2 August 1675 – 10 Av 5635
The community of Portuguese emigrants in Amsterdam consecrated their first synagogue, one of the oldest in the world that’s still active today. Built by Jews expelled from Spain and fugitives from Portugal at the beginning of the 16th century, the synagogue was called the Esnoga in Ladino, Snoge in Dutch. The community soon became a vital part of Amsterdam’s economy and culture, and the city boomed to become a leading member of the world economy at the time. With its dark wood furnishings, candle-lit candelabras and sanded floor – whether to hush the sound of Dutch wooden clogs in the silence of the synagogue, or a throw-back to the clandestine synagogues where Spanish and Portuguese conversos worshiped in secret at the risk of their lives is still a subject for debate – the synagogue served as a model for many others in the Spanish diaspora of Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean.