Spanish and Portuguese Jews, also calledWestern Sephardim,Iberian Jews, orPeninsular Jews, are a distinctive sub-group ofSephardic Jews who are largely descended from Jews who lived asNew Christians in theIberian Peninsula during the few centuries following the forced expulsion of unconverted Jewsfrom Spain in 1492 andfrom Portugal in 1497. They should therefore be distinguished both from the descendants of those expelled in 1492 and from the present-dayJewish communities of Spain and Portugal.

The main present-day communities of Spanish and Portuguese Jews exist in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, and several other Jewish communities in the Americas have Spanish and Portuguese Jewish roots though they no longer follow the distinctive customs of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews.

Although the 1492 and 1497 expulsions of unconverted Jews from Spain and Portugal were separate events from theSpanish andPortuguese Inquisitions (which were established over a decade earlier in 1478), they were ultimately linked, as the Inquisition eventually also led to the fleeing out of Iberia of many descendants of Jewish converts to Catholicism in subsequent generations.

Despite the fact that the original Edicts of Expulsion did not apply to Jewish-origin New Christianconversos —as these were now legally Christians— the discriminatory practices that the Inquisition nevertheless placed upon them, which were often lethal^{[citation needed]}, put immense pressure on many of the Jewish-origin Christians to also emigrate out of Spain and Portugal in the immediate generations following the expulsion of their unconverted Jewish brethren.

TheAlhambra Decree (also known as the Edict of Expulsion) was an edict issued on 31 March 1492, by the jointCatholic Monarchs of Spain (Isabella I of Castile andFerdinand II of Aragon) ordering the expulsion of all unconverted practicing Jews from theKingdoms of Castile andAragon, including from all its territories and possessions, by 31 July of that year.^[1] The primary purpose of the expulsion was to eliminate the influence of unconverted Jews on Spain's by then large Jewish-origin New Christianconverso population, to ensure that the prior did not encourage the latter to relapse and revert to Judaism.

Over half of Spain's Jewish origin population had converted to Catholicism as a result of the religiousanti-Jewish persecution and pogroms which occurred in 1391. As a result of the Alhambra decree and persecution in prior years, it is estimated that of Spain's total Jewish origin population at the time, over 200,000 Jews converted to Catholicism, and initially remained in Spain. Between 40,000 and 80,000 did not convert to Catholicism, and by their steadfast commitment to remain Jewish were thus expelled. Of those who were expelled as unconverted Jews, an indeterminate number nonetheless converted to Catholicism once outside Spain and eventually returned to Spain in the years following the expulsion^[2] due to the hardships many experienced in their resettlement. Many of Spain's Jews who left Spain as Jews also initially moved to Portugal, where they were subsequentlyforcibly converted to theCatholic Church in 1497.

Most of the Jews who left Spain as Jews accepted the hospitality of SultanBayezid II and, after the Alhambra Decree, moved to theOttoman Empire,^[3] where they founded communities openly practising the Jewish religion; they and their descendants are known asEastern Sephardim.

During the centuries following^[4] the Spanish and Portuguese decrees, some of the Jewish-origin New Christian conversos started emigrating from Portugal and Spain, settling until the 1700s throughout areas of Western Europe and non-Iberian realms of the colonial Americas (mostly Dutch realms, includingCuraçao in the Dutch West Indies,Recife inDutch areas of colonial Brazil which eventually were regained by the Portuguese, andNew Amsterdam which later became New York) forming communities and formally reverting to Judaism. It is the collective of these communities and their descendants who are known asWestern Sephardim, and are the subject of this article.

As the early members of the Western Sephardim consisted of persons who themselves (or whose immediate forebears) personally experienced an interim period as New Christians, which resulted in unceasing trials and persecutions of crypto-Judaism by thePortuguese andSpanish Inquisitions, the early community continued to be augmented by further New Christian emigration pouring out of the Iberian Peninsula in a continuous flow between the 1600s to 1700s. Jewish-origin New Christians were officially considered Christians due to their forced or coerced conversions; as such they were subject to the jurisdiction of the Catholic Church's Inquisitorial system, and were subject to harsh heresy and apostasy laws if they continued to practice their ancestral Jewish faith. Those New Christians who eventually fled both the Iberian cultural sphere and jurisdiction of theInquisition were able to officially return to Judaism and open Jewish practice once they were in their new tolerant environments of refuge.

As former conversos or their descendants, Western Sephardim developed a distinctive ritual based on the remnants of the Judaism of pre-expulsion Spain, which some had practiced in secrecy during their time as New Christians, and influenced by Judaism as practiced by the communities (includingSephardic Jews of the Ottoman Empire andAshkenazi Jews) which assisted them in their readoption of normative Judaism; as well as by the Spanish-Moroccan and theItalian Jewish rites practiced byrabbis andhazzanim recruited from those communities to instruct them in ritual practice. A part of their distinctiveness as a Jewish group, furthermore, stems from the fact that they saw themselves as forced to "redefine their Jewish identity and mark its boundaries [...] with the intellectual tools they had acquired in their Christian socialization"^[5] during their time as New Christian conversos.

The main 'Western Sephardic Jewish' communities developed in Western Europe, Italy, and the non-Iberian regions of the Americas.

In addition to the term "Western Sephardim", this sub-group of Sephardic Jews is sometimes also referred to also as "Spanish and Portuguese Jews," "Spanish Jews," "Portuguese Jews," or "Jews of the Portuguese Nation."

The term "Western Sephardim" is frequently used in modern research literature to refer to "Spanish and Portuguese Jews," but sometimes also to "Spanish-Moroccan Jews".

The use of the terms "Portuguese Jews" and "Jews of the Portuguese Nation" in areas such as theNetherlands, Hamburg,Scandinavia, and at one time in London, seems to have arisen primarily as a way for the "Spanish and Portuguese Jews" to distance themselves from Spain in the times of political tension and war between Spain and the Netherlands in the 17th century. Similar considerations may have played a role for ethnic Sephardic Jews in the French regions ofBayonne andBordeaux, given their proximity to the Spanish border.

Another reason for the terminology of "Portuguese" Jews may have been that a relatively high proportion of the families in question had Portugal as their immediate point of departure from the Iberian peninsula, even when their remoter family background was Spanish rather than Portuguese, since Portugal was the first place of refuge and transit point for many Spanish Jews immediately following their expulsion from Spain.

As the term "Sephardim" (when used in its ethnic sense) necessarily connotes a link with Spain, the distinguishing feature of the Western subgroup was the added link with Portugal. Thus, as a subset of the Sephardim, "Portuguese" and "Spanish and Portuguese" could be used interchangeably. Finally, almost all organised communities in this group traditionally employed Portuguese rather than Spanish as their official or working language.

InItaly, the term "Spanish Jews" (Ebrei Spagnoli) is frequently used, but it includes descendants of Jews expelled as Jews from theKingdom of Naples, as well as "Spanish and Portuguese Jews" proper (i.e. Jews descended from former conversos and their descendants).

InVenice, Spanish and Portuguese Jews were often described as "Ponentine" (Western), to distinguish them from "Levantine" (Eastern) Sephardim from Eastern Mediterranean areas. Occasionally Italian Jews distinguish between the "Portuguese Jews" of Pisa and Livorno and the "Spanish Jews" of Venice, Modena and elsewhere.

The scholarJoseph Dan distinguishes "medieval Sephardim" (15th and 16th-century Spanish exiles in the Ottoman Empire who arrived as Jews) from "Renaissance Sephardim" (Spanish and Portuguese former converso communities who arrived as New Christians), in reference to the respective times of each grouping's formative contacts with Spanish language and culture.

The term Sephardi means "Spanish" or "Hispanic", and is derived fromSepharad, a Biblical location. The location of the biblical Sepharad is disputed, but Sepharad was identified by later Jews asHispania, that is, theIberian Peninsula. Sepharad still means "Spain" inmodern Hebrew.

The relationship between Sephardi-descended communities is illustrated in the followingdiagram:

"Sephardim" properly refers to all Jews whose families have extended histories in Spain andPortugal, in contrast toAshkenazi Jews and all otherJewish ethnic divisions. However,Mizrahi Jews, who have extended histories in theGreater Middle East and North Africa, are often called "Sephardim" more broadly incolloquial and religious parlance due to similar styles of liturgy and a certain amount of intermarriage between them and Sephardim proper.

The main factor distinguishing "Spanish and Portuguese Jews" (Western Sephardim) from other "Sephardim proper" is that "Spanish and Portuguese Jews" refers specifically to those Jews who descend from persons whose history as practising members of Jewish communities with origins in theIberian peninsula was interrupted by a period of having been New Christians (also known asconversos, the Spanish term for "converts" to Catholicism; orcristãos-novos, "new Christians" in the Portuguese equivalent) oranusim (Hebrew for those "forced" to convert from Judaism to another faith).

During their period as New Christians, many conversos continued to practise their Jewish faith in secrecy as best they could. Those New Christian conversos of Jewish origin who maintainedcrypto-Jewish practices in secret were termedmarranos (Spanish "swine") byOld Christian Spaniards and Portuguese.

Conversely, those New Christian conversos who have remained as conversos since that time, both those in the Iberian Peninsula and those who moved to the Iberian colonial possessions during theSpanish colonization of the Americas, became the relatedSephardic Bnei Anusim. Sephardic Bnei Anusim are the contemporary and largely nominally Christian descendants of assimilated 15th century Sephardic Anusim, and are today a fully assimilated sub-group within the Iberian-descended Christian populations of Spain, Portugal,Hispanic America and Brazil. For historical reasons and circumstances, Sephardic Bnei Anusim have not returned to the Jewish faith over the last five centuries,^[6] In modern times, some have begun emerging publicly in increasing numbers, especially in the last two decades.

For "Spanish and Portuguese Jews" (Western Sephardim), their historical period as conversos has shaped their identity, culture, and practices. In this respect, they are clearly distinguishable from those Sephardim who descend from the Jews who left Iberia as Jews before the expiration date for theAlhambra Decree, resulting in the 1492 expulsion from Spain and 1497 expulsion from Portugal of all Jews who had not been baptised into the Catholic faith. These expelled Jews settled mainly around theMediterranean Basin of Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, namely,Salonika, theBalkans andTurkey, and they became the Eastern Sephardim andNorth African Sephardim respectively. For centuries, the Sephardic Jewish communities under Ottoman rule provided spiritual leadership to the dispersed Sephardim through their contributions to theResponsa literature.^[7][8][9] These Sephardic communities offered refuge to all Jews, including the Sephardi Jewish-origin New Christian conversos fleeing the Inquisition across Europe, as well as their Eastern EuropeanAshkenazi coreligionists fleeing pogroms.

The common feature shared by Western Sephardim ("Spanish and Portuguese Jews") toSephardic Bnei Anusim and Neo-Western Sephardim is that all three are descended from conversos. "Western Sephardim" are descendants of former conversos of earlier centuries; "Sephardic Bnei Anusim" are the still nominally Christian descendants of conversos; and "Neo-Western Sephardim" are the increasing in number modern-day former conversos currently returning to Judaism from among the Sephardic Bnei Anusim population.

The distinguishing factor between "Western Sephardim" and the nascent "Neo-Western Sephardim" is the time frame of the reversions to Judaism, the location of the reversions, and the precarious religious and legal circumstances surrounding their reversions, including impediments and persecutions. Thus, the converso descendants who became the Western Sephardim had reverted to Judaism between the 16th and 18th centuries, they did so at a time before the abolition of the Inquisition in the 19th century, and this time frame necessitated their migration out of the Iberian cultural sphere. Conversely, the converso descendants who are today becoming the nascent Neo-Western Sephardim have been reverting to Judaism between the late 20th and early 21st centuries, they have been doing so at a time after the abolition of the Inquisition in the 19th century, and this time frame has not necessitated their migration out of the Iberian cultural sphere.

Although Jewish communities were re-established in Spain and Portugal in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, largely with the help of communities of Spanish and Portuguese Jews such as that in London, these present-dayJews in Portugal andJews in Spain are distinct from "Spanish and Portuguese Jews" as, for the most part, the modern Jewish communities resident in Spain and Portugal also include otherJewish ethnic divisions recently immigrated to Spain and Portugal, such as Ashkenazi Jews of Northern Europe.

In modern Iberia, practicing Jews of Sephardic origins, such as the Jewish community ofOporto, however, are also not Western Sephardim, but are Neo-Western Sephardim, as they were re-established in the 20th century and early 21st centuries with a campaign of outreach to thecrypto-Jews of Sephardic Bnei Anusim origins. The Oporto community's return to Judaism was led by the returnee to Judaism CaptainArtur Carlos de Barros Basto (1887–1961), known also as the "apostle of the Marranos". In 1921, realizing that there were less than twenty Ashkenazi Jews living in Porto, and that recent returnees to Judaism like himself were not organized and had to travel to Lisbon for religious purposes whenever necessary, Barros Basto began to think about building a synagogue and took initiative in 1923 to officially register the Jewish Community of Porto and the Israelite Theological Center in thecity council of Porto. As mentioned, these communities of modern-day returnees to Judaism are among the first in the emergence of the nascent Neo-Western Sephardim. Neo-Western Sephardim are the modern returnees to Judaism throughout Iberia and Ibero-America emerging from among the population of Sephardic Bnei Anusim, and are distinct from Western Sephardim (those termed "Spanish and Portuguese Jews").

Even more recent examples of such Neo-Western Sephardim communities include theBelmonte Jews in Portugal, and theXuetes of Spain. In the case of the Xuetes, the entire community of converso descendants was extended a blanket recognition as Jews by Rabbinical authorities in Israel due to their particular historical circumstances on the island which effectively resulted in a strict social isolation of the Xuetes imposed upon them by their non-Jewish-descended neighbors up until modern times.^[10]

In the last five to ten years, "organized groups of [Sephardic] Benei Anusim have been established in Brazil,Colombia,Costa Rica, Chile,Ecuador, Mexico,Puerto Rico,Venezuela, and in Sefarad [the Iberian Peninsula] itself". Some members of these communities have formally reverted to Judaism.^[11]

In 2015, the Spanish government enacted alaw conceding Spanish nationality to the descendants of Sephardic Jews of Spanish origin. The law created a powerful incentive for the descendants of B'nei Anusim to re-discover their Sephardic ancestry, and it spurred a wave of genealogical inquiry and even genetic research. The law remained in force until 2019, therefore applications for Spanish citizenship on the basis of Sephardic ancestry are no longer accepted by the Spanish authorities.

Spanish and Portuguese Jews were originally descended from New Christian conversos (i.e. Jews converted to Roman Catholic Christianity) whose descendants later left the Iberian Peninsula and reverted to Judaism.

Although legend has it that conversos existed as early as the Visigothic period, and that there was a continuous phenomenon of crypto-Judaism from that time lasting throughout Spanish history, this scenario is unlikely, as in the Muslim period of Iberia there was no advantage in passing as a Christian instead of publicly acknowledging one was a Jew. The main wave of conversions, often forced, followedthe Massacre of 1391 in Spain. Legal definitions of that era theoretically acknowledged that a forced baptism was not a valid sacrament, but the Church confined this to cases where it was literally administered by physical force: a person who had consented to baptism under threat of death or serious injury was still regarded as a voluntary convert, and accordingly forbidden to revert to Judaism.^[12] Crypto-Judaism as a large-scale phenomenon mainly dates from that time.

Conversos, whatever their real religious views, often (but not always) tended to marry and associate among themselves. As they achieved prominent positions in trade and in the royal administration, they attracted considerable resentment from the "Old Christians". The ostensible reason given for issuance of the 1492 Alhambra Decree for the conversion, expulsion or execution of the unconverted Jews from Spain was that the unconverted Jews had supported the New Christian conversos in the crypto-Jewish practices of the latter, thus delaying or preventing their assimilation into the Christian community.

After the issuance of Spain's Alhambra Decree in 1492, a large proportion of the unconverted Jews chose exile rather than conversion, many of them crossing the border to Portugal. In Portugal, however, the Jews were again issued with a similar decree just a few years later in 1497, giving them the choice of exile or conversion. Unlike in Spain, however, in actual practice Portugal mostly prevented them from leaving, thus they necessarily stayed as ostensible converts to Christianity whether they wished to or not, after the Portuguese King reasoned that by their failure to leave they accepted Christianity by default. For this reason, crypto-Judaism was far more prevalent in Portugal than in Spain, even though many of these families were originally of Spanish rather than Portuguese descent. Over time, however, most crypto-Jews both of Spanish and Portuguese ancestry had left Portugal by the 18th century.

Scholars are still divided on the typical religious loyalties of the conversos, in particular on whether they are appropriately described as "crypto-Jews". Given the secrecy surrounding their situation, the question is not easy to answer: probably the conversos themselves were divided, and could be ranged at different points between the possible positions. The suggested profiles are as follows:

1. Sincere Christians, who were still subject to discrimination and accusations of Judaizing on the part of the Inquisition; some of these appealed to the Pope and sought refuge in the Papal States.^[13]
2. Those who had honestly tried their best to live as Christians, but who, on finding that they were still not accepted socially and still suspected of Judaizing, conceived intellectual doubts on the subject and decided to try Judaism, on the reasoning that suspicion creates what it suspects.^[14]
3. Genuine crypto-Jews, who regarded their conversions as forced on them and reluctantly conformed to Catholicism until they found the first opportunity of living an open Jewish life.^[15]
4. Opportunistic "cultural commuters" whose private views may have been quite sceptical and who conformed to the local form of Judaism or Christianity depending on where they were at the time.^[16][17]

For these reasons, there was a continuous flow of people leaving Spain and Portugal (mostly Portugal) for places where they could practice Judaism openly, from 1492 until the end of the 18th century. The typical escape route was, first, to Antwerp (or sometimes London), then to Ferrara or Venice, from which they might or might not travel on to the Ottoman Empire;^[18] later on, permanent communities were founded in the Netherlands and England. They were generally accepted by the host Jewish communities asanusim (forced converts), whose conversion, being involuntary, did not compromise their Jewish status.

Conversos of the first generation after the expulsion still had some knowledge of Judaism based on memory of contact with a living Jewish community. In later generations, people had to avoid known Jewish practices that might attract undesired attention: conversos in group 3 evolved a home-made Judaism with practices peculiar to themselves, while those in group 2 had a purely intellectual conception of Judaism based on their reading of ancient Jewish sources preserved by the Church such as theVulgateOld Testament, theApocrypha,Philo andJosephus. Both groups therefore needed extensive re-education in Judaism after reaching their places of refuge outside the peninsula. This was achieved with the help of

• Sephardim living in Italy (and to a lesser extent,Italian Jews proper);
• 1492 exiles living in Morocco, who were the immediate heirs of theAndalusi Jewish tradition;
• especially in Holland and Germany, Ashkenazi Jews.

This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(July 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

There are still Jewish communities in the North African exclaves ofCeuta andMelilla. These places, though treated in most respects as integral parts of Spain, escaped the Inquisition and the expulsion, so these communities regard themselves as the remnant of pre-expulsion Spanish Jewry.

Spanish Synagogue

Synagogue of Livorno

Synagogue of Pisa

As Sephardic Jewish communities were established in central and northern Italy, following the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 and from the Kingdom of Naples in 1533, these areas were an obvious destination for conversos wishing to leave Spain and Portugal. The similarity of the Italian language to Spanish was another attraction. Given their Christian cultural background and high level of European-style education, the new emigrants were less likely to follow the example of the 1492 expellees by settling in the Ottoman Empire, where a complete culture change would be required.^[19]

On the other hand, in Italy they ran the risk of prosecution for Judaizing, given that in law they were baptized Christians; for this reason they generally avoided the Papal States. The Popes did allow some Spanish-Jewish settlement atAncona, as this was the main port for theTurkey trade, in which their links with the Ottoman Sephardim were useful. Other states found it advantageous to allow the conversos to settle and mix with the existing Jewish communities, and to turn a blind eye to their religious status. In the next generation, the children of conversos could be brought up as fully Jewish with no legal problem, as they had never been baptized.

The main places of settlement were as follows:

1. TheRepublic of Venice often had strained relations with the papacy. They were also alive to the commercial advantages offered by the presence of educated Spanish-speaking Jews, especially for the Turkey trade. Previously the Jews of Venice were tolerated under charters for a fixed term of years, periodically renewed. In the early 16th century, these arrangements were made permanent, and a separate charter was granted to the "Ponentine" (western) community. Around the same time, the state required the Jews to live in the newly establishedVenetian Ghetto. Nevertheless, for a long time the Venetian Republic was regarded as the most welcoming state for Jews, equivalent to the Netherlands in the 17th century or the United States in the 20th century.
2. Sephardic immigration was also encouraged by theHouse of Este in their possessions ofReggio,Modena andFerrara. In 1598 Ferrara was repossessed by the Papal States, leading to some Jewish emigration from there.
3. In 1593,Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, granted Spanish and Portuguese Jews charters to live and trade inPisa andLivorno.

On the whole, the Spanish and Portuguese Jews remained separate from the nativeItalian rite Jews, though there was considerable mutual religious and intellectual influence between the groups. In a given city, there was often an "Italian synagogue" and a "Spanish synagogue", and occasionally a "German synagogue" as well. Many of these synagogues have since merged, but the diversity of rites survived in modern Italy.

TheSpanish Synagogue (Scola Spagnola) of Venice was originally regarded as the "mother synagogue" for the Spanish and Portuguese community worldwide, as it was among the earliest to be established, and the first prayer book was published there. Later communities, such as in Amsterdam, followed its lead on ritual questions. With the decline in the importance of Venice in the 18th century, the leading role passed toLivorno (for Italy and the Mediterranean) and Amsterdam (for western countries). Unfortunately, the Livorno synagogue – considered to be the most important building in town – was destroyed in the Second World War: a modern building was erected on the same site in 1958–1962.

Many merchants maintained a presence in both Italy and countries in the Ottoman Empire, and even those who settled permanently in the Ottoman Empire retained their Tuscan or other Italian nationality, so as to have the benefit of thecapitulations of the Ottoman Empire. Thus, in Tunisia there was a community ofJuifs Portugais, orL'Grana (Livornese), separate from, and regarding itself as superior to, the native Tunisian Jews (Tuansa). Smaller communities of the same kind existed in other countries, such as Syria, where they were known asSeñores Francos. They were generally not numerous enough to establish their own synagogues, instead meeting for prayer in each other's houses.

Synagogue of Bayonne

Great Synagogue of Bordeaux

Synagogue Buffault

In the 16th and early 17th centuries, conversos were also seeking refuge beyond thePyrenees, settling in France atSaint-Jean-de-Luz,Tarbes,Bayonne,Bordeaux,Marseille, andMontpellier. They lived apparently as Christians; were married by Catholic priests; had their children baptized, and publicly pretended to be Catholics. In secret, however, they circumcised their children, keptShabbat and feast-days as best they could and prayed together.

Henry III of France confirmed the privileges granted them byHenry II of France, and protected them against accusations. UnderLouis XIII of France, the conversos of Bayonne were assigned to the suburb ofSaint-Esprit. At Saint-Esprit, as well as at Peyrehorade, Bidache,Orthez,Biarritz, andSaint-Jean-de-Luz, they gradually avowed Judaism openly. In 1640 several hundred conversos, considered to be Jews, were living at Saint-Jean-de-Luz; and a synagogue existed in Saint-Esprit as early as 1660.

In pre-Revolutionary France, the Portuguese Jews were one of two tolerated Jewish communities, the other being the Ashkenazi Jews ofAlsace-Lorraine; both groups were emancipated at theFrench Revolution. The third community was that of the Papal exclaveComtat Venaissin, they originally had their ownProvençal rite, but adopted the Spanish and Portuguese rite shortly after the French Revolution and the incorporation of Comtat Venaissin into France. Today there are still a few Spanish and Portuguese communities in Bordeaux and Bayonne, and one in Paris, but in all these communities (and still more among French Jews generally) any surviving Spanish and Portuguese Jews are greatly outnumbered by recent Sephardic migrants of North African origin.

During the Spanish occupation of the Netherlands, converso merchants had a strong trading presence there. When theDutch Republic gained independence in 1581, the Dutch retained trading links with Portugal rather than Spain, as Spain was regarded as a hostile power. Since there were penal laws against Catholics,^[20] and Catholicism was regarded with greater hostility than Judaism, New Christian conversos (technically Catholics, as that was the Christian tradition they were forced into) were encouraged by the Dutch to "come out" openly as Jews. Given the multiplicity of Protestant sects, the Netherlands was the first country in the Western world to establish a policy of religious tolerance. This made Amsterdam a magnet for conversos leaving Portugal.

There were originally three Sephardi communities: the first,Beth Jacob, already existed in 1610, and perhaps as early as 1602;Neve Shalom was founded between 1608 and 1612 by Jews of Spanish origin. The third community,Beth Israel, was established in 1618. These three communities began co-operating more closely in 1622. Eventually, in 1639, they merged to formTalmud Torah, the Portuguese Jewish Community of Amsterdam, which still exists today. The currentPortuguese Synagogue, sometimes known as the "Amsterdam Esnoga", was inaugurated in 1675, of which Abraham Cohen Pimentel was the head Rabbi.

At first the Dutch conversos had little knowledge of Judaism and had to recruit rabbis andhazzanim from Italy, and occasionally Morocco andSalonica, to teach them. Later on Amsterdam became a centre of religious learning: a religious collegeEts Haim was established, with a copious Jewish and general library. This library still exists. The transactions of the college, mainly in the form ofresponsa, were published in a periodical,Peri Ets Haim (see linksbelow). There were formerly several Portuguese synagogues in other cities such asThe Hague. Since the German occupation of the Netherlands in the Second World War and the mass killing of Jews by the Nazi regime, the Amsterdam synagogue is the only remaining synagogue of the Portuguese rite in the Netherlands: it serves a membership of about 600. On the other hand, the synagogue at the Hague survived the war undamaged; it is now the Liberal Synagogue and no longer belongs to the "Portuguese" community.

The position of Jews in theSpanish Netherlands (modernBelgium) was rather different.^[21] Considerable numbers of conversos lived there, in particular inAntwerp. The Inquisition was not allowed to operate, though there were sometimes prosecutions for heresy in the local courts.^[22] Nevertheless, their practice of Judaism remained under cover and unofficial, as acts of Judaizing in Belgium could expose one to proceedings elsewhere in the Spanish possessions. Sporadic persecutions alternated with periods of unofficial toleration. The position improved somewhat in 1714, with thecession of the southern Netherlands to Austria, but no community was officially formed until the 19th century. There is a Portuguese synagogue in Antwerp; its members, like those of the Sephardic rite synagogues of Brussels, are now predominantly of North African origin, and few if any pre-War families or traditions remain.

There were Portuguese Jews living inHamburg as early as the 1590s. Records attest to their having a small synagogue calledTalmud Torah in 1627, and the main synagogue,Beth Israel, was founded in 1652. From the 18th century on, the Portuguese Jews were increasingly outnumbered by "German Jews" (Ashkenazim). By 1900, they were thought to number only about 400.

A small branch of the Portuguese community was located inAltona, with a congregation known asNeweh Schalom. Historically, however, the Jewish community of Altona was overwhelmingly Ashkenazi, as Altona belonged to the kingdom ofDenmark, which permitted Jews of all communities to settle there when Hamburg proper still only admitted the Portuguese.

Spanish and Portuguese Jews had an intermittent trading presence in Norway until the early 19th century, and were granted full residence rights in 1844.^[24] Today they have no separate organizational identity from the general (mainly Ashkenazi) Jewish community, though traditions survive in some families.

Around 1550, many Sephardi Jews travelled across Europe to find their haven inPoland, which had the largest Jewish population in the whole of Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries. For this reason there are still Polish Jewish surnames with a possible Spanish origin. However, most of them quickly assimilated into the Ashkenazi community and retained no separate identity.

There were certainly Spanish and Portuguese merchants, many of them conversos, in England at the time ofQueen Elizabeth I; one notable marrano was the physicianRoderigo Lopez. In the time ofOliver Cromwell,Menasseh Ben Israel led a delegation seeking permission for Dutch Sephardim to settle in England: Cromwell was known to look favourably on the request, but no official act of permission has been found. By the time ofCharles II andJames II, a congregation of Spanish and Portuguese Jews had a synagogue in Creechurch Lane. Both these kings showed their assent to this situation by quashing indictments against the Jews for unlawful assembly.^[25] For this reason the Spanish and Portuguese Jews of England often cite 1656 as the year of re-admission, but look to Charles II as the real sponsor of their community.

Bevis Marks Synagogue was opened in 1701 in London. In the 1830s and 40s there was agitation for the formation of a branch synagogue in the West End, nearer where most congregants lived, but rabbis refused this on the basis ofAscama 1, forbidding the establishment of other synagogues within six miles of Bevis Marks. Dissident congregants, together with some Ashkenazim, accordingly founded theWest London Synagogue in Burton Street in 1841. An official branch synagogue in Wigmore Street was opened in 1853. This moved to Bryanston Street in the 1860s, and toLauderdale Road inMaida Vale in 1896. A private synagogue existed inIslington from 1865 to 1884, and another inHighbury from 1885 to 1936. A third synagogue has been formed in Wembley. Over the centuries the community has absorbed many Sephardi immigrants from Italy and North Africa, including many of its rabbis andhazzanim. The current membership includes manyIraqi Jews and some Ashkenazim, in addition to descendants of the original families. The Wembley community is predominantlyEgyptian.

The synagogues at Bevis Marks, Lauderdale Road and Wembley are all owned by the same community, formally known asSahar Asamaim (Sha'ar ha-Shamayim), and have no separate organisational identities. The community is served by a team rabbinate: the post ofHaham, or chief rabbi, is currently vacant (and has frequently been so in the community's history), the current head being known as the "Senior Rabbi". The day-to-day running of the community is the responsibility of aMahamad, elected periodically and consisting of a number ofparnasim (wardens) and onegabbay (treasurer). Under the current Senior Rabbi, Joseph Dweck, the name of the community has been changed from "Congregation of Spanish and Portuguese Jews" to "S&P Sephardi Community".^[26]

In addition to the three main synagogues, there is theMontefiore Synagogue atRamsgate associated with the burial place ofMoses Montefiore. A synagogue in Holland Park is described as "Spanish and Portuguese" but serves chiefly Greek and Turkish Jews, with a mixed ritual: it is connected to the main community by a Deed of Association. The Manchester Sephardic synagogues are under the superintendence of the London community and traditionally used a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese ritual, which is giving way to a Jerusalem Sephardic style: the membership is chieflySyrian in heritage, with some Turkish, Iraqi and North African Jews. The London community formerly had oversight over someBaghdadi synagogues in the Far East, such as theOhel Leah Synagogue in Hong Kong andOhel Rachel Synagogue in Shanghai. An informal community using the Spanish and Portuguese rite, and known as the "Rambam Synagogue", exists inElstree and a furtherminyan has been established inHendon. Newer Sephardic rite synagogues in London, mostly for Baghdadi and Persian Jews, preserve their own ritual and do not come under the Spanish and Portuguese umbrella.

Like the Amsterdam community, the London Spanish and Portuguese community early set up aMedrash do Heshaim (Ets Haim). This is less a functioning religious college than a committee of dignitaries responsible for community publications, such as prayer books.^[27] In 1862 the community founded the "Judith Lady Montefiore College" in Ramsgate, for the training of rabbis. This moved to London in the 1960s: students at the college concurrently followed courses at Jews' College (now theLondon School of Jewish Studies). Judith Lady Montefiore College closed in the 1980s, but was revived in 2005 as a part-time rabbinic training programme run from Lauderdale Road, serving the Anglo-Jewish Orthodox community in general, Ashkenazim as well as Sephardim.^[28]

Neveh Shalom Synagogue,Paramaribo,Suriname

TheMikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue, inWillemstad, Curaçao

Temple Emanuel, inWillemstad, Curaçao

From the 16th to the 18th centuries, a majority of conversos leaving Portugal went to Brazil. This included economic emigrants with no interest in reverting to Judaism. As the Inquisition was active in Brazil as well as in Portugal, conversos still had to be careful.

Dutch Sephardim were interested in colonisation, and formed communities in bothCuraçao andParamaribo, Suriname. Between 1630 and 1654, aDutch colony existed in the north-east of Brazil, including Recife. This attracted both conversos from Portuguese Brazil and Jewish emigrants from Holland, who formed a community in Recife calledKahal Zur Israel Synagogue, the first synagogue in the Americas. On the reconquest of the Recife area by Portugal, many of these Jews (it is not known what percentage) left Brazil for new or existing communities in the Caribbean such as Curaçao. Others formed a new community,Congregation Shearith Israel, inNew Amsterdam (later renamed as New York) in 1654, the first Jewish synagogue in what became the United States. Numerous conversos, however, stayed in Brazil. They survived by migrating to the countryside in the province ofParaíba and away from the reinstated Inquisition, which was mostly active in the major cities.

In the Caribbean, there were at one point Spanish and Portuguese synagogues in various other Dutch- and English-controlled islands, such asJamaica,St. Thomas,Barbados,St. Eustatius andNevis. With the elimination of the Inquisition after theSpanish American wars of independence, which many Caribbean Sephardim had supported, many of these communities declined as Jews took advantage of their new-found freedom to move to the mainland, where there were better economic opportunities.Venezuela,Colombia,Ecuador,Panama,Costa Rica andHonduras, among others, received numbers of Sephardim. Within a couple of generations, these immigrants mostly converted to Catholicism to better integrate into society. In the 21st century among the Caribbean islands, only Curaçao and Jamaica still have communities of Spanish and Portuguese Jews.^{[citation needed]}

In Canada, at that time named as 'New France',Esther Brandeau was the first Jew to immigrate to Canada, in 1738, disguised as a Roman Catholic boy. She came from Saint-Esprit, a district ofBayonne, a port city in Southwestern France, where Spanish and Portuguese Jews had settled.^{[citation needed]}

The Third Cemetery of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, Congregation Shearith Israel (1829–1851) onWest 21st Street inManhattan, New York City is now surrounded by tall buildings

Congregation Shearith Israel

Touro Synagogue

In the BritishThirteen Colonies, synagogues were formed before the American Revolution atNewport, Rhode Island andPhiladelphia, as well as in cities of the southern colonies of South Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia. Since then, many of the former Sephardic synagogues in the southern states and the Caribbean have become part of theConservative,Reform orReconstructionist movements, and retain only a few Spanish and Portuguese traditions. Thus, among the pioneers of the Reform Judaism movement in the 1820s there was the Sephardic congregationBeth Elohim inCharleston, South Carolina.^[29]

Despite the Dutch origins of the New York community, by the 19th century all of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish communities in the United States and Canada were very much part of the London-based family. The 19th and early 20th century editions of the prayer book published in London and Philadelphia contained the same basic text, and were designed for use on both sides of the Atlantic: for example, they all contained both a prayer for the royal family and an alternative for use in republican states. The New York community continued to use these editions until the version ofDavid de Sola Pool was published in 1954. On the other hand, in the first half of the 20th century, the New York community employed a series ofhazzanim from Holland, with the result that the community's musical tradition remained close to that of Amsterdam.

There are only two remaining Spanish and Portuguese synagogues in the United States:Shearith Israel in New York, andMikveh Israel in Philadelphia. In both congregations, only a minority of their membership has Western Sephardic ancestry, with the remaining members a mix of Ashkenazim, Levantine Sephardim, Mizrahim, and converts. Newer Sephardic and Sephardic-rite communities, such as theSyrian Jews ofBrooklyn and the Greek and Turkish Jews ofSeattle, do not come under the Spanish and Portuguese umbrella. The Seattle community did use the de Sola Pool prayer books until the publication ofSiddur Zehut Yosef in 2002.Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel, a community in Los Angeles with a mainly Turkish ethnic background, still uses the de Sola Pool prayer books.

The signing of theTreaty of Tordesillas of 1494, divided the world between Portugal, and Spain. Portugal was allotted responsibility over lands east of the Tordesillas meridian. In 1498Vasco da Gama arrived on India's western coast where he was first greeted by aPolish Jew:Gaspar da Gama. In 1505 Portugal madeCochin its eastern headquarters, and in 1510Goa was established as the capital ofPortuguese India.

With the establishment of the Portuguese colonies in Asia,New Christians began flocking to India's western coast. Regarding Goa, theJewish Virtual Library states that "From the early decades of the 16th century many New Christians from Portugal came to Goa. The influx soon aroused the opposition of the Portuguese and ecclesiastical authorities, who complained bitterly about the New Christians' influence in economic affairs, their monopolistic practices, and their secret adherence to Judaism."^[30] Professor Walter Fischel of theUniversity of California, Berkeley observes that despite the start of the inquisition in Portugal, the Portuguese relied heavily on Jews and New Christians in establishing their fledgling Asian empire.^[31] The influence of Jews and New Christians in Goa was substantial. In his book, The Marrano Factory, Professor Antonio Saraiva of theUniversity of Lisbon writes that "King Manuel theoretically abolished discrimination between Old and New Christians by the law of March 1, 1507 which permitted the departure of New Christians to any part of the Christian world, declaring that they 'be considered, favored and treated like the Old Christians and not distinct and separated from them in any matter.' Nevertheless, in apparent contradiction to that law, in a letter dated Almeirim, February 18, 1519, King Manuel promoted legislation henceforth prohibiting the naming of New Christians to the position of judge, town councilor or municipal registrar in Goa, stipulating, however, that those already appointed were not to be dismissed. This shows that even during the first nine years of Portuguese rule, Goa had a considerable influx of recently baptized Spanish and Portuguese Jews"^[32] There are even examples of well-positioned Portuguese Jews, and New Christians, leaving the Portuguese administration to work with the Muslim sultanates of India in an attempt to strike back at Portugal for what it had done to them viz-a-viz the inquisition in Portugal.^[33] Moises Orfali ofBar-Ilan University writes that the initially Portuguese colonial and ecclesiastical authorities complained in very strong terms about Jewish influence in Goa.^[34] TheGoa Inquisition which was established in 1560 was initiated byJesuit PriestFrancis Xavier from his headquarters inMalacca due to his inability to reanimate the faith of the New Christians there, Goa and in the region who had returned to Judaism. Goa became the headquarters of the Inquisition in Asia.

Cochin was, and still is, home to an ancient Jewish community (theCochin Jews). Sephardic Jews from Iberia joined this community and became known asParadesi Jews or "White Jews" (as opposed to older community which came to be known as the "Malabari Jews" or "Black Jews"). Cochin also attracted New Christians. In his lecture at theLibrary of Congress, ProfessorSanjay Subrahmanyam ofUniversity of California, Los Angeles explains that New Christians came to India for economic opportunities (theSpice trade, theGolconda Diamonds trade, etc.) and because India had well-established Jewish communities which allowed them the opportunity to rejoin the Jewish world.^[35]

As explained by Professor Fischel, the Sephardic Jews of London were active in trading out ofFort St. George, India which later developed into the city of Madras, and is known today asChennai and during the early years, the city council was required to have three Jewish aldermen to represent the community's interests.^[36][37]

Malacca, Malaysia was in the 16th century a Jewish hub – not only for Portuguese Jews but also for Jews from the middle east and the Malabar. With its synagogues and rabbis, Jewish culture in Malacca was alive and well. Visible Jewish presence (Dutch Jews) existed in Malacca right up to the 18th century. Due to the inquisition a lot of the Jews of Malacca were either captured or assimilated into the Malacca-Portuguese (Eurasian) community where they continued to live as New Christians. Malacca was the headquarters of Jesuit priest Francis Xavier and it was his discovery of the conversos from Portugal there who had openly returned to Judaism as in the fortresses of India that became the turning point and from whence he wrote to King John III of Portugal to start the inquisition in the East. Prominent Malaccan Jewish figures include Portuguese Rabbi Manoel Pinto, who was persecuted by the Goa Inquisition in 1573 and Duarte Fernandes a former Jewish tailor who had fled Portugal to escape the Inquisition who became the first European to establish diplomatic relations with Thailand.

Most Spanish and Portuguese synagogues are, like those of theItalian andRomaniote Jews, characterised by a bipolar layout, with thetebáhbimah) near the opposite wall to theHechál (Torah ark). The Hekhál has itsparochet (curtain) inside its doors, rather than outside. Thesefarim (Torah scrolls) are usually wrapped in a very wide mantle, quite different from the cylindrical mantles used by most Ashkenazi Jews.Tikim, wooden or metal cylinders around thesefarim, are typically not used. These were reportedly used, however, by thePortuguese Jewish community in Hamburg.

The most important synagogues, oresnogas, as they are usually called amongst Spanish and Portuguese Jews, are thePortuguese Synagogue of Amsterdam and those in London and New York. Amsterdam is still the historical centre of the Amsterdamminhag, as used in the Netherlands and former Dutch possessions such as Surinam. Also important is the Bevis Marks Synagogue in London, the historical centre of the Londonminhag. TheCuraçao synagogue (built in 1732 and known as theSnoa, thePapiamento form ofesnoga) of theMikvé Israel-Emanuel congregation is considered one of the most important synagogues in the Jewish history of the Americas.

Since the late 20th century, manyesnogas or synagogues in the Iberian Peninsula have been discovered by archaeologists and restored by both private and governmental efforts. In particular,the synagogues of Girona, Spain andTomar, Portugal have been impressively restored to their former grandeur, if not their former social importance. (See the articleSynagogue of Tomar.) Both Spain and Portugal have recently made efforts to reach out to descendants of Jews who were expelled from the peninsula in the 15th century, inviting them to apply for citizenship.

"Spanish and Portuguese Jews" typically spoke both Spanish and Portuguese in their Early Modern forms. This is in contrast to the languages spoken by Eastern Sephardim andNorth African Sephardim, which were archaicOld Spanish derived dialects ofJudaeo-Spanish ("Ladino") andHaketia (a mixture of Old Spanish,Hebrew, andAramaic, plus various other languages depending on the area of their settlement). Their Early Modern languages also differ from modern Spanish and Portuguese, as spoken by Sephardic Bnei Anusim of Iberia and Ibero-America, including some recent returnees to Judaism in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

The use of Spanish and Portuguese languages by Western Sephardim persists in parts of the synagogue service. Otherwise, the use of Spanish and Portuguese quickly diminished amongst the Spanish and Portuguese Jews after the 17th century, when they were adapting to new societies.

In practice, from the mid-19th century on, the Spanish and Portuguese Jews gradually replaced their traditional languages with the local ones of their places of residence for their everyday use. Local languages used by "Spanish and Portuguese Jews" include Dutch in the Netherlands andBelgium,Low German in the Altona, Hamburg area, English in Great Britain, Ireland,Jamaica, and the United States, andGascon, in its particularJudeo-Gascon sociolect, in France.^[38]

In Curaçao, Spanish and Portuguese Jews contributed to the formation ofPapiamento, acreole of Portuguese and various African languages. It is still used as an everyday language on the island.

Spanish and Portuguese Jews who have migrated to Latin America since the late 20th century have generally adopted modern standard Latin American varieties of Spanish as their mother tongue.

Because of the relatively high proportion of immigrants throughPortugal, the majority of Spanish and Portuguese Jews of the 16th and 17th centuries spoke Portuguese as their first language. Portuguese was used for everyday communication in the first few generations, and was the usual language for official documents such as synagogue by-laws; for this reason, synagogue officers still often have Portuguese titles such asParnas dos Cautivos andThesoureiro do Heshaim. As a basic academic language, Portuguese was used for such works as thehalakhic manualThesouro dos Dinim by Menasseh Ben Israel and controversial works byUriel da Costa.

TheJudaeo-Portuguese dialect was preserved in some documents, but was extinct since the late 18th century: for example, Portuguese ceased to be a spoken language in Holland in the Napoleonic period, when Jewish schools were allowed to teach only in Dutch and Hebrew. Sermons inBevis Marks Synagogue were preached in Portuguese till 1830, when English was substituted. Judaeo-Portuguese has had some influence on theJudeo-Italian language ofLivorno, known asBagitto.

Castilian Spanish was used as the everyday language by those who came directly from Spain in the first few generations. Those who came from Portugal regarded it as their literary language, as did the Portuguese at that time. Relatively soon, the CastilianLadino took on a semi-sacred status ("Ladino", in this context, simply means literal translation from Hebrew: it should not be confused with theJudaeo-Spanish used by Balkan, Greek and Turkish Sephardim.) Works of theology as well asreza books (siddurim) were written in Castilian rather than in Portuguese; while, even in works written in Portuguese such as theThesouro dos Dinim, quotations from the Bible or the prayer book were usually given in Spanish. Members of the Amsterdam community continued to use Spanish as a literary language. They established clubs and libraries for the study of modern Spanish literature, such as theAcademia de los Sitibundos (founded 1676) and theAcademia de los Floridos (1685).

In England the use of Spanish continued until the early 19th century: In 1740 HahamIsaac Nieto produced a new translation into contemporary Spanish of the prayers for the New Year and Yom Kippur, and in 1771 a translation of the daily, Sabbath and Festival prayers. There was an unofficial translation into English in 1771 by A. Alexander and others by David Levi in 1789 and following years, but the Prayer Books were first officially translated into English in 1836, byhakhamDavid de Aaron de Sola. Today Spanish Jews in England have little tradition of using Spanish, except for the hymnBendigamos, the translation of the Biblical passages in the prayer-book forTisha B'Av, and in certain traditional greetings.

The Hebrew of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews from the 19th century and 20th century is characterised primarily by the pronunciation ofבֿ‎ (Beth rafé) as a hardb (e.g.,Abrahám, Tebáh, Habdaláh) and the pronunciation ofע‎ (ʿAyin) as a voiced velar nasal (Shemang, Ngalénu). The hard pronunciation of Beth Rafé differs from thev pronunciation ofMoroccan Jews and theJudaeo-Spanish Jews of the Balkans, but is shared byAlgerian andSyrian Jews. The nasal pronunciation of 'Ayin is shared with traditionalItalian pronunciation (where it can be either "ng" or "ny"), but not with any other Sephardi groups.^[39] Both these features are declining, under the influence of hazzanim from other communities and ofIsraeli Hebrew.

The sibilantsס‎,שׂ‎,שׁ‎ andצ‎ are all transcribed ass in earlier sources. This, along with the traditional spellingsSabá (Shabbat),Menasseh (Menashe),Ros(as)anáh (Rosh Hashana),Sedacáh (tzedaka),massoth (matzot), is evidence of a traditional pronunciation which did not distinguish between the various sibilants—a trait which is shared with some coastal dialects of Moroccan Hebrew.^[40] Since the 19th century, the pronunciations[ʃ] (forשׁ‎ and [ts] forצ‎ have become common—probably by influence from Oriental Sephardic immigrants, fromAshkenazi Hebrew and, in our times,Israeli Hebrew.

Theתֿ‎ (taw rafé) is pronounced liket in all traditions of Spanish and Portuguese Jews today, although the consistent transliteration asth in 17th-century sources may suggest an earlier differentiation ofתֿ‎ andתּ‎. (Finalתֿ‎ is occasionally heard asd.)

In Dutch-speaking areas, but not elsewhere,ג‎ (gimel) is often pronounced[χ] like Dutch "g". More careful speakers use this sound forgimel rafé (gimel without dagesh), while pronouncinggimel with dagesh as[ɡ].^[41]

Dutch Sephardim take care to pronouncehe withmappiq as a full "h", usually repeating the vowel:vi-yamlich malchutéh^e.

The accentuation of Hebrew adheres strictly to the rules ofBiblical Hebrew, including the secondary stress on syllables with a long vowel before ashva. Also, the shvá nang in the beginning of a word is normally pronounced as a shorteh (Shemang, berít, berakháh). Shva nang is also normally pronounced after a long vowel with secondary stress (ngomedím, barekhú). However it is not pronounced after a prefixedu- (and):ubne, notu-bene.

Vocalshva,segol (short e) andtzere (long e) are all pronounced like the 'e' in "bed": there is no distinction except in length.^[42] In some communities, e.g. Amsterdam, vocal shva is pronounced[a] when marked withgangya (a straight line next to the vowel symbol, equivalent tometeg), and as[i] when followed by the letteryodh: thusva-nashubah andbi-yom (butbe-Yisrael).^[43]

The differentiation betweenkamatz gadol and kamatz katan is made according to purely phonetic rules without regard to etymology, which occasionally leads tospelling pronunciations at variance with the rules laid down in the grammar books. For example,כָל‎ (all), when unhyphenated, is pronounced "kal" rather than "kol" (in "kal ngatsmotai" and "Kal Nidre"), andצָהֳרַיִם‎ (noon) is pronounced "tsahorayim" rather than "tsohorayim". This feature is shared by other Sephardic groups, but is not found inIsraeli Hebrew. It is also found in the transliteration of proper names in theKing James Version such asNaomi,Aholah and Aholibah.

Although all Sephardic liturgies are similar, each group has its own distinct liturgy. Many of these differences are a product of the syncretization of the Spanish liturgy and the liturgies of the local communities where Spanish exiles settled. Other differences are the result of earlier regional variations in liturgy from pre-expulsion Spain.Moses Gaster (died 1939, Hakham of the S&P Jews of Great Britain) has shown that the order of prayers used by Spanish and Portuguese Jews has its origin in the Castilian liturgy of Pre-Expulsion Spain.

As compared with other Sephardic groups, theminhag of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews is characterised by a relatively low number ofcabbalistic additions. The Friday night service thus traditionally starts withPsalm 29, "Mizmor leDavid: Habu LaA.”. In the printed siddurim of the mid-17th century, “Lekhah Dodi" and theMishnaic passageBammeh madlikin are also not yet included, but these are included in all newer siddurim of the tradition except for the earlyWest London andMickve Israel (Savannah)Reform prayerbooks, both of which have Spanish and Portuguese roots.

Of other, less conspicuous, elements, a number of archaic forms can be mentioned—including some similarities with theItalian andWestern Ashkenazi traditions. Such elements include the shorter form of theBirkat Hamazon which can be found in the olderAmsterdam andHamburg/Scandinavian traditions. TheLivorno (Leghorn) tradition, however, includes many of the cabbalistic additions found in most otherSephardi traditions. The current London minhag is generally close to the Amsterdam minhag, but follows the Livorno tradition in some details—most notably in theBirkat Hamazon.

One interesting feature of the tradition (at least in New York and Philadelphia) is that, when reading the haftarah onSimhat Torah and Shabbat Bereshit, the Hatan Torah and Hatan Bereshit chant two extra verses pertaining to bridegrooms from Isaiah 61:10 and 62:5 at the end of the standard haftarot for the days themselves. This seems to be a unique remnant of the old tradition ofreading Isaiah 61:10–63:9 if a bridegroom who had been married the previous week was present in synagogue.

Theritual music of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews differs from otherSephardic music in that it is influenced by Western EuropeanBaroque andClassical music to a relatively high degree. Not only in Spanish and Portuguese communities, but in many others in southern France^[44] and northern Italy,^[45] it was common to commission elaborate choral compositions, often including instrumental music, for the dedication of a synagogue, for family events such as weddings and circumcisions and for festivals such asHoshana Rabbah, on which the halachic restriction on instrumental music did not apply.

Already in 1603, the sources tell us thatharpsichords were used in the Spanish and Portuguese synagogues in Hamburg. Particularly in the Amsterdam community, but to some degree also in Hamburg and elsewhere, there was a flourishing of Classical music in the synagogues in the 18th century. There was formerly a custom in Amsterdam, inspired by a hint in theZohar, of holding an instrumental concert on Friday afternoon prior to the coming in of the Shabbat, as a means of getting the congregants in the right mood for the Friday night service. An important Jewish composer wasAbraham Caceres; music was also commissioned from non-Jewish composers such asCristiano Giuseppe Lidarti, some of which is still used such has this aria fromLidarti's Oratorio Esther or this inaugural piece "Col Ansama" recorded live in Amsterdam'sRoyal Concertgebouw.

The same process took place in Italy, where the Venetian community commissioned music from non-Jewish composers such asCarlo Grossi andBenedetto Marcello.

Another important centre for Spanish and Portuguese Jewish music was Livorno, where a rich cantorial tradition developed, incorporating both traditional Sephardic music from around the Mediterranean and composed art music: this was in turn disseminated to other centres.^[46]

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, in particular in Italy at the time of theItalian unification, hazzanim sometimes doubled as opera singers, and some liturgical compositions from this period reflect this operatic character.

Already in the 17th century, choirs were used in the service throughout the year in the Amsterdam community. In 1886 the Portuguese vocal societySanto Serviço was established. In 2005 this choir was re-established under the leadership of musical directorBarry Mehler. Their debut wasbroadcast on national television (NOS). This custom was introduced in London in the early 19th century. In most cases, the choirs have consisted only of men and boys, but in Curaçao, the policy was changed to allow women in the choir (in a separate section) in 1863.

There are early precedents for the use of instrumental music in the synagogue originating in 17th century Italy as well as the Spanish and Portuguese communities of Hamburg andAmsterdam and in the Ashkenazic community ofPrague. As in most other communities the use of instrumental music is not permitted on Shabbat or festivals.

As a general rule, Spanish and Portuguese communities do not use pipe organs or other musical instruments during services. In some Spanish and Portuguese communities, notably in France (Bordeaux, Bayonne), US (Savannah, Georgia,Charleston, South Carolina,Richmond, Virginia) and theCaribbean (Curaçao), pipe organs came into use during the course of the 19th century, in parallel with developments in Reform Judaism. In Curaçao, where the traditional congregation had an organ set up in the late 19th century, the use of the organ on Shabbat was eventually also accepted, as long as the organ player was not Jewish. In the more traditional congregations, such as London and New York, a free-standing organ or electric piano is used at weddings orbenot mitzvah (although never on Shabbat or Yom Tob), in the same way as in some English Ashkenazi synagogues.

The cantorial style of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews adheres to the general Sephardi principle that every word is sung out loud and that most of the ritual is performed communally rather than soloistically (although nowadays in the New York community, thePesukei dezimra (zemirot) throughout the year, Hallel on festivals or the new moon, and several of theselichot duringYom Kippur are chanted in a manner more similar to the Ashkenazi practice of reading only the first and last few verses of each paragraph aloud). The hazzan's role is typically one of guiding the congregation rather than being a soloist. Thus, there is traditionally a much stronger emphasis on correct diction and knowledge of themusical minhag than on the soloistic voice quality.^[47] In the parts of the service where the ḥazzan would traditionally have a more soloistic role, the basic melodies are embellished according to the general principles of Baroque performance practice: for example, after a prayer or hymn sung by the congregation, the ḥazzan often repeats the last line in a highly elaborated form. Two- and three-part harmony is relatively common, andEdwin Seroussi has shown that the harmonies are a reflection of more complex, four-part harmonies in written sources from the 18th century.

The recitative style of the central parts of the service, such as theAmidah, thePsalms and thecantillation of the Torah is loosely related to that of other Sephardi andMizraḥi communities, though there is no formalmaqam system as used by most of these.^[48] The closest resemblance is to the rituals of Gibraltar and Northern Morocco, as Spanish and Portuguese communities traditionally recruited their ḥazzanim from these countries. There is a remoter affinity with the Babylonian and North African traditions: these are more conservative than the Syrian andJudaeo-Spanish (Balkan, Greek, Turkish) traditions, which have been more heavily influenced by popular Mediterranean, Turkish and Arabic music.

In other parts of the service, and in particular on special occasions such as the festivals, Shabbat Bereshit and the anniversary of the founding of the synagogue, the traditional tunes are often replaced by metrical and harmonized compositions in the Western European style. This is not the case onRosh Hashanah andKippúr (Yom Kippur), when the whole service has a far more archaic character.

A characteristic feature of Oriental Sephardic music is the transposition of popular hymn tunes (themselves sometimes derived from secular songs) to important prayers such asNishmat andKaddish. This occurs only to a limited extent in the Spanish and Portuguese ritual: such instances as exist can be traced to the book of hymnsImre no'am (1628), published in Amsterdam byJoseph Gallego, a hazzan originating in Salonica.^[49] Certain well-known tunes, such asEl nora aliláh andAhhot ketannáh, are shared with Sephardi communities worldwide with small variations.

Spanish and Portuguese traditionalcantillation has several unique elements.Torah cantillation is divided into two musical styles. The first is the standard used for all regular readings. A similar but much more elaborate manner of cantillation is used on special occasions. This is normally referred to asHigh Tangamim orHigh Na'um. It is used for special portions of the Torah reading, principally theTen Commandments^[50] but also Chapter 1 ofBereshit (onSimchat Torah), theShirat ha-Yam, theSong of Moses, the concluding sentences of each of the five books and several other smaller portions.^[51]

Spanish and Portuguese Torah cantillation has been notated several times since the 17th century. The melodies now in use, particularly in London, show some changes from the earlier notated versions and a degree of convergence with the Iraqi melody.^[52]

The rendition of theHaftarah (prophetic portion) also has two (or three) styles. The standard, used for mosthaftarot, is nearly identical with that of the Moroccannusach. A distinctly more somber melody is used for the threehaftarot preceding the ninth of Ab (the "three weeks".) On the morning of theNinth of Ab a third melody is used for the Haftarah—although this melody is borrowed from the melody for theBook of Ruth.

There is a special melody used for reading theBook of Esther onPurim, but this is not cantillation in the accepted sense as it is chant-like and does not depend on the Masoretic symbols. There are however the remnants of a cantillation melody in the chant for the verses from the Book of Esther read at the conclusion of the morning service in the two weeks preceding Purim;^[53] this melody is also used for certain verses recited by the congregation during the reading on Purim itself.

The books of Ruth, read onShavuot, andLamentations, read on the Ninth of Ab, have their own cantillation melodies as well. There is no tradition of readingEcclesiastes.

Most Spanish and Portuguese communities have no tradition of liturgical reading of theShir haShirim (Song of Songs), unlike Ashkenazim who read it onPesach and Oriental Sephardim who read it on Friday nights. However, in the two weeks preceding Pesach a passage consisting of selected verses from that book is read each day at the end of the morning service.^[54] The chant is similar but not identical to the chant for Shir haShirim in the Moroccan tradition, but does not exactly follow the printed cantillation marks. A similar chant is used for the prose parts of the book of Job on the Ninth of Ab.

There is no cantillation mode for the books ofPsalms,Proverbs and the poetic parts ofJob. The chant for the Psalms in the Friday night service has some resemblance to the cantillation mode of the Oriental traditions, but is not in any obvious way dependent on the cantillation marks.

• Ets Haim Library (Amsterdam)
• The Judith Lady Montefiore College (rabbinic training programme in London)
• Naima Jewish Preparatory School (London)
• Society of Heshaim, London
• Bet Midrash Nidhe Israel (Dominican Republic)
• La Nacao, a new site reviewing academic works on Western Sephardim

• Amsterdam Portuguese Chazzanut: Spanish and Portuguese Chazzanut & Minhagim (Customs) in the Esnoga

• Sephardi Centre Music Fund, London
• London Sephardi Music Recordings of the liturgical music of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews of London, Rabbi Jonathan Cohen
• Liturgical Music of Shaar Hashamayim Hazzanut recordings, Rev. Halfon Benarroch
• London Sephardi Congregational Melodies
• Spanish and Portuguese Torah melody, London style: musical notation only (includes instructions for downloading musical notation font)

• Liturgie Hebraïque du Rite Séfardi dit Portugais Bordeaux tradition

• Minhag Fiorentino Florence tradition (subscription only)

• Liturgical Music of Congregation Shearith Israel, New York
• Philadelphia: Mikveh Israel Music
  • Mikveh Israel Hazzanut – Detailed, comprehensive compendium of liturgical customs throughout the year, including tunes and readings, for the Philadelphia and New York branches of the tradition.
• Yede Abraham – Hazzanut in the Spanish and Portuguese tradition (mostly New York and Philadelphia)

• S&P Central: An Information Hub for Spanish & Portuguese Jewish Communities, created by Joshua de Sola Mendes

• Daniel Halfon, Hazan of Spanish and Portuguese Liturgical Music
• Taamim.org – S&P cantillation and Haftarah blessings on Taamim.org

• Site of Hakham Yaaqob haLevi de Oliveira s"t, Israel
• Los cinco libros de la Sacra Ley translated to Spanish by Joseph Franco Serrano
• The Spanish and Portuguese Intellectual Tradition – bibliography and other resources

• Jewish ethnic groups
• Sephardi Jews topics
• Spanish Jews
• Portuguese Jews

• CS1 maint: others
• CS1 French-language sources (fr)
• Pages with plain IPA
• All articles with dead external links
• Articles with dead external links from March 2025
• CS1 European Portuguese-language sources (pt-pt)
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from August 2021
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles using infobox ethnic group with image parameters
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from April 2021
• Articles needing additional references from July 2021
• All articles needing additional references
• Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images
• Articles with unsourced statements from August 2023