Synagogues and Prayer Houses



There were many synagogues and prayer houses - the number varied between 40 and 60 - in pre-revolutionary Odessa. Some synagogues were housed in ordinary buildings, while others were specially constructed. Though few of the structures were of architectural value, the mere fact of their construction placed them among the town's sights.

Many synagogues were divided along the lines of their congregants' occupations, such as shop assistants, furniture makers, shoemakers, tailors, draymen, and so on. Frequently, charitable societies, mutual aid societies and the like were affiliated to the synagogues, which in addition to their prime function also became centers of Jewish cultural life.

After 1920, practically all the synagogues in Odessa were closed down, the buildings desecrated, their contents looted; many of the rabbis were arrested and executed. Under new legislation enacted after the fall of the communist regime, buildings that once housed synagogues are now being restored to the Jewish community.

The Central Synagogue (25, Jewish St.) The Central Synagogue (end of 19th sentury) From the moment Odessa was founded its Jewish community grew rapidly, and by the beginning of the 19th century, the city already had a main synagogue. In the early 1820s, it was situated in the central part of Odessa, at the corner of Richelevskaya and Evreyskaya Streets, in a small building that lacked comfort and had little architectural value. By the early 1850s, the old building had fallen into such disrepair that the Central Synagogue had to be housed elsewhere and the community began to raise funds for a new building that would be worthy of the title. In August 1859, a magnificent building designed by a local architect, F. Morandi, was built in place of the old synagogue. The new structure was a two-storied building in Florentine style with elements of Romanesque architecture. The name of one of the synagogue's first cantors, Abrasa, has been preserved by history; later the post was held by another famous cantor, Pinchas Minkovsky. After 1920 the synagogue was closed, and for many years it housed the sports facilities of the city's Pedagogical Institute. In 1997, the building was restored to the Jewish community. However, it had been largely converted from its original use and was in a dangerously bad state of repair. Its former occupants had not been overly concerned about preserving the building, despite its architectural significance and importance for the history of Jewish life in Odessa. The date of the last pre-Revolutionary repair of the synagogue, 1899, is inscribed on the floor of the former main entrance and it is hoped that in the near future another date will appear beside it -that of the modern rebuilding of the Central Synagogue of Odessa. It is symbolic that the street on which the synagogue stands has recently reverted to its original name, Evreyskaya (Jewish) Street... The Central Synagogue (modern photo)

Brodsky Synagogue (18, Zhukovsky St.) In the first quarter of the 19th century, a large number of Jews moved to Odessa from The Austro-Hungarian Empire and Germany, and became known as Brodsky Jews after the town of Brody in Galicia, which was at the time a large trans-shipment point for goods imported to Russia from Europe. Brodsky Jews brought with them elements of western European Jewish culture, the enlightenment and the principles and skills of modern trade. Engaged in large-scale commercial operations, especially in the grain market, Brodsky Jews eventually became the richest sector of Odessa's Jewish community. As they shared both common spiritual and cultural needs and commercial interests, the Brodsky Jews formed a group that stood apart from the rest of the Jewish population of Odessa. In spring 1841, the Brodsky Jews opened their own synagogue that carried the group's name. Over time, the first Brodsky synagogue fell into disrepair, and in 1863, wealthy Jews of Brodsky extraction and their descendants financed the building of a new and majestic synagogue, in Florentine Gothic style, designed by a local architect, F. Kolovich, at the corner of Italian and Post Streets (now Pushkin and Zhukovsky Streets). Brodsky Synagogue (end of 19th sentury) Brodsky Synagogue (modern) The synagogue is associated with the name of Rabbi Dr. Shimon-Arie Schwarbacher (1819-1888), a notable personality in the history of the Jewish community of Odessa. For decades Nissan Minkovsky occupied the position of cantor of the Brodsky synagogue, and was succeeded by the famous Pinchas Minkovsky, affectionately called Pini by the local Jews. He served for 20 years as cantor of the Brodsky synagogue, and in 1922, pessimistic about the new Communist regime, left for the USA, where he died two years later, a "curiosity" of old Jewish Odessa, and was buried in Philadelphia. The director of the synagogue choir, David Novakovsky, worked alongside Minkovsky; his descendants now live in the USA. Minkovsky's splendid voice, the music composed by Novakovsky, the choir and its organ made the Brodsky synagogue famous, and it became a spiritual center for the Jewish intelligentsia of the city. In 1925, the Soviet authorities closed the synagogue and its building was converted to house the City archives, which to this day remain in the former synagogue. Dr. Schwabacher Pinchas Minkovsky

Beit-Habad Synagogue (21, Remeslennaya St.) Front of Habad Synagogue In the 1820s, the young Jewish community of Odessa created a charitable society, Malbish Arumim ("Clothing the Naked"), to provide clothing for poorer members of the community. The society bought clothes with donated funds, membership fees and allocations from the "box-duty," a tax on the sale of kosher meat. From the second half of the 19th century, Malbish Arumim and the tailors' synagogue shared a square, purpose-built, one-story building. After 1920 the synagogue was closed, the charitable society abolished and the building became a warehouse. In 1992, the building was returned to the Jewish community and currently houses the Beit Habad synagogue, the administrative board of the city's Shomrei Shabbos congregation, the editorial board of the weekly newspaper of the same name, and a kosher kitchen. Due to the efforts of Odessa's chief rabbi, Ishaya Gisser, a comprehensive reconstruction of the synagogue, which already enjoys the most refined decorations of any synagogue in the city, is currently under way. Stamp and Seal of the Society "Malbish Arimim", 1912 The Newspaper "Shomrei Shabos", 1998

Nahlas Eliezer’ Synagogue (7, Odaria St.) Collapsed Nahlas Eliezer’ Synagogue In the late 19th century, as numerous as were the synagogues in Odessa itself, the Jewish population of Peresyp, a large industrial district on the outskirts of the city, did not have a synagogue of its own. It was only in the early 1890s that a synagogue was built with donations from local residents, notable among them Lazar Klebman, a merchant. Though a modest structure, the synagogue fully met the needs of its congregation, Nahlas Eliezer. After 1920 it was closed - as were most synagogues in Odessa - and it was not until 1954, when the only remaining synagogue in the center of the city was closed by the authorities, that permission was granted to re-open Nahlas Eliezer. Until 1989, it remained the only synagogue in a city with a Jewish population of tens of thousands. The building was repaired through the efforts of Rabbi Diment with donations from the people who used to pray in the synagogue and a matza bakery for Passover was installed. However, the dwindling Jewish community did not have the means to maintain the building and in summer 1992, it partly collapsed. Only the bakery and a small part of the building remained standing; the latter has now been repaired to house religious services. Fortunately, it is no longer the only synagogue in Odessa.

Kosher Meat Slaughters' and Butchers' Synagogue (46a, Malaya Arnautskaya St.) As early as the first half of the 19th century, the city's kosher butchers had their own synagogue. In 1909, the congregation, whose members were engaged in the slaughter and sale of kosher meat and who had considerable funds at their disposal, erected a new synagogue. Of impressive dimensions, the synagogue was built of unplastered limestone decorated with red bricks. Its architectural style was somewhat reminiscent of older synagogues in western Europe. The building also housed a butchers' mutual aid society, which was a prototype for future trade unions. In the early 1930s, the synagogue was closed; its last elder, Hersh-Leib Veprik, died in the Holocaust. In 1991, the building was returned to the city's Jewish cultural and educational organizations, and it now houses the Odessa Jewish Cultural Society (OJCS), which includes the Jewish history and local folklore society, Hevel Hevelim ("Vanity of Vanities") - a theater workshop, the Migdal Or Jewish Music Theater, the Migdal Education and Arts Center and the Odessa branch of the Association of Ghetto and Nazi camp veterans. Former Kosher Meat Slaughters' and Butchers' Synagogue Hersh-Leib Veprik Bill of ‘Migdal-Or’ Theatre Show of ‘Hevel Havolim’ Theatre

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