Rabbi's Blog

Dear Haverim,

This coming weekend will feature an incredible “doubleheader” of a Shabbat weekend!  On Friday, November 17, we’ll join for Shabbat dinner at 6:00 pm. and Shabbat Alive services with our band at 7:00 p.m., followed by a PowerPoint presentation with Dr. Samuel D. Gruber on “Glorifying The Commandment: Great Synagogues Of The World.” 

Jews are the “People of the Book,” but, surprisingly to many, they are also the “People of the Building.”  Given the opportunity, Jews have built beautiful synagogues for their communities for hundreds of years.  Inspired by the detailed architectural accounts in the Bible and by their contemporary surroundings, Jews in many places have fulfilled the concept of “Hiddur Mitzvah” (glorifying the commandment) through architecture and architectural decoration.

Great synagogues have been built in Europe since the Middle Ages. Since the lavish inauguration of the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam in the late 17th century, the stream of impressive Jewish buildings has continued with little interruption on every inhabited continent throughout the world.

Dr. Gruber’s lecture illustrates this architectural and artistic heritage with historic and contemporary images, and traces its survival in the 21st century, with special emphasis on lesser known “Great Synagogues,” on recently restored buildings, and on some of the newest synagogues built.

Dr. Gruber is an internationally recognized art and architectural historian. For 35 years, he has been a leader in the protection and preservation of synagogues, Jewish cemeteries, and other historic sites around the world.  He is an authority on synagogue architecture, Jewish art, and the Jewish heritage of Eastern Europe. Since 1994, he has regularly taught courses in Jewish art at Syracuse University and elsewhere.

Dr. Gruber is the author of “American Synagogues: A Century of Architecture and Jewish Community” and “Synagogues,”  and scores of published reports and articles. Since 2008, he has written the blog “Samuel Gruber’s Jewish Art and Monuments.” During the pandemic, he curated two online exhibitions: “Romaniote Memories” for Queens College under the auspices of the Government of Greece, and “Synagogues of the South” for the College of Charleston, for which he previously curated “Life of the Synagogue.”

Beginning in 2021, Dr. Gruber became a planner and lead researcher on the Holocaust Memorial Monument Database project based at the Center for Jewish Art at Hebrew University, which is supported by the Claims Conference. An exhibition he curated of historic prints of synagogues is now on view at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York through March 2024.

Dr. Gruber last spoke at University Synagogue over 25 years ago, so RSVP here now, so that you don’t have to wait another quarter of a century to hear him again!

On Sunday, November 19, from 9:30 – 10:45 a.m., University Synagogue and Irvine United Congregational Church will join at IUCC (4915 Alton Parkway) for our annual Pre-Thanksgiving Interfaith Service.  Reverend Sarah Halverson-Cano and I will dialogue and answer your questions (which, if you wish, you can send to me in advance by Friday at noon to rabbi@universitysynagogue.org) on the theme of “Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Judaism And Christianity, But Were Afraid To Ask.” University Synagogue and IUCC’s Choirs and Cantor Braier will sing in Hebrew and English. RSVP here for what will be one of the most memorable and moving services of the year!

The American holiday of Thanksgiving, based on the Biblical Harvest Festival of Sukkot, is one of our most cherished celebrations as Jews, because it strives for inclusivity across the religious, racial and ethnic diversity that is the hallmark of our American democracy.  In a country and world that are so polarized today, we need to celebrate the ideal of one indivisible nation and world. 

Especially, when we are feeling such pain over the Israel-Hamas War and the fate of our beloved hostages, we want to be with our allies and supporters from other faith traditions.  One of the first people to contact me, after the brutal murders in Israel on October 7, was Rev. Sarah Halverson-Cano to offer her church’s support to the Jewish community.

Let’s join for our Pre-Thanksgiving service at Irvine United Congregational Church to thank her and her congregation.

Chazak, Chazak, V’nitchazek/Be Strong, Be Strong And Let Us Strengthen One Another,

Rabbi Arnold Rachlis