THE
HEYCHAL
As
in every traditional Synagogue, the HEYCHAL (Holy Ark) in the SNOA is situated
at the center of the eastern wall. Thus, when worshipers pray towards the
HEYCHAL, they are also facing East- in the direction of Jerusalem.
The
present HEYCHAL is 5 meters high, 3 1/2 m long and 5 1/4 wide. It has not
always been this wide though. When the Synagogue building preceding this
one was built in 1703, lack of funds prevented the congregation from building
a new Ark. So, they installed their “old” Ark in their 1703 building. Although
they started soliciting contributions for a new Ark almost immediately,
it was not until 1709 that it could be built by cabinetmaker Pieter de
Mey at a cost of 731:4 Pesos. The center part of the present HEYCHAL is,
in actuality, this 1709 Ark. The two wings “to lengthen it from pillar
to pillar” were added 42 years later, or almost 20 years after the present
building was erected! Abraham Mendes de Castro donated the mahogany beams
needed for this 1751 extension.
The
HEYCHAL is fashioned of heavy, dark-veined, richly carved red mahogany
with silver ornamentation. It has four doors in the top half and four more
at its base. Above the HEYCHAL are the Tablets of the Law, of a lighter
color mahogany, with the Ten Commandments inlaid with silver letters. Over
the Ten Commandments, also inlaid in silver, is the Biblical verse from
Malachi 3:22 “ZICHRU TORAT MOSHE AVDI “(Remember the TORAH of Moses, my
Servant).
The
HEYCHAL is the repository of the SIFREY TORAH (the Scrolls of the Law),
dressed in their mantles, crowns, finials and pointers. The Snoa’s HEYCHAL
houses seventeen TORAH scrolls, all of which are older than the present
Synagogue building. In fact, at least two of them date back to the early
fifteenth (pre-Inquisition) century. Some are even wound on silver-overlaid
rollers. At least twenty TORAH scrolls seem to have been donated to our
SNOA in the course of history, many to commemorate special occasions. They
were the gifts from: David Mordechay de Castro, Jacob de Benjamin Fidanque,
David de Mordechay Senior, Aaron da Costa Gomez, Benjamin de Casseres,
Jacob de Abraham de Andrade, Isaac Haim Rodriguez da Costa, Jacob Namias
de Crasto, Samuel de Joseph da Costa Gomez, Benjamin Lopez Henriquez, Abraham
and Ribca Jeudah Leao, Isaac de Jacob Leao, Abraham de Marchena, Moseh
de Marchena, David de Mordechay Senior, and Jacob de Sola. At
the time of the merger between Mikvé Israel and former Reform Congregation
Emanu-Él in 1964, the two SIFREY TORAHs of the Temple, were ceremoniously
paraded from the Temple to the Snoa. One of these had been donated in memory
of Oscar and Julia Semah de Valencia by their children.
The
awe in which the HEYCHAL is held is expressed in a number of ways:
- It is in front of the open HEYCHAL that, on every occasion when the TORAH is to be removed from the HEYCHAL, the prayer for the Royal Family and the local authorities is recited from the THEBAH in the Portuguese language:
“A
Sua Majestade, Beatrix, Rainha dos Países Baixos. Aos sereníssimos
Principes, Seus Filhos. A sereníssima Princessa Juliana, Sua Mãe.
Aos descendentes da Casa Real de Orange Nassau, aos ilustres Membros do
Governo destas terras e aos nobres e veneráveis senhores, Sua Excelencia
o Governador destas Ilhas e todos os Magistrados nas mesmas.”
- When distributing the honors for the TORAH service, which is likewise still done in a mixture of Portuguese and Hebrew, that of “QUE ABRIRÁ AOS PORTAS DO HEYCHAL (who will open the doors of the Heychal) is traditionally considered the highest. Tradition prescribes that on certain holidays, it is the PARNAS PRESIDENTE himself, at other times the PRESIDENTE DO ANCIANOS (Elders) who is designated to open the doors of the HEYCHAL.
- All weddings take place in front of the open HEYCHAL, so too the naming of female babies and any other special life cycle events.
A
more material expression of reverence, is the adornment of the silver escutcheons
of the top and bottom center doors with precious stones, undoubtedly the
donation of some devout members in years past.
 |
 |
 |
The
platform in front of the HEYCHAL is closed off by a mahogany balustrade
on which stand four graceful, solid brass candlesticks- exact replicas
of those of the Portuguese Synagogue of Amsterdam, and six massive ball-shaped
brass RIMONIM standards. 
The
bronze NEYR TAMID (Eternal Light) hanging over the HEYCHAL, is of a classical,
Northern-Mediterranean motif. Of a much more recent date, it was donated
in 1914 by Benjamin Shalom Delvalle in memory of his son Jacob who had
died at age nine. The buntings and lining inside the HEYCHAL are red throughout
the year except when they are changed to unblemished white for the High
Holy Days: from ROSH HASHANAH through YOM KIPPUR.
In olden days when their donors were still alive, the scrolls were used in rotation, thus giving each one its turn to be read from. Nowadays, it is only on the joyous festival of SIMCHAT TORAH that practically all of the SEFARIM, regally decked out in their crowns, finials, breastplates and brightest mantles, are removed from the HEYCHAL for the seven festive HAKKAFOT (processions) around the Synagogue, accompanied by the singing and dancing of the congregants and children. (CGC)
| The
Thebah | The
Banca | Benches
and Chairs | Illumination
The Organ | “Levantar” | The Torah | Torah Ornaments Crowns and Breastplate | Finials | Ceremonial Silver for other Occasions |
|
|
|
All Rights Reserved. |
