The Centro Hebreo Sefaradi Synagogue is a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

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 in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

History

Construction began in 1957 and the synagogue was completed in 1960 with a 726-seat sanctuary. The main sanctuary was later rented out to the

Afro-Cuban Afro-Cubans () or Black Cubans are Cubans of full or partial sub-Saharan African ancestry. The term ''Afro-Cuban'' can also refer to historical or cultural elements in Cuba associated with this community, and the combining of native African a ...

band Síntesis for their rehearsals while weekly religious services were held in a small room next door. In 2007 Centro Hebreo Sefaradi Synagogue was described as “…the only remaining institutional legacy of the

Sephardic Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

presence in Cuba.” , the synagogue had eighty families constituting 320 members. The majority of congregants were 60 or older. Centro Hebreo is affiliated with the Conservative movement in the United States. There is a small Holocaust memorial at the synagogue with quotations from

José Martí José Julián Martí Pérez (; 28 January 1853 – 19 May 1895) was a Cuban nationalism, nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in ...

Gallery

Centro Sefaradi de Cuba.JPG, Front entrance

References

External links

* Conservative synagogues in North America Sephardi Conservative Judaism Sephardi Jewish culture in the Caribbean Sephardi synagogues Spanish-Cuban culture Synagogues completed in 1960 Synagogues in Havana 20th-century architecture in Cuba 20th-century synagogues in the Caribbean {{Cuba-synagogue-stub

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links