Remnants of Culture: Artifacts are all that remain of Jewish life in many Portuguese towns. Image by getty images

For the first time in centuries, a Torah scroll will be installed in the northern Portuguese town of Trancoso, where many Jews lived before the 16th century.

The Torah scroll was scheduled to be installed Sunday during the dedication of a new Jewish learning center, the Isaac Cardoso Center for Jewish Interpretation, the Portuguese news agency Lusa reported.

The Torah scroll is to be placed in the newly-built Bet Mayim Hayim synagogue within the Cardoso center, which the Trancoso municipality built with an investment of about $1.5 million, according to the Gazeta de Viseu local daily. The daily reported that the city hoped the center would attract tourists.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The center opened its doors on Friday, at an event co-organized by the Jerusalem-based nonprofit organization Shavei Israel, which does outreach to people with Jewish origins in Portugal and other countries.

“This is an historic event. More than five centuries after the expulsion of Portuguese Jewry, the streets of Trancoso, Portugal, will once again be filled with Jewish singing and dancing as we bring a Sefer Torah to its new home,” Shavei Israel Founder and Chairman Michael Freund told JTA.

Today, none of Trancoso’s 5,000 residents are Jewish but the town used to be half Jewish, according to Freund. He added Trancoso and the surrounding area are home to a large number of Bnei Anousim, or “marranos” — people whose Jewish ancestors were compelled to leave the country or convert to Catholicism during the Portuguese Inquisition, which began in the 16th century.

“The dedication of this Torah scroll symbolizes the rebirth that is taking place in Portugal as growing numbers of Bnei Anousim emerge from the shadows of history and seek to reconnect with the Jewish people,” Freund said.

Earlier this month Portugal’s parliament enacted an amendment which makes Jews of Sephardic Portuguese origins eligible for Portuguese nationality.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount