music, treasures of the Sephardic tradition.
Casa de Safarad also has about 15,000 books, including rare titles that have been handed down from generation to generation. “Many people come here to do research in our library,” Casas said. “Attorneys come here to read about the Spanish Inquisition … It is important that we learn from history so we don’t repeat it.”
JEWISH HISTORY
Jews were established in Cordoba in Roman and Visigoth times. Under Arab rule after the 8th century, Jews and Christians and Muslims lived in peace. Life and intellectualism flourished. Cordoba was very rich – in both wealth and in learning.
Sephardic Jews considered Spain their own country. Jews living in Spain and Portugal were known as Sephardic and the 13th century was the Sephardic Golden Age in Spain, Casas said.
But in 1492 – at the same time that Christopher Columbus was discovering the New World - Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand II decided to rid Spain of its Jews. Jews were give a choice – either convert to Catholicism, leave the country or die.
As many as 200,000 Spanish Jews were forced to leave their homes. Others changed their religion – or pretended to – in order to stay. Casas noted that Queen Victoria’s favorite prime minister, Benjamin Disraeli, was descended from Sephardic Jews who ended up in Britain following the Spanish Inquisition.
Today, the Jewish Quarter (Juderia in Spanish) consists of fascinating narrow lanes, jewelry and silversmith shops, historic attractions and a marvelous atmosphere that seems to reach back into the centuries of time.
Will Jews ever return to Cordoba and strengthen the community as they did in the past? Casas pauses and then gives a beautifully descriptive answer. “What was green once,” he concluded. “can become green again.”
For more information: Contact Spain Tourism at www.spain.info
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