SINAGOGA OBIDOS
"Restore, upon the existing foundations, some of
the buildings destroyed by the earthquake of 1755, abolish no more than a dozen buildings
from this century, and slightly restore some of the architectural details without changing
the street plan or the arrangement of the houses, and you have Óbidos a three hundred
year old Portuguese town which is still faithfully intact."
This is how Ramalho Ortigão, a nineteenth-century Portuguese writer, viewed Óbidos. As
he suggested last century there has been a large effort in restoring this village which is
considered a National Heritage. Antennas, telephone cables and modern illumination have
been completely removed inside the village thus giving us the feeling of living in another
time and enjoying the beauty, the peacefulness of a Middle Age village.
| The village of Obidos is situated along the
seashore of the Atlantic Ocean, around 80 km to the north of Lisbon. Between the seashore
and the Castle of Óbidos we find the beautiful lagoon, Lagoa de Óbidos, exhibiting its
exhilarating multicolor reflexes of light and reaching its climax of beauty at the sunset. The nearby surroundings have been occupied by the Romans between the I and V centuries. In the 1st century the Romans founded the city of |
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| Eburobrittium on the valley of Arnóia, near the actual city of Óbidos. The toponym Óbidos was established from the roman word ‘Oppidum’. Between the V and VIII centuries the city was occupied by the Visigoths and it is most likely that a small Jewish community came along with them. However this is yet to be established. Between the VIII and XII the Arabic people- who may also have had Jews amongst them - from Morocco occupied the village. It is established that the actual castle was built or rebuilt during the Arab occupation. In the year of 1148 King Afonso Henriques of Portugal conquered the village from the Moors. The Jewish quarter or Judiaria was and the former Moorish quarter or Mouraria corresponds to the actual area of Rua Nova. The old Synagogue stands in this Rua Nova area and was built probably by the end of the XII century. Today we can see a partially destroyed three floors building having on the ground floor a small room which is likely to be the religious service room. Excavations need to be done in order to restore this building. Incredibly is the fact that the whole area of the building is for sale thus allowing us to purchase it and restore a part of our Jewish Heritage. |
| It is overwhelming that after the year of Jubilee which corresponded to the 50 years of the our Nation, Israel, many things have been happening that is allowing us to restore our heritage - and I speak for myself - in Portugal. | ||||
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"Behold, I will save my people from the east
country, and from the west country; And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the
midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their G-d, in truth and
righteousness."
Shalom ve Shavua tov.
Mário Henrique Gomes van Grichen
rdd78913@mail.telepac.pt
Rua Dr. Gama Barros n. 75, 1.esq.
1700 Lisboa
Portugal
Telefax: 351 1 8486896
E-mail: Rufina Bernardetti Silva Mausenbaum
