Ebreju Reliģisko Draudžu Garīgā Dzīve Latvijas Psr (1944-1964): Spiritual Life of Jewish Religious Communities in the Latvian SSR.
The revival of Jewish religious communities appeared as early as 1944, when the first Jews returned to Latvia. By April 1949, when the registration process of the religious communities was completed, seven Jewish religious communities were officially registered in the LSSR. In 1964 three of them wer...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | Latvian |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
LU Akadēmiskais apgāds
2013
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| In: |
Cel̜š
Year: 2013, Issue: 63, Pages: 21-38 |
| Further subjects: | B
Surveys
B Worship B Spiritual Life B Religious communities B Judaism B HOLOCAUST (Jewish theology) |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | The revival of Jewish religious communities appeared as early as 1944, when the first Jews returned to Latvia. By April 1949, when the registration process of the religious communities was completed, seven Jewish religious communities were officially registered in the LSSR. In 1964 three of them were struck off the register as a result of the Soviet policy. The surveys of the worship attendance give an insight into the communities' activities. Not all of the communities had daily prayers (three times a day) due to the insufficient number of believers. However, on the most important religious holidays prayers were particular vivacious. The highest attendance was observed on autumn holidays (Rosh-Hashanah, Jom-Kippur, Simchat-Torah) and on Pesach. The performance of foreign cantors made prayers more intensive and the number of participants on these holidays remained outstanding during all the period; moreover a significant part of worshippers were young people, mostly in Simchat-Torah. Jews from the cities, in which there was no opportunity to gather for holiday prayers, usually visited the nearest community. Days of commemoration of the Holocaust victims were regularly organized and widely attended. An important fact was the national feeling and identity of Jews, which many found in synagogue. At the same time Jewish religious communities (especially the community of Riga) became a part of the Soviet propaganda. Moreover, under the influence of the Soviet anti-religious politics, believers constantly felt the pressure from the state authorities. Mostly as a control at work and synagogues. The religious rites were also an important part of the communities' activities. The official surveys practically do not give any insight into the real statistics, however, it is known that almost every Jew practised the circumcision. The funeral rites also were rather common. Generally, it must be concluded that many Jews despite the suppression during all the time reported strived to preserve ties with synagogue. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Cel̜š
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