In
the face of claims that synagogues no longer remain in the smaller cities
and towns of central, eastern, and southern Europe, authors/photographers
Rivka and Ben-Zion Dorfman (retired Americans living in Jerusalem) went
in search of these lost synagogues and found their remains —
and often, to their delight, their magnificent renovations.
Through
word and over 300 exquisite photographs, Synagogues Without Jews tells
the colorful histories of over thirty Jewish communities —
in Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Slovakia, northern Italy, Greece, and
the Czech and Slovak Republics — that thrived
before World War II. It is filled with floor plans, elevations, full-color
photographs, and descriptions of the synagogues that were the pride
and joy of their congregations. And there are stories of people —
of Jews of the past who helped their communities flourish, and of Jews
of the present who remain, safeguarding their beloved synagogues and
passing their memories on to the next generation.
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About
the authors and their projects: www.eng.bgu.ac.il/sar
Eric Silver, "Old Shuls Never Die," The
Jerusalem Report. |
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Rivka
and Ben-Zion Dorfman, Synagogues Without Jews (Philadelphia:
Jewish Publication Society, 2000)
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