Jewish Heritage Trip to Spain, Portugal and Gibraltar Blog

The Jewish highlight of our second day was the morning spent in Besalu. This was a major Jewish community in the 12th-14th centuries. There, on an actual synagogue floor, now outdoors facing nature, we davened the Rosh Chodesh morning service as a group. For 45 minutes of prayer, we brought the 13th-century synagogue back to life. Our guide, Betsalel, revived a custom of sounding the shofar on this last day of Tishrei, one last time, linking the end of the month to how it began on Rosh Hashanah. 

We visited a medieval mikvah adjacent to the synagogue. Annually, a Jewish cultural fair takes place in Besalu to keep the history of this Jewish community alive. One of the souvenir stores is called "the Mezuzah shop" and contains a few Jewish trinkets at the entrance.

During the afternoon, we saw highlights of Barcelona, including the famous Sagrada Familia. In the evening, we had dinner and met members of the local JCC.

Tomorrow, we fly early to Granada.

It was another great day.