Overview and Brief History:
While Judaism is a religion and, therefore, in some sense, beyond the scope of this project, it is also the basis for a cultural community. Many centuries ago, Jewish people traveled outward from their homeland, establishing communities from Europe to China to Africa. Conversion, primarily from intermarriage, has created a racial and ethnic diversity within Judaism that spans global possibility. However, Jewish history is traceable to one geographic region, and one people. Jewish people trace their ancestry to one man named Abraham. Abraham is credited with having established the belief in one God, contrary to the pantheistic beliefs of the time. Abraham, his son Isaac, and grandson Jacob are the patriarchs of the Jewish religion. Jacob had twelve sons, and these sons became the heads of the 12 legendary Jewish tribes. In the 14th century BCE (Before Common Era), Jews were led out of slavery in Egypt and, after forty years of nomadic existence in the desert, came eventually to the land believed to have been promised by God to the descendants of Abraham. This is the land now known as Israel. Israelites ruled the area from about 1250-587 BCE. Jerusalem became the capital city under the reign of King David (1000 BCE), and his son, King Solomon (970-931 BCE), built what is known as the first Temple there. In 587, Babylonian armies took Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple, and Jews were exiled from their homeland.

From that point forward Jerusalem and Israel were ruled by foreign powers, at one time or another controlled by most of the powerful empires of the ages, among them Persian, Greek, Roman, Ottoman, and British. Later in the century, Persian King Cyrus II allowed the Jews to come back into Israel, and a second Temple was built. In the first century BCE, the Roman Empire conquered the region. In the year 70 CE, in response to a four year Jewish revolt, the second Temple was destroyed. Jews were cut off from their Holy city of Jerusalem, and many left Israel altogether. This lead to the creation of the Jewish Diaspora. People migrated to other parts of the Roman Empire, primarily to North Africa and Europe. With geographic and cultural distance, two distinct veins of Judaism emerged. Jews of the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa came to be known as the Sephardim, and Jews settling in Central and Eastern Europe, and Russia, came to be known as Ashkenazim.

In the early part of the 20th century, many Jews migrated back to Israel (then Palestine, and under Ottoman rule until after WWI). After WWII, and the tragedy of the Holocaust, an independent Israeli state was born. May 14, 1948, is Israel’s Day of Independence, and the day the last British troops left the region. The following day, May 15th, Israel was invaded by five Arab states. Since its inception, the State of Israel has been in conflict with Arab states surrounding it. On both sides of the struggle there are people who seek peaceful resolution to the conflict, and on both sides there are those who do not.

There is no census information for Jews living in Albuquerque as there is no separate Jewish category. However, in a report put out by the City of Albuquerque’s Human Rights Office entitled Reflections on Jewish-American Heritage the number of Jews living in the State of New Mexico as of 1994 was approximately 10,000.

While Albuquerque Jews would undoubtedly consider themselves to be part of an over-arching Jewish community, cultural differences between Sephardi and Ashkenazi groups, and cultural and religious differences between Ashkenazi subgroups have created several smaller Jewish communities within the city. The term Sephardic is used to refer to Diaspora communities from the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa, Greece, Turkey, Iraq, and Syria. Sepharad is a place name taken from the bible that has been used in reference to Spain since the Middle Ages. Sephardic tradition holds that Jews arrived in Spain as exiles from Jerusalem. Jews were persecuted in Spain under the Visigoths in the 7th century, but flourished under later Muslim rule. Part of Spain came under Christian rule in the 11th century, and Jews thrived then, as well. The tides of religious tolerance began to turn in the 14th century. By the 15th century, religious suppression was so harsh that Jews began leaving Spain.

1492 was the year of the voyage of Christopher Columbus, the year that Muslims lost their last stronghold, Granada, on the Iberian Peninsula, and the year of the Jewish Expulsion from Spain. Several hundred thousand Jews left the Peninsula at that time. Some returned to Israel, while others found new homes in Morocco, Italy, Egypt, the lands of the Ottoman Empire, and eventually in the “New World.” As of this writing, while there are many Sephardic Jews living in the Albuquerque area, and Sephardic traditions are incorporated to some degree by Ashkenazi congregations, there is no specifically Sephardic congregation.

The term Ashkenazi refers to Jews who settled in Central and Eastern Europe, and in Russia. Ashenaz is the traditional Hebrew word for Germany, again taken from the Bible in the book of Genesis. Use of the word to refer to Germany shows up in Jewish literature as early as the 10th century. Over the course of time some Ashkenazic and Sephardic cultural and religious traditions grew in different directions. Food restrictions, liturgy, music, festival traditions, and Hebrew pronunciation are all areas in which these differences are apparent. Where there are large communities of Jews, both Ashkenazi and Sephardi living side by side, such as in Israel and the United States, many of the differences have disappeared. Today, more than three quarters of the world’s Jewish population is Ashkenazi.

While the Sephardim have remained homogeneous, the Ashkenazim have formed multiple subdivisions. Many of these subgroups are represented in the Albuquerque area. Until the 19th century, all Ashkenazi Jews followed basically the practices that are now called Orthodox. Orthodox Jews believe that ancient Jewish Law is just as relevant today as it was when it was written. Orthodoxy grew significantly in the U.S. when Jews from Eastern Europe arrived in the late 19th century. When Israel became a state in 1948, Orthodox Judaism became the state religion.

Hasidism is a branch of Orthodox Judaism. The Hebrew word Hasid means “pious.” Hasidism came out of Poland and Ukraine in the 18th century at a time when Jews in Eastern Europe were subject to severe restrictions and repression. The Hasidic movement was a response to the despair felt by Jews at that time. Hasidism was founded by charismatic leader Rabbi Israel ben-Eliezer (d. 1760), called Ba’al Shem Tov, or Master of the Good Name. Early Hasidism incorporated Jewish Mysticism found in the Kabbalah with Jewish Law. Services utilize a version of Sephardic liturgy associated with use by Kabalists. Hasidism stresses God’s presence in all things, including objects, thoughts, and actions. Other focuses are community, ecstatic religious experiences, and joy through singing, dancing, storytelling, etc. Disciples of Ba’al Shem Tov went on to form various movements within Hasidim. Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, part of the Lubavitcher Hasidic movement, started the Chabad Houses. Chabad is an acronym for the Hebrew words for wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. Chabad of New Mexico is located in Albuquerque on San Pedro in the NE Heights.

Reform Judaism began in Germany in the very early 19th century. Reform came out of an attempt to reconcile Jewish Law with modern living. During reform services men and women sit together, whereas during Orthodox services they sit separately. Reform liturgy started including the use of local languages along with the traditional Hebrew. Musical instruments, which had been banned from use in services since the destruction of the second Temple, were to be found in synagogues again. Reform members are educated in various aspects of the Halacha (the full body of Jewish Law) and asked to make their own decisions building upon that education. Reform theology is focused on the Spirit rather than the letter of Jewish Law. Congregation Albert, Albuquerque’s first Jewish synagogue, is the home of Albuquerque’s Reform community.

Conservative Judaism began later in the 19th century, and in response to the Reform movement, which was believed to have gone too far. The Conservative movement, which also began in Germany, attempts to find a balance between tradition and the modern. Conservatives believe that Jewish Law must be interpreted within the context of current society. Conservative practices are adjusted to modern conditions, but dietary restrictions, Saturday Shabbath, and Jewish traditional values are still upheld. B’nai Israel is the Conservative congregation in Albuquerque.

Jewish Renewal is a recent movement within Judaism that unites elements of both Ashkenazic and Sephardic practice. Jewish Renewal combines a kind of Neo-Hasidic reclamation of traditional ritual and mysticism with some of the ideas of feminism. Jewish Renewal seeks a return to the spiritual, combined with the political aim of moving away from materialism and toward altruism. Renewal opens the door for the creative transformation of Jewish liturgy and law. Through dance, music, art, and storytelling, members of Jewish Renewal express their relationship to God, to their religion, and to the world around them. Albuquerque’s Jewish Renewal Congregation is Nahalat Shalom.

There are several other Jewish groups and organizations, some of which are housed at the recently constructed Henry and Jeanette Weinberg Jewish Community Campus. Organizations located on the campus include the Jewish Federation of Greater Albuquerque, the Roland Gardenswartz Jewish Community Center, the Solomon Schechter Day School, Jewish Family Service, and the editorial offices of the monthly Jewish newspaper, The Link.

The New Mexico Jewish Historical Society explores and presents New Mexico's Jewish heritage.

Immigration to the United States and Albuquerque:
Jewish immigration to the United States began very early in this country’s history. Three main waves of immigration took place from Europe. However, because Jews have migrated from many parts of the world there have been many smaller waves of immigration, as well. The earliest group of Jews to arrive in the U.S. came from Brazil after courts of the Catholic Inquisition were set up in South America. Twenty-three Jews came to the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam (later New York) in the mid-17th century. By 1690 a congregation was formed which, by 1729, had built the first Jewish synagogue in the United States. Shortly after this initial arrival, a group of Ashkenazi Jews came from Holland and settled in Newport, Rhode Island. This community’s synagogue, built in 1764, remains standing. More early Spanish-Portuguese Sephardic communities settled in South Carolina and Georgia. Eventually, there were small Jewish communities all along the Atlantic and in various places in the South.

The second wave of Jewish immigration was made up of Jews from Germany. Perhaps 250,000 German Jews came between the years of 1820 and 1880. Overpopulation, the transformation from an agricultural to an industrial economy, and the resultant scarcity of resources in Germany contributed to a shifting attitude toward Jews. Restrictions were placed on employment and living quarters. Eventually, repressive governmental practices created an unbearable environment and Jews began leaving Germany. In the United States, this wave of Jewish immigrants moved west with the expansion of the country. Large communities emerged in Chicago, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis. Initially, young men searching for employment were the majority of those who came, but after the failed German revolution of 1848, older, more educated German Jews began arriving. These Jews, who often arrived with very little, became peddlers and traders, eventually opening small businesses. The majority of these German Jewish immigrants came from the newly established Reform movement. Many social institutions were started by immigrants from this wave. In 1846, Isaac Mayer Wise founded the Jewish paper, the Israelite, along with the first rabbinical educational institution, the Hebrew Union College, in Cincinnati, Ohio. By 1880, there were 270 synagogues in the U.S.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Jews migrated to the U.S. from the lands of the collapsed Ottoman Empire, from Iraq, and from Syria. After the 1881 assassination of Alexander II, massive pogroms took place in Russia. Jews were forced onto a kind of reservation called the “Pale of Settlement.” Many Russian Jews fled to the U.S.; upwards of two million came at this time. These immigrants were often unskilled laborers and found employment in factories, mines, and the newly developing garment industry. Many also set up small businesses. Whole family groups arrived in this wave, many of them Hasidic, and established tight-knit communities in which their Orthodox ways of living could be maintained.

Many Jews became involved in unionization and in left-wing organizations, including the American Socialist Party. Jewish scientists took part in major innovations such as the television, aircraft development, and the atom bomb. After the revolution in Russia in 1917, U.S. government became afraid of similar sentiments arising here. The government targeted radicals and left-wing organizations. Raids imprisoned hundreds, often without charges. Many, including several Jews, were deported back to Russia.

During and after World War I, changes in US immigration laws restricted the inflow of Jewish immigrants. Jews from Yemen were given special entry during the 1930’s, but another large Jewish immegration did not occur until after the Second World War, when thousands came having lost home, and often family.

With the establishment of an Israeli state in 1948, growing Arab nationalistic feelings caused many Jews to leave Arab and other Middle Eastern countries. These Jews often relocated to Israel, but many came to the United States. Hungarian Jews arrived with their fellow countrymen after the Soviet take over, as did the Cuban revolution bring a fair number of Cuban Jews. With the overthrow of the Shah, Jews came from Iran, and with the collapse of the Soviet Union more Soviet Jews came from Russia. And, finally, a number of immigrants from Israel enter the United States each year.

There are two stories of Jewish immigration to New Mexico. The more common story, of the arrival of primarily Ashkenazi Jews in the mid-19th century along with other “pioneers” of the time, has been joined by another earlier story of the arrival of so-called Crypto-Jews, or Hidden Jews, of Spanish descent. These immigrants moved north from Mexico, along the Rio Grande, to avoid discovery by the Spanish Inquisition.

The Catholic Inquisition was instituted in Rome in the early 13th century to find and punish Christian “heretics.” The Inquisition spread through most of Central and Western Europe. Christians accused of heresy had their property confiscated, and those found guilty were burned at the stake in well-attended public executions. In 1242, the Talmud (Jewish written law) was condemned, and by 1288 the Inquisition had begun executing Jews alongside Christian “heretics.” Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain were granted an Inquisition tribunal in 1478, and by 1481 the Spanish Inquisition had begun.

Many Jews converted to Christianity in an attempt to avoid persecution. Conversion did not, however, guarantee immunity. Between 1481 and 1493 over 13,000 converted Jews, or conversos, were put on trial by the Inquisition. The year 1492 brought the Edict of Expulsion, when practicing Jews were forced out of Spain altogether. Many Jews leaving Spain traveled to the Ottoman Empire, which had a history of religious tolerance. Other Spanish Jews, those who had converted to Christianity, stayed in Spain. Many had outwardly taken on the practices of Christianity, but kept up Jewish religious practices in secret, at home. These Jews came to be called Marranos (this is the Spanish word for pig and is thought to have been used by practicing Jews to refer to these converts who had to eat pork, which is forbidden by Jewish Law, publicly to prove their conversion), and in Hebrew are known as the Anusim.

When Spain began to look for volunteers to fill their colonies in the “New World,” many of these conversos took the opportunity to escape the Inquisition. Beginning in 1580, however, Spain set up Inquisition courts in Peru, Colombia, and Mexico. Conversos were obvious targets for the new Inquisition, and so it is believed that many conversos traveled along the Rio Grande, settling from El Paso to what is now Southern Colorado.

In the 1980’s, Professors Stanley Hordes and Tomás Atencio of the University of New Mexico began to uncover some possible links between the practices of some early New Mexico Hispanic families and Judaism. Candles lit on Friday nights, abstinence from pork, menorahs carved on gravestones, observance of Saturday, and not Sunday, as a day of rest, and family concentration on the Old Testament to the exclusion of the New Testament are just a few of the practices that emerged. Some families passed on the information to new generations that they had once been practicing Jews, while some let that knowledge be buried by the years. This has left some New Mexico Hispanic Catholics questioning their heritage, and has sparked an academic debate that continues today.

Ashkenazi Jews began arriving in New Mexico in the mid-19th century with the opening of the Santa Fe Trail and after the war with Mexico when New Mexico became a U.S. territory. Jewish settlers easily became a part of the fabric of New Mexico’s quickly growing communities. The Second National Bank in Santa Fe, and New Mexico’s first steam powered flour mill were both started by Jewish immigrants. Jews came to New Mexico to become ranchers, miners, farmers, and government workers. Albuquerque’s first mayor, Henry Jaffe, was Jewish. Jewish immigrants also became well-respected merchants. Charles Ilfeld, Max Nordhaus, and the Spiegelberg family each ran successful mercantiles.

Jewish Pioneers of New Mexico 1821 - 1917: An exhbition at Santa Fe's Palace of the Governors

In 1882, a chapter of B’nai Brith, a Jewish fraternal service organization, was started in Albuquerque. In 1886, New Mexico’s first Jewish synagogue was built in Las Vegas. A large Jewish merchant community was forming in Albuquerque around the railroad throughout the 1880s and ‘90s. In 1897 a Jewish congregation was officially formed and given the name Congregation Albert, after one of the congregation’s founding members recently deceased. In 1898, a Rabbi was brought in from England and, by 1900, the synagogue, Temple Albert, located in downtown Albuquerque on the corner of Seventh and Gold, was complete. The congregation has since moved its location twice, and is currently on Louisiana.

Another early Jewish immigrant family to arrive in New Mexico was the Bibo family. Several Bibo siblings made the journey to the United States and New Mexico from Prussia. Ten in all, they set up businesses, served as postmasters, and worked in government positions. At least three of the Bibo brothers became actively involved with Native American populations. Nathan Bibo became sub-Agent of Indian Affairs for the Navajo, and also worked extensively with the Apache. Brothers Solomon and Emile Bibo set up a trading post on Acoma Pueblo. The brothers learned the native languages, and aided the Indian communities in dealing with Hispanics and the newly arriving northerners, in land and other disputes. Solomon Bibo married an Acoma woman, and became so immersed in pueblo life that he was elected tribal governor, which is the equivalent of tribal chief.

Many of Albuquerque’s more recent Jewish immigrants have come for education and employment. Many scientists at both Los Alamos National Laboratories and Sandia Labs have been Jewish. A Jewish architect designed many of the buildings of Los Alamos, and also the Albuquerque tram, which has the longest span of any in the world. The Jewish community, as it has grown in Albuquerque, has widened its religious, ideological, and cultural scope. The discovery of the connection between early Hispanic settlers and Sephardic Judaism has opened yet another avenue for this expansion.

Cultural Traditions:
Over the centuries, many Jewish languages developed as hybrids of the Hebrew-Aramaic spoken in Israel and the local language of wherever a Jewish community emerged. These languages were almost always written using the Hebrew script. Many of them have become extinct, some leaving little trace, others leaving products of a rich literary tradition, such as Judeo-Persian. Some Judeo hybrid languages are still spoken, such as Judeo-Arabic in North Africa and parts of Asia, and Judeo-Spanish, or Ladino, also in North Africa, in the Balkan countries, and in the United States. Ladino was historically written in Hebrew script, but is now written in Latin script.

Ladino is a language that developed in pre-16th century Spain, before the Expulsion. While Spanish speakers and Ladino speakers can generally understand each other, it is 500 year old Spanish that the Ladino speaker is using. Ladino developed even more in the Diasporic communities after Jews left Spain. While Spanish is the language of New Mexico’s earliest colonial settlers, there are remnants of Ladino in the speech of those of Jewish descent. Nahalat Shalom, the Jewish Renewal congregation in Albuquerque, holds one service a month in Ladino, and congregation musical groups include traditional Ladino songs.

Yiddish is the traditional language of the Ashkenazim from Central and Eastern Europe. The language emerged during the 12th century. It is considered an Indo-European language of the Germanic branch, but is really a fusion between German, Hebrew-Aramaic, Slavic, and other languages with which Jews in these regions came into contact. In Yiddish, the word “Yidish” means, simply, Jewish. Yiddish has an extensive literary tradition which saw its golden era in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There were perhaps eleven million Yiddish speakers before the Holocaust. Loss of life in the Holocaust, language assimilation in America, and the shift to spoken Hebrew in Israel, put Yiddish in danger of becoming a language of the past. However, Yiddish has greatly influenced the spoken Hebrew language over the last century, and many Yiddish words, such as glitch, maven, klutz, and schmooze, have found their way into everyday American English. As well, some Orthodox and Hasidic communities still use Yiddish for everyday life, and the recent worldwide drive to reconnect with ethnic traditions has launched a resurgence in Yiddish classes.

Hebrew is the oldest living Jewish language, with a three thousand year history. It is the language in which Jewish history was originally written. Hebrew is believed to have separated from Phoenician in the 12th century BCE. It is part of the Canaanite branch of the Semitic language family. A Hebrew alphabet was developed around 100 BCE, which consists of 22 letters, all of which are consonants. A system of dots and dashes used to indicate vowels was developed in the 8th century CE. From about 200 BCE until 1880, Hebrew did not function as a spoken language, but was rather a written and liturgical language.

At the turn of the 19th century, Israel was multilinguistic, with Turkish, Arabic, Yiddish and Ladino spoken, among others. It was at this time that the revival of Hebrew began to take place. Initially, Hebrew was re-introduced in secular literature. The Hebrew that was used was Biblical Hebrew, and would not have translated into a comfortable spoken language. A spoken Hebrew was then developed that layered all the languages historical phases. In the late 19th century, people began to attempt to use this version of Hebrew as a daily language, and by the early 20th century a language community had formed. Modern Hebrew is also heavily influenced in both structure and vocabulary by Aramaic, the language that replaced Ancient Hebrew as the Jewish spoken language, as well as Yiddish, Russian, and Polish. Many Arabic and English words have also become part of the language. In 1948, Hebrew became the official language of the new State of Israel. Hebrew is now the primary language for several million people.

There are many foods associated with Jewish traditions. Some Jewish foods are not tied in to specific holiday celebrations, such as Kugel, which is a dish similar to bread pudding made out of noodles or potatoes. Kugel can be sweet or savory. Other foods do have ritual significance, such as the braided egg bread, called Challah, that is eaten on the Friday night of the Shabbath. Grocery stores in Albuquerque frequently carry ingredients for holiday foods. Gefüllte fish is often eaten at Passover, which is the celebration of the Exodus of the Jews out of Egypt, and which is also the beginning of the harvest season in Israel. Gefüllte is a mixture of finely chopped fish, usually whitefish, carp or pike, blended with eggs, matzah meal, and seasoning. It is then shaped into balls and simmered in vegetable broth. It is usually served cold.

During Passover, or Pesach, it is tradition that no leavened bread or leavening agents be present in the home. This is in remembrance of the hurried atmosphere when Jews were preparing to leave Egypt; there would have been no time to let bread rise. Matzah is a simple mixture of flour and water that cooks very quickly and that is usually found in the form of big crackers that take the place of bread. Matzah meal and flour can be used to make a variety of dishes, such as cookies and the matzah balls for matzah ball soup.

While Pesach is a week long celebration which includes other rituals, the most commonly known and practiced is the Seder dinner. Foods found at the Seder dinner include vegetables (often parsley) dipped in saltwater to symbolize the tears shed during slavery in Egypt, bitter vegetables (generally horseradish or romaine lettuce) to symbolize the bitterness of slavery, and charoset, a mixture of apples, nuts, spices, and wine. During Chanukah, the eight-day Jewish festival of lights commemorating the rededication of the second Temple, latkes, or potato pancakes, are often eaten. Latkes are fried in oil; it is tradition at Chanukah to eat fried foods as a representation of the lamp oil that is central to the celebration. Hamantaschen, a triangle-shaped pastry, is eaten on Purim, the celebration of Queen Esther, who liberated the Jews in Persia. Hamantaschen are shaped to represent the villain of the Purim story’s hat. They are filled with poppy seeds or fruit.

Another Jewish cultural tradition that is passed on in Albuquerque is that of storytelling. Jewish culture has a rich tradition of storytelling, with stories often being told by Rabbis. Rabbis tell not only traditional stories, but also moral epics, jokes and riddles. The Rabbi of Albuquerque’s Jewish Renewal congregation was one of the first seven women to be identified as a Rabbi in Jewish history. After being ordained, she was asked to speak nationally about women in Judaism. She began to use stories rather than lectures to convey a variety of Jewish women’s experiences to her audiences. The success of this experiment led her to use storytelling in the interest of peace and of Jewish/Palestinian reconciliation. Storytelling can be used to break through the resistance that many have to understanding the other side of the argument. She is now a traveling storyteller in addition to her role as Rabbi at Nahalat Shalom.

Artistic Traditions:
Not until the Enlightenment in the 18th century did Jewish artists begin to do art for Jewish ceremonial purposes. Albuquerque is home to many Jewish artists. Congregation Nahalat Shalom, alone, possesses more than three dozen artists engaged in the performing arts, sculpture, woodworking, painting and pottery, among others. Nahalat Shalom has a mentorship arts program and has hosted the Simcha Jewish Arts Festival. Present in Albuquerque, there is both art with Jewish content and art used for Jewish ceremonial purposes (called Judaica). Several galleries in Albuquerque display Judaica, especially menorahs. One such gallery, the Bashert Art Gallery on the plaza in Old Town, has a large selection of menorahs in many styles, using a variety of materials. Many, but not all, of the artists are from New Mexico, and several of the menorahs are obviously influenced by the Southwest.

Jewish art, like Jewish music and language, has often adopted the styles of the art with which it has had prolonged contact, creating Jewish objects, but with the aesthetic style of the local culture. One Albuquerque Jewish potter combines the Jewish honoring of the Word with Southwest Pueblo Indian honoring of the Earth through the creation of ceremonial objects of clay. Mimbres clay bowls, with traditional designs painted on the interior, inspired Jewish ceremonial prayer bowls with traditional Jewish designs and words painted inside. “Blessing shields” are an extension of the ceremonial bowl concept, inscribed with Hebrew words asking for healing and protection. This artist also designs plates that are used in the Seder dinner, and earthenware oil-burning menorahs.

Other Albuquerque Jewish artists create Judaica in wood and stone. The mezuzah is a small container holding two portions of the Torah written on parchment that Jews attach to doorposts. Mezuzot (the plural of mezuzah), and menorot (plural of menorah) have become not just religious tradition, but areas for artistic exploration as well. These artists have also made arcs, which are wooden cabinets that hold the Torah, teaks, which are a portable Sephardic style of arc, and bimahs, which are the platforms on which the Rabbi or cantor stand. One of these artists has revived the Jewish tradition of the mizrach in his art. The mizrach is a decorative plate used in Europe, and hung to designate East, which is the direction to face for prayer. The influence of the Southwest shows up in both style and choice of materials. This artist is the director of the Nob Hill Gallery, which is a co-operative gallery.

The compelling story of New Mexico’s “crypto-Jews” has become inspiration to several Jewish artists. In 1998, The Conquistador, an opera by Myron Fink, opened in Santa Fe. The opera chronicled the story of Don Luis de Carvajal, a successful Crypto-Jew in Northern Mexico, who made the journey north to land that is now New Mexico in the 16th century, upon being investigated by the Inquisition. Artist Diana Bryer represents the lives of New Mexico’s Crypto-Jews in paintings that are shown in galleries across the country. Artist Nathanael Putnam was a finalist in an international Judaica design competition with his creation of a hidden mezuzah, disguised as a traditional Catholic retablo.

Because Jewish people have lived in so many places around the world, there are many Jewish musical traditions. Jewish music often took on many of the local traditions and musical forms. The musical tradition that emerged in Eastern and Central Europe is called Klezmer. The word Klezmer comes from the Hebrew Klei Zemer, or instrument of music, meaning both the musical instruments and the musicians themselves. Traditionall, the word Klezmer was used to refer to the musicians. Only in the last fifty, or so, years has the word come to be used to refer to the music, as well.

Klezmer has its roots in Middle Ages Eastern Europe. It began as a combination of cantorial prayer music - sung, but wordless - Hasidic melodies, and local folk music traditions. Klezmer musicians, or Klezmorim, picked up rhythm, tempo, and tunes from Slavs, Greeks, Turks, Hungarian Magyar, Arabs, Lithuanians, Latvians, Romanians, and Gypsies. Klezmer tunes were created to accompany dancing, and to accompany Jewish life rituals, especially weddings. Improvisation was, and is, a fundamental element of Klezmer music. Klezmorim were judged not only for skill, but also for their ability to adapt to any situation.

Traditional Klezmer instruments included fiddle, flute, drum and cymbal, and the tsimble, a kind of hammered dulcimer. Wind, brass, cello, accordion, and even piano were added in the 19th century. Today, just about any instrument can find a place in Klezmer music. Some of the more recent additions include guitar, xylophone, tambourine, banjo, sitar, and tabla. Traditional Klezmer music is instrumental, but is now at times accompanied by a solo singer. Klezmer music came to the United States at the end of the 19th century. Initially quite successful, as times changed Klezmer became more nostalgia than living art form.

Beginning in the 70’s, Klezmer has seen a worldwide revival as the World Music scene has grown. Today’s Klezmer bands employ modes from other musical styles, just as Klezmer musicians have done throughout the music’s history. In the United States, Klezmer has been combined with elements of Jazz, Blues, rock, experimental, and even Hip-Hop. Two examples of contemporary Klezmer bands are the Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band and the Klezmatics.

Albuquerque is home to several Klezmer bands. Among them are the New Shtetl Band, The Rebbe's Orkestra, and the Nahalat Shalom Community Klezmer Band. Several of Albuquerque’s Jewish musicians also play Yiddish, Balkan, and Russian folk songs, and Sephardic music from Spain, Greece, Turkey and the Middle East.

A dance group, the Rikud Yiddish Dance Troupe, founded and directed by Nahalat Shalom's rabbi emeritus Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb, perpetuates the rare art of Yiddish dancing. Rikud rehearses regularly, accompanied by the Community Klezmer band, on Sundays at Nahalat Shalom on Rio Grande. The rehearsals are open to the general public and all are encouraged to join in the music and dance.

Annual Events and Festivals:
The Hebrew calendar calculates years by the sun, while calculating months by the moon. Each Hebrew month begins with the arrival of the new moon. The twelve Hebrew months add up to 354 days, and so an extra month is added every two or three years to make up the difference. The current Hebrew calendar was introduced in the year 358 CE. The number of the Jewish year is calculated by adding 3760 to the civil year. This was figured by adding ages in the bible all the way back to the story of creation.

There are several Jewish holidays that are celebrated in Albuquerque. The Jewish Federation of Greater Albuquerque and the Jewish Community Center sponsor a Chanukah festival, the yearly Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) celebration, and the Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) gathering. These celebrations are secular in nature in that they do not include religious services, and Jews of any affiliation are invited to attend.

There are many religious celebrations that are maintained in Albuquerque, as well. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, and falls on the first and second days of the seventh Jewish month of Tishrei. The term Rosh Hashanah translates as head of the year, and this day is seen to be the anniversary of the day when God created Adam and Eve. A ram’s horn, the Shofar, is blown 100 times on this day, which is referred to in the Bible as Yom Teruah, or Day of the Sounding of the Shofar. Rosh Hashanah begins the annual ten days of repentance. This time gives people the opportunity to look over their lives of the past year, to ask God’s and others’ forgiveness for any transgressions, and to make resolutions for the coming year.

If possible, Jews travel to running water on this Rosh Hashanah to shed the miseries of the old year, and apples, which have been dipped in honey, are eaten to ensure the sweetness of the coming year. Each year in Albuquerque, children of Chabad of New Mexico continue the 3000 year old tradition of making Shofars in preparation for Rosh Hashanah.

Yom Kippur is the final day of this ten days of repentance. It is the “Day of Atonement.” The day is celebrated with a 25 hour fasting period. The fast, and accompanying abstinence from bathing on this day, are to allow the person to rise above the fulfilling of bodily needs and desires to concentrate attention on the soul. No work is to be performed on this day, and most of the day is spent in the Synagogue. White is to be worn to symbolize the purity of the new year.

Passover is the most commonly celebrated of Jewish holidays. Even non-practicing Jews often celebrate this holiday with the traditional family Seder dinner. The week-long celebration of Passover begins on the fifteenth day of Nissan, which is the first Jewish month. This holiday is in celebration of the Jewish Exodus from Egypt after years of slavery. The Seder dinner consists of a number of ritualized steps preceding the actual eating of the meal. These steps include blessings and the retelling of the story of the Exodus. While there is no specific meal that is to be served, it is tradition for Ashkenazi Jews to start the dinner with Matzah ball soup and gefüllte fish.

Chanukah is the Jewish festival of lights that commemorates the rededication of the second Temple. After decades of Greek rule and intense religious oppression, Jews successfully revolted in 165 BCE. The Temple, which had been defiled by Greek usage, had to be cleansed and rededicated. There was not enough oil left to keep the temple menorah burning, which was to remain lit through the night, every night. With only enough oil for one night, the Jews went about the task of producing new oil. Miraculously, the menorah stayed lit for the eight days that it took to get a new supply of oil. Today, candles are lighted, one more each night for eight nights. Eight candles plus the servant, or shammus, candle shine on the final night of Chanukah. Blessings are recited at the lighting of the candles. Gifts, which were not originally part of the tradition, have now become so in areas where children have a lot of contact with Christian children who receive gifts at Christmas, which is during the same season. Another children’s Chanukah tradition is the dreidel. The dreidel is a kind of top, its sides marked with Hebrew letters. The dreidel is used in a game where coins or candy are put into a kitty and the top is spun. There is a yearly Chanukah festival at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

In addition to religious observances, there is also currently an annual festival of Klezmer music and dance held in Albuquerque. For the last three years, Congregation Nahalat Shalom, the members of The Nahalat Shalom Community Klezmer band and Nahalat Shalom's Yiddish Dance Troupe, Rikud, have hosted Klezmerquerque, a weekend-long festival in February of concerts, workshops, lectures, and dancing. The 2004 festival featured Margot Leverett, a founding member of the Klezmatics, and the 2005 festival featured a Yiddish dance master from Germany, Sulim Zaltman.

Conclusions:
The Jewish community in Albuquerque is a very active community, that runs nearly the full spectrum of current Jewish thought and practice. Members of the Jewish community are culturally and politically active in greater Albuquerque life. Unlike many other communities in Albuquerque, they have physical places in which to gather, to share information, hold classes and celebrations. There is also involvement in the community by people of all ages. Members of the Jewish community would like more involvement with other groups, to share across cultural lines.

The following is a list of contact information for the Albuquerque Jewish organizations and congregations identified in this report:

Jewish Federation of Greater Albuquerque
5520 Wyoming Boulevard NE
Albuquerque, NM 87109
Phone: 505-821-3214
Fax: 505-821-3351
General Email: info@jewishnewmexico.org
http://www.jewishnewmexico.org/

Congregation B'Nai Israel
(505) 266-0155
4401 Indian School Rd NE
Albuquerque, NM 87110
http://www.bnaiisrael-nm.org/

Chabad of New Mexico
4000 San Pedro NE, Albuquerque NM 87110
Tel: 505-880-1181 Fax: 505-880-9722 Email: Chaim@chabadnm.org
http://www.chabadnm.org/

Congregation Albert
3800 Louisiana Boulevard NE
Albuquerque, NM 87110
Phone: 505-883-1818
Fax: 505-883-1814
http://www.congregationalbert.org/

Congregation Nahalat Shalom
(505) 343-8227
3606 Rio Grande Blvd NW
Albuquerque, NM 87107
http://www.nahalatshalom.org/