The Jewish Community of Cordoba, Spain
Cordoba
Also known as Cordova
Cardoba is the capital of the Cordoba Province in Andalusia, Spain.
Cordoba still maintains remnants of its once-flourishing Jewish community. The Jewish Quarter and its winding lanes still exist, though there has been no Jewish presence in the city for hundreds of years. Casa de Sefarad is a historic house in the Jewish Quarter that has been restored to resemble what it would have looked like during the 14th century. Visitors to Casa de Sefarad can learn about Sephardic Jews in general, and Cordoban Jews more specifically.
A statue of Maimonides is located in Plaza Maimonides, near Cordoba Synagogue.
CORDOBA SYNAGOGUE
Cordoba Synagogue, located in Cordoba’s historic Jewish Quarter, was built by Simon Majeb in 1315 and is one of only three medieval synagogues remaining in Spain. After the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492 the synagogue was converted by the authorities into a hospital that treated rabies sufferers (Hospital Santo Quiteria). It was then turned into a community center and small chapel for the shoemakers guild in 1588, and was used as an elementary school during the 19th century.
In 1885 the synagogue was declared a national monument and began undergoing a series of restorations. When the city marked the 800th anniversary of Maimonides’ birth, the square where the synagogue was located was renamed Tiberias Square, honoring the city where many believe Maimonides is buried.
HISTORY
Cordoba was captured by the Moorish army in 711. Five years later, in 716, it became the provincial capital of the Caliphate, ushering in a period during which Jewish learning and culture thrived. Notable figures during this period included the scholar and diplomat Hasdai ibn Shaprut (c. 915-c. 970), Rabbi Hanoch ben Moses, the poet and commentator Joseph ibn Abitur, and the silk-manufacturer Jacob ibn Jau. During the first half of the 11th century, Isaac b. Baruch Albalia was the foremost rabbinical scholar in Cordoba.
Prominent Jewish scholars who were active during the 12th century included Joseph b. Jacob ibn Sahl, who was appointed as the community’s religious judge (dayan) in 1113 and remained in office until his death in 1123. The noted poet and halakhic authority Joseph ibn Tzaddik served as the dayan from 1138 until 1149.
Most prominent among Cordoba’s Jewish scholars was Maimonides, who was born in the city in 1135 but left in 1148 as a result of the Almohad invasion and the anti-Jewish policies it adopted.
During the golden age of Jewish culture, the Jewish Quarter was located near the Alcazar (fortress), in the southwest of the city. There is also evidence that a second quarter existed in the northern part of the city, near the "Jewish Gate" (Bab al-Yahud, later renamed the Talavera or Leon Gate) which stood until 1903.
Shortly after the Siege of Cordoba in 1236, when Ferdinand III of Castille effectively ended Islamic rule over the city, church authorities in Cordoba complained that the city’s new synagogue was too high; in 1250 Pope Innocent IV instructed the Bishop of Cordoba to take steps against this "scandal" against Christianity. Nonetheless, the synagogue’s construction was eventually completed in 1315, and included a small assembly hall for the rabbinical court, as well as a classroom. Later, in 1885, the synagogue was declared a national monument. The city’s Jews helped to restore the local economy after the reconquest, and the poet and philosopher Judah Abrabanel served as the crown official. Although the Jewish community was smaller than that of Toledo, it still regained a level of prominence. The community also underwent a number of changes during this period. At the end of the 13th century the communal board passed a measure that ruled that dayyanim would be appointed for one year only. Between 1320 and 1321 Judah Ibn Waqar, from the prominent Ibn Waqar family, undertook measures to tighten communal discipline and to punish blasphemers.
The Jewish community, however, suffered a devastating blow in 1391 when, along with Jewish communities throughout Spain, it fell victim to anti-Jewish rioting. Most of the community was killed during these riots. Later, in 1478, a series of anti-Jewish measures were enacted by Ferdinand and Isabella.
The Jewish community of Cordoba essentially ceased to exist after 1483, when the Jews were expelled from Andalusia. Cordoba’s conversos, Jews who ostensibly converted to Christianity and who were therefore permitted to stay in the city, developed a reputation for their attachment to Judaism; indeed, a converso who wanted to return to Judaism and who could provide evidence before a rabbinical court that they were from Cordoba or had studied there, could be granted recognition as a Jew. At the same time, however, during the 15th century Cordoba’s conversos were fiercely persecuted by the Inquisition tribunal that was established in the city in 1482; many were forced to flee after a series of violent attacks in the 1480s. Indeed, the tribunal remained active in Cordoba until the 18th century.
In 1492 Jews throughout Spain, including any remaining in Cordoba, were expelled.
20TH CENTURY
During the 20th century Cordoba began to embrace its connection to Maimonides. In 1935 Cordoba held an official commemoration of Maimonides’ 800th birthday. Nearly 30 years later, in 1964, the city hosted a Maimonides Week.
Maimonides - Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon (Rambam)
(Personality)Moses Maimonides, also known as Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon or the acronym the Rambam, was born in Cordoba, Spain on March 30, 1135, and died in Egypt on December 13, 1204. He is buried in Tiberias, Eretz Israel.
One of the greatest Torah scholars of all time, he was a rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain, Morocco and Egypt during the Middle Ages. He was the preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher. With the contemporary Muslim sage Averroes, he promoted and developed the philosophical tradition of Aristotle. As a result, Maimonides and Averroes would gain a prominent and controversial influence in the West, where Aristotelian thought had been suppressed for centuries
Menahem Ibn Saruq
(Personality)The document is written in prose with a rhymed introduction and, as most of his poems have not been lost, it provides the only evidence of Ben Saruk's talent as a poet. He later cut his ties with Ibn Shiprut and left Cordoba, although he eventually returned. He began a huge linguistic project, a dictionary known as Machbarot Menahem (Menahem's Notebooks), which was later fiercely attacked and criticized by Dunash Ben Lavrat. However, for some unknown reason, Ibn Shiprut ended his protection of Ibn Saruq and Menahem was imprisoned. It is believed that Ben Saruq was framed as being affiliated with the Karaites. During his time in prison he wrote Ibn Shiprut a long letter admitting his own faults but also requesting his assistance. We do not know if his plea was answered. It is also unknown if Dunash's attack preceded or followed his imprisonment. He died in Cordoba, Spain.
Al-Mansur Al-Yahudi
(Personality)Isaac Ibn Gikatilla
(Personality)Isaac Ibn Gikatilla (also Isaac Ibn Chiquitilla) (11th century), poet and grammarian., born in Lucena, Spain. He studied with Menahem Ben Jacob Ibn Saruq and, later, defended him against Dunash Ben Labrat in the dispute between them concerning grammar. As a poet he was highly esteemed by Moses Ibn Ezra.
Gikatilla’s poems (mainly azharot) are marked by the influence of Saadiah Gaon. He died in Spain.
Joseph Ibn Sahal
(Personality)Dunash Ben Labrat
(Personality)As a poet, Dunash applied the Arabic forms of poetry to Hebrew, thus laying the foundation for medieval Hebrew poetry. However, most of his poems are lost and some of them are known only due to the lines he cited in his responsa. Dunash’ religious poems include the Sabbath song Deror Yikra and Devai Hasser and a kerovah for the Day of Atonement.
He died probably in Cordoba, Spain.