The Midrash of Évora, referred to in Portuguese documentation as the Midras, was one of the educational and communal institutions of the medieval Judiaria of Évora. The term is connected with study, interpretation and religious learning. In this local context, it identifies the Jewish school associated with the community.

The Midras of Évora

Medieval and early modern references preserve forms such as Rua do Midras, Rua do Midras de Baixo, Midras Velho and Midras Pequeno. These terms show that the school was not remembered only as an abstract institution, but also as an urban reference within the Jewish quarter.

The documentation may point to more than one school space, or to distinctions created by age, size, function or later property history. The evidence does not allow a complete reconstruction of the buildings.

Location within the Judiaria

The Midras stood in the central institutional area of the Judiaria, close to the synagogue complex and the streets linked to communal life. Research places the Rua do Midras and Rua do Midras de Baixo in the area corresponding today to Travessa da Parreira and Travessa do Pocinho, between Rua da Moeda, formerly Rua do Tinhoso, and Rua dos Mercadores.

This location places the Jewish school within the same urban zone where the synagogue and other communal structures of the Judiaria are documented.

Donation after 1497

After the forced conversion of Portuguese Jews in 1497, the Midrash of Évora lost its original function. Royal documentation records the donation of the Midras Velho to D. Carlos, a nobleman of the royal household.

The grant described the property with its houses, upper and lower spaces and built areas, as they had been used by the Jews. Later transactions and property records continued to use the name Midras, including references to houses once belonging to D. Carlos, preserving the memory of the former Jewish school in the post-1497 urban documentation.