At 2pm on Sunday, November 19, come learn about the important role Czech Jewry has played in the Czech Lands throughout the centuries.
As part of this 10 Hvezd (Star) project, the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic received the largest grant in the EU for the preservation of Jewish monuments in the Czech Lands that were badly damaged during the period of WWII. The project has enabled the reconstruction, restoration, and preservation of 15 important historical buildings in 10 towns in Bohemia and Moravia.
The presence of many medieval Jewish sites (including Prague’s celebrated Altneuschul, the oldest functioning synagogue in Europe) attests to the deep roots of the Jewish communities in Bohemia and Moravia. The first Jews most probably came to central Europe with Roman legions but the first written historical document mentioning Jews in Bohemia and Moravia is a manuscript dated 965–6 CE, the work of a Jewish merchant and diplomat, Ibrahim ibn Jacob, who was sent on a mission by the caliph of Cordoba. Over the course of the following centuries, the local Jewish community experienced mostly periods of tolerance and prosperity. Beginning in the 12th century, Prague became a great center of Jewish learning and continued this way until 1938. At its height, there were more than 400 synagogues in a country the size of Delaware.
Note from the tour leader and presenter, Barbara Weitz
You will also be given the opportunity to see these very special sites for yourself, if you are able to travel there with me from May 29-June16. You will be able to discover even more about the Jews of the Czech Lands, their virtual disappearance and now rebirth. If you want to receive more information about taking part in the fascinating tour scheduled for late May/June 2018, I’ll be happy to provide it.
If you’ll be able to take part in this special trip, not only will you be able to learn about and participate in all the programs surrounding this ‘rebirth’ but you will also be able to pay tribute to a people lost from their centuries-long, historically vibrant community in the Czech lands. However this trip is not just a sobering one. You’ll have lots of opportunity to visit the many historic towns and countryside that are idyllic and fascinating. You will visit the beautiful region bordering Austria called the “Czech Napa Valley”. You will also have time in Prague to visit all the sights you may have missed if you’ve traveled there before or, if not, you’ll have time visit ALL you should see for the first time. If you can’t travel with me at the end of May, please come just to learn.
RSVP to Rochelle@jccavldev.wpengine.com to express interest.
