(Author: David A. Sher, Vol. 72, No. 2, Rosh Hashanah 2017)
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One of the most inspiring structures lining Jerusalem’s undulating King George V Avenue (Street)1 is the stately Jerusalem Great Synagogue, situated at number 56. The road was opened on 9 December 1924 by the British High Commissioner to the Holy Land, Sir Herbert Samuel, a Jew and member of London’s New West End Synagogue, in the presence of Sir Ronald Storrs, the allegedly antisemitic Governor of the Jerusalem-Jaffa district.2 By contrast, the synagogue structure is relatively new, having been opened in 1982. Naturally the congregational history of the structure is far older than the edifice itself.
In 1923 the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, Abraham Isaac HaKohen Kook (1865-1935) and his Sephardic counterpart Rabbi Jacob Meir (1856-1939) proposed strategies for a great central synagogue to be constructed in Jerusalem. In 1946 Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Isaac HaLevi Herzog (1888-1959) bought land in Jerusalem with the object of eventually building the Seat of the Chief Rabbinate. It was only in 1958, however, that a medium-sized synagogue was established within the building ofHechal Shlomo, seat of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate. This was a forerunner of the present Jerusalem Great Synagogue (hereafter JGS).
The opening of Hechal Shlomo itself saw 275 Rabbis, including scholars of international repute, twelve Chief Rabbis, representatives of Christianity and other faiths and over a dozen foreign consular officials in attendance. Some invitees did not attend due to theological concerns on the part of Rabbi Isaac Zev Soloveitchik (the ‘Brisker Rav’, 1886-1959) over a desire by some to open a modern Sanhedrin within the building.3 The chief financier of both Hechal Shlomo and the JGS constructed next door almost 25 years later was the famed British philanthropist Sir Isaac Wolfson (1897-1991). At the Hechal Shlomo inauguration ceremony, he was presented with a golden key to the building by Chief Rabbi Herzog.
Hechal Shlomo was one of Sir Isaac’s most imposing projects. It contains a large inscription recording that it was “Erected to the Glory of G-d and His Holy Torah” and dedicated to his parents, the late Shlomo and Necha Sarah Wolfson. The building is named after Shlomo Wolfson.4[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] Sir Isaac Wolfson speaking at the opening of Heichal Shlomo, 1958 Hechal Shlomo features a large dome and a menorah upon its façade. The architect was Dr Alexander Friedman, who also designed the offshoot of Hechal Shlomo, the JGS, the nearby Yeshurun Central Synagogue and the Museum for Islamic Art in Jerusalem. The contractor was Matityahu Lifschitz. The highly intricate Bimah, Holy Ark and other fittings of the Renanim Synagogue situated within Hechal Shlomo were transported from the magnificent 300 year-old Padua Synagogue of Italy. Plaques recall how the saintly Rabbi Moshe Hayim Luzatto (the Ramchal) composed special hymns of thanksgiving for the inauguration of this Ark in 1728. Detailed stained glass windows were donated by Lady Wolfson and other key philanthropists; these are startlingly similar in style to the windows at the St. John’s Wood United Synagogue in London, which were designed by the same artist, David Hillman, a son of Dayan Hillman of the London Beth Din.5 Initially, there was a five-man choir accompanied by ten children. It was conducted for many years by Cantor Zvi Talmon, a composer of note who published Lamnazeach Mizmor and Mizmorei Shem VeYefet, and arranged the music for the Yad VaShem Yom HaShoahmemorial services. As time passed, the need for a more spacious sanctuary became apparent, and services were accordingly held in the capacious atrium of Hechal Shlomo. When these premises could no longer contain the number of worshippers, it was decided that a new, much larger synagogue should be constructed. At the present time, the original Hechal Shlomo complex continues to hold services at the Renanim Synagogue. It also houses an auditorium with 500 seats and the Wolfson Museum of Jewish Art, with an exclusive collection of Jewish ceremonial artwork. The Italian Aron HaKodesh in the Renanim Synagogue in Hechal Shlomo, the forerunner of the Great Synagogue A large plot of land next to Hechal Shlomo was purchased, primarily due to the tenacious efforts of Dr Maurice A Jaffe, chairman of Hechal Shlomo’s Board of Management. Jaffe’s inspiration had its roots in the moment he was shown a letter from Chief Rabbi Kook, who protested that when he stood on hills overlooking Jerusalem all he saw were mosques and churches and that Jerusalem needed a Great Synagogue. Reading these words, Jaffe declared, “If that is what he wanted then that is what he will get.”6 Jaffe was born in Manchester, Great Britain and was a Major in the British Armed Forces and also served with the Jewish Brigade of the British Army. Indeed, he accompanied Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Isaac HaLevy Herzog on a mission throughout liberated Europe to recover Jewish children who had been placed in monasteries before or during the war and whose parents had been murdered by the Germans. Despite the monasteries’ intransigence, many children were identified when they reacted to Rabbi Herzog reciting in a loud, tremulous voice the ‘Shema Israel’. Jaffe was also responsible for the establishment of 50 different synagogues and Jewish organisations across Israel including in some staunchly secularist yishuvim. It is clear that the main sponsor for construction of the new synagogue was Sir Isaac Wolfson, who pledged a fantastic sum in British Pounds Sterling and then urged other philanthropists to match him, including some of his colleagues in business.7 Donations came from the crème de la crème of Jewry’s gentry, alongside donations from Jews in the most far-flung Diasporic locations. Naturally, the British leanings of the synagogue meant that donations were received from many towns in England, including book cases from Stanley and Dian Faull from Hove, stained glass windows from Sebag Cohen of Jersey in the Channel Islands, one from Bart and Betty Wijsmuller, also from Jersey and one from Jack and Bebe Steinberg of London. Lady Wolfson donated the five stained glass windows over the Holy Ark and together with her husband donated the Holy Ark itself and the Bimah. Numerous Holocaust survivors made donations, including the Grossmans of Toronto, the Knellers of Antwerp and the Levensteins, Merkins, Pantirers and Zuckermans of New Jersey. Donations were received from residents of Beverly Hills, Geneva and Montreux, Switzerland, Mexico City, Milan, Chicago, Miami Beach, New York, and Grand Rapids, USA. The Holocaust Memorial Wall was donated by the Feursteins of Buenos Aires whilst the Chupah was donated by the Wiesels of Vienna. A stained glass window was sponsored by the Bains of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and another was donated by families in Brussels. The Greek Jewish community in Athens paid for the bridal room and donations were received from several families in Kinshasa, Zaire, for stained glass windows. Truly this was a synagogue for the Jews of the world. Jews in the Holy Land also made substantial contributions. Esther and Jules Elefant of Jerusalem donated the Amud and Matityahu Lifshitz, also of the Holy City, sponsored the creation of two stained glass windows. The High Holy Day Ark Curtain was donated by Hermann Ellern of Jerusalem; its design is the same as the regular curtain excepting that its colouring is primarily white. Sam Sebba of Tel Mond was a Master Builder while Max Grunt of Tiberias donated his Judaica collection. The inauguration of the Great Synagogue took place on Tu B’Av (15 Av) 1982. At the opening a representative sent by US President Ronald Reagan was present as were the Israeli Prime Minister and President, the Chief Rabbis and many dignitaries and Members of the Knesset. Israel’s Philharmonic Orchestra provided musical accompaniment at the service. The style of the JGS was modelled upon Solomon’s Temple. Its summit features two cubist Luchot or Tablets of the Ten Commandments. The aforementioned Alexander Friedman subpoenaed that the façade of the synagogue should be of Jerusalem-stone and ensured this would be a most iconic Jerusalemite building. The total cost of the project was $18 million.8 The synagogue was opened by Sir Isaac and Lady Edith Wolfson and this fact was recorded on two large plaques, one English the other Hebrew, flanking either side of the entrance. The plaques read; “This House of Prayer For the Jews of the World is Dedicated by Sir Isaac and Lady Wolfson to the Memory of All Those Who Died so That we the Jewish People May Live To The Six Million Jewish Victims of the Nazi Holocaust and All Those Jewish Men And Women Who Sacrificed Their Lives For and in Defence Of The State of Israel”. The actual doors were modelled on the High Priest’s breastplate with its precious stones. Before the synagogue lies the large Maurice A. Jaffe Plaza. In the low wall surrounding the plaza is a stone with Hebrew symbols on it taken from the now destroyed Jewish community of Southern Germany. Such stones were upon which bridegrooms would smash the glass goblet, in grief at the destruction of Jerusalem. It serves as a guardian to this unique German tradition and as a silent reminder to the murderous actions of the Nazi regime, which savagely decimated the once flourishing community from where this custom originated. At the entrance to the synagogue is the Wohl Entrance Hall, named for the donors and founding members of the JGS, Maurice and Vivienne Wohl of London. Of this couple and their philanthropy, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, Chief Rabbi Emeritus of Israel and presently Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, later declared, “Maurice and Vivienne Wohl left us a powerful legacy of caring for every Jew in need, with compassion, respect and to devotion”. Both were founding members of the JGS, as a plaque in the Wohl Entrance Hall attests,9 and Maurice served as its President from 1987 until 2007. The Wohl Entrance Hall consists of a marble cladded space with the Mezuzah collection upon the two walls leading to the staircases; five chandeliers light the space. On the left of the Hall is the Wohl Legacy Room, containing computer screens and artefacts displaying the Wohls’ philanthropy. Many medals from the cities of Jerusalem, London and Tel Aviv line the walls. These include Maurice’s Commander of the British Empire Medal, together with its citation signed by Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh. It is displayed alongside a large photograph of Maurice and Vivienne holding the medal outside Buckingham Palace in 1992. Adjacent to the Wohl Entrance Hall is the Friedler Banquet Hall, a tasteful venue for hosting religious celebrations. At the far end of the Wohl Entrance Hall, sweeping staircases lit with chandeliers afford access to the tiered ladies gallery. Other JGS founding members include the well-known Beni and Nina Kaplan, and Selwyn Struck and family both of South Africa. Their names appear on a large marble wall of Founding Members in the vestibule, which lists many of Jewry’s greatest philanthropists. The JGS is perhaps the only synagogue in the world to have a Shabbath escalator, situated close to the mezuzah collection. erusalem Great Synagogue: Façade One of the most unmistakeably Jewish symbols is the mezuzah which graces the doorpost of every true Jewish home. It is an emblem of devotion to the Omnipresent and reflects the concept expounded by Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch that each Jewish homestead is a Temple of the L-rd.10 It reminds the faithful Jew that he is merely the lodger in his home since, after all, the A-lmighty is the owner of all. Jews are accustomed to placing their fingers upon the mezuzah and then kiss their fingers to make themselves mindful that they are entering hallowed territory. Moved by her early childhood experiences of her father lifting her up to ‘kiss the mezuzah’ in their home, in 1940 Dr Belle Rosenbaum decided to collect 19th and 20th Century mezuzoth and their cases from across the world. She found the mitzvah of the mezuzah especially significant because it was one of the commandments linked to all Jews: men, women and children. The results of her efforts were breath-taking, a collection that is one of the hidden gems of Jerusalem. The Jacob and Dr Belle Rosenbaum Mezuzah Collection, containing thousands of mezuzoth, was eventually donated by the couple to the JGS and is housed at Wohl Entrance Hall. It includes some exceptionally unique items. For example, in 1808, the internationally renowned Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav (Breslov) was presented with a magnificent throne chair by a follower. It featured ornately carved images of creatures, birds and flora from the Bible intertwined in the Tree of Life from Proverbs. Following the Rabbi’s passing, his disciples hid the chair, which only reappeared in 1936 when it was smuggled in stages out of the USSR and wisely sent to the Holy Land. There, it was received by the local Breslov community. Over years parts of the chair became corroded and so in 1985 Breslov leaders approached the acclaimed artist Catriel Sugarman to attempt to reconstruct and restore it to its former glory. Whilst much of the chair was irrevocably lost to putrefaction, Catriel managed with great expertise to incorporate substantial fragments of the old chair into a splendid new throne. Belle, ever on the lookout for fascinating additions to her collection, asked Catriel to create a mezuzah for her compendium from the excess remains of the wood. The Breslovers, vehemently protective over every chip, at first categorically refused her request but eventually acquiesced. Catriel duly designed the mezuzah case, which (with worm tracks visible on its exterior) is on display in the JGS vestibule. In 1965, on one of her missions to obtain new mezuzuoth, Belle met an elderly gentleman known as Shalom displaying mezuzoth from a makeshift counter in Israel’s Ain Hod artist’s colony. He related the following story. Before World War II, he had lived in a small Polish town, where he gained a livelihood as a scribe writing mezuzoth and other sacred scrolls. When the Germans invaded and rounded up the town’s Jews, Shalom hid some scrolls and a quill upon his person before being sent with his brethren to a concentration camp. Upon arrival in the camp he resolved to write as many mezuzoth as possible and to disburse them to each prisoner’s barrack. The prisoners took these scrolls and placed them in hidden splits behind the entrances. In order to ensure that the parchments were somewhat protected he encased them in brown paper torn into squares from paper bags and twisted them on both sides to hold them. All of Shalom’s family were murdered in the Holocaust and in 1950 he immigrated alone to Israel. There, in a move redolent of Jewish tenacity and continuity he continued his former sacrosanct occupation. He designed one mezuzah case out of black iron to recall he smoking chimneys of the death camps’ crematoria. The size and shape of the mezuzah case is crafted as an emblematic reference to the small twisted brown paper utilised to cover the parchments which provided solace to the inmates of the German death camps. The collection contains some fascinating shapes, including one in the form of a map of Israel, with the writing from the mezuzah scrolls “that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, upon the land” (Deut. 11:21) written on it and another featuring Noah’s Ark from which miniature giraffes and lions are emerging. These appear alongside modern mezuzoth consisting of guitar shapes and modern arts compositions. When walking through the capacious vestibule of the Great Synagogue, congregants will likely hear sweet Sephardic melodies emanating from a side room. This room houses the Chazon Ovadiah Sephardic Synagogue, also titled the Hechal Jacob Synagogue, which is dedicated to the memory of Jacob Safra by his sons Eliyahu, Edmond, Moshe and Yoseph Safra of Safra banking fame. In 2001 Beth HaMidrash Be’er Miriam, located on the basement floor of the JGS, was consecrated in memory of the late Miriam Landau. Under the guidance of the Rosh Beit HaMidrash Rabbi Zalman Druck, the Beth HaMidrash blossomed to hold daily weekday morning and afternoon/evening prayers. The JGS often also holds its Sabbath afternoon services there, followed by Se’udah Shlishith and Ma’ariv. This area is an understated yet pleasing sanctum with light cream coloured furniture and a fully-stocked library housing many tomes of the Bible, Mishna, Talmud and many commentaries on all these transcendental volumes. Rabbi Druck delivered the Daf Yomi lecture [entailing the daily study of a page of Talmud in tandem with thousands across the globe] each morning (Monday-Friday) ever since the opening of Beit Midrash Be’er Miriam. He had commenced the second round of Talmud lectures (the full cycle often takes seven years to complete) at the time of his passing in December 2009. The main sanctuary of the JGS seats 850 men and 550 women. The pews are made of a richly coloured wood and their tip-up seats consist of a plush maroon felt. Upon entering the sanctuary, visitors will be struck by the vibrant stained glass windows lining its walls. At the forefront of the synagogue the white marble Holy Ark (Aron HaKodesh) is flanked by two convex marble walls which soar to the high ceiling. To maximise this ethereal and angelic effect, at either side of the Holy Ark appears the form of a marble angel wing. The centre of the Holy Ark features the Luchoth (Tablets), with the Decalogue inscribed in gold lettering upon them. Behind the Luchoth are two plinth-like marble slabs and beneath them can be seen the affirmation “I have set the L-RD always before me” (Psalm 16:8), commonly known as the Shivithi sign. Access to the duchaning area before the Holy Ark for where the Priestly Benediction is declaimed is gained from either side via a long marble staircase. The mahogany wooden Amud and pulpit standing in the Holy Ark area are reached by an entirely different marble staircase. There are two white marble pillars dividing the Parocheth (Holy Ark curtain). In 2017 the Prayer for the Welfare of The State of Israel was inscribed on one column flanking the Ark by Ronald and Jo Carol Lauder and on the other flanking column the Prayer for the IDF and security personnel was inscribed in honour of Malcolm and Frieda Hoenlein. An observant worshipper will note how the shape of the central almemar and the area leading to the Holy Ark form the shape of a great Menorah (candelabra) when looked upon panoramically. The marble almemar is reached from two sides and features tall lamps, moulded with large silver ‘flags’ at their summit. Illuminating this commodious sanctum is a shimmering chandelier. Weighing around 3½ tons, it hangs from an enormous circular plate covering much of the ceiling. It is only turned on for Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur and other important services, namely Shabbath Hannukah and on Shabbath Shalom Yerushalayim, the Sabbath preceding Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) which marks the day on which Jewish sovereignty was restored to East Jerusalem in 1967.11 On this Shabbat enormous flags of both Israel and Jerusalem (consisting of a lion against a Western Wall backdrop) flank the Holy Ark and Cantor and Choir sing an additional ‘Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem’ composed by the late Chief Rabbi She’ar Yashuv HaKohen of Haifa. Typically, the Chief Rabbi and Mayor of Jerusalem will speak. When the building was first constructed, Maurice Jaffe was desirous of having a wardens’ box constructed before the almemaras per the custom of the United Synagogue in Britain. He also wanted the wardens to be clad in top-hats, as was the English custom. However his views were not supported by a majority on the synagogue council.12 The most striking elements of the synagogue are undoubtly the titanic stained glass windows above the Holy Ark. Arresting and vividly coloured, these are the work of the late Régine Heim of Zurich. They contain evocative Judaic symbolism and as they are positioned over the Holy Ark housing the five Books of Moses, there are five windows. These feature elements of the metaphysical and the material worlds created by the L-RD, with the two worlds divided by a striking rainbow centrally positioned between them. Fittingly, at the summit of the windows appears the verse “Thine, O L-RD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine” (I Chron. 29:11). The central depiction of the window is of the Burning Bush of Moses. The tree has Torah connotations and the verse “She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, and happy is every one that holdest her fast” (Proverbs 3:18) appears in the window. The synagogue’s official description of the window makes the pertinent observation that the strength of sunlight during daylight hours makes it difficult to gaze at the peak of the centre window, just as Moses had to shade his eyes at the Burning Bush.13 The higher windows are dominated by the colour blue, in reference to the ‘techeleth’ turquoise thread that Jews are adjured to attach to their garments (Numbers 15:35). Flanking the upper windows are three wings, signifying the L-RD’s throne as portrayed by Isaiah (6:3). To indicate the triumvirate reference from Isaiah, in the central wing on each margin is the word “Kadosh” (Holy) and the middle window contains the conclusion of the verse in Isaiah. There is also a Kabbalistic reference in the 10 sefiroth found in this section. The Aron HaKodesh beneath stained glass windows, Jerusalem Great Synagogue. Below the rainbow, Régine Heim introduces the viewer to the earthly material world and symbolises it by fire. Heim wished to illustrate how fire can be used for both constructive and pernicious purposes. The noble, beneficial use of fire is indicated by the Burning Bush Moses encountered which, being a manifestation of the L-RD’s presence, radiates goodness and giving (Exodus 3:1-6).It is also emblematic of the Jewish nation, which, despite the sedulous barbarousness of other nations in their efforts to ‘consume’ Judaism, always blossoms forth to further, verdant existence. The Bible describes how when the L-RD came from the holy myriads (Deuteronomy 33:2) “at His right hand was a fiery Law [Torah] unto them” thus the connection between the Torah and the fire is clear and it appears Heim wished to reinforce the image of the positive ‘Torah’ fire of law and morality by numbering the Ten Commandments of the Decalogue (Exodus 20:1-14) from ‘Aleph’ to ‘Yud’ around the fiery bush. The injurious use of fire to decimate appears at the nethermost point of the window: this is the attempt to extirpate the Jews and the moral lessons that Jews must exemplify. Nonetheless amidst that satanic contrivance we see the vigorous roots of the tree emerging triumphantly. The Divine reassurance informs the worshippers “Fear not, O Jacob My servant”, (Isaiah 44:2) as does the consolatory promise; “For out of Zion shall go forth the Law [Torah], and the word of the L-RD from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3). The ten stained glass windows in the men’s section of the synagogue and the ten windows in the women’s section were crafted by Dr Alexander Friedman, the building’s architect. Each window has a verse from Scripture at the bottom. The design above is the artist’s interpretation of that verse. They depict themes of the Jewish Sabbath, festivals and Biblical events. The gallery fronts at the Great Synagogue also depict a wide range of Jewish sacramental items including the Shofar, Lulav and Ethrog and Stars of David. The Ner Tamid, or the Eternal Lamp, is a fascinating piece consisting of silver walls of Jerusalem arranged in a Star of David shape suspended pendulously before the Holy Ark, with the flame beneath. This masterpiece was donated by Imri and Edith Rosenberg of Vienna, Austria. The voluminous velvet ermine Parokheth [Holy Ark curtain] features the apposite verse, speaking of Jerusalem “Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces” from Psalm 122:7. It was donated by Michael and Edith Lishka, also of Vienna. Nowadays the synagogue bestows gold embossed cards summoning respective people for the ‘honours’ related to the Service of Reading from the Scroll of Law (Torah). On many Yizkor days, the Chief Cantor recites special memorial prayers for all past Israeli Prime Ministers and Presidents, as well as for Sir Isaac and Lady Wolfson. A special E-l Male Rachamim is recited for the soul of Eliyahu Ben-Shaul Cohen, commonly known as Eli Cohen, the heroic Israeli spy murdered by the Syrian regime in Damascus’ Marjeh Square. In his final letter to his family he asked “Don’t forget to pray for the soul of my late Father and of mine” and the Jerusalem Great Synagogue resolved to honour his request. Many people of diverse backgrounds flock to the Great Synagogue every Sabbath. Thousands attend for Festival services. Young children in primary schools across Israel come to the Great Synagogue for their first Siddur presentation. More mature students often attend synagogue for the Rosh Chodesh [New Month] Services and the penitential Selichoth services. Many groups of soldiers from the Israel Defense Forces tour the site regularly. To encourage religion amongst the sadly predominantly religiously unobservant wider Israeli society, special services are held to create a stronger religious identity. Annual collective Bar and Bath Mitzvah celebrations for the offspring of Israeli police staff are held. Similar services for the children of Russian and Ethiopian immigrants, are hosted by the Great Synagogue. The Jerusalem Great Synagogue has an annual operating budget of an astounding $1,000,000. Rabbi Dr Zalman Druck was the spiritual leader from the synagogue’s establishment until his death, aged 75, on 11 December 2009. He also served as Rabbi of the Rechavia neighbourhood. Several months prior to his death his name became even more well-known when, after Shabbath prayers, a Torah scroll fell to the floor and he ruled then that due to the halakhic doubt anyone who attended prayers should repent and fast one day. “If the person finds fasting difficult he should give money to charity,” he added.14 On Rabbi Druk’s passing Zalli Jaffe, son of Maurice, commented on Israel’s Channel 7, “Judaism lost today one of its leaders. There aren’t many like him. We have lost an enormous pillar of knowledge that will not be replaced. We are in total shock”. Rabbi Druk’s son Rabbi Yisrael Chaim Druk has since assumed some of his father’s duties. The Great Synagogue also benefits from a steady stream of great rabbinic personalities, including Roshei Yeshiva, Avoth Batei Din and Chief Rabbis who address the congregants on many Sabbaths. The JGS, with both a world renowned cantor and internationally-acclaimed choir, is one of the world’s chief repositories for Jewish Ashkenazic liturgical music. With a mandate to preserve the vast repertoire of the cantorial and choral chants of pre-war Europe whilst injecting the music of modern Israel, the synagogue’s cantor and choir officiate regularly on the Sabbath, Festivals and Israel Independence Day. CantorNaftali Herstik was the first Chief Cantor, a position he held until 31 December 2008, when he was succeeded by Cantor Chaim Adler. Herstik, born in Salgótarján, Hungary, was three years old when his family immigrated to Israel. Descended from a long rabbinic and cantorial line, he was considered a cantorial prodigy and as a teenager sang alongside Cantor Moshe Koussevitzky. His first cantorial mentor was his father, Moshe Menachem Herstik. He also studied under Cantors Leib Glantz and Shlomo Ravitz. Whilst attending the prestigious London Royal College of Music, from which he graduated, he served as cantor of London’s Finchley United Synagogue. In 1981, he became Chief Cantor of the JGS. He has sung with the London Mozart Players, the London Festival Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. Cantor Herstik’s style is more intensely formal than his successor and his music bears a marked Western European influence. His repertoire includes the work of the Berlin choirmaster Louis Lewandowski, Josseleh Rosenblatt and Moshe Kraus, the stately work of Salomon Sulzer and Samuel Alman, choirmaster at the Dalston Synagogue, at the London Great Synagogue, in Duke’s Place and at Hampstead. In 1984 Herstik was approached, alongside the world-famous Cantor Moshe Stern (who commenced his career at Hechal Shlomo),15 Dr Tzvi Talmon and choirmaster Elli Jaffe to start a school dedicated to preserving and coaching people in the cantorial arts. The school was based in Hechal Shlomo for three years before moving to Tel Aviv in 1987. The municipality of Tel Aviv assumed responsibility for what is today the Tel Aviv Cantorial Institute in 1991 and Cantor Herstik in due course became general director. Herstik’s son Cantor Netanel Herstik of the Hampton Synagogue graduated from the TACI, as did a number of the stars of today’s cantorial world. The latter include Cantors Yitzhak Meir Helfgot of New York’s historic Park East Synagogue, Azi Schwartz, Gideon Zelermyer, who serves Montreal’s highly anglicised Shaar Shamayim Synagogue,16 and Moshe Haschel of the United Synagogue’s flagship synagogue at St. John’s Wood. Herstik composed a special En Kelokenu melody now in use all over the world, in which the cantor alternates with a young boy soprano in singing the stanzas. This he did with his musically gifted grandson, to the enthrallment of congregants. Herstik’s discography includes songs celebrating Jerusalem’s and European Jewry’s musical tradition. Records include his album, The Danzig Tradition and The Koenigsberg Tradition alongside Shirè Yosef devoted to Cantor Joselleh Rosenblatt. Unquestionably, JGS strengthened Chazanuth in Israel. It must be noted, though, that the Yeshurun Central Synagogue was the first in Jerusalem to employ a professional full-time Cantor. Today Cantor Asher Hainowitz, resplendent in cantorial gown and cap, officiates every week in the Yeshurun Synagogue’s sanctuary, also situated on King George V Street. Naftali Herstik being such a magnificent cantor meant that finding a suitable successor was no easy matter. Interestingly, the JGS chose a Hasidic Cantor, the very talented Chaim Adler. Adler also broke with tradition by not wearing canonicals on all occasions, although he still wears the cantorial cap. His pronunciation during prayers follows the modern Israeli Sephardit pronunciation which pervades at the Great Synagogue. Adler’s piety means he spends an equal amount of time studying the meaning of the prayers as he does preparing for the cantorial renditions. He has been said to synthesise “heartfelt prayer and soulful singing in which every word comes alive with meaning.” Adler is widely recognised as a composer. Not content to merely parrot compositions of earlier masters, he sets the prayers to new tunes. It comes as a shock for visitors to the JGS to learn that Cantor Adler is in fact in his late 70s. His scintillating cadenzas seem to indicate otherwise. Felicitously, he was informed by leading voice specialists and professors that he will retain his vocal capacities to his final day. Adler’s father Rabbi Zvi Adler, an author of five volumes on the Yoreh Deah section of the Shulchan Arukh (Jewish Code of Law), used to lead the services on the High Holy Days and would encourage his four year old son to lend him vocal support for certain parts of the prayers. Chaim enjoyed visiting local synagogues to hear the cantors and his father often took him to listen to them; indeed, he “always dreamed of being a Chazan.” His first ‘appointment’ was at the age of 11 to be class chazan every Rosh Chodesh. From such humble beginnings, his fame spread and so it was that he sang in the choir performing before the court of the Grand Hasidic Rabbi of Gur, Rabbi Israel Alter. He was then sent to a Yeshiva in Jerusalem, where on one occasion he joined three other students to visit Shlomo Zalman Rivlin, mentor of Jerusalemite cantors. Rivlin had sung with such noted cantors as Joselleh Rosenblatt and Zanvil Kwartin and also conducted a choir at the famous Sabbath service in Jerusalem’s Hurva Synagogue, where Cantor Rosenblatt sang and Chief Rabbi A I Kook spoke. Each of the four boys wished to hear his expert opinion regarding their cantorial potential. After hearing each of them Rivlin, turning to Adler, announced; “This one will grow up to be something special.” Upon his return home from Yeshiva, Adler was informed by his father that the renowned Cantor Leib Glantz had honoured him with leading Selichoth. After his marriage Chaim Adler studied in a kollel in Tel Aviv and joined the Academy of Jewish Religious Music, under the tutelage of Glantz who directed the academy. Adler considers himself a student of Glantz, a mentor who would often resort to dissecting every note in a piece and draw the musical notes on a blackboard, in order to clarify areas needing improvement. Before being appointed to the Great Synagogue, Adler served as Cantor to the Ichud Shivath Zion Synagogue in Tel Aviv and Young Israel of Jamaica Estates in Queens, New York. Since then he has sung before Rabbi Y.S. Elyashiv and Rabbi S. Wosner at a mass completion of Daf Yomi study of the Talmud in 5750. He has also appeared at tribute concerts to Leib Glantz and at a concert celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the city of Tel Aviv. He has sung E-l Male Rachamim (‘G-d Full of Compassion’) at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in memory of the Six Million Jews savagely murdered by the Germans and their collaborators. On one such visit to Poland he sang Psalm 23; “The L-rd is my Shepherd: I shalt not fear.” Adler mentioned that he stressed the words “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.” Later, among the large crowd present, one man stepped forward and told Adler “You sang so beautifully that you touched my heart.” The man then introduced himself as “Pope Benedict the 16th.” Adler, an observant Jew was evidently unimpressed when he responded “And I’m Cantor Adler the 1st!” Adler’s wife, an artist, related how once she sat as usual in the JGS’s women’s gallery while her husband led the service below. During the prayers a girl who was obviously very moved by the experience came up to her and said, “Did you ever hear such a chazzan in your life? I haven’t!” The girl, not knowing that she was speaking to the cantor’s wife, continued to relate how she came from a religious background but had turned to a secular lifestyle. She had however once experienced a prayer service led by Cantor Adler and was so moved that she decided to return to Torah observance. Cantor Adler also maintains a pastoral role. On being asked to sing for a man who had both his legs amputated, he used the hospital chapel on the eighth floor and sang several pieces for him. Obviously his voice carried through the floor and many enthralled patients, religious and non-observant alike, came to listen. Seeing the electrifying effect on the sickly and melancholy patients he decided to make his visit to the hospital a weekly occurrence. In 2013 he was awarded the Jerusalem Prize and recently received the Official of Tel Aviv Award. Adler makes a point of not slurring two words into one when singing and emphasises the grammatical integrity of the words. According to the Code of Jewish Law (OC 53) a cantor must not only have a pleasant voice but must also be “worthy, accepted, humble, of good repute and accustomed to studying the Bible.” Certainly, Chaim Adler fulfils these requirements. For over fifty years, he has led the services on Rosh Hashana and has never missed leading Kol Nidrè, Mussaf and Ne’ilah. It is astounding to see a 75 year-old man exerting himself in the recitation of the High Holy Day prayers as he stands with his back straight for the three and a half hour recitation of the Day of Atonement Mussaf followed by a one and a half hour Neilah in the midst of the fast. Another aspect which greatly enhances the quality of music at the JGS is the participation of the choir’s Musical Arranger Raymond Goldstein, who studied music for decades in his native South Africa. An expert pianist, Raymond also studied organ music for many years and regularly appears on concert platforms, included well-attended events at London’s Hampstead Garden Suburb Synagogue and at Boca Raton, Florida.17The South African connection to the JGS is further strengthened by the South African members of the choir. Undoubtedly one of the greatest assets the congregation possesses is Elli Jaffe, the synagogue choirmaster and brother of Acting Synagogue President Zalli Jaffe. Both are sons of the congregation’s founder and originator Maurice A. Jaffe, who came from a family which for years has been either heading or guiding Lubavitch UK. Elli leads the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra and has decades of musical study to his credit. Often appearing in tail-coats at concerts across the world as he directs an orchestra, he has developed the Great Synagogue choir to arguably be the best Jewish synagogal choir in the world. Jaffe has released several CD albums focused upon prayer melodies and the manner in which intricate pieces must be rendered. During the Kedushah service, when the congregation must be upstanding and face the Holy Ark, he directs the choir masterfully although by religious requirement he is compelled to do so by gesturing behind his back to the choir facing the same direction! On several occasions he has taken over as Cantor extemporaneously when the Chief Cantor and Deputy Cantor Avraham Kirshenbaum were, for whatever reason, unable to lead the service. On the Sabbath preceding the new Jewish month Jaffe joins Cantor Adler in a duet during the special New Month Prayers. Jaffe resonates from his conducting location before the Holy Ark and Adler intones from the almemar; the result is a very moving piece beseeching for a new month “free of iniquity and filled with fear of Heaven.” Elli Jaffe was born in Jerusalem and as a child studied some recorder and piano and sang in a choir. At the age of 19 he decided to become a professional musician and enrolled at the Jerusalem Academy of Music. He completed his Artist’s Diploma with distinction in conducting and music theory, and then spent a year studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Upon return to Israel, he took master classes with Leonard Bernstein and Igor Markevich and began conducting in countries all over the world. He was offered the position of conductor of the Mexico Philharmonic Orchestra, but turned this prestigious position down due to reasons of Sabbath observance. Jaffe conducted all the major Israeli orchestras and encourages furthering the careers of youthful performing artists, by inviting them to play with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, The Israel Chamber Orchestra and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He has conducted many other orchestras including Great Britain’s Royal Philharmonic, the Liège Philharmonic, the Baltimore Symphony, and the Prague Symphony Orchestra, of which he holds the title honorary guest conductor. He is artistic director of the music department of Dvir Yeshiva High School for Art and of the Jerusalem School for Cantorial Art. Jaffe has said he conducts the JGS choir in memory of his late father, Maurice, a driving force behind the establishment of the synagogue. He has stated his aims are to create a standard of excellence in performance but also to promote a deep understanding of the piece and the composer’s ideas. There are rehearsals at least once a week. Choir members come from many walks of life: many are professional people – businessman, lawyers and doctors – as well as music-lovers and some professional musicians. The choir has performed in such venues as the Mozarteum Hall in Salzburg, the Sydney Opera House and with orchestras such as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Prague Symphony and the Manchester Camerata in the new hall of the Halle Orchestra. Jaffe established a school of cantorial music, now in Petach Tikvah, in order to produce a new generation of cantors and some of his own students are teachers there. He was also a driving force behind the establishment of the Tel Aviv Cantorial Institute. Elli composes and arranges Jewish music, including orchestral and cantorial arrangements of Israeli and oriental songs. His ‘Kaddish’symphony has been performed by the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and a quintet of his has been played by the Israeli Philharmonic Quintet. He has also written “Ode to Ida”, a violin concerto, dedicated to Ida Haendel. Elli has written a book about modes of the prayer of Ashkenaz [nusach] used throughout the year. A 15 disc recording has been issued to accompany the book. He has also composed a work commemorating 400 years since the death of the seminal sage Rabbi Judah Loew, the Maharal of Prague (1525-1609). The work is scored for large orchestra, choir and soloists. Jaffe was invited to conduct at the Mahler Festival in Prague in 2010. He is musical director of the Europe-Israel Foundation for the Advancement of Jewish Liturgical Music and his liturgical settings, arrangements, and orchestrations are widely used by cantors. Unusually for an artist of such high repute Elli is deeply religious. In his own words: “For me, music is the greatest gift after Torah. It helps me raise my level in Torah and I conduct my Torah way of life through music. It promotes communication between human beings: people play and sing different voices but they do hear each other. Music can create bridges between nations and between Jews and it does it better than politicians can. I believe music is a gift of G-d. When conducting Richard Strauss’ Alpine Symphony, I claimed it was a gesture of gratitude to the Almighty for creating those monumental mountains.”18 The stately compositions of the 19th Century Berlin choirmaster Louis Lewandowski are famous all over the world. Naturally his beloved melody for the Sabbath Psalm 92 ‘Tzadik KaTamar’, his well-known ‘Uvnucho Yomar’ and his rendition of Psalm 29, both sung when returning the Torah to the Holy Ark, are staples at the Great Synagogue. Rosenblatt’s compositions for ‘Berich Shmeh’ and his other famous pieces are regularly used as are Nadel’s ‘Sim Shalom’ of the Amida and the ‘En Aroch Lecha’ by Benny Hershkowitz. The synagogue is uniquely designed to maximise acoustical capabilities and this proves itself when Cantor and Choir are heard perfectly throughout the cavernous space. Like Cantor Haimowitz in the Yeshurun Central Synagogue a few doors down, Cantor Adler is a Kohen and he too must deliver the Priestly Benediction (Numbers 6:24) to the congregation; hence a designated member of the congregations calls out the responsive blessing on his behalf. The Chief Rabbi of Emeritus of South Africa, Bernard Moses Casper attended a number of JGS services upon making Aliya; as has the Chairman of the United Hebrew Congregations of Johannesburg, Mr Samuel M Sher and his wife Rose and the Emeritus Av Beth Din Dayan Kurstag. More recently, Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein delivered a sermon on Parshath Vaethchanan 5775 before Mussaf at a special service led by Chief Cantor Chaim Adler accompanied by the Kolot Israel Choir. The synagogue serves as an unofficial ambassador for synagogal practice in general as tour operators make sure to include it as a primary stop on their daytrips, preferably on a Saturday when Cantor and choir are often present. It is not a strange phenomenon at all at the Great Synagogue to see hundreds of tourists streaming across the expansive plaza before the synagogue, the men fastening yarmulkas to their heads as they walk and then enter the sanctuary where they are awed at the gargantuan proportions of the Great Synagogue and beauty of the service. The Great Synagogue’s management views the dissemination of spirituality to the wider Israeli society as an important mission and they are actively involved with the effort to provide one Sefer Torah to each Israel Defence Forces base. Moreover they are extremely supportive of Chayalim Bodedim, lone soldiers who travel from the Diaspora to serve Israel through the IDF despite not having any family in the country. The JGS regularly arranges Friday night meals for them in an environment where the soldiers are made to feel a sense of belonging. Congregants reflect a wide cross-section of Israeli society. Professors with English backgrounds sit alongside Israeli Religious Zionists and Yeshiva students in black fedoras sit next to Hasidic men in black coats and Jerusalemite men in their trademark golden smocks. The JGS possesses around twenty Sifrei Torah and the Emeritus Reader of the Law or Baal Koreh is Rabbi Nahum Agassi who has been part of the ministry of the Great Synagogue and its earlier incarnation at Hechal Shlomo for over 50 years. Through the majestic beauty of the synagogue, captivating prayer services, inspiring Torah study, lectures and other meaningful activities which take place in the Synagogue each week, the memories of the Six Million Jews murdered by the Germans and their collaborators and those who died in Israel’s wars are honoured and their legacy is preserved and strengthened. Due to its vast interior with ample seating, its close propinquity to Jerusalem’s largest hotels and it following a largely Minhag Anglia rite the synagogue remains very popular amongst Jewish visitors to the Holy City. Other than the Kotel Ma’aravi, the Western Wall, and perhaps the Hurva Synagogue, one would be hard-pressed to find another sanctuary which is viewed as a ‘home away from home’ in the way the Jerusalem Great Synagogue is viewed for countless visitors to the capital city of Israel. The building is open daily during the morning hours and welcomes visitors to this special location. Guided tours are available gratis upon request and by prior arrangement. David A. Sher, a regular contributor to Jewish Affairs, is studying for his rabbinical ordination at the Jerusalem Kollel 
Funding and Sponsorships
Façade
The Jacob and Dr Belle Rosenbaum Mezuzah Collection
Hechal Jacob and Beth HaMidrash Be’er Miriam
Main Sanctuary
Rabbinate
Cantorate
Choir and Choirmaster
NOTES
