A. Jews/services

How many Jews are there in Crete/Hania?

Probably 12 in Crete, 7 in Hania. This is the only Synagogue left on Crete.

How many before the war?
There were approximately 300 Jews in all of Crete in 1941. In 1944 all remaining Jews were taken from Hania and drowned in a convoy en route for Auschwitz. The Jewish community in Crete had been among the oldest in Europe, 2,400 years old

Are there any survivors/descendants of the Cretan/Haniot Jews?
There are descendants of Cretan Jews in Athens, London, Paris, New York, Israel and Italy. We have started a database to record people who have connections here

Are there still services here?/Is it possible to have services without a minyan?
Services are held in the Synagogue: Shahrith prayers are said every morning and on Friday and Saturday. Occasionally in the tourist season there is a prayer quorum (minyan) of 10 Jews. Jewish Holidays are well attended by Greek Jews from the mainland as well as visitors; the non-Jews, who belong to the Havurah (fraternity) of the Synagogue take an active part in festivals, especially Pesach (Passover) and Sukkoth (late winter festival of trees).

Do men and women pray together here?
Yes. Women who prefer not pray with men may sit in the veiled area to the right of the Ehal (This structure is also used as the Huppah or canopy under which weddings are performed.)

Is there a Rabbi?
No. The last rabbi here, Abraham Evlagon, who died in 1933 (See the Jews of Crete III)

Why are none of the books in Hebrew?
All of the prayer books are in Hebrew and the service books as well. The library is for both Jews and non-Jews and hence is multi-lingual.

Is this an 'Orthodox' synagogue?
Our own service books are all according to the Sephardic and Mizrahi (Oriental) rite and hence 'Orthodox', though we embrace Jews of any ilk who wish to pray with us. We are sensitive to the needs of Reform, Conservative, Liberal and Reconstructionist Jews and we even have service books for them should they find our own rite too rigid.

Have people been married here?
We have had six marriages here, and there will be a Bar Mizvah in Autumn. The mikveh (ritual bath) is used on occasion - especially by brides-to-be!

Where is the old Jewish burial ground?
It was at Nea Hora, west of Hania, outside the Venetian city walls.

B. The building

General:
The lay-out of our Synagogue is Greco-Roman or 'Romaniot' with a polar-axial alignment of the interior so that the Ehal is on the East Wall and the Bima against the West Wall. The seating is arranged according to the axis which permits one to follow the ceremony of taking the Torah out of the Ehal and moving it up to the Bima for reading without having to turn one's back on it ever. Sephardi Synagogues in Greece have the Ehal on the East Wall but the Bima is slightly located off centre. The reading desk in our Synagogue is called a Tevah and is used for leading prayers during the weekdays when the Torah is not taken for reading out of the Ehal . It is only read (with a minyan of 10 men) on Mondays, Thursdays and of course on Saturdays when the service and Torah are read from the Bima.

When was the original Synagogue built?
Probably C14th - originally a Venetian Catholic church; given to the Jewish Community by the Ottomans when they took over Crete in the C16th.

What remains of the old building and what's new? How did you know how to reconstruct it?
The Synagogue was badly damaged in 1944 and was virtually a ruin when the restoration started in 1998. The floor and walls are original, and some of the stone inscriptions (over the door and in the wall above the office). It was reconstructed following the research carried out by Nikos Stavroulakis on Jewish synagogues in Greece (see Commemorative Album, Jews of Crete and Jewish Sites and Synagogues).

Who is buried in the courtyard? Why are they buried there?
At least two Rabbis of the Synagogue. (R Hillel, died 1717 and R Shalom died 1821) Because they died in 'interesting times' for Crete - during times of unrest, when access to the cemetery was impossible. (See Jews of Crete I) The little wall built round the graves is to separate the living from the dead. The stones on top of the graves are put there as a sign of respect and remembrance by people who visit the grave to show they have been.

Is there a memorial to the Jews who were taken from here?
Yes, to the right of the door that leads into the back courtyard where the rabbis are buried.. An annual service of remembrance is held in June (the date they died) .

Why is there a light burning before the Ehal?
The light is called the NER TAMID (perpetual burning light) and it symbolises the perpetual flame that was kept burning in the Temple in Jerusalem but also indicates that the in the Ehal are retained the Scrolls of the Law (Torah). We have two scrolls - one from Prague collected from ruined European synagogues (we don't know which one, so it is called an 'orphan' scroll) and one from Cairo in Egypt.

What's the building next door?
At one time it was the Jewish Talmudic School and then was used by a Jewish family as its residence until 1944.

What's written on the graves and other stones?
See essay in Jews of Crete I

Where are the furniture/fittings from?
Furniture was all made of teak wood in Jakarta and the cushions are North Indian

Where did you get the cushions?
They come from India, and you can buy them from us for 12 Euros

Who supports the Synagogue (financially or in other ways)?
The Synagogue is entirely self-supporting and depends on the generosity and comprehension of its importance by visitors. It receives no grants from the Greek or Israeli government and is entirely supported by charitable donations, since there is such a small Jewish community here. The restoration was supported by the donors listed on the plaque by the 'fountain' in the wall near the outside gate of the Synagogue.

Where are the turtles from? How old are they? What do they eat?
Attica; about 30 years old; lettuce and catfood!

C. Behaviour

Is it OK for non-Jews to come in? Is it OK for women to come in?
Yes. Yes. Non-Jews are most welcome. The spirit in which Etz-Hayyim was rededicated was that it be a house of prayer, recollection and reconciliation.

What's appropriate clothing? (shorts, uncovered heads/arms/legs/feet)
Our own Jewish tradition in Greece has a number of points regarding decorum. Men wear a head covering out of respect for the Torah which is kept in the Ehal. They can take a skull -cap (kippoth)from the basket inside the Synagogue door; please return them! Men should not cross their legs during prayers as it is too casual a position. One's feet should not be directed soles up towards the Ehal (EVER). A less followed tradition is that when we leave the synagogue we turn at the door and back out - so as not to turn one's back on the Torah. Women should wear appropriately modest clothing. This is very difficult to really enforce in a tourist atmosphere of visitors many of whom are not Jews. Certainly for Formal prayers (Shahrith, Arvith Erev , Shabbath and Kabbalah Shabbath - Saturday night) they should not wear halters and shorts!

Can we take photographs?
Yes, but we also have some nice postcards on sale. And not during services.

D. Questions on Judaism

Why do Jews touch the metal box and then kiss their fingers when they enter the Synagogue?
The metal container is called a MEZUZAH and we kiss it out of respect for what it contains: a text, central to which is the SHEMA (Hear o Israel the Lord is our God, the Lord is ONE - and thou shalt love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your might - and you shall write them on the doorposts of they house and gates (Deut 6,v4-9) which is the profession of faith of a Jews; it also has appended to it the entire commandment as given in the Torah (it is in three sections - Deut 6,4-9; Deut 11, 13-21; and Umbers 15,37-41). As they are in many cases set high up we touch them and then kiss our fingers.

Are there any kosher facilities in Crete?
There are no proper kosher facilities in Crete, though it is possible to purchase chicken and turkey products from Israel that are sold at some markets. Hotiatiko bread does not contain milk products and is kosher. Cheeses are not, and some of the yogurt. There is a full breakdown of kashruth products in Greece in that section of the Synagogue website.