“Restoration of Etz Hayyim Synagogue in Hania” Samuel D
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Syracuse University From the SelectedWorks of Samuel D. Gruber, Ph.D. 1997 “Restoration of Etz Hayyim Synagogue in Hania” Samuel D. Gruber, Dr., Syracuse University Available at: https://works.bepress.com/samuel_gruber/ 67/ BULLETIN OF JUDAEO-GREEK STUDIES CONTENTS No. 21, Winter 1997/1998 Abbreviations 1 Edited by Papers delivered 2 Nicholas de Lange Theses and work in progress 4 Forthcoming publications 5 James Carleton Paget Recent publications 7 Mark Mazower Book notes 15 Notes on periodicals 21 Lexicographic Research on Words Borrowed from Greek and Latin in the Historical Dictionary of the Academy of the Hebrew Language All opinions expressed in the Bulletin are those of the author concerned of Jerusalem 23 and not necessarily of the editors. Mark Mazower: The Unveiling of the Holocaust Memorial in Thessaloniki 26 Samuel Gruber: Restoration of Etz Hayyim Synagogue in Hania 28 Yitzchak Kerem: The Life and Research of David Bcnveniste (1896- 1993) 31 The names and addresses of our subscribers are registered on a computer Maria Vassilikou: The archive of the Jewish community of Salonika 35 mailing list. If you object to having your address recorded in this manner Miscellaneous jottings 38 please communicate with the Editors. New subscribers 40 ABBREVIATIONS All correspondence to be addressed to: The Editors DHA Dialogues d'histoire ancienne Bulletin of Judaeo-Greek Studies ETL Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses University of Cambridge JJS Journal of Jewish Studies Faculty of Oriental Studies JQR Jewish Quarterly Review Sidgwick Avenue JRAS Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Cambridge CB3 9DA JSJ Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic and Roman Periods JSP Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha JSQ Jewish Studies Quarterly E-mail: NRML1 @cam.ac.uk NTS New Testament Studies FAX: +44-1223-332582 NTT Nederlands Theologisch Tijdschrift RB Revue biblique SCI Studia Classica Israelica SPA Studia Philonica Annual VT Vetus Testamentum ISSN 0954- 1179 1 RESTORATION OF ETZ HAYYIM SYNAGOGUE IN HANIA Entrance to the synagogue was through a door into the south courtyard which was surmounted by the Hebrew inscription from Isaiah: "Blessed are the just..." This courtyard was also used for communal functions, such as the Restoration of the historic Etz Hayyim Synagogue in Hania, Crete, the only building of the succah. surviving Jewish monument on the island, has begun. Sponsored by the Central The east facade, originally the entrance to the church, is distinguished by an Board of Jewish Communities of Greece (KIS), which owns the site, the oculus window high up in the gable which is typical of 16th-century Haniote project is being organized and overseen by the World Monument Fund's architecture. Below this, about midway up the facade, are two large arched Jewish Heritage Program. Dr Nicholas Hannan-Stavroulakis is Project windows surrounded by finely carved limestone moldings. These were added Manager for WMF. in the late 17th or early 18th century, after the conversion of the building to In 1996 WMF included the synagogue on its worldwide list of 100 most synagogal use. The original iron grillwork over these windows remains. endangered monuments prepared by the World Monuments Watch, a program Beneath and between these windows was the original door to the building funded by the American Express Company. A $40,000 challenge grant from which was blocked to allow the placement of the ark within. To the far left WMF's European Preservation Program funded by the Samuel H. Kress (south) on the same facade is a door which led to the women's section off the foundation enabled planning for the project to begin in 1996. To date main sanctuary. approximately $175,000 has been raised, enough to begin the first phases of The south and north flanks of the exterior are each defined by two wide and on-site work, including dismantling the precarious roof, and structural repairs deep structural arches. There may have been more arches when the building to the synagogue walls. On completion, the building will serve as a center for served as a church. The structure may have been shortened when turned into a cross-cultural understanding and scholarship, and be open as a public synagogue, perhaps to avoid inclusion of the church altar area into the new monument for visitors. The refurbished complex will include the synagogue, Jewish sanctuary. with the names of victims of the 1944 deportation and bombing prominently A door now leads directly into the synagogue through the easternmost of displayed; a courtyard displaying the many inscriptions found on site and the two south flank arches. The windows within these arches were originally which can serve as a venue for cultural events; a Judaica shop; and a museum open, but covered by metal grilles, serving as mehitzot, separating the and small library located in the reconstructed women's section, to function as a women's section from the main sanctuary. The area to the south, which is now center for the study of Cretan Jewry. exposed, was a sort of roofed court off of which was the mikvah. The roof of The building has been abandoned for decades, used only by squatters for the mikvah served as a floor of part of the women's section. keeping poultry. In August 1995, however, the synagogue was the scene of The north courtyard contained the main entrance to the synagogue. A small commemoration and religious celebration, as a group of one hundred and ten wooden porch projected from this entrance, as can be seen in old photographs, members of the Jewish Hellenic Youth Organization travelled to Hania and but this has been removed in recent years by looters. To the right of this was held services in the Etz Hayyim for the first time in a half century. The the shamash's room and stairs which led to an upper room which has an arch. success of the event, and the flood of emotion it engendered, bodes well for This is now blocked with rubble but it once served, closed with a grille, as an future (occasional) use of the synagogue for worship, either on additional mehitzah. There is a small damaged inscription between the window commemorative occasions, or on a more regular basis by the large number of and door and another over the entrance. Jewish tourists who visit Crete. In the main sanctuary area, the east wall is defined by two large arch niches, The synagogue was constructed in the 15th-century church of St. Catherine. the tops of which extend through the wall to create deep lunette windows. [On the building and its inscriptions see the article by Judith Humphrey in Against a flat stretch of wall between the arches was located the ark, now BJGS 17, pp. 35-39.] The southeast corner was struck by a bomb in 1941, and gone. In a deep niche in the north-east corner surmounted by a wide pointed considerable damage was done. The building was used by squatters for keeping arch a doorway (now blocked) led to the mikvah. Above this blocked door, in animals in the post-war years and only recently have efforts been made to the top part of the niche, is a window opening from the women's section of the reclaim and restore the structure. synagogue. The west wall closed the space and against this was set the tevah The synagogue consists of a large rectangular hall, 9.76 m. long and 6.36 (reader's platform). This wall traversed the original church space, cutting its m. wide, surmounted by a timber-frame pitched roof with wooden beams size. The altar area of the church was located on the other side of this wall. which traverse the hall. To the north and south were roofed courtyards which Inside, parts of the original decorative tile pavement are preserved. The included upper gallery space for women. These spaces were connected to the main sanctuary is paved with tiles laid in a diamond pattern. main hall by windows which were closed by grilles. The roofing of the In addition to the synagogue proper, there are several related structures courtyards and most of the structural elements of the women's galleries are nearby. To the north was a small schoolhouse; to the south a cave-like mikvah, now destroyed. to the west there were remains of what may have been a bakery. Adjacent to 29 28 the synagogue and extending from it were interconnected houses of the Jewish THE LIFE AND RESEARCH OF quarter. DAVID BENVENISTE (1896-1993) The interior of the mikvah is surmounted by a barrel vault. Within are stone benches and an immersion tank. The tank has been recently filled with David Benveniste was the last Sephardic intellectual of his generation in Israel. rubble and capped with 3 inches of cement. This was done to prevent periodic Born in Salonika under Ottoman rule, he came from a rabbinical family. His overflow from the natural spring which served the mikvah. The tank can grandfather Haham Benveniste Shmuel Yosef was Av Beit Din of the easily be restored by breaking the cap and removing the rubble. Salonikan Jewish community. He was educated at the revitalized Talmud Torah and the Beit Yosef rabbinical seminary in Salonika. Shortly after his Bar Dr Stavroulakis has established the Friends of Etz Hayyim Synagogue to Mitzvah, at age 13, he was among the founders of the local youth group assist with the restoration and long-term planning and operation of the site. Agudat Noar Machzikei Ivrit, dedicated to the dissemination of the Hebrew For more information, contact ISJM or write to Friends of Etz Hayyim language. Greatly influenced by the principal of the Salonikan Talmud Torah, Synagogue, P.O.