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Naftali Herstik, Alberto Mizrachi, Benzion Miller with the Neimah Singers – Tumbalalaika

Naftali Herstik, Alberto Mizrachi, Benzion Miller with the Neimah Singers – Tumbalalaika. From the concert “Cantors; A Faith in Song” recorded in the Portuguese Synagogue of Amsterdam in 2003.

History of the Jewish community in Amsterdam: “In 1492 Spain expelled its Jewish population. Many who fled to Portugal were nevertheless forcibly baptised after 1496. More than 100 years later, their descendants – victims of the Inquisition who wished to live as Jews – began to arrive in Amsterdam. At that time the Dutch Republic was at war with Spain, so to avoid being identified with the Spanish enemy these refugees from the Iberian peninsula called themselves ‘Portuguese’ Jews. During the seventeenth century large numbers of Ashkenazi Jews arrived from Central and Eastern Europe. They soon formed the largest Jewish community in Amsterdam and Holland.”

No Electricity, No Heating
This synagogue has been preserved in its seventeenth century state, which means all light is provided by hundreds of candles and there’s no heating system.