Jewish Heritage Europe

UK: A current exhibit and new online resource trace Manchester’s vanished Jewish spaces & places

A current exhibition and a new online resource trace the history and geography of Jewish life in Manchester, the UK’s second largest Jewish center, after London.  The exhibition is “Vanished Streets” — an exhibition running October 20-January 16 at the … continue reading →

Pipe Organs in Synagogues — Pride and Polemics. (See pix and access an article and music)

Ark in the Fabric synagogue, Timisoara, showing the organ behind and above it. Photo © Anna Szentgyörgyi

Having an organ in a synagogue is a fairly recent innovation, related to the emancipation of the Jews and spread of reform Judaism in the 19th century.  The introduction of a pipe organ into a synagogue sometimes sparked heated polemics. … continue reading →

Poland: Read a discussion of the painted decorations in the Remu synagogue (revealed during renovation a decade ago) and choices made by conservators

JHE friend Dr. Samuel Gruber has posted on his blog a detailed discussion about the multiple layers of painted decoration in the 16th century Remu synagogue in Krakow that makes a fascinating and informative read. The Remu, built in 1551, … continue reading →

Simchat Torah 2021! Rejoicing with Images of Arks (and Bimahs)

(JHE) — Simchat Torah — Rejoicing in the Torah, the Jewish festival that celebrates the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings (and beginning of the new cycle), begins this week at sundown on Tuesday and ends at nightfall on … continue reading →

Slovakia: Pope Francis met with Slovak Jews in a highly symbolic place: the site where Bratislava’s grand Neolog synagogue stood until the communist regime destroyed it the late 1960s. Now the site is a both a Holocaust memorial and site of Hanukkah celebrations

When Pope Francis visited Slovakia this week, he met with representatives of the Slovak Jewish community in one of the most significant and symbolic places of Jewish history in the country: Bratislava’s Rybné Square, the site where the grand, twin-towered … continue reading →