Jewish

[ggtree]

As a religious Jew I am very excited to plan for my Camino Francais which will begin June 2018. My questions are to other observant Jews who have done this. How do you keep Kosher? Can you find home stay for Shabbos? What places are there on the Camino that are of particular interest to Jews? I look forward to all responses. Shalom -Gigi

 

[VNwalking]

Gigi, I'm not Jewish. So I can't answer your question.
But you might consider asking @scruffy1 in a personal message. (How? In the pull down menu that appears when you click on your name in the upper right of the main screen, click 'conversation,' and when that page opens, 'start a conversation.')
He lives in Jerusalem and if anyone would know, he would.

 

[ggtree]

Thank you -I'll do that. G

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Met with an Israeli family on the CF some years back (husband and wife plus 2 yo daughter).
I asked how they got around the prohibition on travel on the sabbath - usually pilgrim refugios don't allow you to stay more than one night so you can't really rest for the sabbath. They'd found it difficult the first week but after that had booked into a private refugio or hostal for two nights and organised their food accordingly.
They couldn't find any kosher food and were constantly alarmed by the amount of pork and ham on offer (you'll appreciate a lot of Spain's devotion to the pig is historic because if you ate pork you'd be neither Muslim nor Jewish).
But, as the husband explained, if it was easy everybody would be doing it!
Hope it works out for you.

 

[andycohn]

As a Jew on the Camino (albeit non-practicing) I was always looking out for signs of the Jewish presence along the Camino. Best I found was the Museo de Leon, Plaza San Domingo 8, which had a really good exhibit on the Jews in Spain and in Leon specifically, which was a major trading point. But other signs are scarce, as there never were many Jews in northern Spain, and all the Jews in Spain were expelled in 1492 (as opposed to being ghettoized, as they were in Italy and other countries during the 16th century). Never saw any indications of a current Jewish presence along the Camino route. Keeping kosher will definitely be a challenge.

 

[David Tallan]

It is one thing to avoid pork and seafood and quite another to find meat that has been kosher slaughtered and plates and dishes that have not been used for both meat and dairy. It really depends on how strict you are in your observance. Probably the easiest is to approach it as a vegetarian experience (or "dairy" in a kosher context) and if you are very strict you may need to bring your own plates, utensils and pots with you. Most places have albergue with kitchens where you can prepare your own meals, though.

Finding a minyan will also be quite a challenge.

 

[C & W]

The "Pilgrimage Road to Santiago" by David Gitliz et al describes each town through which the camino passes with an emphasis on the architecture and history. I was struck by the mention of the former Jewish presence in so many of the towns along the way. The book is available in electronic format and is easy to consult on the camino.