This is an etching by Bernard Picart (1673–1733) of the Portuguese Synagogue of The Hague. He depicts the synagogue just before the Torah is read. The text at the bottom of the image is in French and describes the common Sephardi tradition: “Displaying the Torah to the people before starting to read it.”
The etching shows people standing on and around the bimah (the podium before the ark from which the Torah is read and prayers are led). One man on the bimah is raising the Torah so that the congregation can see it. The men are wearing tricorn hats and most are wearing a tallit (prayer shawl). There are also a few children in the drawing. A man is sitting on the bimah with his leg stretched out in front of him, perhaps indicating that he has a problem with his leg. The drawing shows only the male members of the community, since in traditional synagogues women sit in a separate section.
The synagogues architecture is clearly depicted here with the bimah in the centre and the aron hakodesh (ark) where the Torah scrolls are kept in front of it. On the four corners of the bimah are candles, and in front of the ark is the ner tamid (the eternal light). The Torah scroll shown in this picture is bound around two rollers, and when closed it is covered by a decorative mantle or cover in the style typical of both Spanish and Portuguese and Ashkenazi communities. In other Sephardi communities the Torah is housed in an ornamental wooden case.
The etching was completed in 1725 and was published in a book called Religious Ceremonies and Customs of All the Peoples of the World (1723–1743) that was written by Jean Frederic Bernard and illustrated by Bernard Picart.
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Raising the Torah – The raising and displaying of the Torah is called Hagbaha, and it is a tradition performed as part of the reading of the Torah in the synagogue. The scroll is opened and raised so that all of the congregation can see the text. While the Torah is shown, the following verse from Deuteronomy 4:44 is sung: “And this is the teaching which Moses set before the Children of Israel.” The Sephardi tradition is to raise the Torah before reading the weekly portion, while Ashkenazim raise it on finishing reading, after which a member of the community, often a young person, does Gelila – rolling the Torah scroll up and “dressing” it with the ornate cover, crown, and pointer.
Shabbat – Shabbat is the Jewish name for Saturday, the Jewish day of rest. According to Jewish tradition, this day commemorates the final, seventh day of God’s creation of the world. Shabbat is observed from just before sunset on Friday night until the appearance of three stars on Saturday night. The Talmud devotes an entire tractate to the rules of Shabbat and derives 39 types of forbidden activities. These include using electricity, writing, and other actions that are considered forms of creating. Shabbat is, instead, a day for family, community, prayer, and reflection. Traditionally Shabbat is ushered in by lighting candles, reciting the blessings over wine, Kiddush, and over the two loaves of special Shabbat bread, challah, and enjoying a festive meal. Shabbat is marked in the synagogue by a special additional prayer, known as Musaf, and the reading of the weekly Torah portion. The end of Shabbat is marked by the Havdalah ceremony. In Israel, secular Jews also enjoy Shabbat by eating Friday night dinner with their family and friends and spending time together in the countryside or on the beach. Most workplaces are closed on Shabbat.
The Jewish Community of The Hague – The first Jews to settle in The Hague in the Netherlands arrived in the seventeenth century from Portugal. They were soon followed by Ashkenazi Jews, and by the eighteenth century The Hague was home to both Sephardi and Ashkenazi communities. By the end of the eighteenth century, many Dutch Jews had migrated to The Hague due to its political importance; most of the community, however, lived in poverty. Nonetheless, a small number of the Jews were wealthy and became bankers, artists, and intellectuals, and it was in The Hague that a Jew became a government minister for the first time. Prominent rabbis also came from the city. In the nineteenth century, new synagogues and Jewish educational and social institutions were established. From the end of the nineteenth century the community grew and underwent a process of secularisation. New Jewish social, cultural, and sports organisations emerged alongside burgeoning Zionist activities. During World War II, 8,000 of the 10,000 Jews living in The Hague were deported; most were murdered. Of the 2,000 remaining Jews, most survived the war in hiding. All of the synagogues, except for the Portuguese Synagogue, were destroyed or damaged during the war, and most of the items within the synagogues, including the Torah scrolls, were lost. The Portuguese synagogue remained intact and its Torah scrolls and other religious items were kept hidden in Amsterdam and recovered after the war.
Spanish and Portuguese Jews – The Jewish community in Spain and Portugal was very large, prosperous, and influential until 1492 and 1497 when they were expelled by the Catholic monarch. While many of them left the Iberian Peninsula, others stayed and were forced to convert to Christianity. Many of these “New Christians” or “Conversos” continued to practice Jewish laws and traditions in hiding and were called Anusim in Hebrew or, pejoratively, Marranos (pigs). The Conversos were always under suspicion and subject to the Inquisition, and due to this ongoing persecution, many left Spain and Portugal and settled in more accepting European countries such as the Netherlands, Britain, and Italy and in Latin America. In their new countries, away from the danger of the Inquisition, many of the Conversos reverted to Judaism. The Spanish and Portuguese communities have traditions that differ from both Ashkenazi and Sephardi communities. The layout of their synagogues is closer to the style of Italian synagogues with the layout of the bimah opposite the Ark. The Torah scrolls are wrapped in mantles and not in wooden boxes as in Sephardi communities. The liturgy and ritual music of this community is also distinct and reflects the combination of ancient Spanish traditions from before the expulsion with those of their new adoptive countries.
Bernard Picart – Bernard Picart was born in Paris in 1673 and died in Amsterdam in 1733. He was a French engraver who specialised in illustrations of the Bible. His most famous work is a series of 10 volumes called Cérémonies et Coutumes Religieuses de Tous les Peuples du Monde (Religious Ceremonies and Customs of All the Peoples of the World) which aimed to present the religions of the world as objectively and authentically as possible.
