By BARRY HOROWITZ

Special to The Jewish Review

Recently, my travels with my wife, Fanny, have been inspired by our reading. In 2022, “The Ornament of the World," by Maria Rosa Menocal, was the background for a six-week road-trip through Spain and Portugal. The book’s subtitle: “How Muslims, Jews and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain”, focused our attention on the history of the Jews in Spain during the time leading up to their expulsion during the Inquisition.

Last year, a piece in Hadassah Magazine, “A Sojourn in Jewish Provence” (June 2024), formed the basis of another trip, this time as an extension of a river cruise in France from Lyon to Avignon. The article described some of the history of Jews in the area of Provence in southern France, with Avignon, the final stop of our river cruise, being the center.

Modern France has Europe’s largest Jewish population with 450,000 Jews, about 60 percent of whom live in the Paris area. Marseilles is the second-largest Jewish community at about 70,000 and Lyon third with about 25,000 people. In antiquity, however, there were significant centers of Jewish life throughout Provence.

Records of Jewish presence in Avignon can be found going back to the Second Century, CE, but little is known about this history. A Jewish ghetto was established there in 1221 and a synagogue was opened around this time. The early synagogue was rebuilt around 1767 and following its destruction, by fire, in 1845, was replaced by the present building in 1846 after a design by an architect named Jeoffroy.

We visited the Avignon Synagogue, located on Place Jerusalem, and were shown around, guided only in French, by a kind local woman who spoke almost no English. Enough of our early education in Montreal enabled us to carry on the conversation. Although quite plain outside, the interior of the building is decorated with beautiful, well maintained wood railings and fixtures. In the synagogue basement, we were shown the stone, wood-fired matzoh oven.

After a couple of days visiting Avignon, we rented a car for our exploration of Jewish Provence. Our first stop was the town of Cavaillon, about 16 miles from Avignon. The Cavaillon Synagogue, formally known as the Synagogue Jewish Comtadin (‘Comtadin’ is a dialect of Provencal spoken in southern France). It was listed as an Historical Monument in 1924 by the Museum of France. The synagogue was built in the late 15th century on the foundation of an older house in Rue Hebraic.

This street, called a carrieres, was part of a ‘papal enclave’ and was the only place Jews were allowed to stay. From around 1348, the area around Avignon was a ‘papal state’ which required Jews to observe certain restrictions: They could only live in certain carreres. Men had to wear a yellow hat, women a yellow ribbon. They were only allowed certain types of work.

Beginning in 1624 through the end of the 18th Century, Jews could live only in four towns – Avignon, Cavaillon, Carpentras and I’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. These four towns came to be known as the Arba Kehilot, or four holy communities.

The street housing the Cavaillon Synagogue was a ‘dead-end’ on one side and gated on the other. Jews were locked in at night and only permitted to move about the town during the day. All of these features are visible today at the current location. The configuration of the actual synagogue is also intact with an upstairs prayer room for men and a downstairs one for women. There is an oven for baking bread and matzoh, as well as a mikvah.

Restoration of various types has gone on since the 1920s and continue today. Part of the building is now a museum with an interesting assortment of furniture, prayer books, and liturgical objects.

The final Provencal synagogue on our visit was at Carpentras another short drive through the countryside, less than 20 miles from Cavaillon. Carpentras is the oldest French Synagogue still in active use Construction of the Carpentras synagogue began in 1367; I have a kippah from the synagogue which is inscribed “650eme Anniversaire 2017 Synagogue de Carpentras” commemorating the 650th anniversary of the Synagogue.The synagogue was enlarged in two stages: from 1741-46 and then from 1774-1776. The building was classified as an historic monument in 1924.

There are several Sifrei Torah in the holy arc of the synagogue. The synagogue has a fully functioning mikvah as well as two bakeries. One is used for baking bread for Shabbat and the second which is reserved for making matzoh, called coudoles in the dialect of Provence.

As can be imagined, the Jewish population of Carpentras has fluctuated: during the second half of the 14th century the community is estimated to have about 90 families; this number decrease to 69 families after a census in 1473; in 1571 there were only 6 families; by 1669 numbers had increased to 83 families. Numbers continued to increase, reaching some 800 people in 1758. The community reached its maximum size of 1,200 people in 1760 and finally 2,000 people in 1782. An exodus then reduced the number to 690 people in 1789.

During the French Revolution the synagogue was closed for religious services in 1794, reopening in May 1800. By 1811 the Jewish population had declined to only 360 people. By the 1920’s further declines in numbers limited services to only Yom Kippur. In 1935 the Jewish population was down to 35. The synagogue was partly restored in 1930 and again in 1953. With the arrival of Jews from North Africa (mostly Algeria and Morocco) the community was reestablished and by 2017 the population was up to 125.

More information on these synagogues and their communities is available, respectively, at www.aci-avignon.com, www.cavaillon.com/infos-generales.html and www.synagoguedecarpentras.fr .

After five decades in international shipping and foreign trade development consultancy, which included columns for The Journal of Commerce and other outlets, Barry Horowitz now serves as “Uber Papa” to his seven grandchildren.