Synagogue Beth David

Stepping back in time, let’s journey to 1893. Synagogue Beth David, also known as Adas Yereim, opened its doors on the rue Cadet. This wasn’t just another synagogue in Paris. It was a sanctuary for orthodox Ashkenazi Jews, many hailing from Alsace and Germany. Synagogue Beth David held tightly to their traditions, a testament to their heritage. The synagogue’s story begins even earlier, in the 1840s, with two societies: the Society of Talmudic Study and the Society of Patriarch Abraham. These groups, founded by German Jews, mostly from Alsace, eventually merged. They initially prayed at 14 rue Portefoin, then rue Villehardouin, before finally settling at 6 rue de l’Échiquier in the 10th arrondissement. The architect Lenfant designed the final home for Synagogue Beth David, tucked away in a courtyard on rue Cadet. You wouldn’t know it was there from the street. A discreet plaque, reading “Beth HaKnesset. Adass Yereim,” was the only outward sign. A passage led to a courtyard, a residential building at the back. On its facade, a sign indicated a mikveh for men. To the right, stairs led up the building. To the left, another set of stairs led to a library, and beside it, Synagogue Beth David. The synagogue itself had no grand facade, its beauty hidden within. Inside, the women’s galleries wrapped around three sides of the main hall. Natural light streamed through a large skylight of glass bricks, an embedded Star of David shining down. Another Star of David, this time in stucco, adorned the wall above the Torah ark, surrounded by decorative tendrils. The Torah ark, covered in a red embroidered parochet, stood beneath a large arch inscribed with Hebrew. As is tradition in orthodox synagogues, the bimah stood in the center. Much of the original interior remained: wooden benches, chandeliers, even a clock with Hebrew characters instead of numbers. A marble plaque commemorated the community’s soldiers lost in the First World War. Another bore witness to the horrors of the Shoah, listing names like Bamberger, Berger, Durlacher, and Rosenberg. Sadly, in 2014, Synagogue Beth David closed its doors. Its history, though, remains, a whisper of the lives lived and prayers uttered within its walls.