The Birobidzhan Synagogue, officially the Freyd Community and Beit Menachem Synagogue in Birobidzhan, is a

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

congregation and

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, located at 19 Lenina Street, in the city of

Birobidzhan Birobidzhan ( rus, Биробиджан, p=bʲɪrəbʲɪˈdʐan; , ), also spelt Birobijan ( ), is a town and the administrative centre of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia, located on the Trans-Siberian Railway, near the China–Russia bord ...

, in the capital of the

Jewish Autonomous Oblast The Jewish Autonomous Oblast (JAO) is a federal subject of Russia in the far east of the country, bordering Khabarovsk Krai and Amur Oblast in Russia and Heilongjiang province in China. Its administrative center is the town of Birobidzhan. ...

, in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. According to the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS, it is "the first synagogue in Russia to be built partly with state money". The Russian government allotted

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

112,000 to help build the synagogue that was completed in 2004.

History

2004 opening

In 2004, the

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi () is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...

of Russia, Berel Lazar, took part in the 70th-anniversary celebration of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. Rabbi Lazar and Avraham Berkowitz, the executive director of the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS, led a delegation to Birobidzhan for the event.

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Alexander Vinnikov Alexander Aronovich Vinnikov (; born 6 October 1955) is a Russian politician and formerly the governor of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. Political history Alexander Vinnikov was the mayor of Birobidzhan, the capital of the Jewish Autonomous Obla ...

and Valery Solomonovich Gurevich also participated in the opening.

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Nikolay Mikhaylovich Volkov stated that the Birobidzhan Synagogue is the Jewish Autonomous Oblast's first "

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, ), from the Ashke ...

synagogue, according to

Jewish law ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mit ...

." Rabbi Mordechai Scheiner, the Chief Rabbi of Birobidzhan and

Chabad Lubavitch Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a Hasidic dynasty, dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi Judaism, Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasi ...

representative to the region, said "Today one can enjoy the benefits of the

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

culture and not be afraid to return to their Jewish traditions. It is safe without any

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

and we plan to open the first Jewish day school here". The local Jewish community leader, Lev Toitman, also participated.

Jewish community

According to Rabbi Scheiner, there are 4,000 Jews in Birobidzhan, or just over 5 percent of the town's 75,000 population. In 2006, Rabbi Scheiner visited the villages of Bira (Jewish Autonomous Oblast), Naifeld, Londoko, Birakan and Birofeld with the Jewish Community of Birobidzhan. Together they inspected local cemeteries and gathered information about the Jews buried there in the years prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The names of these individuals are listed in the Memory Book in the Birobidzhan Synagogue. The dates of birth and death are written down according to the

Hebrew calendar The Hebrew calendar (), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance and as an official calendar of Israel. It determines the dates of Jewish holidays and other rituals, such as '' yahrze ...

as well as the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

. As of 2007, some of the original Jewish settlers were still present in these villages. Lev Toitman led the community of Birobidzhan from 1997 until he died on September 11, 2007.

International support

In 2004, the Jewish community in Birobidzhan received an Aron Kodesh. This special storage case for the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

, from Birobidzhan's sister city in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, was made in accordance with

canons. In 2008, Shalom Brandman, a resident of

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. It is home to a Diamond Exchange District (one of the world's major diamond exch ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, donated a Judaic studies collection to the synagogue after his visit to Birobidzhan during the 2007 summer Yiddish program.

References

{{Jews in the Soviet Union 2004 establishments in Russia 21st-century synagogues in Russia Ashkenazi Jewish culture in Russia Ashkenazi synagogues Birobidzhan Chabad in Asia Chabad in Europe Chabad organizations Hasidic synagogues Orthodox synagogues in Russia Synagogues in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Synagogues completed in 2004

History

2004 opening

Jewish community

International support

See also

References