Though a tiny Jewish community still lives in Sibiu, in central Romania, little visible is left of the city’s rich Jewish history. Jewish educator Anda Reuben reports on developing a Jewish heritage tour to put this history back on the map – and back into public consciousness.
Jewish Sibiu – An Almost Forgotten Story
By Anda Reuben
As most good ideas, this one started over coffee, in a lovely little place in the Great Square of Sibiu. It was very cold out, as Romanian Januaries can be, but my friend and I were comfortably discussing plans and writing down ideas, as they flew în and out of our minds.
My friend is Claudia Buidan, a resident of Sibiu for 20 years, having moved here, like me, from the south of Romania. Since then, she has been active in the non-governmental organization world, with her own NGO, Asociatia ACT Sibiu. Her cultural and educational programs have included a few Jewish-themed events, a nod to her own distant heritage. When I told her I have moved to Sibiu, we were both excited to work together and bring Jewish culture and traditions to life in this setting.
Sibiu was, and still is, in some ways, a blank slate for me.
After 20 years of experience in the field of Jewish education and cultural programs, usually under the umbrella of a Jewish organization, it was time to look deep inside and find the stories I wanted to tell people – about the Jews, about their lives, their passions, their history and their world. I already knew there were lots of people who were looking forward to knowing more, from my experience with programs I had organized earlier in the setting of the synagogue in nearby Medias, a previously abandoned and decaying, yet breathtakingly beautiful, building, which is now a thriving cultural hub.
My friend and I decided to focus on one particular project, which seemed like the right way to start: a Jewish heritage tour of the city, exploring the sites where Jews used to live.
We knew almost nothing about the topic. The Jews of Sibiu survived the Holocaust, but after the war, most emigrated to Israel and elsewhere. Currently there is a tiny community of around 25 people.
The city has two Jewish cemeteries outside town and a beautiful and well kept synagogue, the Great Synagogue, inaugurated in 1899 and designed by the architect Ferenc Szalay. Its architecture is eclectic, inspired by the Hungarian style, and the synagogue is registered as a Historical Monument.
We called our project, “People, Walls and Stories – a short history of the Jewish community of Sibiu.” Claudia applied for funds from the municipality and the grant was approved in early summer.
Almost immediately I hit the archives and the municipal library, Biblioteca Astra. Everywhere I went, the answer was the same – there’s very little information about the Jews of Sibiu, but you are welcome to check everything we have.
Within a few weeks, I had collected a reasonable amount of information and some photographs from the archives, as well as some stories from the local Jewish community and from a couple of local historians, who were surprised that anyone was curious about this topic.
The next phase was to put together all this information into a brochure, to accompany the tour we wanted to organize.
With the brochure, we wanted to give people a physical reminder of their experience, something to hold – an important aspect of remembrance. The design took another few weeks, I used photographs taken in the archives and throughout the city, from some of the main locations. I even obtained the rights to use a fantastic online discovery – one of the oldest images of the Great Synagogue, most likely made shortly after its opening în 1899. The source was a gentleman from the Czech Republic, Frantisek Banyai, who runs judaica.cz – take a look at his collection of old Jewish-interest postcards! (Banyai is also currently the president of the Prague Jewish Community.)
At last, the day of the first tour was set – September 24th, 2019, about a week before Rosh Hashanah. It felt like the perfect ending of an exciting and rewarding year, in terms of Jewish programs, and a good omen for the following year.
In addition to the Great Synagogue, the tour included former prayer houses, used before the inauguration of the synagogue; the so-called “Small Synagogue,” a previously undocumented synagogue probably built in the 1920s that belonged to the Hasidic community and now is used as a workshop; and the former Jewish school, which was turned into housing but still conserves Jewish elements in its design. (The Jewish cemeteries were not included, since they are outside town, but we are hoping to organize future tours to them.)
We ran a second tour October 22nd and scheduled a third one November 2. Those were set to meet the municipality funding requirements and were free. Starting în January, the tour will be offered by request, for groups of 10 or more, for a small fee, details to be announced.
Our first tour had 10 participants, all residents of Sibiu. Throughout the journey, which took about two and a half hours, we spoke about the places where Jews had lived and prayed, about the people who became presidents of the community, about the famous Jews of Sibiu – one of whom, Henry Selbing, is known for establishing the Philharmonic Orchestra of Sibiu în 1944.
When people are gone, what’s left are the walls they leave behind. When those walls also crumble, only the stories are keeping the memory alive.
Talking about the Jews from Sibiu is a small gesture of appreciation for those who once lived here and we hope that through this project, their story is not forgotten.
November 1, 2019
Click to see details about the synagogues in Sibiu
(Note: the top featured photo is of the interior of the Sibiu Great Synagogue, © Yoraan Rafael)
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Anda Reuben, based in Sibiu, is the founder of “Ebraica, pe litere” (Hebrew, letter by letter), through which she promotes Jewish culture for everyone, through courses and workshops. Her background is in Jewish education, with a JTS Masters’ degree and 20 years experience as an educator and program coordinator.