eSefarad Noticias del Mundo Sefaradi
I just returned from an amazing journey through Norway that started and ended in Amsterdam. Having been so actively involved lately in the genealogical research of my own family as well as in general with the Inquisition and Crypto Jewry, my husband chose Norway as our destination so that I could “get away from it all” without feeling that I would find archives or ancestors. He wanted to see me relax for once, without being surrounded neck deep with Inquisition Processes and the meticulous tracing of my own family lineage . Actually, his thought process was a good one and the one week that we were in the Fjords I was able to only think about research . However , once we returned to Amsterdam I was ready to start again ! Amsterdam was the logical place to continue searching the onward journeys of the Crypto Jews from Portugal. Luckily, I just happened to be there after the Fjords . ( Coincidence, I think not..)
I wanted to find more information on the Moses Gomez de Mesquita family. My DNA twin in Brazil had informed me that we descend from him and although I knew that he had been the Haham of the Bevis Marks Synagogue in London in the years 1744-1751 I needed to understand the footsteps that had led then to London and in my mind at least, they had gone to Amsterdam first. I also had requests from two others to find information in the Amsterdam Central archives.
A Couple of years ago, when I wrote my first article My 15 Grandmothers, an eSefarad reader from New Zealand contacted me for help in finding her relatives who she felt were Crypto Jews that had left Portugal and had used the name of Hendricks (Henriques). She had family information that they went from Portugal to Amsterdam then Indonesia and finally New Zealand. The other is the editor of a website on Zamoran Jewry . He wanted me to find any and all references to Jews that may have left Zamora , gone to Portugal and then to Holland. He has been meticulously making a timeline on Zamoran Jewry that will eventually be published and the information would be indispensable for him. I had three important things I wanted to have some information on and unlike all my other projects where the Internet is my first line of attack, followed by physical archives and finally boots on the ground research, I actually started ( given the fact that the Fjords had totally relaxed me ) with a typical tourist visit to the Jewish Museum in Amsterdam.
The museum is amazing and housed in several very old synagogues. I was peaceful and quietly viewing the artifacts like all the other tourists with my audio head phones on , when smack in front of me on the second floor I saw shelves and shelves and a full history of the famous Crypto Jewish family named Henriquez/s. They were originally from Portugal and had come to Amsterdam in the late 1600’s , the name on the artifacts began to show them also as Hendriquez and from there, Hendricks was but a small leap ! I could not believe my eyes and I started taking pictures of every book, siddur, chest , or spoon that I could see about this family. I had made the quantum leap for my friend in New Zealand. In an instant I lost the peacefulness of my week amongst glaciers and reindeers and the reality of what I was meant to accomplish was upon me. With a thumping in my chest, we crossed the street to the Spanish Portuguese Synagogue. Certainly, any and all remaining answers would be found there. My husband quickly saw he had lost me again, back into the world of dusty archives but he also knows that it this zeal for research that makes me who I am .
From the moment we entered that incredible building, I was transfixed. I walked slower around the inside of the synagogue, in my own world now, and just took in the worn wooden benches , each complete with a hinged drawer, the magnificent chandeliers lit only with candles, and the tall yet simple aron kodesh The very high ceiling sweeps the tall frosted glass windows and the women’s section seems endless with its wrap around wood banisters. No one is in the synagogue with us and the silence was filled with a reverence for what had once been. I glance at the tourist booklet in my hand which somehow seemed out of place and learned that it had been built in the year 1675 and sits 1200 men and 400 women. I am awed by the fact that some of my blood relatives had actually sat and worshipped openly here after years of cruelty in their native lands in the Iberian Peninsula. I walk slowly through the long benches and let my fingers touch the smooth wood. I tried to connect but I couldn’t. I know that many fled there but how exactly had I been connected? I am so used to thinking in genealogy terms that I kept trying to draw information from the family trees in my mind and not being able to fully grasp the historical aspect, I left the sanctuary, admittedly quite disappointed for perhaps not having done the homework before actually getting there. But again, this trip had not been planned as a “working “ one so I decide to continue to tour the impressive compound. I peeked in the different windows and saw the candle room, the washing hands room, the old mikvehs well as the one that is still in use today, I climbed down some stairs deep into a basement where a small sign said Treasure Room and I marveled at the vast amounts of silver in these vaults as well as the beautiful and antique gold tapestries but personally, I was still not connecting. I have walked through many of these old and beautiful synagogues in Prague and other major cities but in this one, THE Spanish Portuguese Synagogue, I expected more from my neshema and its’ genetic memory.
All of a sudden , I saw a small sign that led the way to the Winter Synagogue and I stepped into a small room with benches all around a very small aron kodesh . I started to feel hot and flushed and not understanding the emotion, I look up and all around and near the ceiling are handwritten names on the wall. Hundreds of names. Names that I now know are on the oldest and most crackled branches of my own tree. On the spot I realize that these names that I am looking at on the walIs of this tiny synagogue in Amsterdam of all places are not the branches of my tree but they are the roots. MY ROOTS. Names like Vaz and Vazquez, Nieto, Lumbrozo which was the name used by some members of the Carvajal family after they had been discovered by the Inquisition in Mexico, Ramos, Rodriguez, and of course Henriquez as well as Hendricks and many more. The founders, the important members of the synagogue all splayed out on the walls for me to see. I took pictures of all of these and I sat on a small corner of one of the benches and felt a connection; a strong one. I was alone in the small room for quite a while and decided to just go with the feeling. I opened up the tourist guide and it explained that the benches in the Winter Synagogue are the original ones from the founders in the 1600’s and the ones that are inside the Big Sanctuary are much newer. My family would have sit here, right where I am sitting while relishing their religious freedom. I feel this history that is in Amsterdam is mine and I sense a deep thirst to know more.
I walked out into the bright sunlight of Amsterdam and I saw my husband Michael who took one look at my face and just knew “Lets find the archives” .We thought the synagogue would have records but they have been sent to the Central Archives, We are allowed to peek through a small window at the library the Eys Chaim Library with Hundreds of volumes of ancient Books and manuscripts. We were not allowed inside but saw the rows of books from the 1400’s through today and many are written in Spanish, Portuguese, Hebrew, Dutch, Yiddish and Ladino. These manuscripts would not have yielded genealogical information so we set off for the Central Archives in Amsterdam.
I had read that the digitization of the archives was very high and was excited as to what would be found there. When I arrived, I was astounded at the sheer size of the building and the archives but when I asked for the Jewish Portuguese Immigration information, I was led to a small shelf with several large books that have been printed from Synagogue and Cemetery Records. THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of names and marriages, the cities of origin in Spain and Portugal. I stayed a couple of hours and was not able to make a dent in the information. Although it is in Dutch, after a while it becomes easy to understand if you understand English. There was a genealogist working at the same table as I was and after a while he told me I could actually purchase these books at a second hand book store. We thanked him and bought all these books while adding several kilos to our luggage and I now can look through them carefully at home. These references have all the information on the Jewish Marriages ( Sephardic and Ashkenaz ) from 1598-1811 as well as the names of all the burials at the Zeeburg Cemetery. I am very fortunate to have been able to find this for my personal use.If anyone wants to find more information on the migration of the Jews from Portugal into Amsterdam the best site on the Internet is Archief van de Portugees-Israëlietische Gemeente
In conclusion I can say that it will take me time to sift through all the information that I have amassed but it will be interesting to match all the names in hat small synagogue to the ones in my tree. The Jews of Spain and Portugal did end up in Holland and made a significant mark there.
Genie Milgrom, author of My 15 Grandmothers is currently the President of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Miami as well as President of Tarbut Sefarad-Fermoselle in Spain.
