Canada: Yiddish oxen, tractors in Saskatchewan

The Yiddish Book Center (Amherst, Massachusetts) sends out periodic newsletters on books and events.

The latest update, just received by Tracing the Tribe, has several interesting items, particularly a Yiddish book on a Saskatchewan farming community and an update on the Hania, Crete synagogue fire and attempts at rebuilding its destroyed library.

Learning how our ancestors lived is key to understanding who they were and how they coped with local conditions.

When, in 1911, Michael Usiskin arrived in the Jewish settlement of Edenbridge, in northeastern Saskatchewan, he and the other pioneers struggled.

Weather conditions, isolation and other factors contributed to their attempt to form Jewish cultural life. He recorded this life in his 1945 Yiddish book, Oksn un motorn (Oxen and Tractors).

To learn more about this book, click here.

Readers may remember the devasting fire at the Hania, Crete synagogue that destroyed its library. Many people have already donated books to rebuild that important resource. The drawing at left is part of director Nikos Stravroulakis' drawing of the town.

Click here to read the thank you message from Stavroulakis and his staff. Read the names of those who donated books and see an interactive map, as well as a list of books they still need.

Subscribe to the National Yiddish Book Center's newsletter.

Greece: Crete synagogue attack

The only synagogue on the island of Crete was vandalized on the night of January 5, according to an email from Dr. Nicholas Hannan-Stavroulakis, director of the Etz Hayyim Synagogue.

Individuals accessed the synagogue's south garden, opened a cushion from the mikveh and stuffed the filling into a container of flammable liquid. The flaming container was set under the stairs leading to the women's section. The director's office, library and reading room are also on that level.

The library contains valuable books in various languages on Ottoman, Byzantine and Jewish art and architecture, resource books on European, Near Eastern and Cretan history. Also in the office were a computer, CD player and more than 150 CDs of Sephardic liturgical ands secular music.

The vandals left quickly, but smoke from the fire filled the synagogue and poured out onto the street.

Albanian immigrant Yannis Pietra, who lives near the synagogue, saw the smoke and called the police and the fire department. He went to find the director, who arrived with the synagogue's handyman. A young Moroccan, Nasr Alassoud, also traced the smoke and was helpful to the director.

By 1.45am, the fire was out and the police investigation had begun. Synagogue librarian Anja Zuckmantel-Papadakis and her husband arrived soon after the fire was extinguished.

The damage became apparent the next day.

According to the director, what was unusual was the lack of local residents despite the din of the synagogue alarm and the fire engine sirens.

More disturbing, writes Stavroulakis, was the lack of the local residents' sensitivity to the fact that had the synagogue burned out of control, half of Hania's old city would also have burned. Fire trucks could not have accessed the narrow streets.

By 7am, the director had talked to the police and damage was assessed. Synagogue leadership - Paola Nikotera, Konstantine Fischer, Sam Cohen and David Webber - examined the damage to books and the structure.

A bar of soap was thrown against the outer wall. (A common anti-semitic quip in Greek runs...'I'll make you into a bar of soap!').

Early investigations indicated it would take up to a week to have water reconnected. Electric was easier and with the help of engineer Giorgos Archontakis and photographer Angeliki Psaraki, it was working by 5pm.

While the Sefer Torahs were protected, the interior sanctuary walls and stone were stained and streaked by sooty water. By early evening, cleaning plans had been made and, by late evening, carpenter Manthos Kakavelakis had measured for a new staircase to replace the burned one.

All the carpets - some 30 mostly antique Turkish pieces - were packed for cleaning.

On January 6, the group gathered for morning prayers and discussed the incident and their anger, how it should be directed, and ignorance that spurs racism and discrimination.

Etz Hayyim has tried to be a spotlight surrounded by almost aggressive ignorance, in the words of Stavroulakis. The synagogue's doors are open from early in the morning to late at night - a place of prayer, recollection and reconciliation.

In many ways, writes Stavroulakis, "we have been successful through this quiet presence – perhaps our ‘silent presence’ wears not too well on some and is even a source of annoyance to others."

Etz Hayim demonstrates little sign of overt protective security. Bags are not checked, neither are IDs and passports and visitors are not required to sign in. Writes Stavroulakis, the synagogue's character must not change, its doors must remain open – or the congregation will have given in to the ignorance that fostered the destruction.

According to the director, "We will have a heavy burden of funding the necessary renovations and we hope that you as either old friends or new ones will assist us. Any donations will be deeply appreciated and, of course, welcome."

For more information, go to Etz Hayyim Synagogue and learn more. A special account has been set up for donations and contributions:

ALPHA BANK (Hania, Crete)
Account name: Friends of Etz Hayyim
Account # 776-002101-087154
IBAN: GR74 0140 6600 7760 0210 1087 154

To donate in the US, tax-deductible charitable contributions will also be received by the International Survey of Jewish Monuments (ISJM).

Mail checks to:

ISJM
P.O. Box 210
118 Julian Place
Syracuse, NY 13210

Write "Hania" on the memo line - 100% of all funds will be transferred for use by Etz Hayyim.

Crete: The Etz Hayyim synagogue

Crete's Jewish history is ancient - some 2,000 years old.

Nazis arrested the Chania community of 263 Jews on May 29, 1944. As Jewish residents were imprisoned in nearby Ayas, the little Romaniote Etz Hayyim (one of the two congregations) synagogue was already being vandalized by the Nazis and townspeople.

The prisoners were sent to Heraklion and put on the Tanais, which was torpedoed by a British submarine the next day (June 9). It sank with no survivors. The prisoners were likely being sent to Auschwitz.

The Guardian posted a story by Antony Lerman about the restoration of Etz Hayyim, which he calls a synagogue with an extraordinary history.

The building was occupied by squatters who were forced to finally leave in 1957, and the building became the property of the Central Board of Jewish Communities of Greece. Portions of the small site were taken by adjacent property owners.

The former Jewish quarter underwent a revival; were built, but the synagogue became a dumping ground.

Enter Dr. Nikos Stavroulakis. I first became acquainted with him through his Greek Jewish cookbook with its marvelous illustrations and fascinating recipes. He decided that the synagogue had to be reconstructed and renovated and become a living congregation again despite the lack of any known Jews living on Crete.

Stavroulakis is a man of many talents: a Jewish art historian, museum designer and curator, author, theatrical costume designer, artist, cookery writer and more.

He returned to his late father's besides, who had returned to his late father's house in Chania, persuaded the World Monuments Fund and some wealthy donors to back a plan to rebuild Etz Hayyim. On 10 October 1999, after five years' work, 350 people assembled to witness the rededication of the synagogue.

He wanted more than a memorial to the Jews who had perished and more than a small museum focused on Crete's Jewish history.

Lerman attended a recent Friday night service - for visiting American Jews - and Nikos spoke:

He recalled a line of Kafka's, "a cage went in search of a bird", and said this is what happened with the synagogue – and the bird came.

Not that he meant Etz Hayyim's "community" is in any way captive, but the very rebirth of the synagogue opened up the possibility for an incredibly diverse number of people to find some new meaning in their lives through the presence of the synagogue and their various connections with it.

The building serves as a synagogue but other events are held there such as concerts, lectures, community meals and exhibits. Jews with Crete connections have used its library and resources for genealogy purposes, while others have conducted private research.

The Crete community is transient, representing all streams of Judaism or none at all; some stay for days, weeks or months. Only rarely is there a minyan. Lerman calls Etz Hayyim as being at the frontier of modern Jewish experience,

Read the complete article at the link above for more of Lerman's insights on his recent visit.