Beth Shalom Temple (; ), commonly referred to as ''El Patronato'', is a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

congregation and

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, located in the

Vedado Vedado (, ) is a central business district and urban neighborhood in the city of Havana, Cuba. Bordered on the east by Calzada de Infanta and Centro Habana, Cuba, Central Havana, and on the west by the Alemendares River and Miramar, Havana, Mir ...

neighbourhood of downtown

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. Temple Beth Shalom is the main synagogue serving Havana's Jewish community of 1,500 people. The congregation was founded in 1904 and It has served as a hub for Jewish religious and cultural activities. Construction on the current building began in 1951 and was completed in 1953. The synagogue received thousands of visitors each year for both Shabbat and tours of Jewish Cuba.

History

Jews arrived in Cuba shortly after the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492. Subsequent waves of

Portuguese Jews Spanish and Portuguese Jews, also called Western Sephardim, Iberian Jews, or Peninsular Jews, are a distinctive sub-group of Sephardic Jews who are largely descended from Jews who lived as New Christians in the Iberian Peninsula during the fe ...

from Brazil and

Dutch Jews The history of the Jews in the Netherlands largely dates to the late 16th century and 17th century, when Sephardic Jews from Portugal and Spain began to settle in Amsterdam and a few other Dutch cities, because the Netherlands was an unusual ...

arrived in Cuba from the 16th to 19th centuries.

Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium CE. They traditionally speak Yiddish, a language ...

from Europe started arriving in Cuba, usually via the United States, following the

Spanish-American War Spanish Americans (, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in the modern United States, with a ...

. The congregation was established in 1904. The synagogue originally opened its doors in 1953 and was among the largest Jewish house of worship in Havana. Its soaring Romanesque fused European and Moorish-Spanish elements into a unique hybrid

Modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

style. By the 1980s, however, shifting political tides had led to a significant decrease in the Jewish population. In 1981, the state acquired a large portion of the building to establish the

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

Cultural Center. Extensive restorations in 1999 increased the sanctuary's structural integrity and interior opulence with support from benefactors like the

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Advert Where and how does this article resemble an WP:SOAP, advert and how should it be improved? See: Wikipedia:Spam (you might trthe Teahouseif you have questions). American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, also known as Joint or JDC, is a J ...

and under the guidance of Shmuel Szteinhendler. With the relaxation of religious restrictions in Cuba, Temple Beth Shalom led a revival of public Jewish expression. The temple continues to be a presence which sustains the

Cuban Jewish The history of the Jews in Cuba goes back to the 1400s. Jewish Cubans, Cuban Jews, or Cubans of Jewish heritage, have lived in the nation of Cuba for centuries. Some Cubans trace Jewish ancestry to ''Marranos'' (forced converts to Christianity) w ...

community. The building also houses a Jewish library. Temple Beth Shalom's history and current life make it a site of pilgrimage for Jewish visitors from across the globe. Visitors to the synagogue have included

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is known for his intense leading man roles in film. List of awards and nominations received by Sean Penn, His accolades include two Academy Awards, a Golden Gl ...

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

and

Raul Castro Raul, Raúl, Raül, and Raüll are forms of a common first name in Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan. The name is cognate of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph and the French ...

. , the congregation did not have a regular

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

References

External links

* 1904 establishments in Cuba 20th-century architecture in Cuba 20th-century synagogues in the Caribbean Ashkenazi synagogues Ashkenazi Jewish culture in North America Conservative synagogues in North America Jewish organizations established in 1904 Modernist synagogues Synagogues completed in 1953 Synagogues in Havana {{Cuba-synagogue-stub

History

See also

References

External links