BENCHES
AND CHAIRS
There
are several types of benches and chairs in our SNOA. Each one serves a
specific purpose. All the benches are made of mahogany. Those on the ground
floor are heavier; they have closed straight backs and are less comfortable
than their lighter, more graceful counterparts in the women’s galleries.
The seats of the benches on the ground floor- where only men were allowed
to sit when there was separate seating (before 1964)- serve as covers for
the compartments underneath where one could store (and lock) his TALLIT
and other religious articles. The custom of assigned seating was abolished
with the introduction of mixed seating after the merger with Temple Emanu-Él
in 1964. Before that, payment of yearly dues or “finta” entitled a member
family to assigned seating; the location of that seat was determined by
the MAHAMAD. A member could be fined for sitting in a seat which was not
his! In 1932, the Board had nameplates attached to the backs of the benches
so that non-members would know which places were taken and which were not.
The
single-seat benches on the ground floor had a special purpose in the Synagogue.
For instance: the ornate ones in front of the pillars- on either side of
the entrance- were assigned to the PARNAS DE FÁBRICA (the member
in charge of buildings and properties) and to the PARNAS DE CHEVRAH (the
member in charge of burials). Four similar benches were located along the
wall to the left of the entrance. These were specifically reserved for
the teachers in the congregation’s MEDRAS (religious school), proof of
the importance which our forefathers attached to the religious education
of their children and the respect afforded to teachers. 
The
dark mahogany benches flanking either side of the BANCA, were reserved
for the sexton or SHAMASH and his assistant, so that they would be easily
accessible to the MAHAMAD or DIRECTIVA to assist them during services.
In
a possible effort to duplicate a custom in Amsterdam (his pulpit prior
to Curaçao), Chacham Aaron. M. Chumaceiro had a unique “swinging”
chair built as part of the TEBAH extension in 1858. The back of that chair
serves as a divider between the original THEBAH and the pulpit. Known as
the CHACHAM’S CHAIR, he- and Rabbis after him- occupied this special chair
when they were not personally leading the service. This custom, discontinued
around the middle of the twentieth century when Mikvé Israel’s spiritual
leaders started to personally conduct the complete service, was reintroduced
by Rabbi Aaron Peller on ROSH HASHANAH 5742.
During
the morning service on SIMCHAT TORAH, two chairs are placed on either side
of the HEYCHAL next to each other in front of the side balustrades. The
two CHATANIM (Bridegrooms) occupy the chairs of honor closest to the doors
and two members of the DIRECTIVA, serving as ACOMPAÑADORES (Companions),
sit next to them during the entire service.
It
is still customary for parents, celebrating the birth of their son, to
borrow the Synagogue’s almost 300-year old “Chair of Elijah” for the B’RIT
(the circumcision) ceremony in their home. Until recently, it was traditional
for the MADRINA (Godmother) dressed all in white, to carry the baby boy
on a cushion from his room to the waiting PADRINO (Godfather) already seated
on the chair. Upon entering the room, the assembled guests (the men holding
lit candles) would welcome the child by singing BARUCH HABAH, the same
prayer that welcomes a bride when she enters the Synagogue for her wedding.
The PADRINO would then place the baby, still on the cushion, between his
knees on the shelf attached to the front part of the chair. The MOHEL,
his instruments laid out on the swivel shelf on the side of the chair,
and the father, would then proceed to bring the boy into the Covenant.
After the ceremony, the MOHEL would carry the child back to his room and
the guests were served hot chocolate and “Pan Levi”, a flat cookie traditionally
baked by Sephardic Jews of Curaçao. (RDLM)| The
Thebah | The
Heychal | The
Banca | Illumination
The Organ | “Levantar” | The Torah | Torah Ornaments |
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