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Grand Synagogue of Lyon
Abraham Hirsch
1863–1864
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Born to a family of embroiderers, Abraham Hirsch studied architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts in Lyon, France. Because the traditional apprentice system was often closed to Jews who faced endemic antisemitism, the burgeoning academic system offered more opportunity for aspiring Jewish architects. Hirsch was the first known Jew to have attended a Western school of architecture, and he went on to become the chief architect of Lyon. He designed numerous buildings in the city, including the Grand Synagogue of Lyon, which was completed in 1864. Designed in the neo-Byzantine style, the synagogue is now designated an official historic monument.
Synagogues built in Europe in the age of Emancipation had somewhat contradictory goals. On the one hand, they were to articulate a proud Jewishness, which by definition meant a distinctive style. On the other hand, they wanted to announce that they were deeply embedded in the European cityscape.
A remarkable transformation is occurring in our days. From the confusion of imported trends that have been crowding Judaism over the past century, an element that has long been overlooked is emerging…
This glimpse into an eighteenth-century German Jewish marriage ceremony offers an opportunity to consider how gender roles have changed for this vital ritual.
As for me, my youth began very early. At the age of ten, I was already a grownup, a Polner mentsh, as the Jews said. Besides my diligent studies, back then I was a “God-seeker.” I felt confined, and…