Reform or Consensus? Choral Synagogues in the Russian Empire

Abstract

Many scholars view the choral synagogues in the Russian Empire as Reform synagogues, influenced by the German Reform movement. This article analyzes the features characteristic of Reform synagogues in central and Western Europe, and demonstrates that only a small number of these features were implemented in the choral synagogues of Russia. The article describes the history, architecture, and reception of choral synagogues in different geographical areas of the Russian Empire, from the first maskilic synagogues of the 1820s–1840s to the revolution of 1917. The majority of changes, this article argues, introduced in choral synagogues were of an aesthetic nature. The changes concerned decorum, not the religious meaning or essence of the prayer service. The initial wave of choral synagogues were established by maskilim, and modernized Jews became a catalyst for the adoption of the choral rite by other groups. Eventually, the choral synagogue became the “sectorial” synagogue of the modernized elite. It did not have special religious significance, but it did offer social prestige and architectural prominence.

Full text

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Arts2020,9,72;doi:10.3390/arts9020072www.mdpi.com/journal/arts
Article
ReformorConsensus?ChoralSynagoguesinthe
RussianEmpire
VladimirLevin
TheCenterforJewishArt,theHebrewUniversityofJerusalem,Jerusalem9190501,Israel;
vlalevin@gmail.com
Received:5May2020;Accepted:15June2020;Published:23June2020
Abstract:ManyscholarsviewthechoralsynagoguesintheRussianEmpireasReformsynagogues,
influencedbytheGermanReformmovement.Thisarticleanalyzesthefeaturescharacteristicof
ReformsynagoguesincentralandWesternEurope,anddemonstratesthatonlyasmallnumberof
thesefeatureswereimplementedinthechoralsynagoguesofRussia.Thearticledescribesthe
history,architecture,andreceptionofchoralsynagoguesindifferentgeographicalareasofthe
RussianEmpire,fromthefirstmaskilicsynagoguesofthe1820s–1840stotherevolutionof1917.The
majorityofchanges,thisarticleargues,introducedinchoralsynagogueswereofanaestheticnature.
Thechangesconcerneddecorum,notthereligiousmeaningoressenceoftheprayerservice.The
initialwaveofchoralsynagogueswereestablishedbymaskilim,andmodernizedJewsbecamea
catalystfortheadoptionofthechoralritebyothergroups.Eventually,thechoralsynagoguebecame
the“sectorial”synagogueofthemodernizedelite.Itdidnothavespecialreligioussignificance,but
itdidoffersocialprestigeandarchitecturalprominence.
Keywords:synagogue;JewishhistoryinRussia;reformmovement;Haskalah;synagogue
architecture;Jewishculturalstudies;Jewisharchitecture

1.Introduction
ThesynagoguewasthemostimportantJewishpublicspaceuntiltheemergenceofsecular
institutionsinthelatenineteenthcentury.Assuch,itwasapowerfulmeansofrepresentationofthe
Jewishcommunityinitsowneyesandintheeyesofthenon‐Jewishpopulation.Withtheadvanceof
modernityandthegrowingintegrationofJewsintoEuropeansocietiesinthenineteenthcentury,the
ReformmovementinJudaismemergedandstrovetoreconciletheJewishreligionwithmodern
norms.Alterationsofsynagogueworshipwasaveryimportantaspectofallversionsofreligious
Reforms.
ThequestionofwhethertheReformmovementexistedinTsaristRussiahasmuchgreater
significancethanitmayseematfirstglance.Inadditiontotheobviousimportanceforunderstanding
Russian‐Jewishhistory(orthehistoryoftheJewsinRussia),thequestionplaysarolein
conceptualizingtheJewishpastasdividedbetweentwoparadigms:themodern,emancipated,
prosperous,acculturated,evenassimilatedJewryoftheWest,asopposedtothetraditional,
downtrodden,poor,authenticJewryoftheEast.Inotherwords,iftheReformmovementexistedin
Russia,thenRussianJewswouldbeidentifiedasmoresimilartotheirwesterncounterparts.
Therewere,untilnow,twoscholarlyapproachestothedevelopmentoftheReformmovement
inRussia.Paradoxically,bothwereformulatedbyMichaelStanislawskiintwosuccessivesentences
inhisbookTsarNicholasIandtheJews.Stanislawskistatedthatreform“trendsinworshipandbelief
[inRussia]neverdevelopedintoafull‐fledgedReformmovementontheGermanorAmerican
model”,butfor“asmallsegmentofthesociety,religiousreformwasanimportantandlongevous

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forceinRussian‐Jewishlife”(Stanislawski1983,pp.140–41).1Thefirstpartofthisformulawas
acceptedbyMichaelMeyer,theauthorofastudyonthehistoryofReformJudaism(Meyer1995).He
concludedthat“JewishreligiousreforminRussia[was]ultimatelyepisodicandperipheral,a
possibilityonlyveryincompletelyrealized”(Meyer1985,p.86;cf.Meyer1995,p.200).2Theideathat
theReforminJudaismwasonlyanepisodewasrejectedbyMikhailPolishchuk,authorofabookon
JewishcommunitiesinNovorossia(Polishchuk2002).PolishchukstatedthattheReform“couldbe
definedasatrend,thatisgoal‐orientedactions;but,thescaleofthistrend,atleastinthesouth,shows
thatitwasinanembryonicstage”(Polishchuk1999,p.32).3NathanMeir,whostudiedtheJewsof
Kiev(Meir2010),alsoarrivedattheconclusionthat“thetrendneverbecameadiscretemovement
withadevelopedideology”(Meir2007,p.624).
Currently,EllieSchainkerisworkingonthesubjectofJewishreligiousreformsinImperial
Russia(e.g.,Schainker2019).Inanticipationofherstudy,thepresentarticleconcentratesonthe
analysisofonefacetofthisquestion,namelythechoralsynagogue,whichisusuallyperceivedasa
kindofReformsynagogueintheTsaristEmpireinthesecondhalfofthenineteenthandearly
twentiethcenturies.Althoughtheterm,inthedirectsense,referstotheuseofachoirduringworship
services,inrealitytherewasanentirerangeofalterationsthatdistinguishedworshipinachoral
synagoguefromthatofatraditionaleasternEuropeanone.Manyexcellentresearcherswhotouched
ontheissueofthosealterationsdidnothesitatetocallthemReformwithoutspecialdiscussion,
pointingattheinfluenceofReformcommunitiesinGermany(e.g.,Zipperstein1985,p.56;Nathans
2002,p.146;Kleinmann2006a,pp.309–40).
Thepresentarticleapproachesthequestiondifferently,concentratingonthearchitectureand
arrangementofspaceinthechoralsynagoguesofRussia.4Ibeginwiththehistoryofchoral
synagoguesinitsgeographicaldimensionandIarguethattheMainSynagogueandtheBrody
SynagogueinOdessa,theOranienburgerStraßeSynagogueinBerlin,andlatertheChoralSynagogue
inSt.Petersburghadaprofoundinfluenceonthearchitectureofchoral(andother)synagoguesin
Russia.Second,Iexaminetheexternalsignagethatwasusedbythefoundersinordertosetupa
respectfulplaceforthosesynagoguesincityscapes.Finally,Idiscussthefeaturesofworshipinchoral
synagoguesinRussiaincomparisontotheReformsynagoguesofcentralEurope,andIarguethat
thedifferencesbetweenchoralandtraditionalsynagoguesweremostlyestheticwithno
denominationalimplications.ChoralsynagoguesinRussiaservedthemodernizedandelitesectorof
Jewishsocietyandnotacertainreligiousmovement.
Anyanalysisshouldstartwiththenameitself.Theterm“choralsynagogue”seemstobeused
almostexclusivelyintheRussianEmpire.5ProbablyitsoriginistheYiddishkhor‐shul,thatis,a
synagoguewithachoir,whichwasrenderedinRussianaskhoral’naiasinagoga.TheHebrewpressof
thesecondhalfofthenineteenthcenturydidnotsucceedinfindingasuitablenameforsuch
synagoguesandinconsistentlyusedallkindoftranslations,whichweresometimesaccompaniedby
Yiddishexplanationsinparentheses.TheReformsynagoguesinGermanyandAustria‐Hungary
1Foramorenuancedview,seeStanislawski’srecentbook(Stanislawski2007,pp.34–38).
2Inhisrecenttext,Meyerchangedhisview:“eventhoughreligiousreforminRussiawasverymucha
minorityphenomenon,itwasnoentirelyabsent”and“religiousreform…remainedverymoderatebythe
standardsofGermanandlaterAmericanJewry”(Meyer2008,p.1530).SeealsoarecentworkbyAssaf
Yedidya,inwhichhearguedthat“thefollowersofGeiger[inRussia]merelyadoptedcertainaspectsofthe
Germanliberalagenda,whilerejectingother,morecardinalaspects”andthat“GermanliberalJudaism
remainedalientoRussianJewry”(Yedidya2016,pp.24–25).
3Cf.alsoMichaelBeizer’sconclusionthatmoderateReformindeedexisted(Beizer2000).Asimilarquestion
abouttheReformmovementinRomania,wherethesituationwasverysimilartothatinRussia,wasasked
byLucian‐ZeevHerscovici.HisansweristhattheReformmovementexisted,althoughitscharacterwas
conservative(Herscovici2000).
4OnthearchitectureofReformsynagoguesincentralEurope,see(Brämeretal.2016).Forparticularcases,
see(Kravtsov2010,2013,2018).
5Thelistof17,221synagoguesinEurope,preparedbytheCenterforJewishArtattheHebrewUniversityof
Jerusalem,contains49synagoguesnamed“choral”atleastinonesource.Onlyfourofthemareoutsideof
theRussianEmpire:twoinRomania,oneinEasternGalicia,andoneinBukovina.

Arts2020,9,723of49
wereoftencalledTempel,tostresstheirdifferencefromtraditionalsynagoguesandtheirequality
withtheJerusalemTemple.InRussia,thistermwasusuallyappliedtoReformsynagoguesabroad
andasagenerictermwhenspeakingabouttheReformmovement.Onlyrarelywasitusedasa
propernameofachoralsynagogueinRussia,mostlyinthelate1860s.
Theterm“choralsynagogue”wasnotusedinCongressPolandandthustheregionfallsoutside
ofthescopeofthisarticle.Ingeneral,theplaceinRussian‐JewishhistoryoftheRussian‐ruledPolish
territoriespresentsaconceptualandmethodologicalproblem.Ontheonehand,synagoguereforms
beganinWarsawasearlyas1802andPolandhaddirectandstrongconnectionstothecentersof
ReformJudaisminGermany.Ontheotherhand,theGreatSynagogueonTłomackieStreetinWarsaw
wasapowerfulmodelforsomeJewsinRussia,especiallyfromthelatenineteenthcentury.Therefore,
withoutdiscussingthedevelopmentsinPolandindetail,IwillrefertoPolishexampleswhen
necessary.6
2.HistoryandArchitectureofChoralSynagoguesintheRussianEmpire
SynagoguesthatdifferedfromthetraditionalonesappearedintheTsaristEmpireasadirect
consequenceoftheJewishEnlightenmentmovement,theHaskalah.7Itsadherents,maskilim,harshly
criticizedcontemporaryeasternEuropeanJewishsociety,andtheircritiqueincludeddisapprovalof
traditionalsynagoguesandthebehavioroftheworshippersthere.Forexample,oneofthecentral
figuresintheearlyHaskalahinRussia,IsaacBerLevinzon,wroteaboutthetraditionalsynagoguein
the1830sthus:“Thereisnoorderintheworship,onedisturbsanother,onebuildsandanother
destroys,onecriesandanotherdances,oneproclaimshislossandanothersmokestobacco,oneeats
andanotherdrinks,onestartshisprayerandanotherendshisprayer”(Levinzon1878,vol.2,p.131;
citedinZalkin2009,p.387n10).Similartexts,disapprovingofthedisorder,raucousness,andfilth,
andoftenmockingtraditionalcantors,continuedtoappearinmaskilicJewishnewspaperstotheend
ofthenineteenthcentury(e.g.,D.1864;Jonathansohn1872;Ben‐Adam1890).
“Improvement”ofworshipwaspartofthemaskilicprogram.AccordingtothehistorianIsrael
Bartal,Haskalah“aspiredtoshapeanewtypeofJewwhowouldbebotha‘Jew’anda‘man’”(Bartal
2002,p.91)andmaskilicsynagoguesaimedatcombiningJewishand“universal”features.For
maskilim,aseparatehouseofprayerwouldfulfilthreemainobjectives.Thefirstwastocreateaplace
wheretheycouldmeetandworshipinthecompanyofsimilarlymindedpeople.Thesecondobjective
wastobuildamodelofedificationforotherJewswhowouldlearnthedignifiedformofworship.
ThethirdobjectivewastopresentJewsandJewishworshipfavorablyintheeyesofnon‐Jews.Thus,
maskilimdesiredformsofworshipthatfitthenorms—realorimagined—ofnon‐Jewish“civilized”
society.ThechoralmaskilicsynagoguewasintendedtobeanewJewishspacearrangedinsucha
waythatwoulddisciplineworshippersandhelpthemtransformintoanewtypeof“modern”Jew.
TheReformsynagoguesofthe“civilized”JewsofcentralEuropeservedasthemodel.
ThefirstReformsynagoguesinGermanyweremostlyprivate,andthemaincommunal
synagoguesintroducedreformslater.Fromthemid‐nineteenthcentury,however,itwasthe
adherentsoforthodoxywhosplitfromthecommunalsynagoguesandestablishedtheirownhouses
ofprayer.8IntheRussianEmpire,therewasadifferentpattern.InLithuaniaandRight‐Bank
Ukraine,themaskilimcouldnotinfluencetheexistingsynagoguesandtheonlyoptionforthe
introductionof“enlightened”worshipwastoestablishprivatesynagogues,belongingtoaprivate
6Thereissignificantresearchonthe“progressive”synagoguesinCongressPoland.See,e.g.,(Guesnet1998,
pp.281–302,355–57;Galas2011).OntheGermanSynagogueatDaniłowiczowskaStreetinWarsawandits
successor,theGreatSynagogueonTłomackieStreetbuiltin1872–1878,see(Małkowska1991;Guterman1991,
1993;Bergman2007,pp.200–19;2006;Galas2007,pp.68–76,83–89).OntheProgressiveSynagogueinŁódź
onPromenadowaStreet,see(Stefański1998,pp.157–62;Walicki2000,pp.136–60;Bergman2004,pp.129–
32).Onthe“progressive”NewSynagogueinCzęstochowa,builtin1899–1909,see(V.Orbach2000,p.31).
7Technically,thefirstmodernizedsynagogueinterritoryunderRussiancontrolappearedinTarnopol.Since
TarnopolwasRussianonlyfrom1809to1815,IomitthediscussionofJosephPerl’sprayerhouse,whichhe
attachedtohismodernJewishschoolin1815(Manekin2018).
8ForthehistoryofOrthodoxJudaisminGermany,see,e.g.,(Breuer1986).

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personorgroupofpeople.Inthesouth,however,theintroductionofalterationsintothecommunal
synagoguesbecamepossiblefromarelativelyearlystage.9
2.1.OdessaandtheSouth
ThefirstmaskilicprayerhouseinOdessa,whichsubsequentlybecameknownastheBrody
Synagogue,wasopenedin1820byimmigrantsfromGaliciawhodidnotwanttoprayinthe
communalMainSynagogue.10AftertheestablishmentofamodernJewishschoolbythesamegroup
ofGalicianJewsin1826,theprayerhousefunctionedontheschoolpremises(Polishchuk2002,p.
25).11Noinformationaboutthecharacteroftheprayerhousehassurvived,butitsplacementina
schoolheadedbyprominentmaskilBezalelSterncouldindicatethatitwasruninthemaskilicfashion.
In1841,theBrodySynagoguemovedtoaseparate,thoughrented,building;hiredacantor,Nissan
Blumenthal;andformedapermanentchoirtoaccompanyhim(Tzederbaum1889,p.1). 12 Its
declaredgoalwastodrawJewsclosertotheenlightenmentandtobringaboutachangeinJewish
behaviorthroughtheintroductionof“silence,orderanddecorum,ascommoninthebestAustrian
synagogues”(“Odesskiivestnik”1841;citedinGubar’2018,p.251).In1847,theBrodySynagogue
movedtoanewspace,alsorented,but“purposelyarranged”,withawomen’sgallery—thisis
probablythefirstmentionofawomen’sgalleryinRussia(BelousovaandVolkova2002,p.3;Gubar’
2018,p.233).AsemphasizedbyhistorianStevenZipperstein,theBrodySynagogue—thesynagogue
oftheelite—“withinafewyears…becamethemodelforJewishprayerinthecity,andtheolder
MainSynagoguewastransformedinitsimage”(Zipperstein1985,p.57).
Indeed,thefirstsynagogueinRussiabuiltdeliberatelyasachoralsynagoguewasthenew
buildingofOdessa’scommunalMainSynagogue.Itsdesignwaspreparedin1847bythenon‐Jewish
architectFrancescoMorandiintheneo‐Gothicstyle.13ThefinaldesignapprovedinSt.Petersburg,
however,nolongerincludedanyGothicelements(Figure1)14andthehistorianofarchitecture
SergeyKravtsovhaspointedoutthesimilarityoftheMainSynagogue’swesternfaçadetothe
Rundbogen‐stylesynagogueinKassel(1834–1839),whichservedasamodelforseveralmid‐
nineteenthcentury“modern”synagoguesincentralandeasternEurope(Kravtsov2017,pp.114–16;
2018.SeealsoHammer‐Schenk1981,pp.114–23).
Thereis,however,amorepowerfulmodelforOdessa’sMainSynagogue—the
Allerheiligenhofkirche(CourtChurchofAllSaints)inMunich,constructedbythefamousarchitect
LeovonKlenzein1826–1837(Figure2).Thesimilaritybetweenthetwoexteriorsisstriking:a
tripartiteentrancefaçadewithagable;arosewindowwitha12‐petalrosettearoundanopencenter
ring,whichKlenzetookfromSanZenoinVerona;aportalimitatingSanCarlodeiLombardiin
Florence(inOdessathefiguresofsaintsintheroundedtympanumwerereplacedbytheTabletsof
theLaw);ahorizontalmoldingthatextendsupandovertheportal;twopilastersthatendwithout
9ForregionaldifferencesintheacceptanceoftheHaskalahmovement,see,e.g.,(Zipperstein1985,pp.61–64;
Zalkin2000,p.104).
10OnthisearlydateoftheestablishmentoftheBrodySynagogue,asopposedtothewidelyknowndateof
1841,see(BelousovaandVolkova2002,p.3;Prokop2015,p.130;Gubar’2018,p.246).Onthehistoryofthe
Brodysynagogue,see(Zipperstein1985,pp.56–61;Polishchuk2002,pp.25–27,133–35;Gubar’2018,pp.234–
78).
11Ontheschool,see(Zipperstein1985,pp.44–55).
12Seealso(Zipperstein1985,p.58;Polishchuk2002,pp.132–35;Tsederbaum2008,pp.86–90).Thissynagogue
wasdescribedbyMaxLilienthalfiveyearslater:“Thiscongregationenjoysalsoadivineservice,inwhich
orderreignsthroughoutandasplendidly‐trainedchoirassiststheministerduringworship”(Lilienthal1847,
p.255).
13RGIA,coll.218,inv.4,file1777,fol.83.Theimageisalsoaccessibleat(“PlanEvreiskoiSinagogivOdesse”
n.d.).
14AnetchingoftheexterioroftheMainSynagoguewasproducedafteritsinauguration.Itwaspublished,for
example,byAllgemeineillustierteJudenzeitunginPestinHungary(“ZurAbbildung”1860).Iamgratefulto
SergeyKravtsovforpointingoutthispublication.Forcurrentviewsofthebuilding,see(“Great(Glavnaia)
SynagogueinOdessa”n.d.).

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visuallysupportinganything(borrowedfromthePiacenzaCathedral);a“Lombard”arcadealong
thecornice;andfinally,fourturretsatopthefaçade,whichechotheturretsthatcrownthebasilicaof
SanMarcoinVenice(Musto2007,pp.154–60).

Figure1.TheMainSynagogueinOdessa,arch.FrancescoMorandi,1847–1860(“ZurAbbildung”
1860,p.165).

Figure2.H.Schönfeld,“DieAllerheiligenkircheinMünchen”,1838.WikimediaCommons,https://
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:München_Allerheiligenkirche_Soeltl_1838.jpg.
Klenzeandhispatron,theBavarianKingLudwigI,understoodthemedievalarchitectureof
LombardyaswellastheRomanesquearchitecturealongtheRhineasByzantine,andfollowed
FriedrichSchlegel’sideasthatByzantiumwastheembodimentofaspecialconnectionbetween
GermanyandtheEast,includingoriginalChristianityandancientGreekheritage(Musto2007,pp.
36–43).ThehistorianofarchitectureJeanne‐MarieMustohasdemonstratedhowLudwigI,usingthe
samesystemofcoordinates,imposedtheMoorishrevivalstyle—deliberatelynon‐Christian—onhis
Jewishsubjects.AfterhispersonalinterventioninthedesignforthesynagogueinIngenheim,
preparedbyFriedrichvonGärtnerin1830–1832,allothersynagoguesinBavariawerebuiltinthe
neo‐Moorishstyle(Musto2007,pp.357–74).
WhiletheMoorishrevivalstyledidnotcometoRussiauntilthe1880s,wemustaskwhythe
BavariancourtchurchwasusedasthemodelfortheOdessaMainSynagogue.Thestrikingdifference
betweenMorandi’sinitialdesignandtheconstructedbuildingshowsthattheadoptionoftheMunich
examplewasimposedbytheauthoritiesinSt.Petersburg,whoapprovedthesynagoguedesignc.

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1850.15 LeovonKlenzewaswellknownintheRussiancapital,wherethebuildingoftheNew
HermitageMuseumwasbeingconstructedaccordingtohisdesignin1842–1852.Mostprobably,
officialswentafterthecontemporaryEuropeanideathattheByzantinestyle,asthestylerepresenting
theEast,wasmostsuitableforsynagogues.16Klenze’schurch,forthem,representedanauthoritative
contemporaryrenderingofthisstyle(lateritwouldbere‐interpretedasRundbogenorRomanesque
revival).NoneoftheJewishdescriptionsofthesynagogue,whicharediscussedinthenext
paragraphs,mentionsitsarchitecturalstyleoritsexterioringeneral.Therefore,itispossibleto
concludethatthestylisticchoicesweremadebytheChristianarchitectsandofficials,whileJewish
activistsatthisearlystagedidnothaveenoughbackgroundtoappreciatethemandtheirideological
implications.
ThecornerstoneoftheMainSynagoguewaslaidin1850andonthisoccasionAlexander
Tzederbaum,editorofmaskilicnewspapersandsecretaryoftheBrodySynagogueinthatperiod,
describedtheplannedinteriordesignofthesynagogueindetail.17Tzederbaum’sdescriptionenables
ustounderstandwhichfeaturesoftheMainSynagoguewerenovelforRussianJewsanddeserved
specialattention.Tzederbaummentionedthattwelvecolumnssupportedtheinteriorwomen’s
galleryonthreesidesoftheprayerhallanddwelledonthedescriptionofthe“sanctuary”(dvir)in
theeasternapseofthebuilding,whichincludedagildedTorahark,atableforreadingtheTorah,a
tableforthecantor,andsufficientspaceforthechoir.Justasimportantwasthearrangementofthe
seating:pewswitharmrestsonthechairswouldpreventdisorderlymovementofworshippers,who
wouldnowbeseatedfacingthe“sanctuary”;intheabsenceofacentralbimah(thepodiumfrom
whichtheTorahscrollsareread),anaislewouldleadfromtheentrancedirectlytothe“sanctuary”.
Thebuilding’sdesignalsoincludedaroomforchoirrehearsalsandanotherroomwherethecantor
andchoristerscouldchangeclothes,intotheirspecialrobesforworship(Tzederbaum1856;
publishedalsoinAhrend2006).
TheMainSynagoguewasunveiledtenyearslater,in1860(Polishchuk2002,p.27),butin1858
italreadymadeanimpressiononavisitorfromthenorth.HistextwasquitesimilartoTzederbaum’s
andalsoemphasizedthenewfeatures,neverseenbefore.Theauthormentionedthewomen’sgallery
alongthreesidesoftheprayerhall,witha“metalfencealmostofhumanheight”(i.e.,amehitzah,the
partitionthatpreventsmenfromseeingwomen);woodenpewsallfacingtheTorahark,acentral
aislebetweenthem;asquare,demarcatedplatformforthecantorandchoir;atableforreadingthe
Torah;andawoodenToraharkdecoratedwithcolumnsandlions(M.E.V.E.N.1858;18theuseof
traditionalimageryinmodernizedsynagoguesdeservesspecialdiscussion).Thesynagoguealso
impressedtheBelgianscholarGustavedeMolinari,whowroteaftervisitingitonaFridaynight:
“ThenewsynagogueisthemostremarkablemonumentofOdessa…itisanelegantbuilding,half
Byzantine,halfMoorish.…Twoseven‐branchedchandeliersilluminatethealtar.Atenordressedin
avestmentsingsMendelsohn’sariaswithasuperbvoice”(Molinari1877,pp.236–37).
ThenewMainSynagoguewasmodelledafterthemodernizedBrodySynagogue,whichallowed
theBrodycongregationtodissolveitselfandjointheMainSynagogueinmid‐1861.However,a
conflictbetweentheMainSynagogueworshippersandtheBrodynewcomersbrokeoutduringthe
HighHolidays.Thedetailsoftheconflictareunclear,butitinvolvedthebimahandissuesofhonor.19
Asaresult,theBrodySynagoguewasre‐establishedinitsformerrentedpremisesinMay1862and
15Similarly,theKassel‐inspiredfaçadewasimposedinSt.PetersburgonthedesignfortheGreatSynagogue
inRovnoc.1849(Kravtsov2017,pp.113–14).ContemporariesconsideredthestyleoftheKasselsynagogue
tobe“Byzantine”(Musto2007,pp.375–76).
16OnByzantinestyleinsynagoguearchitecture,thoughdifferentlydefined,see,e.g.,(Krinsky1985,pp.80–81;
Musto2007,pp.374–78;Klein2017,pp.349–419).
17OnTzederbaumandhisnewspapers,see(A.Orbach1980,pp.54–195).OntheapproachofTzederbaum’s
newspapersHa‐melitzandKolmevasertosynagoguedecorumandcustoms,see(ibid.,pp.118–19,158–59).
18Cf.otherdescriptionsbyvisitorsfromthenorth(Mitzkin1862;Zagorski1870).
19“Toputthetower[i.e.,thebimah]onitsplace”(“Odesa”1862);“Aportablebimahinthecenterofthe
synagoguewassmashed”(Tzederbaum1869);“BecauseofthebimahthattheeldersoftheBroderrentedand
theRussians[i.e.,originalworshippersoftheMainSynagogue]cametodestroyit”(Tzederbaum1889,p.2).

Arts2020,9,727of49
thecongregantsimmediatelydecidedtobuildtheirownbuilding.20Itsfoundationswerelaidon18
August1863andthenewBrodySynagoguewasconsecratedfiveyearslater,on10April1868
(Tzederbaum1863a,1863b,1868a,1868b).Itsdesignwasbyanon‐Jewisharchitect,OsipKolovich,
thefaçadesfeaturedneo‐Gothicelements,andfoursmall,domedtowersadornedthecornersofthe
building(Figure3).21WhileexteriorviewsoftheBrodySynagoguewerereproducedmanytimes,
onlytwointeriorphotographsareknown,from1910and1918(Hundert2008,p.1238;Iljineand
Herlihy2003,p.71;Gubar’2018,p.272).TheyshowthelowwoodenstructureoftheTorahark,
occupyingtheentirewidthoftheprayerhall,withadomeandturrets,infrontofwhichisthearea
forthecantor,choir,andTorahreading.Attheupperleveloftheark,onecandiscernthelargeorgan
thatwasinstalledin1909;aspecialreconstructionwasundertakenforthispurpose.22Thearkwith
theorganandplaceforthechoiraboveitresemblesthearksinmanyReformsynagoguesincentral
Europe.

Figure3.TheBrodysynagogueinOdessa,arch.OsipKolovich,1863–1868.CourtesyoftheGross
FamilyCollection,TelAviv.
TheprominentbuildingsandimpressivechoralworshipoftheMainandBrodySynagogues
influencedtheJewsofOdessa.The“choralrite”,whichincludednotonlyamusicallyproficient
cantoraccompaniedbyachoir,butalsoanewsenseofdecorum,wasadoptedbythesynagogueat
theNewMarket.ForthePassoverservicein1866it“borrowed”severalchoristersfromtheMainand
BrodySynagogues(Tzederbaum1866).Achoirwasalsointroducedatthesametimebytheminyan
oftheSocietyMa’avarYabok,situatedattheOldMarket(TzederbaumandGoldenblatt1866).In
1867,thesynagogueoftheBikurHolimSocietyalsointroducedanewwayofworship,butincontrast
tootherchoralsynagogues,thecantorandchoirthereprayedaccordingtotheHasidicnusah
Sepharad(Zagorski1867;Naomi1877).ThenextlargesynagoguebuiltinOdessain1879–1887at
EkaterininskaiaStreetwasplannedinthesamemannerandbecameknownas“theThirdChoral
20See(“Litsevaiastoronaiiznanka”1861;“Mikhtavme‐etha‐gabaimmi‐beitha‐knesetle‐ansheibrodybe‐
odesa”1861;“Sovremennaialetopis”1861a;“Sovremennaialetopis”1861b;“Odesa”1861;Fliht1862a;
“Oproverzhenie”1862;“Vozmozhnost’mirnogoresheniiasinagogal’nogodelavOdesse”1862;Tzederbaum
1862).
21Thenameofthearchitectandthefourcornertowersarementionedin(Tzederbaum1863a,p.500).Fora
selectionofexteriorphotographs,see(Likhodedov2007,pp.125–27).Forthecurrentviewofthebuilding,
see(“Brody(Brodskaia)SynagogueinOdessa”n.d.).
22Theeldersofthesynagoguestatedthatintheoriginalbuildingof1863therewasalreadyabalconyonthe
westernsideoftheprayerhallforanorgananditwasusedforaharmonium,acquiredin1869.Thelarge
pipeorganwasboughtwiththehelpofmoneybequeathedespeciallyforitbyAvrahamBrodskyin1908
(Kelner1993,pp.141–42).

Arts2020,9,728of49
Synagogue”(Polishchuk2002,pp.135–36;Subbotin1890,p.204).23Itsfaçade,designedbytheJewish
architectLevTarnopolskii,wasmostlyneo‐Romanesqueincharacter,butresembledtheBrody
Synagogue:eachwindowwassurmountedbyasmallgableandflankedbytwopilasters,whilethe
pilastersofthegroundfloorhadneo‐Gothicfinials.24 In1888,however,Tzederbaumwrotethat
besidestheMain,Brody,andThirdChoralSynagogues,thechoralritewaspracticedonlyinthe
Po’aleiEmunahSynagogueandintheprayerhalloftheJewishOrphanage(runbyphilanthropists
fromtheBrodySynagogue)(Tzederbaum1888).25
ThepracticeofplacingofthebimahinfrontoftheTorahark,asintheMainandBrody
Synagogues,alsograduallyspreadtoothersynagoguesinOdessa,butitwasrarelydiscussedin
newspapers.In1901,anewspaperreportedaprolongedconflictinonesynagogue:theworshippers
demandedthatthebimahbemovedbacktothecenter,whiletheeldersopposedit(Saturn1901).This
casedemonstratesthattherewasamovementinthe“opposite”direction(anothersuchcasetook
placeinMitau,seebelow)andshowsthattheplacementofthebimahandthearktogetherwas
widespread.Theinstallationofpermanentseatsinsteadofmovableshtenders(reading‐desks)became
anothernovelty,whichwasacceptedbymanysynagogues,includingthestrictlyorthodoxGreatBeit
Midrash.Theintroductionofpewsseemstohavegonesmoothly,sinceonlyoneconflictaboutthe
replacementofshtenderswasreportedinJewishnewspapers(“Me’shteltzikhbayderalef”1870;
Tzederbaum1888).
TheinfluenceoftheMainandBrodySynagogueswasnotonlyfeltinthecityofOdessabut
spreadthroughoutNovorossia—alargeareainthesouthoftheempire,withstrongeconomicand
culturaltiestoOdessa,aswellastoothercommunitiesinthesouth.Insomecities,maskilimand
modernizedJewswereabletotakeovertheexistingcommunalsynagoguesandreshapethemina
“modern”fashion.Thus,theGreat(orNikolaevskaia)SynagogueinKherson,establishedaround
1841,26wasconvertedintoachoralsynagoguebyitselder,TuviaFeldzer,asearlyas1862,according
tothepatternthat“hesawinOdessa”.ThechangesincludedpewsfacingtheToraharkandamarble
bimahwithroomforacantorandchoir(HarBashan1862;Nevelstein1863).Itseemsthatthesmaller
renovationsof1862culminatedinalarge‐scalereconstructionin1865:theprayerhallwasenlarged,
awomen’sgalleryonironcolumnsinstalled“asinOdessa”,andtheold“traditional”Torahark,out
ofplaceinthenewdesign,wassoldtotheHurvahSynagogueinJerusalem(Bruk1865;Polishchuk
2002,p.144).Similarly,theGreatSynagogueofEkaterinoslav(nowDnipro),builtaround1848,27was
“modernized”byitselderZeevShteinin1863:silenceduringserviceswasestablished,thecantor
andchoirbehaved“asinOdessa”,andchairsandbencheswererearrangedtofaceeast.28Thebimah,
however,remainedinthecenteroftheprayerhallandwasmovedtowardtheToraharkonlybythe
23ItwasalsoknownasKholodnaia(cold)orShalashnaia(hut,thenameofalanenearby)Synagogue.According
toVigoda,“therewasno‘Belemer’(estrada)[=bimah]inthecenterofthesynagogue…Eventually,however,
theRabbinicalcouncil[ofOdessa]succeededingettingtheleadershiparoundtotheirpointofviewanda
‘Belemer’wasdulyerected”(Vigoda1981,p.103).
24Fortheonlyknownexteriorphotograph,see(Likhodedov2007,p.126;“Gorodskaia(City)(Kholodnaia,
New,theThirdChoral)SynagogueinOdessa”n.d.).
25AphotographoftheprayerhouseintheJewishOrphanageshowingthebimahtogetherwiththeTorahark,
ispreservedintheLvivMuseumofEthnographyandCrafts.ForthisphotographIamgratefultoSergey
Kravtsov.
26ThesynagoguewasestablishedbyJewsexpelledfromNikolaevin1833,anditsneo‐Gothicbuildingwas
erectedin1840bythearchitectoftheBlackSeaFleet,CharlesAckroyd.TheToraharkforthesynagoguewas
madeabout1853(Vites1891a;Adir1865).
27Onthedateof1848,seetheletterofMajor‐GeneralPiotrStrukov,dated21September1862,wherehesaid
“FourteenormoreyearsagoIenteredthissynagogue”(Trakhtman1862,p.38).Theflooroftheprayerhall
waslowerthanthatinthevestibule—averytraditionalfeatureineasternEuropeanGreatsynagogues(Bruk
1884).
28ThecongregationalsoanticipatedtoerectagildedToraharkaccordingtothedrawingsthathadbeen
“copiedinOdessa”(D.1864;seealsoStanislavski1866).

Arts2020,9,729of49
neweldersin1884,notwithstandingtheprotestsoftraditionalists.29 InRostovonDon,anew
communalsynagoguewasbuiltin1866–1868inthemoderndesign,i.e.,“withoutabimah”.Nochoir
ismentioned,butthecantordressed“asapriest”(Nishtkeynrostover1869).30Allthreesynagogues
becameknownaschoralsynagogues.
Inothercities,groupsofmaskilimfoundedseparateprayerhouseswithchoralworship.In
Berdichev(nowBerdychiv)in1866,31Kharkov(Khar’kiv)in1867,32andNikolaev(Mykolaiv)in1868
(Vishnevski1868;Abramovich1868;Taych1868),choralsynagogueswereopenedinrented
premises,whileinElisavetgrad(Kropyvnytskyi)fromthemid‐1860sandinKishinev(Chișinău)from
around1878theywereattachedtoTalmudTorahschools(modernizededucationforJewishchildren
wasoneofthecornerstonesofHaskalah).33InKiev(Kyiv),attemptstoestablishachoralsynagogue
alsobeganin1867,butduetotheproblematiclegalstatusofKievJewstheydidnotbearfruitfora
longtime.AChoralPrayerHousefortheHighHolidaysinrentedpremiseswasmentionedtherein
the1880s(Meir2007,pp.632–33;2010,pp.91–97,170–77;seealso“Kiev”1888a,1888b).Theprestige
ofthechoralriteinthe1870swassuchthatthecommunalOldSynagogueinKhersonin1880,
communalsynagoguesinKremenchug(nowKremenchuk)in1880,Nikolaevin1881,and
Elisavetgradin1884alsointroducedthechoralrite,compromisingwithtraditionalistsoncertain
ritualpoints.34
Foundingatemporarychoralsynagoguewasonlythefirststeptowardsbuildingonefrom
scratch,whichhappenedatadifferentpace.Thefirstpurpose‐builtchoralsynagogueoutsideOdessa
wastheChoralSynagogueinBerdichev,consecratedduringtheHighHolidaysof1868(Figure4).It
wasproudlyreportedthatthenewsynagogue“cancompetewiththesynagoguesinOdessaand
abroad”(Hailperin1868),35andthatitschoirwassecondonlytoBlumenthal’schoirinOdessa’s
BrodySynagogue(BenDavid1892).Therearenoknownphotographsoftheinterior,butawritten
descriptionstatesthatitwas“similartoaProtestantchurch;columns,rowsofpews,[women’s]
galleries”(Subbotin1890,p.106).Theneo‐Baroqueexteriorofthesynagogueshowedindependence
fromtheOdessanmodels.ItalsoincludedsomeelementsofRundbogenstyle,suchasthedouble
29Thebimahwasmovedforwardonthepretextthat60additionalseatscouldthusbeadded(Bruk1884;
Polishchuk2002,p.139).Forphotographsoftheexterior,see(Likhodedov2007,pp.100–3).Foracurrent
reconstructedviewofthebuilding,see(“GoldeneRoza(FormerChoral)SynagogueinDnipro”n.d.).
30Forthedatesofbuilding,see(Kant1867,1868).Forthecurrentreconstructedviewofthebuilding,see(“Great
ChoralSynagogueinRostov‐on‐Don”n.d.).
31Thesynagoguehadacantor,achoir,andinsistedondecorum(“Todahve‐kolzimrah”1866;“Difreydbizin
himmel!”1866;I.A.K.1866;Drehfreind1867).
32Thechoralsynagogue’scongregantsinKharkovweremerchantswhocametothecityfairs.Theyinvited
cantorMastshinskiifromOdessaandemployeda“decentlydressed”choir,singing“bythenotes”
(Durkhreyzender1867;OhevIsrael1868;Eliashov1868;Letable1869;Evrei1880).
33ThesynagogueinElisavetgradwas“alow,smallsynagoguewithasimpleTorahark”attachedtothe
buildingoftheTalmudTorahschoolinthecourtyardoftheMainSynagogue(shulhoyf);itswomen’ssection
wassituatedinoneoftheclassroomsandthechoirwasmadeupofpupils(Tzederbaum1868c).InKishinev,
thewomen’ssectionwasalsosituatedinaclassroom,andthequalityofthecantorandchoirwasseverely
criticized(Potin1886;Meviker1887;Potin1889a;Minkowski1918,pp.121–22;1922,pp.128–29).
34IntheMainSynagogueofKremenchug,the“modern”cantorwasobligedtocoverhisheadwithaprayer
shawl,notaround“cantorial”cap,andthechoirwasprohibitedfromanswering“amen”duringtheAmidah
prayer(“Kremenchug”1880,pp.93–94).Twentyyearslater,however,thenameofthesynagogueona
postcardwasgivenas“theMainChoralSynagogue”(Likhodedov2007,p.116).ForNikolaev,see(Shats
1881).InElisavetgrad,thechoirwasprohibitedfromanswering“yiheshmeraba”intheKaddishprayer(Avner
1884).InKherson,accordingtothememoirsofPinhasMinkowski,theOldSynagoguewasredesignedto
competewiththeNikolaevskaiaSynagogue:largewindowswereerectedbetweenthewomen’ssectionand
theprayerhall,anewbimahwasbuiltintheeast,anda“modern”cantorwithchoirwashired(Minkowski
1922,p.131).Cf.thementionthattherewasasecondsynagogue“withoutabimah”inKherson(Vites1891a,
p.5).
35Cf.also(Ranzig1868;Hendler1868).Thedate1868appearedonthemainfaçadeofthesynagogue.

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windowabovethemainentrance,whichalludedtotheTabletsoftheLaw.36TheChoralSynagogue
inNikolaevwaserectedin1880–1881“accordingtothemodelofOdessa”,anditsfaçadewasinneo‐
Gothicstyle,thatoftheBrodySynagogue(B‐skii1880;Shats1881,p.1419;Polishchuk2002,p.140).37
InElisavetgrad,theideatobuildapermanentbuilding“modelledafterOdessa”wasexpressedin
1878(Ben‐Shim’i1878),butasynagoguewaserectedonlyin1895–1897.InKharkov,thecongregation
rentedaformermansionofthenobilitywithaprominentcupola,andthereforewasinnorushto
replaceituntilthebuildingbecamedilapidatedin1906(Kotlyar2004,p.49;2011,p.44).38 In
Kishinev,achoralsynagoguewasbuiltapproximatelyatthesametime,in1904–1913.Theselate
buildingsinElisavetgrad,KharkovandKishinev,allinOrientalstyle,arediscussedbelow.Lazar
BrodskyChoralSynagogueinKiev,duetotheobjectionsoftheauthorities,wasbuiltonlyin1897–
1898anditsfaçadesfeatureddecorationofRussian‐Byzantineandneo‐Russiancharacter,as
appropriatetothecityknownas“themotherofRussiancities”andtheheirtoByzantium(Figure5).39
AlthoughthefoundersoftheBrodySynagoguedeclaredthattheymodeledtheirworshipafter
“thebestAustriansynagogues”andindeed,theircantorssanginthemannerofSolomonSulzerin
Vienna,thearchitectureofallthebuildingsdiscussedabovehadnocounterpartinViennanor
Budapest,wherelargeTemplesinOrientalorneo‐Moorishstylewereerectedinthe1850s.40Noneof
thechoralsynagogueserectedinthesouthinthe1860s–1880swerebuiltintheneo‐Moorishstyle;
thisstylewasintroducedintheregiononlyinthe1890sundertheinfluenceoftheChoralSynagogue
ofSt.Petersburg,asdemonstratedbelow.

Figure4.ChoralSynagogueinBerdichev,1868.Postcard,early20thcentury.WikimediaCommons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Бердичівська_Велика_хоральна_синагога_19_ст.jpg.
36Forphotographs,see(Likhodedov2007,p.89;“ChoralSynagogueinBerdychiv,Postcards”n.d.).Forthe
currentreconstructedviewofthebuilding,see(“ChoralSynagogueinBerdychiv”n.d.).Foradiscussionof
theRundbogenstyleusedinReformsynagogues,see(Kravtsov2018).
37Forexteriorphotographsofthesynagogue,see(Likhodedov2007,pp.124–25),andfortheonlyknown
interiorphotograph,see(Shchukinn.d.).
38Thelastpublicationincludesaphotographofthemansion.
39Forthecurrentreconstructedviewofthebuilding,see(“SynagogueofLazarBrodskyinKyiv”n.d.).Onthe
Russianrevivalstyles,see,e.g.,(Kirichenko1997;Lisovskii2000);ontheByzantinerevival,see(Kishkinova
2007).
40OntheTemplesofViennaandBudapest,see,e.g.,(Genée1987,pp.47–59;Klein2008).

Arts2020,9,7211of49

Figure5.LazarBrodskySynagogueinKiev,arch.GeorgiiSchleifer,1897–1898.Postcard,early20th
century.CourtesyoftheGrossFamilyCollection,TelAviv.
2.2.VilnaandtheNorth
Theprocessoftheestablishmentofchoralsynagoguesinthenorthern,moretraditionalpartof
thePaleofSettlementbeganatthesametimeasinthesouth,butitsscalewasmuchmoremodest.
LikeinOdessa,thefirstmaskilicprayerhouseintheregionappearedinthe1820s,butitwasnota
publicminyan,buttheprivatekloyzoftheKatsenelenbogenfamilyinVilna(nowVilnius)—one
amongmanyprivatekloyznoftheVilnaJewishelite(Finn1993,pp.57–58;Zalkin1998,pp.242–43;
2000,pp.105–7;2009,pp.386–87;V.Levin2012,p.318).41IncontrasttootherVilnasynagogues,the
Torahtherewasreadaccordingto“therulesofgrammar”andaregularsermonontheweeklyTorah
portionwasgiven(Finn1993,p.57;Zalkin2000,p.105).AsinOdessa,therewasadesiretoestablish
apublicsynagogueinVilnainthe1840s.Forexample,anideaofopeningavocationalschoolfor
orphanswith“asmallprayerhouseaccordingtothemodeloftheTempleinKassel”wasexpressed
in1842(Zalkin2009,387n11).Finally,apublicmaskilicsynagogueunderthenameTaharatHa‐
Kodesh(PurityofHoliness)wasfoundedinMay1847.Itwaslocatedinarentedhall,withaboys’
choiraccompanyingtheserviceandregularsermonsgiveninHebrew.Theboardinsistedonorder,
decorum,andsilenceduringprayer.42
Inthesameyear,1847,anothermaskilicprayerhallopenedinthestate‐sponsoredVilna
RabbinicSeminary.43Theseminaryteachersgaveregularsermonstherefrom1850,andfrom1860
thesermonsweregiveninRussianonly(IstoricheskiesvedeniiaoVilenskomravvinskomuchilishche1873,
pp.9,26;V.Levin2012,p.321).Itseems,however,thattherewasnochoralworshipinthatprayer
hall,notwithstandingthefactthattheseminarychoirparticipatedinofficialeventsheldintheGreat
SynagogueofVilna(Toyber1861;P.A.P.1863;Halevi1865;Tzederbaum1870a;Istoricheskiesvedeniia
oVilenskomravvinskomuchilishche1873,p.41).Thisfactshowsthattheuseofachoiratsynagogue
ceremoniesinthepresenceofstateofficialswasconsiderednecessary.Afterthetransformationofthe
seminaryintotheJewishTeachers’Institutein1873,thechoironlysangtheprayerforthewell‐being
ofthetsar.Full‐scalechoralworship,withoneoftheteachersservingascantor,wasintroducedat
41Likewise,theprivatesynagogueoftheFriedlandfamilyinDünaburg(Dvinsk,nowDaugavpils)was
managedinthemaskilicway,calledbyShmaryahuLevin,“severe”:“Thisseverityconsistedinsittingquietly
andrespectfullyduringtheservices.Noonewasallowedtotalkduringprayer,ortorunabouttheplace,as
wasthecustomintheoldtypeofsynagogue”(S.Levin1939,p.80).Thesynagoguewasapparently
establishedin1865(Bogdanova2004,pp.48–49).
42Thereisnoinformationaboutthelocationofthebimah.FortheearlyhistoryoftheTaharatHa‐Kodesh
SynagogueinVilna,see(Etkes1993,pp.207–13;Zalkin2009).
43OntheRabbinicSeminaries,see(Slutsky1993;Melamed2001;Dohrn2008,pp.124–91).

Arts2020,9,7212of49
theinstitute’sprayerhallonlyin1880.
44
TheRabbinicSeminaryinZhitomir(nowZhytomyr)
establisheditsprayerhallin1857.IncontrasttoVilna,itwassituatedinrentedroomsandnotinthe
seminarybuilding,whichallowedgreaterpublicaccess.Thesermonstherewere“oftenconducted
inRussian”(KravtsovandV.Levin2017,p.754).
45

Whileintheaffluentcommunitiesinthesouth,maskilicsynagogueswereattachedto
community‐runschools,state‐sponsoredJewishschoolsservedasaconvenientmeansoforganizing
choralworshipinthenorth.
46
Thus,amaskilicprayerhousewasopenedin1866ina“spacious”
classroomoftheJewishschoolinStarokonstantinov(nowStarokostiantyniv),
47
andtheOhelYaakov
(TheTentofJacob)SynagoguewasfoundedintheJewishschoolinKovno(nowKaunas)aroundthe
sametime.
48
TheStarokonstantinovprayerhousedidnotsurviveforlong.ThecongregationofOhel
Yaakov,incontrast,wasabletolayacornerstoneofitspermanentbuildingon27June1872
(Jonathansohn1872).Thesynagogue,designedbytheKovnoprovincearchitectIustinGolinevich,
wasconsecratedin1875(Cohen‐Mushlinetal.2010,vol.1,pp.204–6).
49
TheOhelYaakov
Synagogue—liketheTłomackieStreetSynagogueinWarsawbuiltin1872–1878—wasmodelledafter
theNewSynagogueonOranienburgerStraßeinBerlin(1855–1866).Itswesternentrancefaçadewas
dominatedbyanoniondomeanditseasternapsehousedtheToraharkprecededbyaciborium,a
tableforreadingtheTorah,andthechoirgallery.
50
Theneo‐Moorishdesignoftheentireapse(Figure
6)madeitakindofreducedcopyoftheapseinBerlin(Figure7),whilethefaçadesofthesynagogue
wereneo‐Romanesque.

Figure6.ToraharkintheOhelYaakovChoralSynagogueinKovno.Photo2009byVitalijČerviakov.
“SynagoguesinLithuania:ACatalogue”archives.Publishedwithpermission.
44
TheYIVOArchives,RG24,folder196.
45
WhentheSeminarywasconvertedintotheJewishTeachers’Institutein1873,itsprayerroomprobably
continuedtoexist:the“synagoguechoir”oftheinstituteparticipatedinthememorialserviceforAlexander
IIin1882(M.S.1882).
46
Anewspaperarticlefrom1861evensuggestedthat“thebestwaytoattractourbackwardbrethrentothe
state‐sponsoredJewishschoolsistoestablishprayerroomsthere”(“Belostok”1861).
47
Theprayerhousewasfoundedbythenewprincipaloftheschool,IsaacWeiss.Itscongregationconsistedof
schoolteachersandlocalmaskilim.Ahiredcantorwasaccompaniedbyachoirofsixteenpupils.Therewere
“nomundaneconversations”and“wandering”duringprayerandnoconflictsabouttheorderofaliyotto
theTorah(Korinfeld1866;cf.KravtsovandV.Levin2017,p.675).
48
ThebimahintheOhelYaakovSynagoguewastogetherwiththeTorahark.Thecantorandchoirwore
“splendiddress”(Kalman1866;Plungian1868;A.Tz.M.1871;seealsoBriman1962).
49
Seealso(“ChoralOhelYaakovSynagogueinKaunas”n.d.).
50
TheplacementofthebimahinfrontoftheTorahwasmentionedalsobyTchernowitz(Tchernowitz1954,p.160).

Arts2020,9,7213of49

Figure7.EduardKnoblauch,ToraharkintheNewSynagogueonOranienburgerStraßeinBerlin.
(KnoblauchandHollin1867,Blatt7).
TheexampleofchoralworshipinOhelYaakovwassoattractivethattheNewBeitMidrashinthe
city,where“themajorityoftheelite”prayed,hiredacantorandachoirin1872(thecantorwas
broughtfromOdessa,wherehewasachoristerinBlumenthal’schoirintheBrodySynagogue)
(Doveremet1872,p.150).
Otherchoralcongregationsinthenorthwerenotsoquicktoerectpermanentbuildings.In
Zhitomir,thefirstattempttobuildachoralsynagogue,in1888–1889,wasunsuccessful,andthe
synagoguemovedintoapurchasedhouseonlyintheearlytwentiethcentury.Thehousehadalarge
prayerhallwithawomen’ssectionandarehearsalroomforthechoir,wheretherewasaharmonium
(KravtsovandV.Levin2017,pp.759–60).TheTaharatHa‐KodeshSynagogueinVilnachanged
locationseveraltimes,butitsleadersdreamedofaspeciallybuiltedifice.Adesignforapermanent
neo‐Gothicbuildingwithabimahinfrontofthearkwaspreparedin1877,butitwasnot
implemented.Instead,thesynagoguemovedintoawinginthecourtyardofoneoftheworshippers,
wherethebimahstoodinthecenter.From1886,TaharatHa‐Kodeshwassituatedinanother“narrow”
rentedhouse.By1892thesynagoguealreadyhadaharmonium,andfrom1894therewereagain
plansforapermanentbuilding,whichwasfinallyfoundedinApril1902.51
ThehistoryofthechoralsynagogueinBelostok(nowBiałystok)willserveasaconclusionfor
ourdiscussionofthenorthernareasofthePaleofSettlement,because,paradoxically,itcombinedall
theabove‐mentionedfeatures,butinasequencethatdifferedfromothercities.Thesynagoguewas
establishedbyagroupofmaskilimonrentedpremisesinthelate1860s,52andinFebruary1868it
movedtoarentedhallinthebuildingofthestate‐sponsoredJewishschool(Frenkel1868).53In1872
or1874,thesynagoguemovedtotherebuiltprivatebeitmidrashofheirsofthelocalmillionaire,Itche
Zabludovsky,whichhadnodistinctiveexteriorfeatures(Hershberg1949,vol.1,pp.231,278;cf.also
Zabludovsky1969,pp.18–20).Afteraconflictoveracantor,asplintergroupestablishedanother
choralsynagogueinBiałystokunderthenameAdatYeshurun,whichsubsequentlybecame
51ForthehistoryofthebuildingoftheTaharatHa‐KodeshSynagogue,see(Cohen‐Mushlinetal.2012,vol.2,pp.
253–57).
52ThefirstcantorofthesynagoguecamefromKievwithfourchoristers(Hershberg1949,vol.1,p.229).
53HerschberggavethedateasSeptember1867anddescribeddisturbancesbyopponentsofchoralworship
(Hershberg1949,vol.1,p.230).

Arts2020,9,7214of49
dominatedbyZionists(Hershberg1949,vol.1,p.231;“Mi‐bialystok”1898).54In1903,however,
representativesof“Zabludovsky’sChoralSynagogue”and“BeitMidrashAdatYeshurun”decidedto
buildanewchoralsynagoguetogether,adecisionthatwasnotrealized(“Yidishenayesinrusland”
1903a).Thesplitintotwocongregationsandtheattempttobuildacommon,permanentbuilding
provethattherewasenoughroominthecityfortwomodernizedcongregations,butnotthefinancial
meanstoerecttwo—orevenone—choralsynagogue.
2.3.RigaandKurland
TheJewsofRigaandKurlandareusuallyseenasespeciallyreceptivetoHaskalahandGerman
influence.Thehistoryofthechoralsynagoguesinthearea,however,maycorrectthisviewtoa
certaindegree.
InRiga,wherethefirstGermanReformrabbis,MaxLilienthalandAbrahamNeumann,
officiatedfromthe1840s,Jewsdidnothavepropertyrightsandcouldnotpurchaseaplotforthe
synagogueuntil1850.TheGreatSynagogue,however,waserectedonlyin1868–1871,atthetimethat
manyotherchoralsynagoguesintheempirewerebuilt(Figure8).Thesynagoguewasdesignedby
localGermanarchitectPaulHardenackandwasdescribedbycontemporariesas“Renaissancestyle”
(W.K.andP.H.1873,p.48).55ThesynagoguewasusuallycalledGreatorChoral,buttheplacement
ofthebimahremainedquitetraditional:adescriptionpublishedin1903statedthatthebimah“for
singers,fromwheretheTorahscrollsarealsoread”wassituatedinthemiddleofthehall
(Mandelstamm1903,p.189).Thisarrangementwascapturedinaphotographof1937.56

Figure8.GreatChoralSynagogueinRiga.Etching1873(W.K.andP.H.1873,p.48).
ThestoryoftheChoralSynagogueinMitau(Mitava,nowJelgava)beganintheearly1860swith
theelectionofamodernandactivecrownrabbi,SolomonPucher.Apparently,underhisinfluence,
thelocalmerchantSamuelFriedliebrebuilttheoldMitausynagoguein1864,whichalsobecame
knownastheGreatSynagogue.57 Thenewbuildinghadaprominentoniondome(Figure9),
reminiscentoftheOranienburgerStraßeSynagogue,58andthebimahwassituatedinfrontofthe
Torahark.Tenyearslater,theorthodoxnewspaperHa‐levanonproudlyannouncedthatFriedlieb
regrettedthisdecisionandmovedthebimahtothecenterofthehall;healsopromisedtodirecthis
54WhilethefoundingdateofAdatYeshurunisunknown,itcertainlyexistedin1888,whenA.M.Bernstein
becameitscantor(Sherman1934,p.3;Bernstein1934,p.16).
55IamgratefultoIlyaLenskyfordrawingmyattentiontothisarticle.
56Yoyvl‐almanakhfunfarbandyidn‐anteylnemerinletlandsbafrayungs‐krig=ŽīdutautībasLatvijasatbrīvotāju
biedrībasjubilejasalmanahs(1938).IthankIlyaLensky,whodrewmyattentiontothissource,too.
57TheinaugurationofthesynagogueincludedasermonbyPucherandsingingofaJewishchoirundera
Christianconductor,thatmeansthattherehadbeennosynagoguechoirinMitauyet(Kalman1864).
58IncontrasttoBerlin,thedomedominatedtheeasternfaçade,sinceitwasthesidefacingthestreet.For
exteriorphotographsofthesynagogue,see(Likhodedov2007,p.210;Bogdanova2004,p.87).

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childrentoleaveitthereforthefuture(A.B.A.R.1875).59Itseems,however,thatthemodernchoir
continuedfunctioninginthesynagogueinthe1880sand1890s.60

Figure9.GreatSynagogueinMitau.Postcard,early20thcentury.CourtesyoftheGrossFamily
Collection,TelAviv.
TheChoralSynagogueinLibau(Libava,nowLiepāja),erectedin1873onthesiteoftheold
communalsynagogue,wasalsomodelledaftertheOranienburgerStraßeSynagogue.Itswesternside
wascrownedbythreedomes(Figure10).Itsconstructioncausedbitterconflictwithtraditionalists,
whoappealedagainstthenewsynagoguetotheMinisteroftheInteriorandthecasewastransferred
tothedeliberationsoftheRabbinicCommissionof1879.61Theorthodoxhistoriographyoftheearly
twentiethcenturypresentsanothernarrative(Ovchinski1908,pp.103–4):aLithuanianrabbi
prohibitedprayinginthenewsynagoguesinceitsbimahwassituatedneartheTorahark,the
women’ssectionhadalowmehitzah,andthedomewastoppedbyaStarofDavid(foradiscussion
oftheStarofDavidseethe“ExternalSignage”sectionbelow).Thesynagoguestoodemptyforthree
yearsuntilotherLithuanianorthodoxrabbisintervenedandconvincedthecongregationtomovethe
bimahtothecenter,toextendthemehitzahupwards,andtoremovetheStarofDavidfromthedomes
(indeed,photographsshowthecupolastoppedbyroundfinials,Figure10).62
NootherchoralsynagoguesareknowninKurland.AcculturationofthelocalJewsdidnotbring
withitadesiretomodernizesynagogueworship.
59AnorthodoxhistorianoftheKurlandJewry,LeviOvchinsky,reportedonthetraditionalists’objectionsto
thenewsynagogue,skillfullyneutralizedbyPucher.Accordingtohim,theissuewastheStarofDavidat
thetopofthedome,whichisindeedseeninallpreservedphotographs(Ovchinski1908,p.112).Itmaybe
supposedthatOvchinskywasnotawareofthechangeinFriedlieb’sattitudetowardthebimah.ForJudah
LeibGordon’soppositiontotheStarofDavidinMitau,see(Gordon1879,p.191).Inhisarticle,Gordon
referredtothesynagogueas“Gottlieb’s”,whichisprobablyaconfusionofthenameFriedlieb.
60TheexistenceofachoirintheGreatSynagogueinMitauwasreportedin1870,1884,and1899.Seeanadfor
anewcantoranddescriptionsofcelebrations(Pucher1870;“Rußland”1884;“Mitau”1899).Thecantorin
Friedlieb’ssynagogueworeaspecialcapandrobeduringservices(“Mitau”1871).
61RGIA,coll.821,inv.8,file1862,fol.171.Seealso(“St.Petersburg”1879;Rokh1879).
62Forexteriorphotographs,see(Likhodedov2007,pp.211–13;Bogdanova2004,p.108).

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
Figure10.ChoralSynagogueinLibau.Postcard,early20thcentury.CourtesyoftheGrossFamily
Collection,TelAviv.
2.4.St.PetersburgandMoscow
Choralsynagoguesinthecapitalcities,St.PetersburgandMoscow,wereconceivedasmodel
institutionsfortherepresentationofRussianJewsinfavorablelightbeforethestateauthorities,which
wasconsideredanimportantsteponthepathtoemancipation.Theanticipatedimportanceofboth
synagoguesinthecontextofJewishpoliciesoftheRussianstatemadethebuildingprocesslongand
painful,and,accordingtohistorianYvonneKleinmann,thesynagogues“becameapoliticalproblem”
evenbeforetheirconstruction(Kleinmann2006a,p.338).
WhenthegovernmentallowedwealthyJewishmerchantstodwelloutsidethePaleof
Settlement,manyaffluentJewscametosettleinSt.Petersburgandin1860theyestablishedthe
Merchants’PrayerHouse.63AlthoughtheleadershipofthenewcommunitywasHaskalah‐minded
andappointedAbrahamNeumannfromRigaasthecity’srabbiasearlyas1863,thedecorumofthe
Merchants’PrayerHousewasnotwithoutflaws.Neumannwore“foreignrabbinicaldress”and
preachedinGermanonceinamonth,butthecongregation’sbehaviorduringserviceswasnot
orderly,especiallyduringhissermons.Thebimah,furthermore,wassituatedinthecenterofthehall
(Kangiser1864;“Kolmi‐St.Peterburg”1865).ChoralworshipappearedinSt.Petersburgonlyin1868,
whenlawstudentDavidFeinberg,justreturnedfromatriptoEurope,andamerchantfrom
BerdichevIsaacWolkensteinestablishedatemporarychoralprayerhousefortheHighHolidays.
TheyinvitedastudentoftheImperialConservatory,HermanGoldstein,ascantor,andcomposeda
choirof16singers,dressed“asabroad”(Pogorelski1868;Mandelkern1868;Feinberg1956).This
splintergroupconsistingofthemostprominentmerchantsandbankerssucceededingettingthe
permissionoftheemperorforapermanentchoralsynagoguebuildingin1869,whiletheprayer
housebecamethetemporarysynagogue.ThelatterexisteduntiltheinaugurationoftheChoral
Synagoguein1893,sincethebuildingprocesswasextremelyslow.Theauthoritiesdidnotallowthe
purchaseofasuitableplotfortheChoralSynagoguefortenyears,until1879,andnegotiationsabout
63OnthehistoryoftheJewsinSt.Petersburg,see(Nathans2002,pp.123–64;Kleinmann2006a,pp.174–205;
Gessen2000).

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itsarchitecturaldesigncontinuedforanotherfouryears.64Theinteriordesignoftheinitialtemporary
synagogueisunknown.Theonlycleardetailisthataharmoniumwaspurchasedin1885,underthe
pretextofteachingchoirboys,butthepricefor“aweddingwithorgan”wasalsorecordedatthe
sametime.65In1886,thetemporarysynagoguemovedtothesmallhalloftheunfinishedChoral
Synagogue,whichhadacentralbimahandaloftforthechoironitswesternside.
ThemodernizedJewisheliteinMoscowunderstoodthepermissiontobuildasynagogueinSt.
Petersburgasasignthattheycouldalsoestablish“contemporary”worship.TheChoralSynagogue
inMoscowwassolemnlyinauguratedon1July1870.Theprayerhallhadwomen’sgalleriesonits
threesides;thebimahandcathedraforthepreacherweretogetherwiththeTorahark.Thecantorand
choirofsixchildrenweredressedinblackrobesandcapswithprayershawlsaroundtheirnecks(“Di
eynveyhungfundermoskvershil”1870;Magidson1870). In1879,afterthesitefortheSt.Petersburg
synagoguewasfinallypurchased,theMoscowcongregationalsoboughtanexistingedifice,which
wasconvertedintoasynagoguebytheJewisharchitectSemionEibushitsin1886–1891.Likethe
TłomackieStreetSynagogueinWarsaw,ithadaneo‐Classicalfaçadeandadome,whichwas
removedin1888onthedemandoftheRussianOrthodoxChurch.Nonetheless,theauthorities
prohibitedtheopeningofthesynagogueanditcouldnotbeuseduntilthefirstRussianrevolution
of1905–1907.66Theconsecrationofthesynagogue,renovatedbyarchitectRomanKlein,tookplace
on23August1907(“Moskva”1907a,1907b):theTorahark,cathedrafortherabbi,andthebimahwere
situatedintheeasternapse,whichapparentlyhadbeenplannedin1886(Figure11).67Anorgan
(probablyaharmonium)inthesynagoguewasnotplayedonSaturdays,butusedduringweddings
(Shva‐na1911).

Figure11.ApseoftheChoralSynagogueinMoscow,arch.RomanKlein,1907.Photo2013by
VladimirLevin.
64ForthehistoryoftheChoralSynagogue,see(V.Levin1992;Gessen2000,pp.74–117;Nathans2002,pp.155–
64;Kleinmann2006a,pp.312–35;V.Levin2010).
65Minutesoftheelders’meetings,27February1885and10April1885,CentralStateHistoricalArchivesofSt.
Petersburg(TsGIASPb),coll.422(St.PetersburgChoralSynagogue),inv.1,file9,fols.11,15.
66OnthehistoryoftheMoscowsynagogue,see(Kleinmann2006a,pp.335–47;2006b).
67Forphotographsofthesynagogue,see(“ChoralSynagogueinMoscow”n.d.).

Arts2020,9,7218of49
InSt.Petersburg,fromtheverybeginningitwasclearthattheOranienburgerStraßeSynagogue
wastheinspirationforthefuturebuilding.68 TheJewishartistLevBakhmanandhisRussian
colleagueIvanShaposhnikovdesignedthesynagoguein1879intheneo‐Moorishstylewithadome
toweringabovethewesternfaçade(Figure12).Thebuildingwaserectedin1883–1893withanaltered
designbyAlekseiMalov,butitseasternapsewasstrikinglysimilartotheapseinBerlin,withthe
ciboriuminfrontoftheToraharkandtheupperchoirgallery(Figures7and13).Initsfinalform,the
choirgalleryintheapsewasnotveryfunctional,andthereforeaspecialchoirbalconyonthewestern
wallabovethewomen’sgallerywasinstalled.69Aharmoniumstillstoodonthatbalconyatthevery
endofthetwentiethcentury(e.g.,Beizer2000,p.205).

Figure12.ChoralSynagogueinSt.Petersburgarch.LevBakhmanandIvanShaposhnikov,1879–
1893.Photo1912(HarkaviandKatsenelson1912,p.944).
AlthoughallthedesignsfortheSt.PetersburgsynagogueplacedthetableforTorahreadingin
theeasternapse,intheend,thebimahwasbuiltasaseparatewoodenstructure.TheBoardofthe
ChoralSynagogueagreedin1892thatitwouldbesituatedinthecenteroftheprayerhallandina
newspaperthisdecisionwasexplainedas“thewishesoftheorthodox”.70Thisdesign,however,did
notsatisfythecongregation.In1896,itwasdecidedthatpersonsreadingtheTorahwouldfacethe
68Thefinancialreportontheconstructionofthesynagogueincludedapurchaseofabookwithdrawingsof
thesynagogueinBerlin(OtchiotKhoziaistvennogopravleniiaS.‐Peterburgskoisinagogiza1894god1896,p.107);
apparentlyitwas(KnoblauchandHollin1867).TheOranienburgerStraßeSynagoguewasmentionedasa
modelinthememoirsofDavidFeinbeirg(Feinberg1956,p.24).Theprogramforthecompetitioncomposed
byBakhmanandShaposhnikovincludedademandfor“analtarwithroomfortheTorahark,aspacefor
worshipandagalleryforchoristers”,whichisinessenceadescriptionoftheapseinBerlin(TsGIASPb,coll.
422,inv.1,file7,fol.2).AcoverletterbyBakhmanandShaposhnikovfortheircompetitionprojectincluded
amentionoftheirvisittotheBerlinsynagogue,aswellasaspecialroomfor“thechoristers’clothing”
(BakhmanandShaposhnikov1881).
69Foratestimonyforthebalcony’sdesignationforthechoir,seetheMinutesoftheBoard,8February1894,
TsGIASPb,coll.422,inv.1,file49,fol.11.
70MinutesoftheBoard,18May1892,TsGIASPb,coll.422,inv.1,file41,fol.6.Also(“St.Petersburg”1893).I
amgratefultoDrorSegevwhobroughtthisarticletomyattention.AdrawingbyA.Chikinmadeduring
theinaugurationceremonyinDecember1893showsthebimahplacedneartheark—thissetupwasprobably
doneespeciallyfortheinauguration.See(“Osviashcheniesinagogi”1894,p.16).

Arts2020,9,7219of49
hall,nottheTorahark,71andafinalresolutiontomovethebimahnearthearkwasmadein1906.72
Thereitstooduntiltherenovationofthesynagoguein2000–2005,whenitwasplacedinthemiddle
ofthehall.

Figure13.ToraharkandciboriumintheeasternapseoftheChoralSynagogueinSt.Petersburg.
Photo1992byZevRadovan.CenterforJewishArt.
2.5.AfterSt.Petersburg
TheconstructionoftheChoralSynagogueinSt.Petersburgcouldbeconsideredaturningpoint
inthehistoryofsynagoguearchitectureinRussia,andespeciallyinthehistoryofthechoral
synagogues.Thesynagoguebecamewellknownbothtoprofessionalarchitectsthroughthe
publicationofitsdesignsin1881andagainin1902(“ProektsinagogidliaS.‐Peterburga”1881;
Baranovskii1902,vol.1,p.402)andtothegeneralpublic.Itsinaugurationon8December1893was
widelyreportedbythepressandsomeofthemostpopularRussianmagazines,NivaandVsemirnaia
illustratsiia,publisheddepictionsofthesynagogue.Imagesofitsexteriorwereoftenprintedon
postcards.73
SomeelementsoftheSt.Petersburgsynagogue’sexterior,suchasthelargecentralhorseshoe
andslightlypointedarchtoppedbytheTabletsoftheLaw,andtheroundwindowsinsquareframes,
hadalreadybeenusedin1883inthedesignofLazarPoliakov’sprivatesynagogueinMoscow,
preparedbyMikhailChichagov(StolovitskiiandGomberg2015,p.16).Themostuniquefeatureof
thesynagogue’sexterior,however,wasthedomedrum,inspiredbythecupolasofthefifteenth‐
centuryMamlukmausoleumsinCairo(Wischnitzer1964,p.209).TheCairo‐inspireddome,
combinedwiththecentralhorseshoepointedarchtoppedbytheTabletsoftheLawandthe
hexagonalwindows,appearedin1892inthedesignoftheGreatSynagogueinLidabyVilna
71MinutesoftheBoard,20March1896,andofthegeneralassembly,26March1896,TsGIASPb,coll.422,inv.
1,file57,fols.7,10.
72MinutesoftheBoard,21August1906,TsGIASPb,coll.422,inv.1,file88,fol.10.
73Forreportsontheinauguration,see,e.g.,(“Osviashcheniesinagogi”1893a;“Hanukatbeitha‐knesetha‐gadol
be‐s.peterburg”1893;“St.Petersburg”1894;“Osviashcheniesinagogi”1893b).Foraselectionofpostcards,
see(Likhodedov2007,pp.74–76).

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province’sarchitect,AlekseiPolozov.74AlthoughtheactualdomeinLidawasbuiltdifferently,its
façadesresembledtheSt.Petersburgsynagoguestylistically.TheToraharkwassituatedina
ciborium,similartothoseinSt.PetersburgandinVilna(Figure14,cf.Figures13and17).75The
JewisharchitectAlexanderLishnevskiiusedsimilardesignelementsintheChoralSynagoguein
Elisavetgradin1895–1897:twofrontdomesweredesignedasinSt.Petersburg,horseshoebutslightly
pointedwindowswereplacedonthesecondfloor,andverticallyelongatedpentagonalwindows
wereplacedonthegroundfloor(Figure15).76
TheGreatSynagogueinLidawasatraditionalsynagogue,buttheChoralSynagoguein
Elisavetgradwasthefirstinaseriesofchoralsynagoguesconstructedinlargeprovincialcitiesofthe
RussianEmpireintheneo‐Moorishstyle.77Theneo‐MoorishTaharatHa‐KodeshChoralSynagogue
wasbuiltinVilnain1902–1903byJewisharchitectDanielRosenhauz.Althoughitshugeentrance
archisdifferentfromthatofSt.Petersburg(Figure16),theinteriorshowsthecombinedinfluenceof
Berlin’sOranienburgerStraßeandSt.Petersburg’sChoralSynagogues(Figure17).TheToraharkis
situatedinanapsewithtworowsofarchesandisprecededbyaciborium.Theonlyknownpre‐war
photographoftheinteriorshowsthattherewasnocentralbimah(Figure17),andthemost
ornamentedpartofthesynagoguestilltodayisacathedraforthecantorandpreacher(Figure18).78
TheChoralSynagogueinMinsk,whichstartedasaminyanofintelligentsiaintheJewishvocational
school(Levinson1975,p.113),wasbuiltin1902–1906alsointhenewMoorishstyle(“Yidishenayes
inrusland”1903b;Levinson1975,pp.113–14).Ithadalargehorseshoearchontheexterior(Figure
19)andanapsewithabalconyforthechoirintheinterior(Figure20).Insteadofaciborium,however,
therewasaprotrudingaedicule;thecathedraforthecantorandpreacherwasveryprominent.79The
neo‐MoorishChoralSynagogueinKishinevwaserectedin1904–1913(“Ashulfirkishinev”1904;
Shpitalnik1995,p.6),withalargearchfacingthestreetandadomeaboveit,80andanunrealized
designforachoralsynagogueinBelostok,byJewisharchitectMikhailKvartfromSt.Petersburg,was
madein1907,alsointheneo‐Moorishstyle(Figure21).
74LithuanianStateHistoricalArchives,Vilnius(LVIA),coll.382,inv.1,file1449,fol.4.Seealso(“Designfor
theGreatSynagogueinLida”n.d.).
75Forphotographs,see(Likhodedov2007,pp.28–32;Niunkaitė Račiūnienė 2011,pp.472–73;“Great
SynagogueinLida”n.d.;“GreatSynagogueinLida,PolishPostcard”n.d.;“GreatSynagogueinLida,
Postcard”n.d.).
76Forphotographs,see(Likhodedov2007,pp.112–13).Seealso(“ChoralSynagogueat90DzerzhinskogoSt.
inKropyvnytskyi”n.d.).
77Itisnotcleariftheneo‐MoorishcommunalsynagogueatWolborskaStreetinŁódźshouldbeaddedtothe
listofneo‐MoorishsynagoguesbuiltafterthecompletionoftheChoralSynagogueinSt.Petersburg.The
synagoguewasinitiallybuiltin1859–1861,butsignificantlyreconstructedin1897–1900bythearchitectAdolf
Zeligson,whostudiedinSt.Petersburg.EleonoraBergmansuggestedtheinfluenceofSt.Petersburg
synagogue,whileKrzysztofStefańskiandJacekWalickimentionedthattheinitialbuildingof1859–1861was
alreadybuiltinneo‐MoorishstyleandthelatterpublishedaplanofZeligson’sreconstruction,which
includedonly“theplasteringofthesynagogue”(Bergman2004,p.132;Stefański1998,pp.155,162;Walicki
2000,pp.17,22).Inmyview,thearchitectureoftheŁódźsynagoguewasinfluencedbyLudwigFörster’s
LeopolstädterTempleinViennaof1854–1858andnotbythesynagogueinSt.Petersburg.
78Onthissynagogue,see(Cohen‐Mushlinetal.2012,vol.2,pp.256–61).Forthephotographs,see(Likhodedov
2007,pp.216–19;NiunkaitėRačiūnienė2011,p.620).Seealso(“TaharatHa‐KodeshChoralSynagoguein
Vilnius”n.d.).
79Forphotographs,see(Likhodedov2007,pp.34–38;“ChoralSynagogueinMinsk”n.d).
80Foraphotograph,see(Likhodedov2007,p.230).Forthecurrentreconstructedviewofthebuilding,see
(“ChoralSynagogueinChişinău”n.d.).

Arts2020,9,7221of49

Figure14.ToraharkintheGreatSynagogueinLida.DrawingbyE.Holzlöhner,1917(Manoretal.
1970,p.27).

Figure15.ChoralSynagogueinElisavetgrad,architectAlexanderLishnevskii,1895–1897.Postcard,
early20thcentury.CourtesyoftheGrossFamilyCollection,TelAviv.

Arts2020,9,7222of49

Figure16.TaharatHa‐KodeshChoralSynagogueinVilna,architectDanielRosenhauz,1902–1903.
Postcard,1915–1918.CourtesyoftheGrossFamilyCollection,TelAviv.

Figure17.InteriorviewoftheTaharatHa‐KodeshChoralSynagogueinVilna,architectDaniel
Rosenhauz,1902–1903.Postcard,1915–1918.CourtesyoftheGrossFamilyCollection,TelAviv.

Arts2020,9,7223of49

Figure18.CathedraintheTaharatHa‐KodeshChoralSynagogueinVilna.Photo2007byVladimir
Levin.

Figure19.ChoralSynagogueinMinsk,1902–1906.Postcard,after1926.CourtesyofMordechai
Reichinstein.

Arts2020,9,7224of49

Figure20.InterioroftheChoralSynagogueinMinsk,1902–1906.Postcard,1918.Courtesyof
MordechaiReichinstein.

Figure21.MikhailKvart,adesignfortheChoralSynagogueinBelostok,1907.(“Derproyektfunder
khor‐shulinbialystok”1907).
Theneo‐MoorishfashionspreadtoareasoutsidethePaleofSettlementaswell.Aneo‐Moorish
synagoguewasbuiltinSamarain1903–1908bytheJewisharchitectZelmanKleinerman.Italsohad
aneasternapsewithaprotrudingaediculefortheTorahark(Figure22).ThenewChoralSynagogue
inKharkov,designedbySt.PetersburgJewisharchitectYakovGevirtsin1909,wasmuchmore
“modern”thanthenineteenth‐centuryneo‐Moorish‐stylebuildings,butnonethelessithad
Orientalistcharacter.AsintheSt.Petersburgsynagogue,ithadaneasternapsewithachoirgallery.
81

ThesynagogueinSmolenskwasbuiltbycityarchitect,NikolaiZaputriaev,in1909–1914.Itwas
Orientalinstylewiththreedomes,whichtheauthoritiesorderedremoved,asinMoscowin1888
(Figure23).
82

81
Onthesynagogue,see(Kotlyar1998).OnGevirtsandhisworks,see(Kotlyar2008,2015).
82
Forphotographsofthesynagoguewiththreedomesintheprocessofconstruction,see(“Smolenskaia
khoral’naiasinagoga”n.d.;“EvreiskiiSmolensk,chast’4:pervaiapolovinaXXveka”n.d.).Ontheremoval
ofthedomes,see(“Be‐israel”1910;“Smolensk”1911).

Arts2020,9,7225of49

Figure22.ChoralSynagogueinSamara,arch.ZelmanKleinerman,1903–1908.Postcard,early20th
century.CourtesyoftheGrossFamilyCollection,TelAviv.

Figure23.SynagogueinSmolensk,arch.NikolaiZaputriaev,1909–1914.Postcard,early20thcentury.
CourtesyoftheGrossFamilyCollection,TelAviv.
TheinfluenceofSt.PetersburgspreadtoSiberiaaswell.83ThewoodenOldSynagogueinOmsk
wasrebuiltin1898withneo‐Moorishelementsonthefaçades(Yebamah1900).Evenmore
illuminatingisthestoryoftheNewSynagogueinthatcity.Theoriginalwoodensynagoguewasbuilt
in1874anditsexteriorwasmodelledontheLeopolstädterTempleinVienna.In1895,thesynagogue
wasdamagedbyfireandsubsequentlyrenovated(Krasnik1895;Lebedeva2000,pp.112–15).Itsnew
lookincludedadomeandneo‐Moorishturrets,seeminglyinfluencedbySt.PetersburgChoral
Synagogue.84ThedescriptionoftheunveilingoftheStoneSynagogueinTomskin1902statedthat
83AdiscussionofSiberiansynagoguesispartofanupcomingbookbyAnnaBerezinandmyselfonJewish
materialcultureinSiberia.
84Forthephotographs,see(GerasimovaandDem’ianov2019,pp.21,23,24;Likhodedov2007,p.73).

Arts2020,9,7226of49
“itsdesignresemblesthenewlybuiltSt.PetersburgChoralSynagogue”(“Torzhestvennoe
osviashcheniekhoral’noisinagogi”1902),andanelderoftheTomskSoldiers’Synagoguestatedthat
itwasrestoredafterthefirein1907“inneo‐Moorishstyle”(Tsam1909,p.12).Thearchitectsofthehuge
synagogueinChitain1907simplycopiedpartsofacompetitiondesignpreparedforSt.Petersburgin
1879(Figure24).85PhotographsoftheinteriorsofthesynagoguesinIrkutskandKabanskshowthat
thetableforreadingtheTorahwassituatedontheplatforminfrontoftheTorahark.86

Figure24.SynagogueinChita,arch.Ia.RodiukovandG.Nikitin,1907–8.Postcard,early20thcentury.
CourtesyoftheGrossFamilyCollection,TelAviv.
3.ExternalSignageofChoralSynagoguesintheRussianEmpire
OneofthepurposesofthechoralsynagogueswastodemonstratedignifiedJewishworshipto
non‐Jews,andthereforeallchoralsynagogueswerebuiltasprominentbuildingsfacingthestreet
andopentoall.Easyrecognitionofthebuildingasthesynagoguewasanimportantfeature,and
thereweretwomajorwaysofmarkingthebuildingsasasynagogue:architecturalstyleandreligious
symbols.
Theneo‐MoorishorOrientalstylewasconsideredthe“Jewishstyle”,whichclearlydesignated
thebuildingasbelongingtoJews.87.However,itwasnevertheonlystyleforsynagoguebuildings.
EvenintheperiodofthehighestpopularityofMoorishrevivalinRussia—the1890s–1900s—choral
synagogueswerebuiltinotherstylesaswell,forexample,theLazarBrodskySynagogueinKievin
1897–1898withByzantineandRussianelements(Figure5),theChoralSynagogueinBakuin1902–
1910inneo‐Greekstyle(Figure25),ortheChoralSynagogueinFeodosiain1904–1905withneo‐
Romanesquedetails(Figure26).88Thus,likeintherestofEurope,thestylewasapowerfulbutnot
universalmethodforrepresentingJewishnessanditcouldreflectavarietyofidentifications,from
clearlyJewish(neo‐Moorish)topatrioticallylocal(neo‐Russian)topan‐European(neo‐Greekand
Romanesque).
85Compareexteriorviewsofthesynagogueandthe1879designbyVictorSchröterfortheChoralSynagogue
inSt.Petersburg,(Likhodedov2007,pp.86–87;Baranovskii1902,vol.1,p.402)Forthecurrentreconstructed
viewofthebuilding,see(“SynagogueinChita”n.d.)
86ThephotographsarekeptintheIrkutsksynagogueandintheNationalMuseumoftheRepublicofBuryatia,
Ulan‐Ude.
87OnsynagoguesinOrientalorneo‐MoorishstyleinEurope,see,e.g.,(Wischnitzer1964,pp.198–214;Krinsky
1985,pp.81–85;Hammer‐Schenk1981,pp.251–309;Künzl1984;Jarrassé1991,pp.134–49;1997,pp.213–58;
2001,pp.171–201;Kalmar2001;Bergman2004;Klein2006).
88Forphotographs,see(Likhodedov2007,pp.110–11,140,231).Forcurrentreconstructedviewsofthe
buildings,see(“SynagogueofLazarBrodskyinKyiv”n.d.;“ChoralSynagogueinBaku”n.d.;“Choral
SynagogueinFeodosiia”n.d.).

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
Figure25.ChoralSynagogueinBaku,1902–1910.Photo2012byVladimirLevin.

Figure26.ChoralSynagogueinFeodosia,1904–1905.Postcard,early20thcentury.Courtesyofthe
GrossFamilyCollection,TelAviv.
ThereweretwoothersignsthatservedtodesignatethebuildingsasJewish:thesix‐pointedStar
ofDavidandtheTabletsoftheLawwiththeDecalogue.The1847designforthefirstchoral
synagogueinRussia,Odessa’sMainSynagogue,includedMagenDavidshapedwindowbarsinthe
oculioftheeasternandwesternfaçades.89Thecompletedbuilding,atleastaccordingtoanetching
publishedin1860,hadnoStarsofDavid,butitdidhavetheTabletsoftheLawabovetheentrance
door.Twopilastersonitswesternfaçade,endingwithacroteria,borrowedbyKlenzeforhis
AllerheiligenhofkirchefromthePiacenzaCathedral—couldbeunderstoodasalludingtotheJachin
andBoazpillarsintheJerusalemTemple(Figure1).TheBrodySynagogueof1863–1868hadthe
TabletsoftheLawcrowningthegablesinthecenterofallitsfaçades(Figure3).Theplacementofthe
Tabletsatthemostprominentplacesoftheexteriorandinteriorbecame,bythattime,quitecommon
incentralEurope,90butitseemsthattherewerepeopleinOdessawhocriticizedthecongregationfor
suchextensiveusageoftheTablets(Tzederbaum1870b,p.281).Sincethen,theTabletsofLaw
appearedinmanysynagoguesinRussia.Insomeplaces,thepresentationoftheTabletsoftheLaw
couldbeconsideredasignofreligiousReform.Forexample,ChaimTchernowitzclaimedinhis
memoirs,withoutanyexplanation,thattheorthodoxrabbiofKovno,IsaacElhananSpector,objected
tothedepictionoftheTabletsabovetheentranceoftheOhelYaakovSynagogue(Tchernowitz1954,
p.160).Elsewhere,theTabletswereproudlydisplayedasasignofJudaismwithoutanyprotests.
89RGIA,coll.218,inv.4,file1777,fol.83.Theimageisalsoaccessibleat(“PlanEvreiskoiSinagogivOdesse”n.d.).
90Jeanne‐MarieMustodemonstratedthattheTabletsoftheLawwereplacedforthefirsttimeontheapexof
theentrancefaçadeinGärtner’sdesignfortheIngenheimsynagogue(Musto2007,p.368).

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TheuseoftheStarofDavidwasevenmoreambiguous.Ontheonehand,itisreportedthat
orthodoxrabbisstronglyobjectedtotheplacementoftheMagenDavidonsynagoguedomesinMitau
andLibau(Ovchinski1908,pp.103–4,112–13).Ontheotherhand,maskilimalsoopposedits
placementonthedomes(e.g.,“Zikhronotshnat5623”1863;Natansohn1878).Bothsidescorrectly
stressedthataMagenDavidonthedomesofasynagogueimitatesthecrossonchurches,andthatthis
practicecametoRussiafromGermany.OneofthemostinfluentialopponentsoftheStarofDavid
wasmaskilandpoetJudahLeibGordon.In1879,hedescribedtheMagenDavidasanon‐Jewishsign
adoptedbykabbalists,whichhasnomeaninginJudaismandessentiallyisa“religiouserror”.He
wasreadytoreconcilehimselfwiththeStarsofDavidonthemantlesofTorahscrollsandonTorah
arkcurtainsasawidespreadsuperstition,butcategoricallyprotesteditsplacementonsynagogue
domes(Gordon1879,pp.190–91).TheopinionofGordon,whowasthenthesecretaryoftheSt.
PetersburgJewishcommunity,probablyhadinfluence,andtheChoralSynagogueinthecapitalhad
noStarsofDavidonitscupola(Figure12).Otherchoralsynagoguesmentionedinthepublications
ofthe1870s,however,weretoppedbyaMagenDavid:Riga,Mitau,Libau(forashorttime),andalso
theTłomackieStreetSynagogueinWarsaw.Inthe1880sand1890s,theStarofDavidhadalready
becomeanunquestionedsymbolofJudaismandwasdepictedontheexteriorsandinteriorsofchoral
andtraditionalsynagogues.91
4.FeaturesofReformSynagoguesinComparisontoChoralSynagogues
InordertodiscusstherelationshipbetweenchoralsynagoguesintheRussianEmpireandthe
Reformmovement,itisnecessarytodefinethefeaturesthatcharacterizedReformsynagoguesin
centralEurope,whichservedasmodelsforthesynagoguesinRussia.Theabsolutemajorityof
RussianJewsnevertravelledtoEurope,butmembersofJewishelitemaderegularvoyagesabroad
forbusiness,vacation,ormedicaltreatmentandcouldexperienceworshipinReformsynagogues.In
addition,theJewishpressconstantlypublishedinformationaboutvariousreformsinEuropeandits
readerswereacutelyawareofthedevelopmentsthere.
ThefollowingtwelvefeaturesofReformsynagoguesincentralEuropehavebeendeducedfrom
MichaelMeyer’sresearch,AHistoryoftheReformMovementinJudaism.Almostallthesefeatureswere
mentionedalreadyattheverybeginningofthenineteenthcentury,buttheywereimplementedin
variouscombinationsandatadifferentpace:somewereconsidered“moderate”,whileotherswere
characterizedas“radical”Reform.Thesefeaturesare:
1. Insistenceondecorumandorderduringworship;
2. ParticipationofamalechoirinSaturdayandholidayprayerservice;
3. Regularsermonsinthevernacularlanguage;
4. Confirmationceremonyforgirls;
5. Weddinginthesynagogueratherthaninitscourtyard;
6. Alterationoftheprayerbook;
7. RemovalofthebimahfromthecenteroftheprayerhalltowardtheTorahark;
8. Absenceofamehitzah,whichpreventsmenfromseeingwomeninthesynagogue;
9. Installationofanorgan/harmonium;
10. Introductionofmixedmaleandfemalechoir;
11. Mixedseatingofmenandwomen;
12. CelebratingthemainworshiponSundayinsteadofSaturday.
Wewillbegintheanalysisofthislistfromthelastthreepoints,whichcharacterizedthemore
“radical”ReforminEurope.Noneofthesethreepointsrequiredanyspecialarchitecturaldesignand
theoreticallycouldbeintroducedineverysynagogue.Mixedseatingofmenandwomendidnotexist
anywhereintheRussianEmpire,whichwasnotsurprisingsinceitwasnotcommoninEuropean
synagogues.SeparationofsexeswasthrownasideonlybytheReformmovementintheUnited
91OnthehistoryoftheStarofDavid,seetheclassicwork(Sholem1948).AnEnglishtranslationwaspublished
in(Sholem1971,pp.243–51).Seealsoanewenlargededition(Sholem2009).

Arts2020,9,7229of49
States.92CelebrationonSundayswasalsonotverycommoninEurope.InRussia,theonlyknown
attempttoestablishcongregationalprayeronSundayswasundertakeninSt.Petersburgin1909by
Naum(Nehemia)Pereferkovich.However,hisinitiativedidnotsucceedandhewasostracizedby
theBoardoftheChoralSynagogue.93Themixedchoirofmaleandfemalevoices,whichwasalsonot
verypopularinEurope,wasapparentlyintroducedforthefirsttimeinRussiainthesynagogueof
theSocietyofJewishShopAttendantsinOdessain1902(IshYehudi1902;Polishchuk1999,pp.16–
17;2002,pp.136–38).94TheattemptofsomeleadersoftheBrodySynagogueinOdessatointroduce
amixedchoiraround1909wasunsuccessful,andsuchachoirappearedthereonlyafterthecollapse
ofthetsaristregime,in1917/18.95AsimilarattemptintheChoralSynagogueofSt.Petersburg(then
Petrograd)in1921—alsoaconsequenceoftherevolutionandthefeelingofliberty—wasprevented
bytheagedorthodoxrabbiDavidTevelKatsenelenbogen(Beizer1999,pp.192–93;2000,p.203).
Threeotherfeatures—numbers4,5,and6—alsodidnotrequirespecialarchitectural
arrangements.ConfirmationforgirlswasintroducedinRigain1840byMaxLilienthal,aGerman
ReformrabbiinvitedbytheRussiangovernment(Meyer1985,p.72)anditwasinstitutionalizedin
severalothercommunitiesinthedecadesthatfollowed.96 Itseems,however,thatconfirmation
ceremoniesdidnotbecomeverypopularinRussia.AshistorianTobiasGrillhascorrectlynoted,
confirmationwasborrowedfromProtestantismandtherefore“hadtoseemalien”intheRussian
OrthodoxorRomanCatholicmilieu(Grill2003,pp.203–4).Weddingceremoniesinsidethe
synagogues—asopposedtothecustomofhavingtheminthesynagoguecourtyardsundertheopen
sky—wereintroducedwiththeappearanceofchoralsynagoguesanditseemsthatoppositiontothis
noveltyfromtraditionalistscouldbenegotiated.97Asforalterationsoftheliturgy,suchasexclusions
ofliturgicalhymnsandcertainprayersandtheintroductionofprayersinthevernacular,thewhole
92ForadiscussionofmixedseatinginAmerica,see(Rosman2016,p.255).MeyermentionedonlytwoReform
synagoguesinpre‐WWIEuropewheremenandwomensattogether:theSocietyofFriendsinBerlinin1814
andtheUnionLibéraleIsraéliteinParisin1907(Meyer1995,pp.45,223).Forareportontheideatoestablish
aReformsynagogueinWarsawwithmixedseating,aswellalterationoftheprayers,theirtranslationinto
vernacularand“instrumentalmusic”,see(“Vnutrenneeobozrenie”1880).Seeonthiscase(Guterman1993).
93RussianStateHistoricalArchives,St.Petersburg(RGIA),coll.821,inv.8,file331,fols.93–101v;(“Ayidish‐
reformirtegemeyndeinpeterburg(ageshprakhmit’nh.pereferkovich)”1909;Pereferkovich1909).On
Pereferkovich,seealso(Meir2007,p.622).
94OntheSocietyofJewishShopAttendants,see(Hofmeister2007,pp.112–23).Polishchukalsomentionedthe
mixedchoiroftheOdessaorphanagethatsangpsalmsattheanniversaryofSchwabacher’sdeathin1899
(Polishchuk1999,p.14).
95Ontheattemptof1909,see(Ussyshkin1984,p.42).Thedate5678(1917/18)wasgivenbyShohtmanandcited
byPolishchuk(Shohtman1948,p.67;Polishchuk1999,pp.17–18).Thereis,however,adescriptionbyHaim
GliksbergofhisvisittotheBrodySynagogue,whereamixedchoirparticipatedintheservice.Gliksberg
providednodate,butsaidthathewasyoungenoughtobeallowedtoenterthewomen’sgallerywithhis
sisters(Gliksberg1975,p.39).TakingintoaccountthatGliksbergwasbornin1904andthathedescribed
manysmalldetails,itismoreplausible,inmymind,thatthememoiristextrapolatedhisexperienceinthe
BrodySynagogueintheearly1920s.Themainargumentforthisconclusionisthatthedocumentsproduced
duringtheconflictabouttheorganin1910didnotmentionwomen’ssinging.Thephraseinthememoirsof
thecantorPinhasMinkowski,“Weintroducedanorganandawomen’schoir”shouldbereadasdescribing
twodifferentacts(Minkowski1924,p.87;Zimmermann2011,p.132).Therearetworecentworksthatstate
thatthemixedchoirintheBrodySynagogueappearedin1909.BothciteGliksberg,butbothalsoconfusethe
SocietyofJewishShopAttendantswiththeBrodySynagogue(Ezrahi‐Vered2013,pp.58–61;Rubinstein2018,
pp.51–52).Seealsothediscussionoftheorganbelow.
96Forexample,confirmationforgirlswasperformedinMitauandintheBrodySynagogueinOdessain1861,
see(“Mitau”1861a,1861b;Fliht1862a,1862b).
97Forexample,therabbisofBiałystokofficiatedataweddingmadeonthebimahoftheprivatebeitmidrashof
EliezerHalberstammin1862(Liberman1862),andtheorthodoxrabbiofMoscow,HaimBerlin,wasreported
in1877asgivingahalakhicjustificationforsuchweddingsinthecapitalcities,asopposedtoprovincial
towns(Mayzeh1877).

Arts2020,9,7230of49
issuestillrequiresspecialresearch.98 ItseemsthatthemajorityofchoralsynagoguesinRussia
continuedwiththetraditionalprayerinnusahAshkenaz,99buttherearealsoindicationsthatprayer
booksfromcentralEuropewereusedinthe1860sand1870s.100Theprayerforthewell‐beingofthe
tsar,Ha‐notenteshu’ale‐melakhim,wassometimestranslatedintoRussianforthesakeofstateofficials
presentinthesynagogue,butitwastheonlypartoftheliturgyinthevernacularanditwasnot
limitedtochoralsynagogues.101
Adiscussionofthespaceandarchitectureofchoralsynagoguesmustthereforebecenteredon
thefollowingsixfeatures.Usually,theinsistenceondecorum,participationofachoir,andregular
sermonsarementionedtogether(Nos.1,2,and3onourlist).Thefoundersofthechoralsynagogues
despisedthelackoforderinthetraditionalones,wheretalking,movingaroundthehallduringthe
service,loudpersonalprayers,congregationalresponsestotheprayerleader,aswellasspittingon
thefloorwerecommon.ManyofthefoundershopedthattheinstallationofpewsfacingtheTorah
arkwouldreducethedisorderliness,whilebeadleswouldcontrolworshippers’behaviorandseating.
Somesynagoguesalsoinsistedonadresscodeforworshippers,whichsignificantlycontributedto
improveddecorum(theBrodySynagogueinOdessaandtheTłomackieStreetSynagoguein
Warsaw).
TheparticipationofachoirinallSaturdayandholidayservices(No.2onthelist)meantthatit
wasnecessarytoprovidealargeenoughspacefortentotwentypeopleinfrontoftheTorahark.The
choralaccompanimentforthecantor,however,wasnotuniquelyafeatureofchoralsynagogues;
manytraditionalcantorshadboys’choirsassistingthem,especiallyinthecommunalGreat
SynagoguesduringtheHighHolidays(insuchcases,thecantorandchoirstoodonthebimahsince
98OnalterationsintheliturgyinEurope,see(Petuchowski1968).OnthesituationinCongressPoland,see
(Matis2015;2019,pp.237–40).ContributorstoHebrewnewspapersinthe1860sdidnothaveasuitable
Hebrewwordforthenationalanthem,whichwassunginthesynagoguesonnationalholidays.Therefore,
theysometimescalledit“aprayer”(tefilah),withdifferenttranslationsofitsopeningverse(“Godsavethe
Tsar”)andmentionedthatitwassunginRussian.Thisdoesnotimplythatitwasaprayerinthevernacular.
See,e.g.,(D.Lurie1861;Frenkel1868).
99See,e.g.,correspondenceintheorthodoxnewspaperHa‐levanonabouttheBrodySynagogueinOdessa,
whichstatesthattherewasnochangeoftheprayerin1880(I.B.1880).RabbiChaimTchernowitzwrotethat
“evenintheBrodySynagogue…nobodydaredtotakeoutevenaletterfromsiddurandmahzor”
(Tchernowitz1945,p.193).AsonofanotherOdessarabbi,HaimGliksberg,alsowrotethatprayerinthe
BrodySynagoguewasaccordingtoShulhanArukh,“withouttakingoutevenasingleword”(Gliksberg1975,
pp.40–41).ThesamecouldbededucedfromcorrespondenceabouttheOhelYaakovChoralSynagoguein
Kovnoin1868(Plungian1868).TchernowitzwrotethattheOhelYaakovSynagogueheld“thetraditional
nusahofprayer”(Tchernowitz1954,p.160).ThewriterKalmanShulmanwrotesimilarlyabouttheTaharat
Ha‐KodeshChoralSynagogueinVilnain1876(Shulman1876,cf.alsoZalkin2009,p.392).Theprayerinthe
ChoralSynagogueinKhersonin1865wasdescribedasbeing“aseverywhere”(Bruk1865).ShmaryahuLevin
wroteoftheChoralSynagogueinMinskthat“ineverydetailtheserviceswerethoseofthemostorthodox
synagogue”(S.Levin1939,p.80).
100Forexample,SolomonSulzer’sbookofmelodiesforprayerSchirZionwasinuseintheBrodySynagoguein
Odessaintheearly1840s(Tzederbaum1889,1n4).AnadvertisementforthepositionofcantorintheOhel
YaakovChoralSynagogueinKovnoin1868and1870alsoincludedtherequirementoffamiliaritywith
Sulzer’sSchirZion(“Hoda’ah”1868;Shnitkind1870).Polishchuk,Rubin,andGrillwrotethat“medieval
piyutim”wereeliminatedintheBrodySynagogueinthe1840s,butneithergaveanysourcesforthisstatement;
omissionofthepiyutimisthemaincharacteristicofthepopularprayerbookbyNoahMannheimerandthe
so‐called“Viennarite”(Polishchuk1999,p.3;Rubin2002,p.28;Grill2012,p.69).
101TheonlyknowncasesinwhichprayersinRussianwereindeedintroducedareconnectedtotheVilna
RabbinicSeminary.ThesingingteacherintheSeminary,VasiliiNatanson,composedmusicfortenpsalms
inRussiantranslation,oneofthemsungintheGreatCitySynagogueofVilnaonRoshHa‐Shanahin1866.
On4April1867,theentireprayerserviceintheSeminary’sprayerhallcelebratingthe“miraculous
salvation“ofAlexanderIIwasheldinRussian(IstoricheskiesvedeniiaoVilenskomravvinskomuchilishche1873,
p.41).ThefirstprayerbookswithRussiantranslationwerepublishedbyalumnioftheSeminary,Osip
Gurvich,andAsherWohl,in1870.OntheapproximatelytenprayerbookswithRussiantranslation,see
(Sistematicheskiiukazatel’literaturyoevreiakhnarusskomiazykesovremenivvedeniiagrazhdanskogoshrifta(1708
g.)podekabr’1889g1892,p.172;KelnerandElyashevich1995,pp.122–23).

Arts2020,9,7231of49
therewasusuallynotenoughroominfrontoftheark).Thedistinctionofthe“modern”cantor
(taggedkhor‐hazan)fromthe“traditional”onewashismusicaleducationandthetypeofmusiche
performed,102aswellashisspecialdress:alongblackrobe(sometimescalledanOrnat—vestmentin
German),aroundcap,andasmallsilkprayershawlaroundtheneck.Thedistinctionofthechoirin
achoralsynagoguefromthetraditionalchoirwasalsothemusicalknowledgeofthesingersandtheir
uniformityofdress(e.g.,Zagorski1870;“Dieynveyhungfundermoskvershil”1870;Ben‐Shim’i
1878;Avner1884).Traditionalchoirsusuallyincludedonlyboys,buttherearesourcesthatmention
adultvoicesaswell.103Inthechoralsynagoguechoirs,adultmalevoices(tenorandbass)were
universallyemployed.104Thus,inchoralsynagoguesitwasnottheuseofachoiritselfbutthedress
andthecharacterofthesingingthatmattered,aswellasthebehavioroftheworshippers.Theactive
participationofthetraditionalsynagoguewasreplacedbypassivelistening.Inthewordsofthe
famouscantorPinhasMinkowski,“thecongregationwasimpressednotbythepleasantsingingof
choralcantorsbutbythesplendoroforder”(Minkowski1918,p.100).105Thetraditionalistopposition
tothechoralsynagoguesderivedpartlyfromthispassivitydictatedbydecorum,whenthechoirtook
overthecongregationalresponses,likeamen,thusdistortingthemeaningofpublicprayer
(“Kremenchug”1880;Avner1884).106
Ideally,sermons(no.3onthelistabove)weresupposedtobedeliveredfromacancelorcathedra
thatenablesworshipperstohearandseethepreacher.However,thecathedrawasnotanobligatory
elementinchoralsynagoguesandpreachersusedtospeakfromthepodiuminfrontoftheTorahark
orfromthebimah.ThefirstregularsermonsintheRussianEmpirewereintroducedinRigain1840
byLilienthal(Meyer1985,pp.71–72),andlater,sermonsweregivenbyother“modern”rabbiswho
camefromGermany:AbrahamNeumanninRigaandSt.Petersburg,andSimonSchwabacherin
Odessa.TheyallpreachedinGerman,andonlythenewgenerationofRussian‐borncrownrabbis
begangivingsermonsinRussian.107
MovingthebimahfromthecenteroftheprayerhalltowardstheTorahark(No.7onourlist)
wasthemostprominentchangeintheinteriordesignofthechoralsynagogues.Manycontemporary
descriptionssaidthat“thereisnobimahinthesynagogue”,meaningthatthetableforthereadingof
TorahscrollsstoodinfrontoftheTorahark(e.g.,Plungian1868;I.B.1880,p.162;Vites1891b).The
unificationofthebimahwiththearkcreatedaspacewithonlyonefocalpoint.Thischangewasnot
simplyanimitationofProtestantchurches;itfundamentallyreorderedthehierarchicalrelationship
betweenthecongregationandthepersonsleadingtheserviceandrestrictedtheparticipationof
congregantsintheservice.Thesingingofprayers,readingoftheTorah,andpreachingwere
conductedby“specialists”inonespecialplace,sothattheworshippersbecamepassiveand
disciplined.Theyweresupposedtositsilentlyintheirseats,watchingandlistening.Thischangewas
themainaspectthatseparatedthechoralsynagoguefromthetraditionalone.Accordingtothe
traditionalists,theplacementofthebimahnearthearkcontradictedtheglossbyMosesIsserlesto
ShulhanArukh:“Andmakethebimahinthemiddleofthesynagogue,sothat[theperson]whoreads
theTorahstandsthereandallwillhear”(OrahHaim,150:5)andviolatedthehalakhicrulingby
102Foradescriptionofthedifferencebetweentraditionalcantorandthekhor‐hazan,see,e.g.,(Minkowski1918,
pp.101–3).Thereisextensiveliteratureonthe“new”Jewishliturgicalmusicofnineteenth‐centuryeastern
Europe,whichwasinfluencedbyVienna’scantorSolomonSulzer(e.g.,Vigoda1981).
103See,e.g.,amentionofa“choristercalledbass”intheeighteenthcenturyinShivheiBesht(Rubinshtein1991,
p.155).
104Anadditionaldistinctionbetweentraditionalchoirsandthoseinthechoralsynagoguesisthatthetraditional
cantoroftenpaidhischoristershimself,whileinthechoralsynagoguestheyweredirectlyempoyedbythe
board.See,e.g.,advertisementsforthepositionofcantorintheOhelYaakovChoralSynagogueinKovno,
whichstressthispoint(“Hoda’ah”1868;Shnitkind1870).
105Foradiscussionoftheperformativecharacter ofthechoralsynagogue,see(Rubinstein2018,p.26).
106Foradescriptionhowdignifiedthechoralresponseisincomparisontothecongregationalone,see
(Minkowski1918,p.100).
107Onthecrownrabbinate,see(Shohat1976;Freeze2002,pp.95–128;Dohrn2008;Grill2003,2005,2010,2012).

Arts2020,9,7232of49
MosesSofer(HatamSofer),whoinsistedthatthebimahbeplacedinthecenter(Sofer1958,No.28).108
However,thecentralbimahischaracteristiconlyinAshkenazisynagogues,whileinSephardiand
ItaliancongregationsthepodiumfortheTorahreadingisplacedattheedgeoftheprayerhall,
oppositetheark.
Theabsenceofamehitzah(partition)betweenthemen’sprayerhallandwomen’ssection(No.8
onourlist)—likeotherissuesinvolvingwomen—attractedmuchlessattentionincontemporarytexts,
thoughitwasasnovelasthemovingofthebimah.Women’ssectionsinthetraditionaleastern
Europeansynagoguesweresituatedinseparate,adjacentroomsconnectedtotheprayerhallbysmall
openings,whichpreventedmenfromseeingwomen.Awomen’sgalleryinsidetheprayerhall
appearedinEasternEuropeonlyinthemid‐nineteenthcenturyaspartofawesternarchitectural
patternimplementedinitiallyinthechoralsynagogues.109 Sincetheinteriorgallerysignificantly
improvedthevisibilityofwomen,specialmeanshadtobeemployedtopreventit,likeahighlattice
oracurtain.110 Asitseems,manychoralsynagoguesdidnotinstallsuchdevices.111 Thus,the
presenceofwomenintheprayerhall,althoughtheysatseparatelyinthegallery,alsobecamea
characteristicfeatureofchoralworship.112
Theinstallationofanorganorharmoniuminthesynagogue(No.9onourlist)became,
accordingtoMeyer,“the‘shibboleth’dividingOrthodoxfromReform”(Meyer1995,p.184).113The
organcametotheTsaristEmpirerelativelylate.In1876,theorthodoxnewspaperHa‐levanoncould
stillcriticizeamerchantfromVilnaforhisintention“tobringanorganfromabroad”tobethefirst
organinaRussiansynagogue(“Vilna”1876).114WhenGermanReformsynagoguesinstalledorgans,
theywereclearlyimitatingtheirCatholicandProtestantneighbors.RussianOrthodoxchurches,in
contrast,donothaveorgans,onlychoralsinging.However,inthelargestpartofthePaleofJewish
Settlement,themajorityofthenobleswereCatholics,andCatholicismretaineditsprestigeatthelocal
level,evenwhenitwaspersecutedbytheRussianstate.115Thus,intheory,theinstallationoforgans
insynagoguesbyRussianJewscouldbeduetotheinfluenceoftheirCatholicneighbors,butitseems
moreplausiblethattheywereimitatingtheircoreligionistsabroad(thequestionofwhethereastern
EuropeanJewseverenteredCatholicchurchesdeservesaseparatediscussion).
Therewerethreecaseswhentheorgancouldbeusedinthesynagogue.First,theorgancould
beplayedduringweddingceremonies.SuchattemptsweremadewitharentedorganinOdessa’s
108OnthisrulingofHatamSoferandhisstatement“AnythingnewisforbiddenbytheTorah”,see(Samet1988,
p.257;Katz1998).
109Foradiscussionofthechangesinthewomen’ssections,seeVladimirLevin,“TheArchitectureofGender:
WomeninEasternEuropeanSynagogue”(forthcoming).
110See,e.g.,adescriptionofthenewsynagogueinEkaterinodar(nowKrasnodar)in1887:“Eightcastiron
columnssupportedawomen’sgallery,coveredwithbeautifullyarrangedtullecurtains”(Ben‐Iosif1887).Cf.
alsoanewspaperarticleaboutthereconstructionoftheTselovkerSynagogueinKishinevin1889.Asaresult
ofthereconstruction,thewomen’ssectionbecameopentothesanctuary,sothatalocalorthodoxrabbicalled
it“convertingahouseofGodintoatheater”.AftertheinterventionofthecrownrabbiKotlovker,amehitzah
waserected(Potin1889b.IamgratefultoDrorSegev,whobroughtthisarticletomyattention).
111Iwasabletofindonlytworeferencestothelowmehitzah,oneconcerningtheBrodySynagogueinOdessa,
andanotherconcerningthesynagogueinLibau(I.B.1880,p.162;Ovchinski1908,p.104).Ahighmehitzah
wasmentionedinthedescriptionsofOdessa’sMainSynagogue(M.E.V.E.N.1858;Molinari1877,p.236).
RabbiChaimTchernowitzwrotethatthewomen’sgalleryintheOhelYaakovChoralSynagogueinKovno
“wasbuiltasinorthodoxsynagogues”(Tchernowitz1954,p.160).
112Forexample,therearrangementoftheOldSynagogueinKhersonforchoralworshipin1880included
opening“largewindows”betweenthewomen’ssectionandtheprayerhall(Minkowski1918,p.131).
113OntheorganincentralEuropeansynagogues,see(Frühauf2012).
114OnHa‐levanon,see(Be’er‐Marx2017).InCongressPolandthe“organ”appearedmuchearlier:aharmonium
wasusedintheGermanSynagogueonDaniłowiczowskaStreetinWarsawforchoirpracticeandplayedat
weekdaysandatweddingsfromthe1830s;itwasalsoplayedattheinaugurationofitssuccessor,theGreat
SynagogueonTłomackieStreetin1878.However,asHalinaGoldbergconvincinglydemonstrated,nopipe
organwasinstalledintheTłomackieStreetSynagogue(Guterman1991,pp.186,205–6;Goldberg2018).
115ForadiscussionoftheprestigeofCatholicisminthelocallevelinthecaseofconversiontoChristianity,see
(Schainker2013).

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BrodySynagogueasearlyasthe1850s,buttheseattemptswereunsuccessful(Tzederbaum1870b).
Thesynagogueapparentlyboughtaharmoniumin1869andaweddingaccompaniedontheorgan
(harmonium)wasreportedtherein1870(Tzederbaum1870b,280;Kelner1993,p.141).Towardthe
endofthecentury,weddingceremonieswiththeorganbecamecommoninotherchoralsynagogues.
Theseconduseoftheorganwastoplayitonweekdays,whenHalakhahdoesnotprohibitJews
fromplayingmusicalinstruments.SuchpracticeswerereportedinthesameBrodySynagogue,at
HanukkahandPurimservices,aswellonotheroccasions,likethefestivitiesforthecentennialof
MosesMontefiorein1884(Kelner1993,p.141).116 In1892,aharmoniumwasplayedduringthe
memorialserviceforJudahLeibGordonintheTaharatHa‐KodeshChoralSynagogueinVilna
(“Vil’na”1892;Cohen‐Mushlinetal.2012,vol.2,p.256)andin1914theharmoniumaccompanied
thefestiveserviceinhonoroftheempressAlexandraFeodorovnaintheSoldiers’ChoralSynagogue
inRostovonDon(TheYIVOArchives,RG212,folder32,fol.17v).
ThethirduseoftheorganwasduringSaturdayandholidayprayerservices,playedbyanon‐
JeworaJew(violatingHalakhah).Saturdayprayerwithorganaccompanimentdidnotbecome
prevalentinRussia.Thus,rumorsin1895thatanorganwouldbeplayedintheBrodySynagogueon
Saturdaysandholidayswereimmediatelyrefutedbyitselders(Ben‐Avraham1895;Lilienblum1895;
cf.alsoAbelson1895).ThefirstpipeorganinaRussiansynagoguewasinstalledinthehallofthe
aforementionedSocietyofShopAttendantsinOdessainAugust1902.117Theorganwasproduced
bytheSteinmeyerCompanyinOettingen.TheliaisonbetweentheSocietyandSteinmeyerwasmade
bytheorganistoftheGermanReformchurchinOdessa,RudolfHelm,whoalsohostedtheBoardof
theSocietyinhischurchanddemonstratedhisorganforthem.Thecommissionthatapprovedthe
correctinstallationoftheneworganincluded,besidesHelm,theorganistofthelocalCatholic
Church,theconductoroftheOdessaOpera,andthechoirconductoroftheBrodySynagogue,David
Nowakowsky(Seip2008,pp.284–88).ThefirstservicewithorgantookplaceduringtheHigh
Holidaysof1902,togetherwithamixedchoir.ThisactbroughtaboutaprohibitionbyOdessarabbis
andprotestsintheJewishpress(IshYehudi1902;Polishchuk1999,pp.16–17;2002,pp.136–38).The
organ,however,continuedtobeplayedinthissynagogue,asprovenbyanotherprohibitionissued
in1907(“Provints”1907;“Odesa”1907).118TheparticipationofNowakowskyinthecommissionof
theorganin1902borefruitandquitesoonafter,in1909,prayerwithpipeorganbeganintheBrody
Synagogueaswell;theorganistwasanon‐JewfromSwedennamedGelfelfinger.Anattemptby
traditionaliststobringthisissuetotheattentionoftheRabbinicCommissionof1910inSt.Petersburg
wasskillfullydownplayedbytheeldersofthesynagogue.119
Thus,themostradicalalterationsofJewishworshipnevercametotheRussianEmpireorelse
appearedonlyminimally.Themajorityofthechangesintroducedinchoralsynagogueswereof
aestheticnature:theyconcerneddecorum,notthereligiousmeaningoressenceoftheprayerservice.
116Seealso(IshNaomi1877;“Ma’asehbe‐kolyom”1884;Shomershabatme‐hilulo1888).Theorganwasalso
playedduringthememorialserviceforBaronHoraceGintsburgin1909andattheswearingceremonyof
thefirstJewishofficersofthepostrevolutionaryRussianarmyinSeptember1917(BelousovaandVolkova
2002,p.115;Arikha1917).
117In1901–1902,theSocietybuiltalargehallforavarietyofevents,usedinteraliaasaplaceofworshipon
holidays.Foranexteriorviewofthebuilding,see(“ConcertHallandSynagogueoftheSocietyofJewish
ShopAttendantsinOdessa”n.d.)
118LioraEzrahi‐Vereddiscussedtheorganissueandthemixedchoir,butsheconstantlyconfusedtheBrody
SynagogueandtheSocietyofShopAttendants(Ezrahi‐Vered2013,pp.58–61).
119RussianNationalLibrary,St.Petersburg,DepartmentofManuscripts,coll.183(DavidGintsburg),files38,
44,1160.Documentsfromfile38werepublishedin(Kelner1993).SeealsoNationalLibraryofIsrael,
Jerusalem,DepartmentofManuscripts,coll.V.696(YehudaLeibTsirelson),file8and(“Odesa”1910).Cf.
(Shohtman1948,p.67;Gliksberg1975,pp.39–40;Vigoda1981,p.92;Zimmermann2011,p.301;Ezrahi‐Vered
2013,p.59;Rubinstein2018,pp.50–53).ChaimTchernowitz,whowasthemainopponentoftheorganinthe
SocietyofShopAttendants,wrotethattheorganintheBrodySynagoguewasinstalledafterheleftOdessa
in1911(Tchernowitz1954,p.181);howeverinanotherbook,hedescribedthecontroversyabouttheorgan
asifhehadwitnessedit(Tchernowitz1945,pp.134–35).OntheRabbinicCommissionof1910,see(V.Levin
2007,pp.256–72;2016,pp.383–87;I.Lurie2018,pp.330–36).

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TheinitialwaveoftheestablishmentofchoralsynagoguesbymaskilimandmodernizedJewsbecame
acatalystforadoptionofthechoralritebyothergroups.Eventually,thechoralsynagoguebecame
thesynagogueofthemodernizedelite,devoidofspecialreligioussignificance.
5.Conclusions
Thefirstsynagogueswithchoralworship,regularsermons,anddecorum,whichopenedduring
the1840s,werefollowedbyawaveofchoralsynagoguesfoundedinthe1860s.Allofthemaspired
tobuildimpressiveedifices,aprocessthatdidnotalwaysgosmoothly,e.g.,theconstructionofthe
MainSynagogueinOdessatookthirteenyears(1847–1860).Onlyfivechoralsynagogueswere
erectedinthe1860s(theBrodySynagogueinOdessa,Mitau,Rostov,Berdichev,andRiga)andfour
morebeganconstructioninthe1870s(Kovno,Libau,St.Petersburg,andtheThirdChoralinOdessa).
Morechoralsynagogueswereestablishedandbuiltinthe1880s,1890s,and1900s,eveninmid‐
sizetowns.Forexample,aChoralSynagogueinBobruiskonrentedpremiseswasmentionedin1890
(Ben‐Adam1890),atemporary“prayerhouseoftheenlightened”inGomelwascriticizedforselling
entranceticketsonSaturdaysin1892(Fridmann1892),120anda“synagogueoftheenlightened”in
Proskurov(nowKhmelnytskyi)existedin1900.121Thespreadofchoralworshipinthesouthwas
especiallyimpressive:forexample,twooutofthefoursynagoguesinAleksandrovsk(now
Zaporizhzhia)werecalled“choral”inthelistof1911(Orlianskii1997,vol.1,p.26).122Atthesame
time,manycommunalGreatSynagoguesunderwentchangeandbegantoemploy,onaregularbasis,
acantorwithachoirdressedasintheestablishedchoralsynagogues.Forexample,theGreat
SynagogueinRovno(nowRivne),builtaccordingtothetraditional“nine‐bay”layoutbutfinished
intheearly1880s,hadaspaceforthechoirdemarcatedbyalowfenceinfrontoftheTorahark,while
itsbimahremainedinthecenterofthehall.Itwasknownforitsoutstandingcantorsandalargechoir
(KravtsovandV.Levin2017,pp.586,614andfig.35).123EventhemusicintheGreatSynagogues
changed.AccordingtomusicologistSholomKalib,“thedistinctionsseparatingthechorshulfromthe
mainstreamlargesynagoguegraduallytendedtonarrow,andincreasinglybecameirrelevant”(Kalib
2002,vol.1,part1,p.91).
Thechoralsynagoguewas,inessence,notnecessarilyasynagoguewhereachoirparticipated
intheservice.Achoirmadeupofsingerswithbasicmusicaleducationanddressedinuniformwas
onlyapartoftheoveralldecorum,whichincludedsittingonpewsfacingtheTorahark,silenceand
orderduringtheservice,adresscode,amusicallyeducatedcantor,andregularsermonsinthe
vernacular(orinHebrew).Whentherewasnochoirforsomereason,124 decorumandsermons
sufficedtodefinethesynagogueas“progressive”byitsadherentsand“heretic”byitstraditionalist
120IamgratefultoDrorSegevforbringingthesearticlestomyattention.
121“Heshbonha‐kesefha‐ne’esafbe‐yomkippur”(1900).AlsoStateArchivesofKhmel’nytskyiOblast’in
Kamianets‐Podilskyi(DAKhO),coll.227,inv.1,file8148(copyintheCentralArchivesfortheHistoryofthe
JewishPeople,Jerusalem,НМ2/9039.2).OnprovincialtownsinCongressPoland,see(Guesnet1998,pp.356–57).
122Oneofthosetwosynagogueswasbuiltin1889.ChoralSynagoguesinSimferopolandFeodosiawerebuilt
in1881and1904–1905(Polishchuk2002,p.139),theChoralSynagogueinSevastopolwasmentionedin1908–
1909(“Sevastopol”1908;“Evreiskaiazhizn”1909),andtheChoralSynagogueinYaltain1917(“Yalta”1917).
InRostovonDon,wherethefirstChoralSynagoguewasconstructedin1866–1868,theSoldiers’Synagogue
wasrebuiltin1913asfittingforthechoralrite.ThesynagogueinvitedthecantorEliasZaludkowskifrom
Warsaw,hiredachoir,andboughtaharmonium.SeeTheYIVOArchives,RG212,folder32,fols.15v–17v
and(“Soldiers’SynagogueinRostov‐on‐Don”n.d.).
123Onthenine‐baysynagogues,see(Kravtsov2005).Foradescriptionofanunsuccessfulattempttoinvitea
moderncantorwithachoirtotheGreatSynagogueinBrestin1886,see(Bin‐Nun1886).Choirsexistedin
theGreatSynagoguesinKovel,Lutsk,Vladimir‐Volynskii,Novograd‐Volynskii,andRadzivilov(Kravtsov
andV.Levin2017,pp.319,368,466,571,705).ForthecantorandchoirprayingintheGreatSynagogueof
Vilnain1909,seeTheYIVOArchives,RG10,folder45.
124Forexample,theTaharatHa‐KodeshSynagoguedidnothavethemeanstokeepachoirin1870(Tzederbaum
1870a,p.87);theChoralSynagogueinSevastopoldismisseditschoirin1908inordertosavemoney
(“Sevastopol”1908).

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opponents.Ontheotherhand,thepresenceofauniformlydressedchoirinthesynagogueinthe
earlytwentiethcentury,didnotalonerenderitchoral.
Theintroductionofchoirsinging,order,andsermonsinfluencedtheinteriorspaceofthe
synagogues.Thechoirneededaspace,usuallyneartheTorahark,andthereforelargeplatformsor
specialgalleriesandloftshadtobebuilt.Thepreacheralsoneededacathedrainaplacewhere
everybodycouldhearandseehim.Therefore,manychoralsynagogues,likeVilna,Moscow,and
Minsk(butnotOdessaandSt.Petersburg),hadveryprominentcathedrae.125Sincecantorialsinging
attainedgreatsignificance,thecantoralsousedthesamecathedra,butfacedtheTorahark,notthe
worshippers.126
Thedistinctivefeatureofthechoralsynagogueswastheplacementofaseparatebimahinfront
oftheToraharkorthecombinationofthebimahandtheToraharkinonecohesiveunit,which
Tzederbaumcalled“sanctuary”andotherscalledan“altar”or“stage”,sincetherewasnosuitable
expressionforitinHebreworinRussian.However,astheexamplesabovehaveshown,therewere
choralsynagoguesthatkeptthebimahinthecenterofthehall(Ekaterinoslavuntil1884,Riga,St.
Petersburgfrom1893–1906),andthereweresynagogueswherethebimahwastogetherwiththeTorah
ark,whichwerenotcalledchoral(Irkutsk,Kabansk).
Theorgangraduallybecameanecessityinchoralsynagogues,sothatinthelastdecadeofthe
RussianEmpire,thementionofaspecialplacefortheorganappearedintheconditionsfor
architecturalcompetitionsforchoralsynagogues(KharkovandthePeskiSynagogueinSt.
Petersburg)(Il’in1909,p.183;Lishnevskii1912,p.517).However,thepresenceofanorganor
harmoniumseemstobemoreasignofstatusthanofreligiousreform.Accordingtotheavailable
descriptions,organswereusedduringweddingsandothereventsheldonweekdaysthatdidnot
contradictthehalakhicprohibitiontoplaymusicalinstrumentsonSaturday.Onlytwosynagogues
intheempire,theSocietyofShopAttendantsandtheBrodySynagogueinOdessa,usedanorganon
Saturdaysandholidays.
Initially,thewomen’sgalleryinsidetheprayerhallwasalsoconsideredasignofamodernized
synagogueandwasmentionedbyobservers.However,whenthemajorityoflargesynagogueswere
builtwithinteriorgalleriesinthelastdecadesofthenineteenthandbeginningofthetwentieth
century,thisfeatureceasedtobeconsideredanalterationoftradition.Fromthenon,itwasthe
mehitzah,notthegallery,thatdividedtraditionalistsfrommodernizers.
Women’sgallerieswithoutamehitzah,theconcentrationofallworshipactivities(prayer,Torah
reading,sermon)inoneplaceinfrontoftheTorahark,andpassivesilenceexpectedfromthe
congregationmadechoralsynagoguessimilartotheatersorconcerthalls,whichwerepublicspaces
associatedwithmodernizedelite,calledbyJürgenHabermas“culturedclasses”(Habermas1996,pp.
38–40).
Choralsynagogueswerehighlyvisible,reflectingthemaskilicideathatJewishworshipshould
arouserespectintheeyesofnon‐Jews.Therefore,intentionallybuiltchoralsynagogueswere
prominentandattractivebuildings,witharticulatedJewishidentity,whichfacedthestreetandwere
seenbyall.Suchsynagogueswereintendedtoplayaroleinthecityscape,incontrasttotheoldGreat
SynagoguesthatwereusuallysituatedwithintheJewishquarterandconcealedbyotherbuildings
intheshulhoyf.127Incitieswheremodernizerstookoverthemaincommunalsynagogue(e.g.,
Kherson,Ekaterinoslav,andMitau),orbuiltitfromscratchasachoralsynagogue(e.g.,Odessa,Riga,
St.Petersburg,andMoscow),suchsynagogueseasilyachievedtheprominentstatusandbecamethe
locusofJewishrepresentation.IncitieswhereanoldandrespectedGreatSynagogueexisted,like
125IntheChoralSynagogueofSt.Petersburg,thecathedraforthepreacherwasinstalledin1894andremoved
in1898,forunknownreasons(TsGIASPb,coll.422,inv.1,file49,fols.35,69–70,file67,fols.11–12v).
126Cf.adescriptionofPinhasMinkowski,cantoroftheBrodySynagoguefrom1892–1922:worshipperscould
seehisfaceonlywhenhesangthelastverseofLekhadodihymnonFridaynight,whenitiscustomarytoturn
towardtheentrancedoor(Margalit1948,p.295).
127OntheroleofsynagoguesinlargeEuropeancities,see(V.Levin2010;CoenenSnyder2013).

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Berdichev,Vilna,orMinsk,competitionbetweenthetwoevolved,butwasneverresolved.128In
BiałystokandZhitomir,ontheotherhand,choralsynagoguesdidnotreachthestatuscomparableto
thelocalGreatSynagogue,sincetheircongregationswerenotabletoconstructsuitablebuildings.
Thearchitecturalprominenceofchoralsynagogueswaspartoftheirsocialprominence.Inthe
beginning,theywerethesynagoguesofthemaskilimandmodernizedJews.Bythe1880s,however,
theRussianHaskalahasanideologicalmovementdeclined,givingwaytointegrationismand
nationalism,withasignificantspreadofatheism.Choralsynagoguesbegantobeviewedasthe
synagoguesoftheJewishintelligentsia(“doctors,lawyers,engineers”)andthesynagogueofthe
wealthy.ThosegroupsconstitutedthemostmodernandsecularizedsectorofJewishsociety,which
bythelatenineteenthcenturywasalreadyconsideredentirelylegitimate,evenintheeyesof
traditionalists.
Thesectorialcharacterofchoralsynagoguesfitsthenewinterpretationoftheso‐called“double
rabbinate”inRussia,proposedrecentlybyhistorianIliaLurie(V.LevinandI.Lurie2012b,pp.280–
87).129Inthe1850s,thegovernment,hopingtoacceleratethetransformationoftheJews,imposed
secularlyeducatedcrownrabbisonthecommunities.Sincethecommunitiesdidnotrelinquishtheir
traditionalrabbis,the“doublerabbinate”wasviewedasaburdenonthecommunities’budgetand
adangertotraditionalpiety.Bytheendofthenineteenthcentury,accordingtoLurie,thesituation
changed.The“spiritual”rabbicontinuedtoservethetraditionalistsectorofthecommunity,while
thecrownrabbiwithmoderneducationandoratoricalskillsbecamethespokesmanforthe
modernizedsector.The“doublerabbinate”allowedthepeacefulcoexistenceoftraditionalistand
modernizedsectorsintheframeworkofaunitedcommunity,withoutinterveningineachother’s
religiousbeliefs,repeatingthemodelofcoexistencebetweenHasidimandnon‐Hasidim.Crown
rabbisusuallyofficiatedinchoralsynagogues,i.e.,theyregularlypreachedthereandhadtheiroffices
inthesynagoguebuildings.130Manyofthemwereactivelyinvolvedintheestablishmentofthose
synagogues.Thus,choralsynagoguesbecamethephysicalabodeandsymbolicrepresentationofthe
modernizedsectorwithinJewishsociety.SincemodernizedJewsbecame,toasignificantdegree,the
economicalandintellectualeliteofthecommunity,choralsynagoguesattainedelitestatusandthe
mainrepresentativerole.131Itshouldberememberedthatthemaintenanceofapermanentchoirwas
aseriousfinancialburdenonasynagogue’sbudgetandeventheChoralSynagogueinSt.Petersburg
insistedthatpupilsoftheJewishschool,whosetuitionwaspaidbythesynagogueboard,participate
inthechoir.132
Theelitestatusofchoralsynagogueshasadirectrelationtothequestionposedinthebeginning
ofthisarticle,namelyiftherewasaJewishReformmovementintheRussianEmpireandifchoral
synagoguesshouldbeconsideredReformsynagogues.Thediscussionaboveprovesthatitispossible
tospeakoftwodistinctperiodsinthehistoryofchoralsynagogues.Thefirstone,inthe1860sand
1870s,wasthemost“optimistic”periodinRussian‐Jewishhistoryforthosewhosoughtthe
modernizationoftheJews, 133 whenhopesforsliianie(merging)withnon‐Jewishsocietyand
emancipationranhigh.Alterationsofthesynagogueserviceandspacewereseenasanimportant
partofthetransformationthatJewshadtoundertakeinordertobecomegoodRussiancitizens.The
128Forexample,thesolemnprayerontheoccasionofthefailedattemptonthelifeofAlexanderIIin1866in
BerdichevwasfirstheldintheGreatSynagogueandafterwardintheChoralSynagogue(“Todahve‐kol
zimrah”1866;“Difreydbizinhimmel!”1866).
129ThearticleisalsopublishedinRussian:(V.LevinandI.Lurie2012a,pp.371–79).
130ItseemsthattheonlysynagogueinthePaleofSettlementwithaspecialpreacherwastheTaharatHa‐Kodesh
SynagogueinVilnain1903–1906.TheappointmentofShmaryahuLevintothispositionwasorganizedby
theVilnaZionists(whoprobablypaidhissalary),andhismaindutywasgivingpubliclecturesthatattracted
youngpeople(S.Levin1961,pp.233–53).Therewere,however,specialpreachersin“progressive”
synagoguesinCongressPoland,whereorthodoxrabbiswererecognizedbythegovernmentandnocrown
rabbisexisted.
131Cf.,e.g.,theconclusionofGutermanaboutWarsaw:“Toownaseatinoneofthemodernsynagogues,
whetherornotoneactuallyuseditforprayer,becameamatterofsocialstatus”(Guterman1991,p.196).
132MinutesoftheBoard,20July1888,TsGIASPb,coll.422,inv.1,file35,fol.7.
133IamindebtedforthistermtothelateProf.EzraMendelsohn(1993,p.5).

Arts2020,9,7237of49
struggleforthemoralandesthetictransformationofJewishsocietyasawholewasseenbymaskilim
asanecessity,andreligiousreformswereconsideredanimportantweaponinthisstruggle.Maskilic
synagogueswithchoralworshipandemphasisondecorumweretoserveasanedifyingexamplefor
theJewishpublic,whereJewscouldlearngoodmannersandvernacularlanguageand,atthesame
time,createadignifiedpublicimageoftheJewandtheJewishcommunityfortheauthoritiesand
non‐Jewsingeneral.
Theperiodafterthecrisisof1881–1882wassignificantlydifferent.Thedemandforemancipation
wasnowbasedonotherprinciples,notonthesuccessfultransformationoftheJewsandtheir
worship.Thechoralsynagogueturnedintoasectorialsynagogueofthemodernizedstratawithin
thecommunity,apieceinthepuzzledefinedbyNatanMeiras“therichdiversityofJewishbeliefs,
practiceandidentity”(Meir2007,p.644).Thechoralsynagoguenolongeraspiredtobeamodelfor
generalimitation,butaimedjustatansweringtheneedsofitssector.Itdidsowithestheticand
dignifiedworship,andexpressed,inarchitecturalterms,theplaceofthissectorinJewishandlocal
non‐Jewishsociety.Whenthechoralsynagogueceasedtobeadidacticalexampleforideological
struggleandbecamepartofthelifestyleoftheJewishelite,itsmanyfeaturesfoundtheirwaytoother
sectorsofJewishsociety.OrderlyseatinginpewsfacingtheTorahark,soimportantforthemaskilim
ofthe1840s–1860s,becamecommoneverywhere.Theinteriorwomen’sgalleriesthatimpressed
observersinthe1860snowappearedeveninlargeHasidicsynagogues,anduniformlydressed
cantorsandchoristerssanginthe“new”fashioninmanyGreatSynagogues.Thus,thedisciplinary
goalofthemaskilimwasatleastpartiallyattained.Itispossibletoconcludethatthechoralsynagogue
lostitsreligioussignificance,whileitssocialstandingbecameitsmajorfeature.If,inthemid‐
nineteenthcentury,thechoralsynagoguewaspartofreformdiscourse,bytheturnofthetwentieth
centuryitwasaboutsocialprestige,decorum,andgoodmusic.
Thesocialprestigeofthechoralsynagoguesandtheirarchitecturalprominenceinthemaincities
oftheRussianEmpiretransformedthemeaningoftheterm.Whileinitiallythekhor‐shulwasthe
synagogueofthemaskilicminorityandlaterthesynagogueoftheintellectualandeconomicelite,in
post‐Soviettimesthisnamecametodesignatethemainsynagogueofacity.SincesomanyGreat
Synagogueshadchoirsintheearlytwentiethcenturyandsincesensibilitiestothevariousformsof
JewishworshipwerelostduringtheSovietperiod,theword“choral”becamesynonymousforalarge
centralsynagogue.ManysynagoguesinthecountriesoftheformerSovietUnionaretodaycalled
“choral”,despitetheabsenceofachoirinthepresentandeveninthepast.Ironically,thecommunities
usingthemdefinethemselvesasorthodoxandstruggle,quitesuccessfully,toalterthearchitecture
andspacetheyinheritedfromthenineteenthandearlytwentiethcenturies.134
Funding:ThisarticlewascompletedthankstotheBernardChoseedandNatalieandMendelRacolinMemorial
FellowshipsattheYIVOInstituteforJewishResearch,NewYork(2019–2020).
Acknowledgments:Themainideasofthisarticlewerepresentedattheinternationalconference,“Jewsand
Citizens—JudenundBürger,”organizedbytheBetTfilaResearchUnitforJewishArchitectureinEuropein
TechnischeUniversitätBraunschweiginOctober2018,ontheoccasionofIsraelJacobson’s250thbirthday.Iam
gratefultoSamuelAlbert,SergeyKravtsov,EkaterinaOleshkevich,EllieSchainker,ShaulStampfer,andtwo
anonymousreviewers,whoreadpreviousversionsofthisarticleandmademanyhelpfulcommentsand
suggestions.
ConflictsofInterest:Theauthordeclaresnoconflictofinterest.

134ThecongregationsthatoccupiedtheTaharatHa‐KodeshSynagogueinVilniusandtheOhelYaakov
SynagogueinKaunasafterWWIIinstalledbimotinthecenteroftheprayerhall(probablybroughtfrom
destroyedsynagogues).ThebimahwasmovedintheChoralSynagogueofSt.Petersburgduringthe
renovationof2000–2005.AcentralbimahhasbeenalsoinstalledintheChoralSynagogueinMoscow.

Arts2020,9,7238of49
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Availableonline:http://cja.huji.ac.il/browser.php?mode=set&id=10774(accessedon29December2019).
(“Great(Glavnaia)SynagogueinOdessa”n.d.)“Great(Glavnaia)SynagogueinOdessa”.n.d.TheBezalel
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(“Hanukatbeitha‐knesetha‐gadolbe‐s.peterburg”1893)“Hanukatbeitha‐knesetha‐gadolbe‐s.peterburg”.
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(“Heshbonha‐kesefha‐ne’esafbe‐yomkippur”1900)“Heshbonha‐kesefha‐ne’esafbe‐yomkippur”.1900.Ha‐
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(“Kiev”1888b)“Kiev”.1888b.Ha‐Melitz,November9(November21),pp.2468–69.
(“Kolmi‐St.Peterburg”1865)“Kolmi‐St.Peterburg”.1865.Ha‐Maggid,June7,p.171.
(“Kremenchug”1880)“Kremenchug”.1880.Rassvet,January17(January29),pp.93–94.
(“Litsevaiastoronaiiznanka”1861)“Litsevaiastoronaiiznanka”.1861.Sion,September1(September13),pp.
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(“Me’shteltzikhbayderalef”1870)“Me’shteltzikhbayderalef”.1870.KolMevaser,April16(April28),p.119.
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(“Mitau”1861a)“Mitau”.1861a.AllgemeineZeitungdesJudenthums,July16,p.416.
(“Mitau”1861b)“Mitau”.1861b.Ha‐Melitz,July27(August8),p.822.
(“Mitau”1871)“Mitau”.1871.AllgemeineZeitungdesJudenthums,August29,p.700.
(“Mitau”1899)“Mitau”.1899.DerIsraelit,November20,p.1919.
(“Moskva”1907a)“Moskva”.1907a.SvobodaiRavenstvo,August31,p.19.
(“Moskva”1907b)“Moskva”.1907b.Rassvet,September6,p.46.

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(“Odesa”1862)“Odesa”.1862.Ha‐Melitz,April12(April24),p.421.
(“Odesa”1907)“Odessa”.1907.SvobodaiRavenstvo,July12,p.32.
(“Odesa”1910)“Odesa”.1910.Havatzelet,January31,p.165.
(“Odesskiivestnik”1841)“Odesskiivestnik”.1841.OdesskiiVestnik,July5.
(“Oproverzhenie”1862)“Oproverzhenie”.1862.Sion,February16(February28),p.528.
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(“Sevastopol”1908)“Sevastopol”.1908.Rassvet,March29,pp.26–27.
(“Smolensk”1911)“Smolensk”.1911.EvreiskiiMir,January20,p.41.
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