Our day in Prague was spent exploring the Jewish Quarter located just off the main Market Square.

As we stood in the center of the Market Square, Mr. Barmore told us that if he were dropped into the center of any major European city, he would be able to find where the Jewish community had lived, the Jewish Quarter, within 10 minutes. Jews were central to any economy and therefore present in daily markets.

Because the Jews were central to the commerce of any major city, they were given certain privileges by the king, one of which was to form a community. According to Judaism, there needs to be a minion or 10 Jewish men, in order to pray. So Jews were allowed to come in small groups by the king. Mr. Barmore asked, “But, why were the Jews so hated? They were such a small percentage of any population.” His answer gave us pause: “You don’t have to have large numbers to have a large presence.” Jews were needed and as such, tolerated. Jews were not liked, but not always hated. In Berlin they were about 5%, but they were very visible. They chose not to assimilate over time to the point of disappearing within the larger population group, as had most groups in history. With Jews, most of the time, there was no mixing with the Christian society as in marriage or in getting together over meals, so that there was always a societal ‘wall’ between the groups limiting their interaction to commerce, which led to feelings of ambivalence about the presence of Jews.Eventually in the 19th century developed modern antisemitism in the face of nationalism.   Jews were asked, “Can you be part of the nation?” Jews answered “Yes, of course.” Then they were asked, “ Will you consider your neighbor in Prague closer than your cousin in Warsaw? Will you be more loyal to the nation than to Jews in other lands?”   Many said yes; many said no. Jews were both insiders and outsiders at the same time. It was easier for Jews in the Middle Ages when they were different because everybody was different: nobility, serfs, Jews, etc. —there was no society. But with modernity, are we all the same? Jews, too?

The first synagogue we visited was the Starnova Synagogue also known as the Old New Synagogue, built in 1270 and which is the oldest functioning synagogue in the world. The name itself, we were told, tells us it was not the first synagogue in Prague. At some point a synagogue was built. Then another synagogue was built and the first became the old, the second became the new. When a third synagogue was built, the second became the old new synagogue.   An example of Gothic architecture, Mr. Barmore pointed out that there had been changes to the structure – adding a section outside the original structure to accommodate women once they were included in prayer services, though they remained separate from the men.

Inside the synagogue Mr. Barmore showed us the necessary components of any synagogue, including the ark, which held the Torah, and the bima from which the Torah was read.We learned that the Jewish world was divided among Ashkenazi Jews [Ashkenazi means “German” in Hebrew] and Oriental Jews from North Africa and the Middle East. The two groups had different practices including how the congregation would be seated. For Ashkenazi Jews they would sit before the bima, whereas Oriental Jews would sit around the bima. That meant that the synagogue in which we were sitting was one established by Oriental Jews.

Here, Mr. Barmore also taught us that the use of the Star of David as a Jewish symbol originated in Prague. Displayed proudly in The Old-New Synagogue is the flag that the emperor allowed the Jews to hoist for parades. The symbol on the flag is the Star of David, or Jewish star which was the family symbol of the Cohen family, a prominent family in the congregation when the Jews made the flag. However, the Star of David became the symbol of Judaism only in the 17th century. The flag also displays the yellow hat, which was a derogatory symbol because the king made the Jews of Prague wear the yellow hat whenever they left the ghetto. Although it was originally meant to be disrespectful–it was the color yellow because that was a symbolic color of the plague–it later becomes a symbol of pride for the Jews, as they chose to take a negative and turn it into something positive that connected the community.

Next we went to the Maisel Synagogue, a place of significance during the Holocaust, because after the Jews of Prague are sent to Theresienstadt, the Jewish Museum asked the Nazis if they could collect personal and communal artifacts of the Jewish community. During the war, the Maisel Synagogue was a warehouse where Jewish curators catalogued and stored religious artifacts from synagogues, as well as personal religious items. The Nazis even allowed five special exhibitions of the artifacts during the war. Once their task was completed, the Nazis sent the curators of the museum to Auschwitz on the last transport, and only one of them survived. The synagogue has been remodeled as a museum and visitors can view many artifacts important in Czech Jewish history.

There was also a model of the city of Prague, made by Antonin Langwell in the period of 1826-1837.   This model was digitized in 2006-2009 and cameras take a flight over the city of Prague.

At the Pinkas Synagogue, we saw the memorial to the Jews of Prague and the surrounding towns who the Nazis murdered during the Holocaust. On the walls of the synagogue, painstakingly painted by hand are the names of almost 80,000 Jews of Bohemia and Moravia who were victims of the Nazis. They are organized alphabetically by town (in yellow), followed by the first and last name (in red) and the date of the last transport. The students were able to locate Otto Wolf’s name on the memorial which we will be visiting this story in a few days in Trsice. 

Outside the Pinkas Synagogue is the Jewish cemetery with more than 12,000 tombstones. The original cemetery, when full, could not be expanded, and Jewish graves cannot be moved, so another cemetery layer was put on top. It is important in Jewish culture that the names not be forgotten, so the tombstone of the original grave was removed and placed with the tombstone of the individual on the second layer. Over the centuries, additional layers were added. Because of hygiene concerns, no additional layers could be added after 1787. There are up to fourteen layers of graves in the cemetery, which explains the tombstones as they are seen today.

Our next synagogue in the Jewish quarter was the Spanish synagogue. This was an ornate synagogue in the Moorish style and had been built in the 1860’s around the same time as the Old Neue Synagogue in Berlin that we had visited. Many Jews were apparently embarrassed by its opulence. Mr. Barmore said some Jews felt it was less a place to pray than a place to be seen. He pointed out the massive organ which might equally be found in a large cathedral and represented an attempt by the Jewish community to rival the Catholic churches.

Before heading off to our lunch break the students heard the story of the Golem which defines Prague. Mr. Barmore told us the story of the fabled Golom and Rabbi Loew. Readers of our blog will have to look that one up—- it’s too long to write, but well worth learning about, including its symbolism. Upon leaving the synagogue we climbed up the stairs to the next street from which we could view the ladder leading to the attic which is where the Golom is reputedly located – but anyone who tries to look, which be struck dead.

We ended the evening with a lovely dinner at an Italian Market restaurant outside the city. Our guests were Eva and Tony Vavrecka who have been dear friends to our program for many years. Eva is the niece of Otto Wolf whose diary we have read and continue to work towards unpacking. Eva’s mother, Lici, survived the war in hiding in Trsice being hidden with her brother, Otto and parents while being rescued by several individuals and the entire village of Trsice. We will be visiting Trsice in the next few days to continue to honor Otto’s diary and Eva and Tony’s generosity in sharing their family history. Tomorrow evening, Eva and Tony will speak to the students about their relationship with the diary and their own experiences growing up under communism.