The Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue, Recife, Brazil

The Kahal Zur Israel (“Rock of Israel”) was the first synagogue built in the New World. It was established mainly by Jewish immigrants from the Netherlands, joined by New Christians already living in the colony. The synagogue flourished in the mid-1600’s, when the Dutch briefly controlled this part of northeastern Brazil. The synagogue functioned between 1636 and 1654 in the houses of no. 197 and 203 do Bom Jesus Street, the former Jewish Street (Rua dos Judeus) in Recife. The current building was built around 1640 and it was a two story house with two shops located on the first floor and the synagogue at the second floor.

A synagogue was located here in the 17th century
Courtesy: Valeria Bondi Krzywanowski

The synagogue served a community of approximately 1,450 Jews. It had a cantor, Josue Velosino, and a rabbi, Isaac Aboab da Fonseca, sent to Recife in 1642. Rabbi Aboab da Fonseca was born in Portugal in 1605 into a family of New Christians. After settling in Amsterdam he returned to Judaism and eventually became a rabbi and a friend of Menashe Ben Israel.

Mezzotint by A. Naghtegael. Courtesy: Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana,  Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Tombstone of the grave of Rabbi Isaac Aboab da Fonseca and his wife Esther at the Jewish cemetery in Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, The Netherlands. Photo from "The Beth Haim of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel by L.A. Vega, 1975

Aboab joined the Amsterdam Jews in Recife as their hakham, thus becoming the first American rabbi. He continued for 13 years as the spiritual mainstay of the community. After the repulse of the Portuguese attack on the city in 1646, Aboab composed a thanksgiving narrative hymn describing the past sufferings, Zekher Asiti le-Nifla'ot El ("I made record of the mighty deeds of God"), the first known Hebrew composition in the New World that has been preserved.

While in Recife, Rabbi Aboab also wrote his Hebrew grammar, Melekhet ha-Dikduk, still unpublished, and a treatise on the Thirteen Articles of Faith, now untraceable. After the Portuguese victory in 1654, Aboab and other Jews returned to Amsterdam, where he became a prominent leader of the local Jewish community. The bereavement of their spiritual guide was so keenly felt by Amsterdam Jewry that for many years the name of Rabbi Aboab and the date of his death were incorporated in the engraved border of all marriage contracts issued by the community.

The synagogue excavation began in September 2000 under the direction of Marcos Albuquerque, an archeologist from the Federal University of Pernambuco. Historical maps and old property records offered a general idea of the location of the temple.

But because the Inquisition had done everything possible to obliterate all signs of Jewish presence, the archeological excavations began with some doubts. With the support of the Brazilian government and of several foundations, including the Jewish Federation of Pernambuco (Federação Israelita de Pernambuco), the small Jewish community of Recife plans to reconstruct the synagogue and to turn it into a museum and cultural center of the Jewish presence in Brazil.

"The first synagogue of the American Continent functioned in a former building that existed in this place between 1636 and 1654".
Courtesy: Valeria Bondi Krzywanowski

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The Jewish Community of Recife, Brazil

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