The Jewish community of Spain

1. The Jewish community of Spain

2. Where is Spain? • Spain is located in Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. • Its bordered by the Mediterranean Sea, France, Andorra, the Bay of Biscay,theAtlantic Ocean and Portugal. • Spain emerged as a unified country in the 15th century. • It has been an important source of influence to other regions, especially in the modern era. • 500 million people speak Spanish, making it the world's second most spoken first language. • Spain is a democracy. It has the twelfth largest economy in the world and very high living standards.

3. How many Jews live in Spain? • An estimated 13,000 to 40,000 Jews live in Spain today. • Descendants of Spanish Jews( Sephardic Jews) comprise around a tenth of the global Jewish population. • The Jews of Spain preserve but do not generally speak, Ladino, a Romance language derived from Old Castilian (Spanish) and Hebrew. • Nowadays, Jews in Spain speak Spanish, while Ladino is mostly folkloric.

4. Where do the Jews of Spain live? • The Jews living in Spain, mainly live in the two major cities. • Madrid (3,500) • Barcelona (3,500) • Followed by Malaga, where a smaller number of Jews live.

5. Some historical facts! • Before 1492 Spanish Jews were one of the largest and most prosperous Jewish Communities under Muslim and Christian rule. • Due to the marriage of Isabella de Castilla and Fernando de Aragon, Caltholic Spain was unified and the Jews were expelled. • By the end of July, 1492, more than 100 000 Jews had fled Spain during the Spanish Inquisition . • The inquisition was abolished in 1834 during the reign of Isabel II. • Although expelled in 1492 as a result of the inquisition, many Jews stayed in Spain and were baptized, thus appearing to be Christians,butthey continued practicing their religion in secret, these Jews were called Conversos. If they were caught, they were burned alive.

6. A quick timeline! • 1868- The Spanish Republic pledges religious tolerance • 19th Century- Some Jews come back to Spain in fewer numbers than before. • 20th Century-Synagogues are opened in Barcelona and Madrid. • Due to Spanish neutrality in World War II Spain allows 25,600 Jews to use Spain as an escape route from the European threat of war. • 1944-Spain took part in the effort to rescue Hungarian Jews by accepting 2,750 refugees. • 1968-A new synagogue is opened in Madrid and to mark the event the government officially takes back the 1492 expulsion edict. • 1992-King Juan Carlos, in a symbolic gesture, repeals the expulsion order as well.

7. Customs and interesting facts • Today, the Sephardim have preserved the romances and the ancient melodies and songs of Spain, as well as a large number of old Spanish proverbs. • A number of children's plays like, El Castillo, are still popular among the Spanish. • The Spanish Jews still have a fondness for the dishes peculiar to Iberia, such as the pastel, a sort of meat-pie, and the pan de España. • At their festivals they follow the Spanish custom of giving out dulces, a confection wrapped in paper bearing a picture of the Magen David. • Sephardic Jews often name their children after the children's grandparents, even if they are still alive. • The first son and daughter are traditionally named after the paternal grandparents, and then the maternal parent's names are next up in line for the remaining children.

8. Types of songs • The songs that originated from Spain are topical • Entertainment songs • Romance songs • Spiritual or ceremonial songs

9. The Shuls of Spain

10. THE END! Thank you for watching my slideshow! Done by Jessi Wainer 5S