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 ...](_bl ...<br></span></div>, <div class=)
.
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.[ 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
See also
* History of the Jews in Cuba
The history of the Jews in Cuba goes back to the 1400s. Jewish Cubans, Cuban Jews, or Cubans of Jewish heritage, have lived in the nation of Cuba for centuries. Some Cubans trace Jewish ancestry to ''Marranos'' (forced converts to Christianity) w ...
* List of synagogues in Cuba
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
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