Recife, Brazil: The oldest synagogue in the Americas — “Congregation Rock of Israel” is established in Recife, the capital of (Dutch) Brazil by immigrants from the Netherlands. The synagogue served a community of approximately 1450 Jews.
The synagogue flourished initially for several decades until 1654 (more detail just below). The mid–1600s Jewish community of Recife apparently had, as well, a mikvah (Jewish ritual bath) and a yeshiva (Jewish religious school). The aforementioned synagogue had a cantor, Joseph Velosino, and a rabbi, Isaac Aboab da Fonseca, sent to Racife in 1642 from Amsterdam.
Now the synagogue and the rabbi are Dutch expats, but the bulk of the Jews there are Portuguese expats (from the 1492 Portuguese expulsion or prior). Of course, “expats” in this case mean refugees fleeing (often potentially lethal) religious persecution and/or outright expulsion.
Now, the plot thickens on various axes…
Portugal not only severely persecuted its Jews in the 1400s and expelled them in 1497–8, but in a somewhat unique historical nefariousness, their explorers (de Gama included) hounded the same refugee Jews in the lands the Portuguese subsequently exploited (Brazil and India included).
When the Portuguese exploiter–invaders arrive in Brazil from Portugal in 1654, armed with horses and hatred, the synagogue and Jewish community devolve. The street of the synagogue—Rua dos Judeos (the “Street of the Jews”)—is renamed by the Portuguese invaders as do Bom Jesus Street (the “Street of Jesus”). One gets the drift.
In 1654, these Dutch and Portuguese Jewish refugees, in turn, flee north up the Atlantic Coast generally as far away as they can get from the Portuguese invaders, and 23 or 24 of them are consequently among the founders of New Amsterdam, eventually to be known as New York.
Now, the Dutch rabbi sent (prior in 1642) from Amsterdam, de Fonseca, a scholar, kabbalist and writer, now in 1656 returns back across the Atlantic to Dutch Amsterdam, as well fleeing the Portuguese invaders of Brazil. De Fonseca becomes chief rabbi of the Sephardic Community of Amsterdam, and was none other than one of several senior elders of the Dutch–Israelite community who then (in 1656) excommunicate Baruch Spinoza (Benedict de Spinoza), whose name would later be immortalized, in part by this very excommunication.
But there may have been an underlying reason why da Fonseca was a party to the excommunication of the gentle Spinoza.
Da Fonseca had been born to a Marrano family, a family feigning conversion to Christianity (to avoid persecution/expulsion/execution), but secretly practicing Judaism. But baptized nevertheless. And an ex–Marrano Orthodox chief rabbi might just be motivated sub–consciously or otherwise to adopt a non–compromising “fundamentalist” position to re–enforce his Jewish bona fides.
Are we finished here? Not quite.
The physical building of the synagogue in Recife apparently remained intact for almost four centuries – until the early 20th century, when it was torn down for a development project. However, in 2001 a museum was created apparently replicating the original synagogue. [Now where are those exotic–destination nice Glatt–kosher Passover tours when you need them?]