DAYS AT ETZ HAYYIM...a Photographic Diary Project manager: Vassiliki Yakoumaki Photo's by Christos Varvantakis and text by Nicholas Stavroulakis Recently the Synagogue was singled out for a special project by a young Cretan anthropologist, Vassiliki Yakoumaki and funded by the European Conf. and the University of Rethymnon. Her project is of great importance as it is directed to tracing and recording the life of non-Christian communities in Greece and will extend iself later into other Jewish communities as well as those of the the Muslims in northern Greece. The decision to begin this project with Etz Hayyim synagogue in Hania was dictated by the town itself as Hania once had a pluralistic and multi-ethinic and multi-religious character as can be seen by the abandoned remains of several mosques as well as Catholic churchs dating from Venetian times that have been 'converted' to Greek Orthodoxy. During the initial period of the project a group of young Greek (Christian) lawyers appeared at the Synagogue. They were attending a special seminar in Hania but were attracted to the Synagogue as the last living remnant of its former rich pluralism. Studying in Komotini, a city in Northern Greece that has a sizeable Muslim Community, they had become concerned over abuses of certain rights and hence were anxious to know what our Jewish 'presence' constituted. Opportunely a young French student, Jean Vettraino was using the library in preparing his itinerary through Greece. His own research was especially pertinent as it is concerned with the image of Greek Orthodoxy from the stance of non-Christian Greeks.

Since its re-dedication in 2000 Etz Hayyim has been allowed to define its new role as a synagogue without a proper Kehila. It was understood realistically that its role as a place of 'communal' prayer was going to be, at least for the moment, limited. However, historically a synagogue has never had either a static or limited function. It is a place for prayer, for recollection, and for study,but also for
convocation hence it was felt that its Jewish character had to be authenically retained and elaborated on at all costs but that it could facilitate other appropriate venues. Etz Hayyim was a Romaniote synagogue and thus we retained carefully the polar-axial traditional of such synagogues
that still exist in some parts of Greece as well as Northern Italy and North Africa. In the course of a short time Jews who could trace their families back to Hania or Crete began to contact us and out of this the synagogue became a resource centre for tracing family trees and associating names. It's library is the only library in Hania - if not Crete - that has research facilities for the study of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The synagogue has also hosted exhibits on Oriental Musical Instruments, yet another on the Jewish Heritage in Europe and two art exhibits one of which, by an young Israeli artist, was inspired by the mikveh.

The following photographs record daily life of Etz Hayyim and, to some extent, its peculiar role in a city that has lost its pluralism or actively denies it. The choice of photographs for this link is only
partial and the entire project will be assembled in a published form next year. We are especially appreciative for permission to use this material at this time.

The eastern facade of the synagogue with the the main gate to the men's courtyard on the right. The Synagogue shared a common outer courtyard that connected it to Beth Shalom Synagogue and permitted it access to the community mikveh.

The main gate and pediment. When the reconstruction of the synagogue was begun in 1996 we were not aware of the existence of the pediment. It was only at the time of the autopsy of the building that we found the very faint weathered traces of where 'something' had been in place along almost the entire width of the architrive. Later a 'fill' that had been put in place when the

synagogue was being used as a house by three families was removed and a jigsaw puzzle of divergently cut stones was found. It took several weeks to eventually find out what they were. Only one section was lost and this was the roughly square space in which some sort of inscription must have been located. We have put in this space a turquiose ceramic 'seal' of the synagogue with the words Shalom and Eirene (Peace) on either side.

A group of visitors before the gate.. The main gate of the synagogue was re-dedicated in the year as the 'Rothschild Gate' as two Rothschilds have been associated with it. One Albert Rothschild from Vienna contributed to its reconstruction after the earthquake of 1900. Lord Jacob Rothschild of London is one main benefactors of the project since its inception in 1995.