Visiting the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem

I wanted to visit the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem for a very long time, an important visual and spiritual benchmark in the city. Very often, the building on King George Street is the meeting point of various tourist groups as well as of young soldiers who stop here for a short prayer and tour before going back to their duties. The building, aimed to send a message of respect of the 6 million Jews murdered during Shoah but also of resilience of the Jewish people against all tragedies, is relatively new, being built only 25 years ago. It relies exclusively on donations.

Besides the synagogue, with 850 places for men and 550 for women, the synagogue hosts also an impressive collection of mezuzah, covering more than half century and various geographical locations. The visits are free of charge and various guided tours can be also organised regularly. The predominant rite is Askenazi, but near the entrance, the Heichal Jacob Sephardi synagogue is available. The choir and hazzan are renowed in the entire world for the special synagogal artistry. 

Above the aron koidesh, the impressive stained glass windows, the work of Regina Heim, display Biblical and everyday life Jewish stories. In the women section, more stained glass is displayed. A 3-tone chandelier is offering a dazzling view. When I visited, there was no service and thus, I missed a lot of emotions and special impressions that are usually created in this holy space.

All round the week, classes for both men and women are organised, and the sound of prayers is filling the space. But one can also pray alone, in one of the quiet corners, in your very private space where you can talk to Hashem. I don't know why it took me so long to see this synagogue, but I believe that when I went there, it was the right moment to do so. 

Yom Yerushalaim in Jerusalem

"There is no better place to celebrate Yom Yerushalaim than Jerusalem", my friend from Tel Aviv told me, a sound of jealousy in her voice. Indeed, I was wondering myself of my luck, of finally being in Jerusalem on this occasion. With a limited time and not in the mood to follow the official celebrations path - concerts and public gatherings in various parks, I decided to just go out in the central area and watch the people.

From noon on, groups of young people with Israeli flags started to enter the city, mostly from Gush Etzion and Shomron, singing and dancing in the street. The spirit of joy from the 28 Iyar in 1967 when after thousands of years, the holy city of Jerusalem was united again was in the air.

For some religious communities, Yom Yerushalaim is considered even more important than the Yom HaAtzmaut, with the Hallel prayer recited and day-long celebrations organised. This year, despite the heat, the joy embraced the streets and the groups of youngsters were joined by stand-byers of all ages and degree of religious observance. Such moments show the unity despite the many differences. Indeed, I was very lucky to spend this very special day in the very special city.  

Jewish histories BerIin: Kleine Synagoge in Auguststraße

A drawing on a wall covered at the bottom with chaotic graffiti, this is all what's left from once used to be the Kleine Synagoge in the central area - Mitte - of Berlin, on Auguststraße 10. The synagogue Ahawas Shalom und Mogen David was inaugurated in 1906, aimed to serve 500 members. In this area in Mitte used to live many middle class Jews. 

The synagogue was destroyed during the Kristalnacht in 1938. At the memorial place, besides a detailed plan, a picture during a Simcha Torah celebration is displayed. The remains of the synagoge were used for other construction work so nothing was left from it.

The inclusion of the Kleine Synagoge in Auguststraße 10 in the circuit of Jewish memorial places is relatively recent, as it took place only ten years ago. In the middle of the 1980s, here was a kindergarden. 

Jewish histories in Lutherstadt. And something about Luther

When it comes to the relationship between Luther and the Jews, there is always something left or just obliterated. The next year, 500 years of Reformation will be celebrated across Germany, an opportunity to reconsider and outline his not-so friendly opinions regarding the Jews. During his life, he was in favour of a strong missionarism among Jews, hoping that the lights of Reformation are exactly the ingredient for a mass conversion. For instance, he writes that he was disappointed that Jewd did not convert in big numbers during his life, but he still nurtures the hope they will do it,. 

Many of his writing are openly hostile, and were intensively used by the Nazis to get more support among the population and as propaganda materials as such. As the city of Lutherstadt was part of the communist Germany, a serious coming at terms with the anti-Semitic texts of the founder of Reformation was not done, and religious reasons prevail in not doing so completely nowadays. However, among academics and some theologians, critical approaches were done, especially in the last decades - more about that in a next post, I hope.

Nowadays, there is a 'Jüdenstrasse' written in Gottish, situated close to the old city, but not a significant number of Jews left. The Jewish presence was officially recognized here in 1814, after the Napoleonic wars, when Friedrich Wilhelm the IInd allowed 120 Jewish families to establish here.

From 2008, Initiative Stolpersteine succeeded to install a couple of memory marks in the city, commemorating the Jews murdered during Shoah. 

A world without Elie Wiesel...

Source: wsj.com

A world without Elie Wiesel is more insecure, because with his death, this world lost one of his voices of conscience. He dedicated his whole life to remind the world how fine is the line between humanity and raw monstrosity. It is a sad moment whose best answer is to never forget to remember and fight against indifference. 

Many years ago, I visited his hometown Sziget and the memorial house, in a city left without Jews, only with memories and a long history of anti-Semitism. Without him, the recognition of Shoah in Romania would have been impossible, and his efforts for finally revealing the truth were often welcomed there with agressive attacks and raw anti-Semitism. But he succeeded to bring testimonies to life, but in the end, he decided not to return to his Sziget any more, following the decision of the Romanian authorities to support a fierce anti-Semitic politician. 

His speech on the occasion of the Nobel Peace Prize awarding, about the dangers of indifference, is one of the many testimonies left for the rest of us.

He gave us the example of survival and a life for truth. We have the obligation to never forget and never give up the fight for truth.

May his memory be a blessing.

BDE