Faro Jewish Heritage Centre
- Written by Paul Rees
The only remaining vestige of the first post‐inquisition Jewish presence in Portugal. Ralf Pinto set about putting the Faro Jewish Heritage Centre on the tourist map as a means of ensuring its continued existence.
This serene resting place for 108 Jewish Souls (now including Ralf´s grave) has seen, since its restoration in 1992, the creation of the Isaac Bitton Synagogue Museum and numerous monuments to signal Jewish achievements that were central to the development of Faro and Portugal in times gone by.
To better describe what visitors can expect to see, the site was renamed “The Faro Jewish Heritage Centre” (FJHC) on the 3rd June 2007 (the opening for the Museum). The last burial of the original Jewish Community was in 1932. If you know of anyone visiting Algarve, please remember to recommend that they visit the FJHC.
2011 Faro Jewish Heritage Centre Appeal
This appeal is in honour of my late father Ralf Pinto’s (Z”L) memory. Ralf sadly passed away on the 7th of August 2011 and was buried, on the 14th of August in th eFaro Jewish cemetery, to which he had dedicated the last 21 years of his life.
If you would like to make a donation please click here to download and print our Donation Form, where you will find all the information/instructions you need.
The Board of Directors expresses their sincere thanks and appreciation for your generous donation. THANK YOU!!
The Jewish calendar year is counted from the Creation and is based on a lunar month. The first month is named Tishri.
The first 10 days of a Jewish Year are referred to as the 10 days of penitence. These 10 days are set aside for careful self-examination, of how one has failed others, oneself, but most importantly, of how on has failed G-d. The dominant themes of this period are Repentance, Judgement and Atonement. God alone sits in judgement of each individual, deciding whom He will inscribe in the Book of Life for a further year. The 10 days of Penitence culminate in Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) when the entire day from sunset to the next sunset is spent in prayer and total fasting.
The shofar, a Ram’s Horn, is sounded more than a hundred times during the New Year synagogue services worldwide. There are three different series of notes, the sounds of which are extremely moving!
The greeting offered each other at the New Year is in Hebrew, “Leshanah Tovah Tikatevu”, meaning 'may you be inscribed for a good year (in the Book of Life).'
For further information please contact:
Tel: 282416710/968440414
Fax: 282416515
Email: Ralf.Pinto@sapo.pt - this email address is still in use by José S Pinto, Ralf's son.
Website: http://www.farojewishheritagecentre.org/
