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Monday-Friday, 10am-5pm
Monday-Friday, 10am-5pm
Raymond P. Scheindlin, Ph.D. is Professor of Medieval Hebrew Literature at the Jewish Theological Seminary and a former Guggenheim Fellow. Dr. Scheindlin’s main field of research is the encounter of Hebrew and Arabic cultures in Spain, especially as embodied in the poetry of the two traditions. His books on medieval Hebrew poetry — Wine, Women, and Death: Medieval Hebrew Poems on the Good Life, dealing with secular poetry; and The Gazelle: Medieval Hebrew Poems on God, Israel, and the Soul, reflect both the academic and the literary aspects of his career. He is the author of a widely-used textbook, A Short History of the Jewish People and co-editor of The Literature of Al-Andalus. His most recent book is The Song of the Distant Dove: Judah Halevi’s Pilgrimage.
From the “Golden Age” of Spain to the present, the Sephardic community has made important contributions to Jewish, as well as Western, culture. Before the expulsion of the Jews in 1492, Spain was home to the world’s most vibrant Jewish culture—combining Hebrew and Arabic poetry, philosophy, science, and the Kabbalah.
Travel with us as we learn about the heritage, history, and mystical traditions of the Jews of northern Spain. We will explore the homeland of the Spanish Kabbalah, beginning in Barcelona, site of Gaudí’s exotic architecture and where Naḥmanides (Ramban) represented the Jewish community in the 13th-century disputation before King James of Aragon. In Barcelona, we will visit its important sites as well as enjoy a day’s outing to Girona, home to one of the most important kabbalistic schools in Europe. Other highlights of our journey will include viewing the recently discovered remnants of the Jewish community of Tarazona; studying the roots of medieval intolerance in Madrid and Ávila; and touring the surviving synagogues of Toledo.
Our accompanying scholar, Professor Ray Scheindlin, will address a wide variety of themes associated with Spanish Jewish history and culture.
Along the way, Professor Scheindlin will discuss such great personalities of Jewish and Spanish history as Naḥmanides, Judah Halevi, El Cid, and King Philip II. We will enjoy northern Spain’s stunning scenery; travel from Zaragoza to Madrid via Spain’s high-speed AVE train; visit world-class museums; and enjoy the readings of the great Spanish Hebrew poets.
Check in to the 5-star Majestic Hotel—located just steps from Las Ramblas, situated on one of Barcelona’s most prestigious boulevards and renowned for its unique architecture and upscale boutiques. Rest and relax from our journey.
Evening: Overview by our accompanying scholar, Professor Ray Scheindlin, followed by orientation and an opportunity to get to know one another. Welcoming dinner at our hotel (included).
Our day will start with a guided tour, led by Dominique Tomasov Blinder (architect and cofounder, Heritage Commission of the Jewish Communities of Catalonia), to Montjuic—said to be named for a Jewish cemetery once located on its hill. Return to Barcelona’s “Old City” for a walking tour through what was the Jewish Quarter in the Middle Ages and explore its small, unique Jewish Museum. Following a break for lunch (included), we will enjoy a walking tour through the historic Gothic Quarter, including a visit to the Picasso Museum for a private guided tour. This museum is housed in five adjoining medieval palaces and contains one of the most extensive collections of artworks by Pablo Picasso.
Evening: Festive Shabbat dinner at our hotel (included).
Morning: Free to relax, continue to explore Barcelona on our own, or attend Shabbat services at the Comunidad Israelita de Barcelona.
Afternoon: (optional) Walking tour, focusing on local Catalan architecture. Led by Dominique Tomasov Blinder, we will see examples of some of Barcelona’s best-known modernist architecture, including works by Antoni Gaudí.
Evening: Presentation by Professor Scheindlin, “Naḥmanides and the Jewish Mystical Tradition.” Dinner on our own: experience one of Barcelona’s fine restaurants.
Day trip to Girona, onetime center of Jewish mystics and kabbalists and birthplace of Naḥmanides—Rabbi (and physician) Moses ben Naḥman (known as the “Ramban”). In Girona, we will visit the Bonastruc ça Porta Center, which houses the Jewish Museum and Naḥmanides Center; the restored medieval Jewish Quarter; and the Alfama of Girona and its 11th-century cathedral. During the day, we will enjoy some free time in the area of Girona’s Ramblas. Lunch on our own.
Evening: (optional) Study group led by Professor Scheindlin for those interested in studying selected passages from Naḥmanides’ commentary on the Torah.
Depart for Zaragoza, arriving in time for lunch (included) and a tour of historical Zaragoza and Cathedral Square. This afternoon, we will visit Aljafería Palace, an 11th-century Arab palace and now home to the Aragonese Parliament, as well as the La Seo Chapterhouse Tapestry Museum. Located in the cathedral La Seo, this museum is home to a major collection of tapestries, one of the most important of its kind in the world.
Late afternoon: Check in to the deluxe NH Hotel in Zaragoza, our home for the next two nights. Rest and relax before dinner (included).
We will begin by exploring nearby Tudela, famous in Jewish history as the home of Benjamin of Tudela, one of the most important chroniclers of 12th-century Jewish communities around the world. A detailed diary of his travels provides us with one of the most important legacies of 12th-century Jewish life around the Mediterranean basin. Describing the Jewish communities of such places as Baghdad, Alexandria, Aleppo, and Tyre, his contribution to Jewish history is monumental. Following lunch on our own, we will continue to Tarazona for visits to the old Jewish Quarter and the “Hanging Houses”; a recently discovered synagogue; and the Tarazona cathedral archives, where we will have the opportunity to see fascinating, recently discovered, Hebrew documents from medieval Spain.
Evening: Presentation by Professor Scheindlin, “Abraham Ibn Ezra and Judah Halevi: Children of Tudela,” followed by dinner on our own.
This morning, we depart Zaragoza via Spain’s AVE high-speed train, arriving in Madrid less than 90 minutes later. We will have time for a short overview tour of the city before breaking for lunch on our own near the Plaza Mayor, as well as a guided tour of one of Madrid’s finest art museums. Later this afternoon, we will check in to the superbly located 5-star Relais & Châteaux Hotel Orfila, with time to rest and relax.
Evening: Free; dinner on our own.
Early morning presentation by Professor Scheindlin, “Toledo’s Jews: From Golden Age to Decline,” before we proceed on a day trip to Toledo. For centuries, the political, spiritual, and intellectual capital of Old Castile, Toledo was referred to as the “Second Jerusalem.” Walking through “Old Toledo” (once the center of medieval Spanish Jewry), we will visit Santa María la Blanca, originally a thriving synagogue and impressively decorated in a Moorish-Jewish style. Other sites of interest we will visit in Toledo include the El Tránsito Synagogue and Museum. Built in 1357 as an annex to the palace of Samuel ha-Levi, treasurer to King Peter of Castile, this historic synagogue now serves as a Sephardi museum. From Toledo, we will return to Madrid in time for dinner.
Evening: Free; dinner on our own.
Early this morning, we will drive to the charming city of Segovia, at one time a major center of Sephardic Jewry. We will walk through its picturesque Old Town and see its historic aqueduct, a symbol of Segovia and one of the best-preserved Roman aqueducts, before proceeding to Ávila, once a thriving Jewish community that was home to Rabbi Moses de León (author of the Zohar) and birthplace of Teresa of Ávila (whose grandfather was a converso).
Evening: Festive Shabbat dinner (included) at our hotel.
Morning: Free to rest and relax, or visit sites of personal interest.
Afternoon: Private guided tour of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum.
Evening: Closing meeting, followed by festive dinner (included).
Depart for home.
