{"id":14626,"date":"2015-09-11T00:28:55","date_gmt":"2015-09-11T07:28:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=14626"},"modified":"2015-09-09T14:22:07","modified_gmt":"2015-09-09T21:22:07","slug":"bulgaria-more-than-cheese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2015\/09\/11\/bulgaria-more-than-cheese\/","title":{"rendered":"Bulgaria: more than cheese"},"content":{"rendered":"

The roof of Sofia\u2019s synagogue. (photo by Deborah Rubin Fields)<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Until recently, if someone had asked me what I knew about Bulgaria, I would have said, \u201cIsn\u2019t that the name of a cheese?\u201d Now having visited Bulgaria, I realize how limited was my perspective.<\/p>\n

Bulgaria\u2019s colorful Jewish history dates back to antiquity. According to Elko Hazan\u2019s comprehensive 2012 book The Concise Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities and their Synagogues in Bulgaria<\/em>, over the centuries Jews had a presence in some 40 Bulgarian cities and towns.<\/p>\n

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Part of an ancient mosaic synagogue floor found in Plovdiv. (photo from<\/em> The Concise Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities and Their Synagogues in Bulgaria (Kamea Design, 2012)).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For example, near Plovdiv\u2019s Maria Luiza Boulevard, archeologists uncovered a third-century CE synagogue. Its proximity to ancient Philippopolis\u2019 Roman forum suggests that wealthy Jews in good standing with the Romans built the structure. The accomplishment of these well-placed Jews is all the more remarkable when you consider that Philippopolis had an estimated population of 100,000. Archeologists discovered two mosaic synagogue floors, one over another. The stunning mosaic featured both the Four Species (lulav, etrog, myrtle, willow) and a menorah. The second floor may have had geometric patterns. That more than one floor was found probably indicates the synagogue was renovated in the fifth century and destroyed in the sixth century. (See The Jewish-Greek Tradition in Antiquity and the Byzantine Empire<\/em>, edited by James K. Aitken.)<\/p>\n

Greek inscriptions commended the synagogue\u2019s donors or founders. The east and west mosaic panel read: \u201c\u2018From the gifts of Providence … Cosmianus, also called Joseph, executed the decoration (of the building). Blessing to all!\u201d The central panel read: \u201cFrom the gifts of Providence … El … also called Isaac made decoration of 120 feet (mosaic).\u201d The adoption of a Roman-sounding second name attests to adaptation by Jews to the Greek and Roman culture. (See Negotiating Diaspora: Jewish Strategies in the Roman Empire<\/em>, edited by John M.G. Barclay.) Ironically, as the synagogue remains are in storage, the only way to get a sense of how grand the floor was is to visit the impressive new museum of the (fifth-century) Small Basilica.<\/p>\n

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The ceiling of Plovdiv\u2019s Zion Synagogue. (photo by Deborah Rubin Fields)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But Plovdiv\u2019s charming Zion Synagogue (13 Tsar Kaloyan St.) is still up and functioning (one of two still active in Bulgaria). It was first built in 1886-1887. In 2003, the extensive five-year renovation of the starry-sky ceiling and the colorful geometric-paneled walls was completed. The building is only open for Kabbalat Shabbat prayers, so visitors should contact Eva Mezan (at +359-87-944-8675) to verify hours.<\/p>\n

Although there is seating for 250 worshippers, some 20 local men and women attend this service. The second floor ezrat nashim<\/em> (women\u2019s section) is not used. Instead, an invisible mechitza<\/em> (divider) has men sitting on one side of the aisle, women on the other. The congregation\u2019s lay cantor leads services from the raised bima adjacent to the aron ha-kodesh<\/em> (Torah ark). The congregation uses a Bulgarian-Hebrew siddur. Vocal congregants despair over the sad state of their community, with its high rate of intermarriage.<\/p>\n

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The Jewish cemetery in Plovdiv. (photo by Deborah Rubin Fields)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Plovdiv\u2019s small Jewish community likewise has difficulty managing the graves in the Jewish section of the municipal cemetery (73 Knyaginya Maria Louisa Blvd.). While there is upkeep of \u201cnew\u201d graves, headstones laid as recently as 1923 are somewhat neglected. Near the corner of the Sixth of September and Russki boulevards, Plovdiv\u2019s Jews, however, do maintain a Bulgarian\/Hebrew\/English thanksgiving monument to the Bulgarian people for their help during the Second World War.<\/p>\n

Sofia\u2019s opulent 1,170-seat, 100-year-old Central Synagogue (16 Ekzarh Joseph St.) is also struggling, with barely enough people to hold daily morning prayers. The small on-site Jewish nursery school and the tiny, underdeveloped Jewish museum strikingly contrast with the enormous octagonal-shaped synagogue sanctuary. (Note: museum hours are limited, and not necessarily in accordance with posted times.)<\/p>\n

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The Jewish community\u2019s Bulgarian\/Hebrew\/English monument to the Bulgarian people for their help during the Second World War. (photo by Deborah Rubin Fields)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Within walking distance of the synagogue, visitors may see (upon receiving special written permission from Dr. Lyudmil Vagalinski, director@naim.bg<\/a>) another example of Bulgaria\u2019s ancient Jewish history in the National Institute of Archeology with Museum\u2019s (2 Saborna St.) lapidarium. A Latin marble pedestal from Oescus \u2013 a first- to fifth-century CE Roman town near the Danube \u2013 mentions the lay synagogue head Archisinagogus, according to Hazan.<\/p>\n

Sofia\u2019s 131-year-old Doctors\u2019 Garden (located close to the National Library and Sofia University) memorializes the 531 fallen medics of the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878), most of whom died in battles at Pleven, Plovdiv, Mechka or Shipka. A good number of these Russian medical personnel were Jewish, a credit to the reforms established by Russian Emperor Alexander II.<\/p>\n

A few blocks away is the street named after biochemist Asen Zlaratov. The street plaque mentions he helped to set up the Committee for the Protection of Jews. Even beforehand, Zlaratov published a newspaper article critical of Germany\u2019s book burning.<\/p>\n

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Sofia\u2019s Doctors\u2019 Garden memorializes the 531 fallen medics of the Russo-Turkish War. (photo by Deborah Rubin Fields)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More than 51,000 Jewish Bulgarians (most of the community) moved to Israel in the mid- to late-1940s. Between 1967 and 1990, Communist Bulgaria had no diplomatic relations with Israel. Today, estimates are that 5,000 Jews live in Bulgaria. Chabad Rabbi Yosef Salamon and Rabbi Yossi Halprin and their spouses supervise Jewish educational, social and religious functions for the small remaining Bulgarian Jewish population. According to the Hebrew language Chabad Bulgaria website, Bulgaria has more than 15 organized Jewish community centres or Shalom organization representation. In Sofia, Chabad runs King David, a kosher restaurant offering take-outs and hotel deliveries.<\/p>\n

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The interior of Sofia\u2019s synagogue. (photo by Deborah Rubin Fields)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Over the centuries, Bulgarian Jews have influenced both their own community and the larger non-Jewish community. Here are some of the \u201cbig names\u201d:<\/p>\n