5c              Synagogue Interior  

The interior view of the Nidhe Israel Synagogue highlights the Arc which was rebuilt in 1987 out of Barbados Mahogany and replicates the Arc of 1833. The Ten Commandments above the Arc were restored on the wooden tablets which were preserved from the 1833 original commandments.

The interior of the Synagogue was reconstructed using photographs taken in 1925 before the objects in the Synagogue were sold. These photographs were maintained in the Shilstone Library of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society and were used as a guide during the restoration. The Barbados Museum and Historical Society gave back a number of artefacts obtained when the Synagogue was sold as a result of the dwindling of the Barbados Jewish Community in the early 1990’s. The current community is represented by immigrants to Barbados who arrived from as early as 1931.

10c                Museum Exterior

This image shows the front entrance elevation of the Nidhe Israel Museum which is adjacent to the Nidhe Israel Synagogue, Bridgetown, Barbados. The property was built in the early 1700’s and was used as a Jewish school by the children of the approximately 800 Jewish residents of Barbados who lived and worked near the Synagogue.

These settlers arrived in Barbados at approximately the same time as the British settlers; they brought sugar and other commence from Recife, Brazil to Barbados.

This artefact was acquired by the Barbados Museum and Historical Society in 1925 and given back when the Synagogue was sold. The Hannukiah dates back to 1696 (5456 in the Jewish Calendar) and bears the name of Valverde, Kodes and Abraham, members of the Barbados Jewish Community who donated it at the time.

This Hannukah, a candelabra lit on eight successive nights, commemorates the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days even though there was only enough oil to burn for one day. It relates to Chanukah, or the Festival of Lights, celebrated in December each year, commemorating the victory of the Maccabees and the re-dedication of the Jerusalem Temple in 165 BC. Today, candles are burned instead of oil during the Chanukah celebration.