Rykestrasse Synagogue
The Rykestrasse Synagogue () is a Conservative Judaism, Conservative Judaism, Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in the Prenzlauer Berg neighbourhood in the Pankow borough of Berlin, Germany. Germany's largest synagogue, designed by in the Romanesque Revival architecture, Romanesque Revival style, the synagogue was completed in 1904 and inaugurated on 4 September 1904, in time for Rosh Hashanah. The synagogue stands off the street alignment and is reached by a thoroughfare in the pertaining front building. History 1920 to 1933 (), comprising the bulk of Jewish faithful of Conservative Judaism, mainstream (also called liberal, in today's English terminology 'conservative'), Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox and Reform Judaism, Reform affiliation, grew strongly in membership in the second half of the 19th century. With the expansion of Berlin into new neighbourhoods, the need of additional synagogues within a walking distance became urgent. However, the Jewish commu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism, also known as Masorti Judaism, is a Jewish religious movements, Jewish religious movement that regards the authority of Jewish law and tradition as emanating primarily from the assent of the people through the generations, more than from divine revelation. It therefore views Jewish law, or ''Halakha'', as both binding and subject to historical development. The Conservative rabbinate employs modern Historical criticism, historical-critical research, rather than only traditional methods and sources, and lends great weight to its constituency, when determining its stance on matters of practice. The movement considers its approach as the authentic and most appropriate continuation of ''Halakhic'' discourse, maintaining both fealty to received forms and flexibility in their interpretation. It also eschews strict theological definitions, lacking a consensus in matters of faith and allowing great pluralism. While regarding itself as the heir of Rabbi Zecharias Fr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ner Tamid
Chancel lamp in the Rotunda of Mosta, Sanctuary Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady, Malta A sanctuary lamp, chancel lamp, altar lamp, everlasting light, or eternal flame is a light that shines before the altar of sanctuaries in many Jewish and Christian places of worship. Prescribed in Exodus 27:20-21 of the Torah, this icon has taken on different meanings in each of the religions that have adopted it. The passage, which refers to prescriptions for the tabernacle, states: In Jewish tradition In Judaism, the sanctuary lamp is known as a ''Ner Tamid'' (Hebrew, “eternal flame” or “eternal light”), Hanging or standing in front of the ark in every Jewish synagogue, it is meant to represent the menorah of the Temple in Jerusalem, as well as the perpetual fire kept on the altar of burnt offerings before the Temple. It also symbolizes God's eternal presence, and is thus never extinguished, and to draw parallels between God and fire or light as emphasized throughout Exod ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Torah Reading
Torah reading (; ') is a Jewish religious tradition that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the scroll (or scrolls) from the Torah ark, chanting the appropriate excerpt with special cantillation (trope), and returning the scroll(s) to the ark. It is also commonly called "laining" (''lein'' is also spelt ''lain'', ''leyn'', ''layn''; from the Yiddish לייענען (), which means "to read"). Regular public reading of the Torah was introduced by Ezra the Scribe after the return of the Judean exiles from the Babylonian captivity ( BCE), as described in the Book of Nehemiah. In the modern era, Orthodox Jews practice Torah reading according to a set procedure almost unchanged since the Talmudic era. Since the 19th century CE, Reform and Conservative Judaism have made adaptations to the practice of Torah reading, but the basic pattern of Torah reading has usually remained the same: As a pa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Auschwitz
Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschwitz I, the main camp (''Stammlager'') in Oświęcim; Auschwitz II-Birkenau, a concentration and extermination camp with gas chambers, Auschwitz III-Monowitz, a labour camp for the chemical conglomerate IG Farben, and dozens of subcamps. The camps became a major site of the Nazis' Final Solution to the Jewish question. After Germany initiated World War II by invading Poland in September 1939, the '' Schutzstaffel'' (SS) converted Auschwitz I, an army barracks, into a prisoner-of-war camp. The initial transport of political detainees to Auschwitz consisted almost solely of Poles (for whom the camp was initially established). For the first two years, the majority of inmates were Polish. In May 1940, German criminals brought to the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Theresienstadt
Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination camps. Its conditions were deliberately engineered to hasten the death of its prisoners, and the ghetto also served a propaganda role. Unlike other ghettos, the use of slavery was not economically significant. The ghetto was established by the transportation of Czech Jews in November 1941. The first German and Austrian Jews arrived in June 1942; Dutch and Danish Jews came in 1943, and prisoners of a wide variety of nationalities were sent to Theresienstadt in the last months of the war. About 33,000 people died at Theresienstadt, mostly from malnutrition and disease. More than 88,000 people were held there for months or years before being deported to extermination camps and other killing sites; the role of the Jewish Council ('' Juden ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Oberste Heeresleitung
The ''Oberste Heeresleitung'' (, "Supreme Army Command", OHL) was the highest echelon of command of the army (''Heer'') of the German Empire. In the latter part of World War I, the Third OHL assumed dictatorial powers and became the ''de facto'' political authority in the Empire. Formation and operation After the formation of the German Empire in 1871, the Prussian Army, Royal Saxon Army, Army of Württemberg and the Bavarian Army were autonomous in peacetime, each kingdom maintaining a separate war ministry and general staff to administer their forces. On the outbreak of war, the Constitution of the German Empire made the German Emperor commander-in-chief of the combined armies (''Oberster Kriegsherr'', "supreme warlord"). The Emperor's role as commander-in-chief was largely ceremonial and authority lay with the Chief of the German General Staff, who issued orders in the Emperor's name. The pre-war Chief of the General Staff was Colonel General Helmuth von Moltke and the ' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Prisoners Of War
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a range of legitimate and illegitimate reasons. These may include isolating them from enemy combatants still in the field (releasing and repatriating them in an orderly manner after hostilities), demonstrating military victory, punishment, prosecution of war crimes, labour exploitation, recruiting or even conscripting them as combatants, extracting collecting military and political intelligence, and political or religious indoctrination. Ancient times For much of history, prisoners of war would often be slaughtered or enslaved. Early Roman gladiators could be prisoners of war, categorised according to their ethnic roots as Samnites, Thracians, and Gauls (''Galli''). Homer's ''Iliad'' describes Trojan and Greek soldiers offering rewards o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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New Synagogue (Berlin)
The New Synagogue () on Oranienburger Straße in Berlin is a mid-19th century synagogue built as the main place of worship for the city's History of the Jews in Germany, Jewish community, succeeding the Old Synagogue (Berlin), Old Synagogue which the community outgrew. Because of its Moorish architecture, Moorish style and resemblance to the Alhambra, the New Synagogue is an important architectural monument in Germany. The building was designed by Eduard Knoblauch. Following Knoblauch's death in 1865, Friedrich August Stüler took responsibility for the majority of its construction as well as for its interior arrangement and design. It was inaugurated in the presence of Count Otto von Bismarck, then Minister President of Prussia, in 1866. One of the few synagogues to survive Kristallnacht, it was badly damaged prior to and during World War II and subsequently much was demolished; the present building on the site is a reconstruction of the ruined street frontage with its entrance, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rabbi
A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of the rabbi developed in the Pharisees, Pharisaic (167 BCE–73 CE) and Talmudic (70–640 CE) eras, when learned teachers assembled to codify Judaism's written and oral laws. The title "rabbi" was first used in the first century CE. In more recent centuries, the duties of a rabbi became increasingly influenced by the duties of the Clergy, Protestant Christian minister, hence the title "pulpit rabbis." Further, in 19th-century Germany and the United States, rabbinic activities such as sermons, pastoral counseling, and representing the community to the outside all increased in importance. Within the various Jewish denominations, there are different requirements for rabbinic ordination and differences in opinion regarding who is recognized as a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Minhag
''Minhag'' ( "custom", classical pl. מנהגות, modern pl. מנהגים, ''minhagim'') is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. A related concept, '' Nusach'' (נוסח), refers to the traditional order and form of the prayers. Etymology The triliteral () means primarily "to drive" or, by extension, "to conduct (oneself)". The actual word ''minhag'' appears twice in the Hebrew Bible, both times in the same verse and translated as "driving": Homiletically, one could argue that the use of the word minhag in Jewish law reflects its Biblical Hebrew origins as "the (manner of) driving (a chariot)". Whereas halakha "law", from the word for "walking path," means the path or road set for the journey, minhag "custom", from the word for driving, means the manner people have developed themselves to travel down that path more quickly. The present use of minhag for "custom" may have been influenced by the Arabic ''minhaj''; in current Islamic usage, this term is u ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gabbai
A ''gabbai'' (), sometimes spelled ''gabay'', also known as ''shamash'' (, sometimes transcribed ''shamas'') or warden ( UK, similar to churchwarden), is a beadle or sexton, a person who assists in the running of synagogue services in some way. The role may be undertaken on a voluntary or paid basis. A ''shamash'' (literally 'servant') or ''gabbai'' can also mean an assistant to a rabbi (particularly the secretary or personal assistant to a Hasidic rebbe). In '' ma'amad'', the Council of Elders (or "the board of directors") of the communities of Sephardi Jews, the position of ''gabbai'' was that of the treasurer. Etymology The word ''gabbai'' is Hebrew and, in Talmudic times, meant "collector of taxes or charity" or "treasurer". The term ''shamash'' is sometimes used for the ''gabbai'', the caretaker or "man of all work" in a synagogue. Duties While the specific set of duties vary from synagogue to synagogue, a gabbai's responsibilities will typically include ensuring th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Old Synagogue (Berlin)
The Old Synagogue () was a Jewish congregation and synagogue, that was located at Heidereutergasse 4, in Marienviertel, in the present-day Mitte district of Berlin, Germany. Designed and built by Michael Kemmeter, the synagogue was built as a rectangular hall building. Consecrated in 1714 and remodelled in 1855, the synagogue was known as the Great Synagogue until the opening of the New Synagogue, built in the 1860s to accommodate Berlin's expanding Jewish population. Nevertheless, services continued to be held in the Old Synagogue into the 20th century; it was restored in 1928. The synagogue survived ''Kristallnacht'' but was destroyed during World War II. The last service took place in the Old Synagogue on November 20, 1942. The site is marked with a plaque and part of the building's contours are marked with cobblestones. See also * History of the Jews in Germany The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Ea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |