Jews of Catalonia (Catalonian Jewry, Catalonian Judaism, in Hebrew: יהדות קטלוניה) is the Jewish community that lived in theIberian Peninsula, in the Lands ofCatalonia,Valencia andMallorca[1] until theexpulsion of 1492. Its splendor was between the 12th to 14th centuries, in which two importantTorah centers flourished inBarcelona andGirona. The Catalan Jewish community developed unique characteristics, which included customs, a prayer rite (Nusach Catalonia),[2] and a tradition of its own in issuing legal decisions (Halakhah).[3] Although the Jews of Catalonia had a ritual of prayer[4] and different traditions from those ofSepharad[5], today they are usually included in theSephardic Jewish community.
Following the expulsion of 1492, Jews who did not convert to Christianity were forced to emigrate toItaly, theOttoman Empire, theMaghreb,North Africa and theMiddle East.[6][7][8]
Historians affirm that Jews arrived at the Iberian Peninsula before the destruction of theSecond Temple although the oldest gravestones date from the third century.
Aspamia, derived fromHispania, refers to the Iberian Peninsula in Roman times.[9] At the beginning of the 5th century, the peninsula was conquered by theVisigoths. During this period, numerous decrees were issued against the Jew, who were forcibly converted or expelled[citation needed].
In 711 CE, the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by the Muslims. The areas under Islamic rule were calledal-Andalus (in Arabic: الأندلس). While little is known about the history of the Jews at the beginning of Islamic rule, we know the Jews began to use the term Sepharad.[10][11]
In a process of territorial reoccupation calledReconquista, the Christian kingdoms progressively conquered all Islamic territories, from north to south. With the Christian Reconquista, the territories occupied by the kingdoms ofCastile andPortugal were also called by the Jews Sepharad, while Catalonia and the other kingdoms of the north were calledEdom or named afterEsau.[12]
The reconquest of Catalonia began under the auspices of the Frankish kings, who forced the Muslims who had managed to cross the Pyrenees at theBattle of Poitiers in 732 to retreat to the south. All the lands freed from the Islamic domain became counties and remained under the administrative organization of theFranks. The Catalan counties, led by the counts of Barcelona, slowly broke free from the Franks and began to govern themselves independently.Old Catalonia became a zone of containment (Marca Hispanica) against the spread ofIslam. Jews often moved from Sepharad (the Muslim zone) to the northern lands (the Christian kingdoms), and vice versa. The fact that many of them spoke Arabic and also the vernacular Romance languages enabled them to serve as translators and acquire important positions in both Muslim and Christian governments. Jews owned fields and vineyards and many engaged in agriculture.
In this early period, the Jewish scholars of Catalonia who sought advanced Talmudic studies studied at Talmudic academies (yeshivot) in the South. Those who wished to study science or linguistics went to Sepharad, as did RabbiMenachem ben Saruq (920-970), who was born in the Catalan city ofTortosa and moved with his family to Cordoba to study the Hebrew language under the patronage of GovernorShemuel ibn Nagrella.
Barcelona and Girona were known as important Jewish communities from the 9th century CE. In the 11th and 12th centuries there was a rabbinical court(Bet Din) and an important center for Torah study in Barcelona. During this period, Barcelona became a link in the chain of transmission of the teachings of theGeonim[13].
Important Catalonian Rabbis from this time are RabbiYitzchaq ben Reuven al-Bargeloni (1043 -?), RabbiYehudah ben Barzilay ha-Barceloni, calledYehudah ha-Nasi of Barcelona (late 11th century, beginning of the 12th century) and RabbiAvraham bar Chiyya Nasi[14] (late 11th century, first half of the 12th century). We know that two of the greatchachamim of Provence, RabbiYitzchaq ben Abba Mari (1122-1193) and RabbiAvraham ben RabbiYitzchaq (1110-1179), moved to Barcelona.
Catalonia joinedProvence in 1112 andAragon in 1137, and thus theCounty of Barcelona became the capital of the unified realm called theCrown of Aragon. The kings of the Crown of Aragon extended their domains to theOccitan countries.
In the 12th and 13th centuries the Catalonian Talmudic academies thrived. The great Rabbis and kabbalistsEzra andAzriel bene Shelomoh (late 12th century, beginning of the 13th century) disciples of the famous RabbiYitzchaq el Cec (the Blind) (1160-1235), son of RabbiAvraham ben David(Raabad) of Posquières (1120-1198), stood out in the city of Girona. We can also include RabbiYaaqov ben Sheshet (12th century) among the Girona kabbalists of this period. Also, from Girona was RabbiAvraham benYitzchaqhe-Hazan (12th-13th centuries) author of thepiyyut[15]Achot qetanah (little sister). From the city of Girona was the greatest of Catalonian sages, RabbiMoshe ben Nachman (Ramban, or Nachmanides) (1194-1270), whose Catalonian name wasBonastruc ça Porta.
Although the city of Girona was an important center of Torah that had a Bet Midrash (House of Study) dedicated to the study of theKabbalah, the main city was Barcelona, where theRamban served as the head of the community. During this period, RabbiYona Girondi (1210-1263) and his famous disciples RabbiAharon ben Yosef ha-Levi of Barcelona(Reah) (1235-1303) and RabbiShelomoh ben Adret (Rashba) (1235-1310). Also, RabbiAsher ben Yechiel (Rosh) (1250-1327), his son RabbiYaaqov ben Asher (Baal ha-Turim) (1269-1343), and RabbiYom Tov ben Avraham ha-Sevilli (Ritba) (1250–1330), disciples ofRashba andReah. We can say that at that time Barcelona became the most important Talmudic study center in all of the European Jewry. It was also during this time that certain Catalan Jewish families occupied key positions in the Catalonian economy, such as theTaroç family of Girona.
In Catalonia in the 13th century Jews were victims ofblood libels and were forced to wear a distinctive sign calledRodella. The authorities prohibited Jews from performing public office and were forced to participate in public disputes with representatives of Christianity, such as theBarcelona Disputation of 1263 in which theRamban participate as a representative ofJudaism. The Jews were private property of the monarchy who charged them taxes in exchange for protection.
The kings of the Crown of Aragon expanded the Catalan domains and conquered Mallorca, Valencia, Ibiza and Menorca. In 1258 they signed theCorbeil treaty with the French king for which they renounced to their rights over the Occitan lands. In return, the Franks resigned their demands on the Catalan lands.
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In the 14th century Christian fanaticism prevailed throughout the Iberian Peninsula and there were many persecutions against the Jews. We can mention among Catalonian sages of this period RabbiPeretz ben Yitzchaq ha-Kohen (1304-1370) who was born in Provence but dwelled in Barcelona, RabbiNisim ben Reuven Girondi (Ran) (1315-1376) who served as a Rabbi in Barcelona, RabbiChasday ben Yehudah Cresques (the elder), RabbiYitzchaq bar Sheshet Perfet (Ribash) (1326-1408), RabbiChasday Cresques (Rachaq) (1340-1412), RabbiYitzchaq ben Moshe ha-Levi (Profiat Duran, ha-Ephody) (1350-1415), RabbiShimon ben Tzemach Duran (Rashbatz) (1361-1444). From this same period, we can include the cartographer of MallorcaAvraham Cresques (14th century) and the poetShelomoh ben Meshullam de Piera (1310/50-1420/25).
RabbiNisim ben Reuven Girondi (Ran) resumed the activity of the Barcelona Yeshivah in the 50s and 60s, after the Jewish community was heavily affected by theBlack Death in 1348. In 1370, Jews of Barcelona were victims of attacks instigated by a blood libel; a few Jews were assassinated and the secretaries of the community were imprisoned in thesynagogue for a few days without food. Following the succession ofJohn I of Castile, conditions for Jews seem to have improved somewhat. With John I even making legal exemptions for some Jews, such asAbraham David Taroç.
The end of the century brought therevolts of 1391. As a result of the riots, many Jews were forced to convert to Christianity and many others died as martyrs. Others succeeded in fleeing to North Africa (such asRibash andRashbatz), Italy and the Ottoman Empire. It was the end of the Jewish communities of Valencia and Barcelona. The community of Mallorca held out until 1435, when Jews were forced to convert to Christianity; the community of Girona barely endured until the expulsion of 1492.
RabbiChasday Cresques, in a letter he sent to the Jewish community ofAvignon, offers us an account about the riots of 1391.[16] In summary, we can conclude from his account that the riots began on the first day of theHebrew month ofTammuz (Sunday, 4/6/1391) inSeville,Cordoba,Toledo and close to seventy other locations. From day seven of the month ofAv (Sunday, 9/7/1391), they extended to other communities of the Crown of Aragon:Valencia,Barcelona,Lleida,Girona andMallorca. During the 1391 attacks, the majority of the Jewish communities of Sepharad, Catalonia and Aragon were destroyed.
During the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the kings of the Crown of Aragon expanded their territories to the lands of the Mediterranean; they conqueredSicily (1282),Corsica (1297-1516),Athens (1311),Neopatria (1318),Sardinia (1323-1326) andNaples (1435-1442).
The fifteenth century was very hard for Jewish life in the Iberian Peninsula. The communities that survived the 1391 riots faced great pressure on the part of the church and the Christian population. The kings, who were in a difficult economic situation, imposed heavy taxes on Jewish communities. The lives of the “Converso” Jews who converted to Christianity was not easy either, the church called them “new Christians” and they always kept them under suspicion, since many of them accepted Christianity only as an outward pretense but actually maintained Judaism in secret. TheInquisition persecuted and punished the new Christians who observed the commandments of Judaism.
Catalonia hosted one of the longest disputes in the Middle Ages, the famousDispute of Tortosa (1413-1414). In the 15th century, we find the poetShelomoh ben Reuven Bonafed in Catalonia.
In 1469 KingFernando of Aragon (1452-1516) and QueenIsabel of Castile (1451-1504) married and unified the two kingdoms. In 1492 they completed the reconquest with the defeat of theKingdom of Granada and expelled Jews from all of their kingdoms.
The first group of Jews were exiled from Catalonia in the wake of the 1391 attacks; they went mainly to Italy (Sicily,Naples,Rome,Livorno), North Africa (Algeria) and the Ottoman Empire (mainlySalonica,Constantinople andPalestine). The second group were expelled by theCatholic Monarchs. The Edict was decreed on March 31, 1492, and time was given until July 31 for Jews to sell up their property and leave. This date was the eve of the eighth of the month ofAv in the Hebrew calendar that year; the expelled Jews were traveling by sea onTisha B'Av, the 9th ofAv, a day on which a number of disasters in Jewish history occurred. A large number of Jews converted to Christianity to be allowed to stay in Catalonia.
Many of the Catalonian Jews arrived in Italy and found refuge in Sicily, Naples, Livorno and the city of Rome.
We know that Jews from the Iberian Peninsula settled in Sicily since the 11th century.[17] The famous Kabbalist RabbiAvraham Abulafia (1240-1291), who studied many years in Catalonia, settled in Sicily, where he wrote most of his works.[18] Sicily had been part of the Catalan-Aragonese crown for many years and the Jewish communities remained on the island until the end of the 15th century, with the expulsion edict of the Jews of the island on June 18, 1492. We know of the existence of a Catalan Jewish community in the island thanks to the identification of a manuscript[19] of the 14th century assiddurnusach Catalonia.[20] In 2017, an oldAron ha-Qodesh (the sacred Ark of the synagogue where the Torah scrolls are stored) was rediscovered in the city ofAgira.[21] It was found in the church of Sancta Sanctorum Salvatore and commemorates the construction of the synagogue of the Catalan Jews in 1453, it is one of the oldestAron ha-Qodesh in Europe.
Catalonian Jews were also exiled to the city of Rome. In 1517 the Catalonian Jewish community of Rome was well organized and built a synagogue following theminhag[22] Catalonia (Schola hebreorum Nationis Catalanorum).[23] In 1519 PopeLeo X (1475-1521) granted them a permit to widen the community and move the synagogue to a new location, allowed them to remodel and adapt it into a house of prayer according to their rites and customs. By the end of 1527, the Catalonian community and the Aragonese community decided to merge. The joint synagogue of Catalonia and Aragon changed its location again in 1549. In 1555, the community approved the expenses for the construction of another synagogue. The Catalan-Aragonese community fought to avoid merging with the Sephardic communities. All other communities from the Iberian Peninsula merged into a single united Iberian community in Rome, except for the Catalonians who joined the Aragonese. With the establishment of theghetto in 1555, the Catalonian community maintained its own separate synagogue. In a census of 1868, it can be observed that of the total of 4995 Jews in Rome, 838 belonged to the community of Catalonia. In 1904 the Catalan synagogue ended up joining the other synagogues of Rome to form a single synagogue that was constructed on the banks of theTiber River. Since then we have no information about the Catalonian community.
The exiled Jews of Catalonia also migrated to the Ottoman Empire where they were organized in communities according to the place of origin that were calledQehalim.[24] There were CatalonianQehalim inIstanbul,Edirne,Salonica andSafed, among others.[25]
The Jews of Catalonia formed acommunity in Salonica that was called “Catalan”.[26] Despite being a minority, the Catalonian Jews fought to avoid merging with the Sephardic communities and maintained their ancient customs. The religious leaders of the holy communities of Catalonia in Salonica received the title ofMarbitz Torah[27] and not the title Rabbi. The first known wasEliezer ha-Shimoni, who arrived in Salonica in 1492. He had a great influence on all the communities of Salonica and was one of the first to sign the agreements(Haskamot) of the sages. Later we findMoshe Capsali. ThechachamYehudah ben Benveniste, also arrived after the expulsion and established a very important library. Anotherchacham from the Catalonian Jewish community was RabbiMoshe Almosnino,Marbitz Torah, exegete and philosopher, son ofBarukh Almosnino, who had rebuilt the Catalonian synagogue after the fire of 1545.[28]
In 1515, the community was divided into twoQehalim that were calledCatalan yashan (Old Catalan) andCatalan chadash (New Catalan).[29]
In 1526, themachzor ofYamim Noraim (Days of Awe), known as"Machzor le-nusach Barcelona minhag Catalunya"[31] was first published. According to the colophon, the impression was finished on the eve ofYom Kippur of the year 5287 (1526).[32]
Catalonian Jews published several reprints of themachzor in the nineteenth century. In 1863 they printed an edition titled"Machzor le-Rosh ha-Shana ve-Yom ha-Kippurim ke-minhag qahal qadosh Catalan yashan ve-chadash be-irenu zot Saloniki".[33] This edition was published byYitschaq Amariliyo.
In 1869 the"Machzor ke-minhag qahal qadosh Catalan yashan ve-chadash" was printed. The editors were:Moshe Yaaqov Ayash and RabbiChanokh Pipano, and those who carried out the impression were:David, calledBekhor Yosef Arditi,Seadi Avraham Shealtiel. Themachzor was published under the title"Machzor le-Rosh ha-Shana kefi minhag Sepharad ba-qehilot ha-qedoshot Saloniqi" and includes the prayers of the community of Aragon and the communitiesCatalan yashan ve-chadash.
The Catalonian Jewish community of Salonica existed as such until theHolocaust.[35] In 1927, they published a numbered edition in three volumes of themachzor, entitled"Machzor le-yamim noraïm Kefí Minhag q[ahal] q[adosh] Qatalan, ha-yadua be-shem nusach Bartselona minhag Qatalunya"[36]. In the second volume"Tefillat Yaaqov", there is a long historical introduction about the Jewish community of Catalonia and the edition of themachzor written inJudeo-Spanish;[37] the same summary introduction is found in the first volume"Tefillat Shemuel ", written in Hebrew. Below is a fragment of the translation of theHebrew version:
«One of the most precious pearls that our ancestors brought from the exile of Catalonia, when they had to leave as exiles, was the old order of the prayers ofRosh ha-Shana andYom Kippur, known asthe 'nusach Barcelona, minhag Catalunya'.
And because of the misfortunes and tumult of the exile, that arrived of fatal form on the poor wandering refugees, the majority of the customs were confused, and slowly, almost all were fused in the same order of prayers called'nusach Sepharad', almost all, except some exceptional communities that did not change their customs.
The members of the Holy community Catalonia in our city of Salonica did not change their custom, and until today they maintain the tradition of their ancestors and offer their prayers to God on Days of Awe following the ancientnusach that they brought from Catalonia.
The Jews of Catalonia were the most prominent among their brothers in the rest of the Sepharad countries and their wisdom and science were superior. The distinguished communities of Barcelona always took pride in the fact that great Rabbis and personalities from their community illuminated the eyes of the whole Jewish diaspora. There was a saying that Sephardic Jews used to say: the air of Barcelona, it makes you wise. »
The Catalonian Jewish community of Salonica was totally annihilated in the Holocaust. The few survivors emigrated toIsrael after the war between the years 1945 and 1947.
The coasts of Catalonia, Valencia and Mallorca are in front of the coast of the central Maghreb. These lands long maintained commercial relations; also, the Jewish communities maintained close ties. After the riots of 1391, a large group of Catalonian Jews fled to the coasts of the central Maghreb. We know that most of the Jews of Barcelona fled and settled in the city of Algiers. At that time, three kingdoms were established in the Maghreb after the fall of the Almohad, one in the area of present-dayMorocco, another inTunisia and a third inAlgeria, which was ruled by the dynasty ofBeni-Ziyan from the ancient capital ofTlemcen. In general, the Jews of Castile went to Morocco, while the Jews of Catalonia, Valencia, Mallorca and Aragon went to peesent-day Algeria and Tunisia.
The Muslim rulers of the central Maghreb received the Jewish exiles with open arms. As soon as the Christian authorities saw that Jews and converts fled to the Maghreb, they forbade them from leaving the country, increased their persecution and flight became more difficult. The Jews who settled in the central Maghreb received the status ofdhimmis, as is usual in Islamic countries in exchange for paying taxes. The situation of Jews in the central Maghreb before the arrival of the exiles was very poor, both their economic situation and the level of Torah studies. Peninsular refugees contributed to raising the country's economy thanks to commercial activities with European lands and also improved the level of Torah studies.
Two of the great laterRishonim, RabbiYitzhaq bar Sheshet Perfet (Ribash)[39] and RabbiShimon ben Tzemacḥ Duran (Rashbatz)[40] fled to the Maghreb.Ribash had long been the grand Rabbi of Catalonia, andRashbatz, despite his great preparation and knowledge of the Torah, had been dedicated to the medical profession. After a while,Ribash was namedMara de-Atra (maximum rabbinical authority) and head of the Rabbinic Court of the Algiers community, andRashbatz was appointedDayan (judge) to his court. WhenRibash died,Rashbatz occupied his place. The Jews of the central Maghreb accepted the authority of these two great Rabbis, who were followed by the descendants ofRashbatz, his son RabbiShelomo ben Shimon (Rashbash) and his disciples. Throughout the generations, the Jews of the central Maghreb have faithfully and meticulously maintained the spiritual legacy and customs that came from Catalonia. Until today,Ribash,Rashbatz andRashbash are considered the main Rabbis of Algiers.
One of the characteristics of the manner of dictatinghalakhah by the Rabbis of Algiers throughout generations has been respect for customs and traditions; the established custom has always trumpedhalakha, and this is a characteristic that was inherited fromBet Midrash of theRamban. Matters ofhalakha in Algiers have always been dictated following the school ofRibash, Rashbatz andRashbash, and not according to the opinions ofMaran ha-Bet Yosef (Yosef Caro, and his work theShulchan Arukh).[41] In fact, the Jews of Algiers followed thehalakhic dictation inherited from the CatalanBet Midrash of theRamban and theRashba. Thus, for example, RabbiAvraham ibn Taua (1510-1580),[42] grandson ofRashbatz, responded to a question asked by the Rabbis of Fez on a matter referring to the laws ofShabbat:[43]
«Answer: Dear Rabbis, God guard you; know that we are [descendants of] the expelled from the land of Catalonia, and according to what our parents of blessed memory used in those lands, we also used in these places where we have dispersed because of our sins. You know that the Rabbis of Catalonia, according to the dictates on which all the customs of our community are based, areRamban,Rashba,Reah andRan, of blessed memory, and other great Rabbis who accompanied them in their generation, although their opinions were not published. Therefore, you do not have to question the customs of our community, since as long as you cannot find any of the issues explicitly mentioned in the books, it should be assumed that they followed the custom according to these great Rabbis. »
Also, regarding the order of prayers andpiyyutim, the Jews of Algiers were strictly conservative with the customs that came from Catalonia.Machzor minhag Algiers, for example, arrived from Catalonia around 1391.[44]
In the eighteenth century, scholars questioned some of the ancient customs saying that they contradicted the dictates of RabbiYitzchaq Luria Ashkenazi (Arizal) (1534-1572). The old custom that came from Catalonia consisted of recitingpiyyutim (and also prayers and supplications) in the middle of prayer. They argued that the custom of the city had to be changed. So, they began to change thenusach of the prayers that had been in force in Algiers since ancient times. The Algerian Rabbis opposed this development, arguing that the old custom could not be changed,[46] but in the following generations, most synagogues in the city of Algiers did change the rite of prayer and adopted the custom of theArizal (known as the custom of the Kabbalists,minhag ha-mequbalim).[47] Only two synagogues maintained the ancient custom (known as the custom of literalists,minhag ha-pashtamim): The Great Synagogue and the synagogueYakhin u-Boaz (later renamed Guggenheim Society).
Thepiyyutim mentioned above, which are recited on specialShabbatot and festivals, etc., were edited in a book calledQrovatz.[48] The Jews from Algiers have maintained the texts and melodies that arrived in Algiers during the period of theRibash and theRashbatz until the present day. According to the tradition, these are the original melodies that arrived from Catalonia with the two great Rabbis.[49]
In 2000, the annual Ethnomusicology Workshop was held,[50] which focused on the customs and liturgical tradition of the Jews of Algeria.[51] Algerian cantors from France and Israel attended. The workshop was recorded and today the recordings can be listened to on the website of the National Library of Israel. The liturgy ofShabbat, Rosh Chodesh, Yamim Noraim, festivals, fasts andpiyyutim for various celebrations were recorded. Although more than 600 years have elapsed, and there have been certain alterations, we can affirm that the uniqueness of the liturgical tradition of the Jews of Algiers largely preserves the medieval tradition of liturgical songs of the Jews of Catalonia.