Synagogue of El Transito

File:Sinagoga del Tránsito interior3.jpg

Interior of the synagogue.

The Synagogue of El Transito (Spanish: Sinagoga del Tránsito) is a historic building in Toledo, Spain. It is famous for its rich stucco decoration, which bears comparison with the Alcazar of Seville and the Alhambra palaces in Granada. It was founded as a synagogue by Samuel ha-Levi Abulafia, Treasurer to Peter of Castile, in about 1356. The founder was a member of a family that had served the Castilian kings for several generations and included kabbalists and Torah scholars such as Meir and Todros Abulafia, and another Todros Abulafia who was one of the last poets to write in the Arab-influenced style favored by Jewish poets in twelfth and thirteenth-century Spain. King Peter probably gave his assent to the building of the synagogue to compensate the Jews of Toledo for destruction that had occurred in 1348, during anti-Jewish riots that accompanied the arrival of the Black Death in Toledo. The founder eventually fell foul of the king and was executed in 1360. The synagogue was converted to a church after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain. The building, which is in a good state of conservation for its age, is currently a museum.

History of changes

After the expulsion of the city's Jews under the Alhambra decree in 1492, the Synagogue came under the Order of Calatrava, who converted the building into a church serving a priory dedicated to Saint Benedict, In the 17th century the church's name changed to Nuestra Señora del Transito: the name derives from a painting by Juan Correa de Vivar, Transit of the Virgin.

The synagogue was also used as military headquarters during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1877 the building became a national monument. The transformation of the building into the Sephardi Museum, as it is now officially called, started around 1910. It was initiated by the Veca-Inclan foundation.

Architecture

This Synagogue was the private family synagogue of the king's wealthy treasurer, Don Samuel ha-Levi Abulafia. With the apparent approval of the king, he defied all the laws about synagogues being smaller and lower than churches, and plain of decoration. It features Nasrid-style polychrome stucco-work, Hebrew inscriptions praising the king and himself, and quotations from the Psalms, as well as multifoil arches and a massive Mudéjar panelled ceiling. Arabic inscriptions are intertwined with the floral patterns in the stucco panels.

Women's Gallery

Women were separated from men during the ceremonies, but were allowed to watch. The Gallery is located on the first floor of the southern wall, having five open windows looking down towards Aron Kodesh or (to use more correct Sephardi terminology) the Hechal.

Photographs of the Synagogue and museum

• 

  El Transito

• RoyLindmanElTransito 005.jpg

  Samuel ha-Levi

• Toledo - Sinagoga El Transito int 02.jpg

  Holy Ark

• RoyLindmanElTransito 009.jpg

  Mosaic

• RoyLindmanElTransitoSynagogue 003.jpg

  Detail on the east wall

• A Black and White Photograph taken in the Synagogue of El Transito - Toledo Spain.jpeg

  Detail of the roof & wall

• A Black and White Photograph inside the Synagogue of El Transito - Toledo Spain.jpeg

  Interior

• A Black and White Photo taken in the Synagogue of El Transito - Toledo Spain.jpeg

  Interior

• RoyLindmanElTransitoSynagogue 004.jpg

  View towards ceiling

• RoyLindmanElTransitoSynagogue 005.jpg

  Torah Ark cover

• RoyLindmanElTransitoSynagogue 006.jpg

  View from Women's Gallery

• Tallit, museo sefardí, Toledo, España, 2015.jpg

  Tallit

• Cubertería judía, museo sefardí, Toledo, España, 2015.jpg
• Recipientes y jarrita, museo sefardí, Toledo, España, 2015.jpg
• Joyería sefardí, museo sefardí, Toledo, España, 2015.jpg

  Jewelry

• Hebreo, museo sefardí, Toledo, España, 2015.jpg

External links

• (Spanish) Official Website