The Sahar Hassamain Synagogue ("Gate of the Heavens") is a former

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

congregation and

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, located at 16 Rua de Brum,

Ponta Delgada Ponta Delgada (; ) is the largest municipality (''concelho'') and executive capital of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in Portugal. It is located on São Miguel Island, the largest and most populous in the archipelago. As of 2021, it has 67,2 ...

, on

São Miguel Island São Miguel Island (; ), nicknamed "The Green Island" (), is the largest and most populous island in the Portugal, Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. The island covers and has around 140,000 inhabitants, with 45,000 people residing in Ponta D ...

, in the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

region of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. The former synagogue was completed in 1836 and is the oldest synagogue in Portugal, built after the expulsion of Jews from the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

. In 2015, following restoration, the former synagogue was repurposed as a

Jewish museum A Jewish museum is a museum which focuses upon Jews and may refer seek to explore and share the Jewish experience in a given area. Notable Jewish museums include: Albania * Solomon Museum, Berat Australia * Jewish Museum of Australia, Melbourn ...

called the Sahar Hassamaim Hebrew Museum.

History

The Shaar Hashamayim Synagogue is one of only a few remnants of Jewish culture in the

and in all of Portugal. Founded by Abraham Bensaúde along with other members of the Jewish community of the city in 1836, in a building purchased for this effect. It is the oldest synagogue in Portugal built after the expulsion of the Jews from the country. There were formerly five synagogues in

, and Shaar Hashamayim is the only one still existing. The first references to the establishment of Jewish families in the Azores is from the first half of the nineteenth century. Jews came to the Azores from Morocco because of the economic restrictions that were being imposed on them there at the time. In the same period, the influence of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

had declined in Portugal, and the advent of liberalism, particularly after the Liberal Revolution of Porto (1820), attracted Jews to the Azores. Jews were accepted at the time, in contrast to the persecution by the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...

in previous centuries. It is likely that those Jews that arrived had Portuguese ancestry. Family names from this period are Amiel, Abohbot, Benarus,

Levy Levy, Lévy or Levies may refer to: People * Levy (surname), people with the surname Levy or Lévy * Levy Adcock (born 1988), American football player * Levy Barent Cohen (1747–1808), Dutch-born British financier and community worker * Levy ...

, Zagory and Besabat.

Today

Sahar Hassmain synagogue was closed for more than fifty years. As of March 2009 it was temporarily open on Saturdays for guided tours in the context of the celebrations of 420 years of the arrival of the first Jews to the Azores. Services are no longer conducted. The municipality undertook recently to support the recovery process of the synagogue although the property is owned by the Jewish Community of Lisbon. The synagogue is located on an upper floor of a building that also included the rabbi’s residence. The exterior of the building is not recognizable, since it was built with the

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

of a typical Azorean dwelling house. The interior retains its original character and on display are some objects of worship, especially a chair of

circumcision Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. T ...

from 1819, chandeliers and diverse historical documentation in Hebrew. The archipelago came to have other synagogues on the islands of

Terceira Terceira () is a volcanic island in the Azores archipelago, about a third of the way across the North Atlantic Ocean at a similar latitude to Portugal's capital Lisbon, with the island group forming an insular part of Portugal. It is one of the ...

and Faial. Besides this synagogue, there remains only the Jewish cemetery of Santa Clara also in

, from 1834, and the Cemetery in

Angra do Heroismo Angra may refer to: Places * Bay of Angra (Baía de Angra), within Angra do Heroísmo on the Portuguese island of Terceira in the archipelago of the Azores * Angra do Heroísmo, a municipality in the Azores, Portugal * Angra dos Reis Angra do ...

from 1832. In 2010, historical religious objects, manuscripts and printed documents were found which constituted a valuable collection of the history of the community. The site of the former synagogue was leased to the Municipality of Ponta Delgada by the Jewish Community of Lisbon, for a term of 99 years. With philanthropic support the Municipality completed the restoration of the property in April 2015, and reclassified the building as a

and for use for cultural and tourism activities.

References

External links

{{Authority control 19th-century synagogues in Portugal Buildings and structures in Ponta Delgada Former synagogues in Portugal Jewish museums in Portugal Judaism in the Azores Sephardi Jewish culture in Portugal Sephardi synagogues Synagogues completed in 1836 Synagogues preserved as museums

History

Today

See also

References

External links