Draft:Ets Haim Synagogue (Angra do Heroísmo)

The Ets Haim Synagogue ("Tree of Life") was located in the historic center of Angra do Heroísmo, on Terceira Island, in the Azores, in Portugal.

History

Founded in the second half of the 19th century, its history was first heavily connected to the life and work of the Jewish merchant Mimom ben Abraham Abohbot, who was its founder and served as its officiant and religious master. It was established in his residence and was also inaugurated when he borrowed a Torah from Rabbi Judah Azagury, who left the Azores to live in Lisbon.

As a consequence of the spread of liberal ideas in Portugal, several Jewish families living in Morocco, many of Portuguese ancestry (Sephardic), began to move to Portugal, particularly to the Algarve and the Azores, where they settled from the 1820s onwards. This migratory wave consisted of individuals who identified as British citizens initially, although later they became Portuguese nationals.

The Portuguese liberal monarchy allowed for the existence of various religious cults in its Constitution, while maintaining Catholicism as the official religion of the State. For example, this led to synagogues not being authorized to have direct access to the public road; it had to have a courtyard or intermediary area of connection.

Among the representative surnames of Jewish families in Angra do Heroísmo, include:

• Abohbot
• Athias
• Baroche
• Benarus
• Ben Ayon
• Benithé (ou Benitarre)
• Benjamim
• Ben-Sabat (ou Bensabat)
• Benzaquim
• Bozaglo
• Cohen
• Hanon
• Levy
• Sabag
• Seriqui
• Zagori

Mimom Abohbot

Mimom Abohbot was a Sephardic Jew born in Mogador. He was the son of Abraham Abohbot and Raquel Abohbot and was educated in Jewish studies and theology. The exact date of his arrival in the Azores or Angra is unknown, but historian Pedro de Merelim's first reference to him dates back to March 5, 1827, in the Book of the Port of the General Captaincy of the Azores. In 1833, he married Elisabeth Davis Abohbot in London, through a Jewish contract written in the Hebrew language, which is recorded in the register book of the "Porta do Céu" synagogue.

In 1835, he took advantage of the public auction of national assets from the dissolved convents in 1834 and acquired the property of the former Convent of Esperança, located at the corner of Sé Street and Esperança Street, where the RIAC facilities and TAP store are currently located. He remodeled and reconstructed this old building, giving it the appearance it retains today, and established his residence there. Later, in 1857, he acquired a farm in Canada dos Folhadais. In Terceira, he became a prominent merchant with establishments in Angra, selling goods on credit and lending money at interest. He also exported oranges to Great Britain. The newspapers of the time and public references portray him as a socially respected figure, not only within the Jewish community but throughout the city. He passed away in Angra do Heroísmo on July 21, 1875, "reciting Psalms of David," and was buried in the Campo da Igualdade cemetery, located on Caminho Novo, in the same city.

Citations

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• Synagogues
• Synagogues in Portugal
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