Jewish Heritage of Spain:Itinerary 2

Andalucia & Catalonia

- 7 day express Private Escorted VIP style Touring Program -

Day 1 & 2-   SEVILLE - your tour manager and driver await you at the airport to welcome you to Spain and whisk you four into 2000-year-old SEVILLE for 2 nights in a deluxe hotel in old Jewish Quarter  -  (private deluxe shuttle) - Enjoy a exclusive walking tour of the old Jewish quarter and the Moorish gardens and palace where many Spanish Jews advised the sultans on trade and financial matters.

Choose from these ideas also: - Discover Roman town of Italica where 2 Roman emperors where born + arena where gladiators enertained - Admire Spain's Royal Equestrian school and winery visit in Jerez - Traditional Tapas night out away from tourist traps in places our local resident experts personally know the owners!    

Day 3-   Transfer to ancient CORDOBA, a former Roman and Moorish capital city. Private guided exploration and historic touring of the old town. Visit medieval synagouge in Jewish quarter and local Sephardic center - travel on to beautiful exotic GRANADA - Guided exploration of the jewel of southern Spain, La Alhambra, a huge beautiful citadel built for the Moorish sultan with the support of the local Sephardic Jews in the middle ages  

Day 4-    North to CATALONIA..... VIP transfer to a very beautiful and historic river-city for 2 nights in the old town. This ancient town was a former center of Sephardic studies and important in the development of the Kabala. Tasting dinner in local restaurant hosted by your tour manager.

Day 5 -  Medieval Jewish Towns:  Fun educational guided visit to a nearby mendieval village where we visit a rencently discovered Mikvah ritual bath.  Art Fun & Med coast option: Discover with our art historian, the mysteries of the surrealism of the artisit Dali and his enigmatic theater museum  + lunch in medival village or visit the Med coast for sea kayaking.

 Day 6 -  BARCELONA awaits you.....enjoy a private guided visit to historic old town including Roman,Sephardic and Medieval elements, legends and culture. option for fun interactive cooking class and dinner made by our English speaking our chef or discover the one-of-a-kind- architecture of Guadi and dinner out with your tour manager.  

Day 7-   BARCELONA  - private VIP airport transfer - Adios Amigos!  

      SPAIN JEWISH HERITAGE TRIP INFO: 

YOUR PRIVATE PROGRAM INCLUSIONS:

-  Freedom from stress of travel planning

- exclusivity of t ailor-made trip design by MagicalSpain.com

-  Managing your trip day to day while you are on vacation

- One-of-a-kind cotact with our local contacts

-  Unique insight & savvy of our a MagicalSpain bilingual tour manager*

- Private airport arrival and departure transfers in Seville and Barcelona

-  Fun interactive cultural & historic conversations daily

-  lodging in deluxe hotels and historic old town properties, double occupancy

-  Select guides for private guided tours as noted above

-  deluxe transfers between airports & cities

-  deluxe breakfast daily
-  welcomel meal with wine + educational food chats 
-  Introductory tasting of Spanish tapas, cheeses & olive oils
-  Spanish winery visit and wine tasting

-  Select Wines with included meals
-   Entrance Fees on tour, Local taxes & Fees

• Foodie options:  Cooking class, Tapas & wine tasting
• Select museum admissions, presentations, tastings
• Pre-trip info and language guide
• Magical SPAIN food & wine report   

YOUR PRIVATE TOUR DOES NOT INCLUDE:

- wasted time with a big group

- tourist trap gift shopping with kick backs for guides

- rigid unflexible planning

- hidden expenses and forced add ons
- International Airfare

- 7% Spanish tax
- Transport not specified in the itinerary
- Entrance fees when not on tour
- Beverages not specified in selected meals
- Meals not specified 
- Laundry Expenses
- Telephone & Internet charges
- Excess Baggage charges
- Passport fees
- Personal & Travel Insurance
- Flights & Departure Taxes
- Opera or Sporting Events

“There is hardly anything that some man cannot make a little worse, and sell a little cheaper, and people who consider price only, are this mans lawful prey”

John Ruskin.

  Our insider private trip prices typically are between 5000 and 10,000 euros / person although this can vary with the level of service, luxury, exclusivity, originality, dates or comfort one seeks.

....But to help stimulate the economy,

we have reduced our prices temporarily for 2009.

Private Jewish Heritage

Insider Educational Adventure Program / Week

with 6+ persons:

5*****  Insider tour program + Escort by top tour manger  -  5899 euro / person

5*****  Unescorted insider custom tour program  - 4897 euro / person

4**** Insider custom tour program + Escort by top tour manger   - 3385 euro / person

4**** Unescorted Insider custom tour program - 2683 euro / person  

" Will they remember you more for a new BMW

or a memorable enriching vacation adventure? "

We are "sold out" for some 2009 dates, so avoid disappointment, book your exclusive Spain adventure ASAP. You will not regret it!

The only Disappointment is to Miss your chance...

You Deserve it!    

=>  RESERVE NOW <=

DON'T MISS THE BOAT..... We'll see you in Spain in 2009 or 2010.

* Private Tour Departs Daily on a Private Basis with bilingual guides & drivers

+ a sample program for custom jewish bar mitzva spanish celebration trip.

      Sephardic Jews: Spain and Beyond

The Jewish communities Spain and North Africa blossomed as the Babylonian centre declined. Flourishing Spanish Jewish communities developed where voluminous legal discussions of the Talmud began to be edited and codified.The influence of Babylonian Jewry had been very strong on the Jewish communities in Europe: the eastern Diaspora, including Eqypt, tended to be under the influence of what remained of the Eretz Israel centre. This fact is particularly evident in the various prayer rites adopted.

On the eve of the expulsion of the Jews & Muslims from Spain in 1492, Spain was home to the largest Jewish community in the Christian world, and a world which had seen the flowering of a golden age of Jewish culture and birthplace to such towering figures in Judaism as Maimonides, the greatest Jewish philosopher of the Middle Ages. Expulsion from Spain, one of the most crucial moments in Jewish history, led to the development of the great Sephardic diaspora concentrated in North Africa and the Ottoman Empire. Since the proclamation of the Republic in 1931, the Jewish community of Spain is growing and with it a new interest in the cultural heritage of Spanish Jewry. Latin America is also home to important communities of Spanish-speaking Jewish communities with distinct and diverse cultures.

In the fifth and sixth centuries in Spain the Germanic Visigoth rulers had persecuted the Spanish Jews, but under Muslim rule, (in some areas of Spain for nearly 800 years from about 715 until 1492) Spanish Jews reached positions of importance in government, in a period known as the Golden Age. Spanish Jews were active in the free professions, particularly medicine, and the study of astronomy and philosophy were favoured. Hebrew, poetry of all kinds flowered in an age that produced Ibn Gabirol, Samuel Ha- Nagid and Judah HaLevi. Due to the clash of secular culture with Spanish Judaism, the greatest scholar of the 12th century - Maimonedes - wrote his major philosophical work, The guide of the Perplexed, in Arabic. Maimonedes was both the personal doctor and advisor to the Spanish Muslim ruler in the capital city which was Cordoba.Most of his monumental works were written in Hebrew. The Golden Age in Spain also saw the development of Jewish mysticism, or Kaballah (the central work of which is the Zohar), that grew to be so important in Jewish life.

During the first stages of the Christian reconquest of Spain, early in the eleventh century, the position of the Jews did not deteriorate drastically. But the Christian Church and the Vatican saw an anomaly in the continued existence of Jews of Spain in a now somewhat unified Christian state, and made every effort to convince the Catholic kings to crack down and convert them. This pressure along with social unrest due of the majority of the lower classes over the lack of improvement in property rights and living standards created fertile ground for extremist preaching. This led to various pomgrams culminating in the persecutions of 1391. Until the conquest of the Muslim Spain though the Spanish kings needed the help and financing of the Sephardic jews. This ended with the capitulation of the Muslims Spanish or Moors in January of 1492. Some six months later, just before Columbus sailed the ocean blue the one religion proclamation became law and Jews in Spain had to either accept the Christian faith or leave the country. For several hundred years thereafter no Jew lived openly in Spain, and it was only in 1967 that a synagogue opened with official recognition.

Following the Expulsion from Spain the refugees spread out over the whole Jewish world - including the Land of Israel, North Africa, Italy, Sicily, Holland and Turkey -establishing their own congregations. The name Sephardi, which describes many diverse communities, is a derivation of the Hebrew name for Spain. Some conversos, Jews who had officially embraced Christianity while secretly remaining true to their own faith, ultimately escaped from Spain, sometimes at great risk. Others remained - and in many Spanish families to this day, vestiges of Jewish observance can be found.

       Talmud

The Talmud consists of two specific collections of texts - the Mishnah and the Gemara.

As the Mishnah is written in such precise and terse verse, the rabbis needed to discuss and analyse it. The Gemara is the collection of the rabbinic discussions about the Mishnah and other teachings of the Tannaim (scholars from 400 BCE - 200 CE), which took place for three hundred years after the Mishnah was written down (200-500 CE).

The Gemara is a commentary on the Mishnah, and the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds contain two different commentaries on the Mishnah, each originating from a certain place (Babylon and Israel, not actually Jerusalem). Sometimes, the Gemara alone is called the Talmud, although strictly speaking this is not true as the Talmud also contains the Mishnah.

Talmud literally means 'study'. The Talmud embodies the labours, opinions, and teachings of the ancient Jewish scholars in expounding and developing the religious and civil laws of the Bible during a period of some eight centuries (from 300 BCE to 500 CE). There are two different versions of the Talmud - the Talmud Bavli (lit. Babylonian Talmud), and the Talmud Yerushalmi (lit. Jerusalem Talmud). Each of these are very long - the Babylonian Talmud is usually printed as twenty large volumes and the much smaller Jerusalem Talmud - as three large volumes. The two versions of the Talmud contain the same Mishnah (i.e. there is one Mishnah, common to both) but different Gemara. The Talmud Bavli (Babylonian Talmud) is the authoritative collection, and is usually what people refer to when they mention the Talmud. Not every Masechet (Tractate) of the Mishnah has a corresponding Gemara in both, or even either version of the Talmud. In general, the Talmud Bavli doesn't contain a Gemara on Seder Zeraim (Seeds) as this is about agriculture in the Land of Israel which was not discussed in detail in Babylon. Seder Teharot (Purity) also has no extensive Gemara as laws concerning purity were so important in everyday life that it didn't need to be written down.

Although the Talmud, strictly speaking, consists simply of the Mishnah and Gemara, if you look at a standard edition of the Talmud there are a lot of other commentaries and discussions printed in the book. Again, this is similar to some editions of a play by Shakespeare that may be printed with all sorts of explanations in the margins. The standard Vilna Edition of the Talmud is a little over a hundred years old.

If the Torah is the foundation of Jewish life, then the Talmud is the central pillar of Jewish study and thought.

What is it about?

The Talmud is ordered in the same way as the Mishnah, which is not surprising as it consists of the Mishnah and very extensive commentary on the Mishnah (the Gemara). Since the Mishnah deals mainly with matters of Halachah (Jewish Law), much of the Talmud is about exploring Halachic issues. However this is by no means exclusively what the Talmud is about.

The Talmud is a storehouse for information connected with the life, customs, beliefs, and superstitions of the Jews. It deals with issues as diverse as medicine, astronomy, commerce, agriculture, magic, botany, and zoology. The Talmud also gathers sayings and stories of the rabbis that are not directly connected to the Mishnah.

Because the main purpose of the Talmud is not to decide law but to decide what the truth is, it contains much material that doesn't have any obvious practical application.

The contents of the various Masechtot (Tractates) of the Talmud is as follows. As can be seen from merely a glimpse at the range of major topics, the Talmud covers an enormous scope of material.

  Seder Zeraim (The Order 'Seeds')

Berachot (Blessings) is about various prayers and blessings.

Pe'ah (Corner, corner of the field) is about the laws of gifts to the poor, and charity.

Demai (Doubtful, doubtfully tithed) is about what to do with produce about which there is a doubt regarding if it is to be set aside for the poor.

Kilayim (Mixtures) is about laws regarding cross-breeding.

Shevi'it (Seventh, the Sabbatical Year) is about the laws of the Sabbatical Year, when fields must lie fallow and loans are cancelled.

Terumot (Contributions) is about the contributions to the Priests.

Ma'aserot (Tithes) is about contributions that were made to the Priestly assistants.

Ma'aser Sheni (Second Tithes) is about contributions that were made to the Priestly assistants, and assorted poor people.

Challah (Dough) is about the laws of separating a portion of dough before making bread to give to the Priests.

Orlah (Uncircumcised, "uncircumcised fruit") is about the prohibition against using fruit within three years of a tree being planted.

Bikkurim (First fruits) is about first-fruit offerings at the Temple.

Seder Moed (The Order 'Occasions')

Shabbat contains most of the laws governing Shabbat. In the Babylonian Talmud, it also contains a discussion of the laws of Chanukah.

Eruvin (Mergings) is about the boundaries within which one may walk and carry ariticles on Shabbat.

Pesachim (Paschal lambs, "Passover") is about the laws of Passover.

Shekalim (Shekels) is based around a discussion of the taxation levied for the running of the Temple service.

Yoma (The Day, "The Day of Atonement") deals mainly with the order of service in the Temple on Yom Kippur. It also deals with the Yom Kippur fast and prayer service.

Sukkah (Booth) is about building a Sukkah, and the Four Species used on Succot in prayer.

Betzah (Egg) is about the laws that apply to all festivals. It is named after the first word in the Tractate.

Rosh HaShanah is about the laws of fixing the date of the New Year, and of the calendar in general. It also deals with the shofar, and prayer service on Rosh HaShanah.

Ta'anit (Fast) deals with public fast days.

Megillah (Scroll) contains the laws for reading the Megillat Esther (the Scroll of Esther) and of Purim in general. Incidentally it deals with the laws of both reading and writing the Torah and other scrolls, the laws of prayer, and laws about synagogues.

Moed Katan (Minor Festival) discusses the laws of working on Chol HaMoed (the intermediate days of Pesach and Succot)

Chagigah (Festival Offering) deals with pilgrimages to the Temple.

Seder Nashim (The Order 'Women')

Yevamot (Sisters-in-Law) deals with the obligation to marry a widow of one's childless brother (levirate marriage), and forbidden sexual relations. It also deals with the laws of prohibited marriages and with conversion.

Ketuvot (Marriage Deeds) deals the laws of marriage deeds, rape, and seduction.

Nedarim (Vows) deals with laws containing vows.

Nazir (Nazarite) contains the laws of the Nazarite, one who temporarily abstains from drinking wine and cutting one's hair.

Sotah (A Woman suspected of Adultery by her Husband) is about the laws concerning a woman suspected of adultery.It is also about the Priestly Blessing and the laws of warfare.

Gittin (Bills of Divorce) deals with the arrangements for bills of divorce.

Kiddushin (Betrothals) deals with the ways in which people may be betrothed. It also deals incidentally with the commandments binding on men and women, and those only binding upon men.

Seder Nezikin (The Order 'Damages')

Bava Kamma (The First Gate) is about types of legal damage.

Bava Metzia (The Middle Gate) is about disputes over financial matters and property.

Bava Batra (The Last Gate) is about laws of partnership and inheritance.

Sanhedrin contains the laws of capital punishment, and judicial procedure in general. It also contains discussion of principles of faith and the afterlife.

Makkot (Lashes) clarifies the laws of corporal punishment and banishment.

Shevuot (Oaths) is about the various oaths administered in court, and by the Rabbis.

Eduyyot (Testimonies) is a collection of sayings on a wide variety of subjects.

Avodah Zarah (Idolatry) deals with idolatry and the restrictions regarding contact with non-Jews.

Avot (Fathers) is a collection of ethical sayings by the Rabbis.

Horayot (Decisions, rulings) deals with cases where the courts, Priests, or King made an error, and what they must do as penitence in such cases.

Seder Kedoshim (The Order 'Holy Things')

Zehavim (Animal Sacrifices) deals with animal sacrifices. It also contains an exhaustive discussion of the methods used to establish Jewish law.

Menachot (Meal Offerings) is about meal offerings. It also discusses the laws of Tefillin (phylacteries) and Tzitzit (ritual fringes).

Chullin (Ordinary, unhallowed) deals with the laws of Kashrut.

Bekhorot (Firstlings) is about laws concerning first-born animals and humans.

Arakhin (Valuations) is about the laws of dedicating things to be used for the Temple.

Temurah (Substitution) is about laws governing the substitution of one sacrifice for another.

Keritot (Excisions)is about sins which incur the punishment of excision (a special kind of Divine punishment)

Me'ilah (Sacrilege) is about the laws concerning the unlawful use of objects that have been consecrated in the Temple.

Tamid (Daily, 'daily sacrifices') contains the permanent laws of the Temple, and the arrangements for the daily service in the Temple.

Middot (Measurements) contains the plan of the Temple, with measurements.

Kinnim (Birds' nests, "pairs of sacrificial birds") deals with the sacrifice of birds.

Seder Teharot (The Order 'Purity')

Kelim (Vessels) is about the various forms of impurity of utensils.

Ohalot (Tents) discusses the ritual impurity of a tent containing a dead body.

Nega'im (Leprosy) contains the laws regarding leprosy.

Parah (Heifer) is about the laws of the Red Heifer, which was used to purify those made "impure" by a dead body.

Teharot (Purifications) contains general laws and principles of ritual impurity.

Mikvaot (Ritual Baths) contains the laws of ritual baths, including how they are to be constructed.

Niddah (Menstruating woman) deals with the ritual impurity of menstruating women, women who have bleeding not connected to their regular periods, and laws of ritual purity regarding a woman who has given birth.

Makhshirin (Preparations, predispositions) is about how foods can be made ritually impure by contact with certain liquids.

Zavim (Those suffering from secretions) deals with the laws of ritual impurity of those suffering from sexual diseases.

Tevul Yom (Immersed during the day) contains laws about at what time in the day one becomes ritually pure after immersing in a ritual bath.

Yadayim (Hands) contains laws about washing hands.

Uktzin (Stems, stalks) contains a discussion of the laws governing the susceptibility of fruit to ritual impurity.

Where does it come from? Who wrote it down?

The Talmud Bavli (Babylonian Talmud) is a the collection of sayings and teachings of the Amoraim, in Babylon. The Amoraim is the name given to the generation of scholars responsible for the Gemara; the Amoraim lived between 200-500 CE. Most of the sayings of the Amoraim were needed to clarify the Mishnah. The assorted teachings of the Babylonian Talmud were compiled and written down in a process started by Rav Ashi and Rav Ina, in around 500 CE.

The Talmud Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Talmud) is a similar collection of sayings and teachings, but of the scholars in Palestine. In effect, two separate communities of the time developed different intellectual traditions and explained the Mishnah in different ways. The Jerusalem Talmud was written down approximately 100 years earlier than the Babylonian Talmud, in 400 CE.

Each Talmud is thus the recorded dialogue of generations of scholars of a certain place, edited together at a certain time to form a more complete discussion.

Like the Mishnah, the entire Talmud is believed to be Divinely inspired by some Jews. Again, as with the Mishnah, the same disagreements about the status of the entire Talmud exists.

What do we do with it?

The Talmud is a compendium of some of the main discussions concerning a Jewish world view. Although it is used as the key source material for establishing Halachah (Jewish Law), it is also much more than that. The Talmud, through its breadth and depth of material, links the key text of the Torah to the world.

It is important to know that the two Talmuds are not on an equal footing. The Babylonian Talmud is seen as authoritative. There are three main reasons for this. First of all the Babylonian Talmud was completed later, and so it is addresses issues raised in the Jerusalem Talmud. Secondly the Babylonian Talmud is far more extensive than the Jerusalem Talmud, and this detail lends the work more weight. Lastly the Babylonian Talmud has a sharper and intellectually deeper approach. The difference in standing of the two Talmuds is so great that for most purposes, the Jerusalem Talmud is neglected.

The Talmud itself stresses that it is important to learn Jewish thought for its own sake, and this is borne out by the place of the Talmud in Jewish life. For hundreds of years, the Talmud has been the main source of material for Jewish learning. At age fifteen, many Jews start learning the Talmud, and continue this study for the rest of their lives. In Jewish places of learning throughout the world, the Babylonian Talmud is the text most commonly studied. It is because study of Talmud is not seen as merely a means to some end that minority opinions and entire arguments are recorded and learnt in the Talmud.

There is a custom to learn a page of Talmud (which is really a double page, or folio) each day. Called the Daf Yomi (Daily Page) system, hundreds of thousands of people around the world learn the same page of Talmud each day, completing the entire (Babylonian) Talmud in seven years. Some passages from the Talmud are used in prayer.

The Halachah (Jewish Law) is developed by using the Talmud as the starting text. Decisions on what to do in various situations are made by first examining the Talmud. Here, the later an opinion (which is known by who said it) the greater weight is given to it.

What language is it in?

The Talmud is mostly in Aramaic, but some Hebrew is used too. Throughout the Talmud, there are words and expressions borrowed from one language by the other.

Aramaic began as the language of the Aramean tribes but became the common tongue for many people of the Middle East after 100 CE.

The Aramaic of the Babylonian Talmud is Eastern Aramaic, which was spoken by the Jews of Babylon at the time. The Aramaic of the Jerusalem Talmud is Western Aramaic, which was spoken by the Jews of Palestine. The languages are similar to each other. Aramaic is also quite similar to Hebrew, and share common roots for many words.

If I want to read it...

The Talmud can be a very difficult work to study. The Talmud appears to have no internal order, and a strange logic all of its own. In parts, it is very complicated, and even experienced scholars have difficulty with it. On the other hand, some parts of the Talmud are more accessible, and yield entry into a Jewish way of thinking.

It is obviously very expensive to buy an enormous twenty volume Babylonian Talmud or even a three volume Jerusalem Talmud. A standard (Vilna) edition of the Talmud Bavli (Babylonian Talmud) in Aramaic (and Hebrew) today would cost upwards of $750. An edition is available with much smaller print that costs around $300, but is less comfortable to use. Luckily, almost all Jewish libraries contain a Talmud.

There are translations of the Talmud currently available. The best editions include the Soncino and the ArtScroll. Check before buying to see if the English translation is something that you feel comfortable with, as they can be difficult in places.

Steinsaltz is currently translating the Talmud into English. The English translation is actually based on his translation into Hebrew (from old Hebrew and Aramaic). As each Tractate is completed, it is published. The Steinsaltz Talmud contains a literal translation as well as a free translation. The free translation is very accessible. Steinsaltz also provides a very thorough reading of the text, and this level of accuracy makes the Steinsaltz Talmud extremely dependable, which is important when each word is treated as vital and meaningful. The Steinsaltz Talmud is a wonderful way to learn Talmud for those who aren't comfortable in Hebrew and Aramaic. The Steinsaltz translation of the Talmud will fill over a hundred volumes, and each volume costs over twenty pounds.

No translation of the Talmud contains all of the extensive commentaries that are printed with the Talmud in the standard editions. The Steinsaltz translation does reproduce the most important commentary - that of Rashi - but is translated into simple Hebrew, not English.

Talmudic study is traditionally conducted in Chevruta (friendly learning pairs). Chevruta learning is done aloud, and is thought to aid understanding.

There are numerous classes in synagogues and other places based around the Talmud. Often called simply 'Gemara Shiur' (Gemara Lesson) these could be on any part of the Talmud. There are also numerous internet based classes, and even services that can link people to study Talmud together on-line. 

A Summary of Sephardic Jewish history in Spain:

Sefarad, Jewish Spain and the first Beis Ha’Mikdash

For some 1500 years Sefarad, was home to one of the Sephardim world’s largest Jewish communities. Although some Jews came during the Antiquity, thousands of Jews fled Palestine to Sefarad after the destruction of the first Beis Ha’Mikdash in Jerusalem. From that point on, Jews including Maimónides... lived in Spain until the Expulsion of 1492. From this period we find medieval synagogues, the labyrinthine Juderias or old Jewish quarters, Roman and Moorish architecture, Ladino and Inquisition sights... all of which evoke a rich history worth revisiting

Moorish Medieval Spain 8th – 15th Centuries: Moments of Splendor and Sorrow

This period in the Muslim Al Andaluz was generally positive as Sephardic Jews reached high levels of commercial, administrative and academic prominence with leaders like Maimónides... Versed in Latin, Greek and Hebrew, Spanish, Catalan or Arabic - depending where they lived -, Jews worked as teachers, merchants, financiers, doctors and ambassadors Nevertheless, despite this prosperous situation, Jews suffered some ill treatment especially as the Catholicism expanded south for a number of reasons.

Expulsion or Conversion of Spanish Jews in 1492

The Catholic Kings, Expulsion in 1492 and the Holy Office of the Inquisition In 1492 after the Moorish surrender, the Catholic Kings, Ferdinand and Isabella, ordered the expulsion all Jews and Moors who wouldn't’t convert, thus ending the largest and most distinguished Jewish settlement in Europe.

The Vatican’s Holy Office of the Inquisition persecuted many supposed heretics including many "Converso" families holding public "autos-da-fe" until the 18th century with various sociological effects that we will examine in during this guided trip. Representing some over 55% of the Diaspora, some Sephardic Jews still speak their medieval language, Ladino, which we can study while in transit.

Day ONE

Arrive in Girona situated close to the French border and about 60 miles north of Barcelona. Accommodation of your choice in Girona.

Day TWO

Girona is the best place to start this route, as during the Middle Ages it was a very important Jewish centre.  Girona has the best preserved and most important Jewish quarter in Spain, which was discovered (almost by accident) during the reconstruction of the railroad from Spain to France in the mid-19th century. Girona´s old Jewish section is known as the “Call” and was restored in 1980.

From its main street, once a Roman Road, you can walk beneath archways and between stone buildings that transports one back in time.  Sunlight rarely reaches here. In the heart of the quarter is a new educational and cultural complex called the Bonastruc Ca Porta Centre, which recreates Jewish life through art exhibits, musical events and food tastings. Surrounding a patio on the site of an ancient synagogue, the complex includes a Catalan Museum of Jewish Culture, the Institute for Sephardic and Kabbalistic Studies, and a library that houses important medieval Jewish manuscripts. Accommodation of your choice in Girona.

Day THREE

Today first travel about 20 miles north of Girona to the pretty medieval village of Besalu.  Here exists a 12th century mikvah (ritual Jewish bath), one of the only three from the same period that have been kept in Europe, discovered in 1964. This mikvah is a stone room with 36 steps where strategically placed openings allow the rising river to flood it to the correct water level each spring and fall.

Near the Mihah, where most Jews lived, there used to be the synagogue, which is called schola in written documents of the period. The synagogue was built in 1264 thanks to a privilege granted by Jaume I el Conqueridor. Nowadays,there are no remains of the synagogue, although the city has kept its memory alive, by calling the spot where it used to stand, “Pla dels Jueus” or Place of the Jews.

After visting Besalu travel south-west to the province of Castilla and the fine city of Segovia. Accommodation of your choice in Segovia.

Day FOUR

Although most famous for its impressive aqueduct, landmark of the city, Segovia is another important stop along the Sephardic Way. In the throne Room of the Alcazar, Ferdinand and Isabella signed the infamous expulsion order in March 1492. Until the expulsion Christians, Muslims and Jews lived together in harmony and often shared lodgings. The Jewish houses were typically made of bricks with wooden frames, visible on the outside. After the expulsion order, Jews who converted to christianity (Conversos) or pretended to convert (Marranos) disguised their ghetto houses by adding stone facades and patios.

Discover the Corpus Christi church which was once the main synagogue in Segovia; the Didactic Center of the Jewish quarter, located in Abraham Senneor's house; San Andres Gate, in the medieval walls of Segovia, from where magnificent views of the Jewish cemetery can be seen; and the Museum of Segovia, placed in a fortification of the wall known as House of the Sun.

Accommodation of your choice in Segovia.

Day FIVE & SIX

Continue south to Toledo the former capital of Spain, just before the expulsion, when the city was one of the leading centres of Jewry in Spain. At the end of the 14th century, after the Jews had been expelled, eight of the city’s ten synagogues and its five Talmudic schools were destroyed. The remaining synagogues that survived were converted into churches. One of those synagogues that remained, the Transito Synagogue, was built in 1357 and is full of Moorish carvings and arcades. Two years after the expulsion it became a Catholic Church, and since 1972, a Sephardic Museum with historic Hebrew inscriptions and a beautiful panelled wooden ceiling. Santa Maria La Blanca is the other synagogue that is now empty. Built by Arabs in the 12th century, it looks more like a mosque than a synagogue. 

Other interesting sights in Toledo include the Hermitage of Christ of the Light; former mosque built around 1000 AD and the Gothic cathedral begun in 1227. See also the Mudejar churches from 13th and 14th centuries and "The Burial of the Count of Orgaz", El Greco's masterpiece, which is in the Church of Santo Tomé. Accommodation of your choice in Toledo.

Day SEVEN

Continue south to Cordoba and see the Synagogue built in 1314, a beautiful Mudejar building nearly perfectly preserved. Explore the Jewish Quarter which conserves all its charming medieval identity. See the Roman bridge over the Guadalquivir river, the Moorish mosque; one of the finest works of Spanish Caliphate art begun in the 8th century, and the Moorish walls built in 8th, 9th and 10th centuries. Visit also the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos (Fortress of the Christian Monarchs) a Mudejar palace from 14th century with a beautiful Moorish garden complex. Accommodation of your choice in Cordoba.

Day EIGHT

End of tour.

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