The Great Synagogue of Paris

The Victory Synagogue

Video of the program «À l'origine» hosted by Steve Suissa, on France 2. With the participation of Steve Suissa, director, Jacques Canet, President of the Synagogue de la Victoire, Moshe Sebbag, rabbi of the Synagogue de la Victoire and Claude Natal, historian © France 2.

History

During the Restoration, and especially under the Second Empire, the Parisian Jewish community more than doubled from 12,000 to 25,000 members.

It was therefore decided to build a new synagogue by subscription. The main subscriber was Gustave de Rothschild. The land was donated by the City of Paris. In the 1830s, the site was used as the headquarters of the U.S. Embassy in France.

The architect of the Grand Synagogue de Paris was Alfred-Philibert Aldrophe (1834-1895), who also built the Versailles and Enghien-les-Bains synagogues. Designed in a neo-Byzantine style, it was begun in 1867, inaugurated in 1874 and opened to public worship in 1875.

Image opposite: the facade of the Grande synagogue de la Victoire. Public domain.

In 1891, Theodor Herzl arrived in Paris as a journalist for the Viennese newspaper Neue Freie Presse. He lived there for several years and witnessed the events surrounding the Dreyfus Affair. During these years, he made several visits to the Great Synagogue of Paris. In 1894, he wrote in his diary: «The idea grew stronger in me that I should do something for the Jews. I went for the first time to the prayer shrine on the Rue de la Victoire, and the prayer seemed to me once again festive and moving. Many things reminded me of my childhood and the shrine at Dohány utca in Budapest.

In October 1896, on the occasion of Russian Tsar Nicholas II's visit to France, a ceremony was held in the Rue de la Victoire synagogue, attended by the entire Consistoire and many Russians. The Chief Rabbi of France, Zadoc Kahn, delivers a speech in honor of the sovereign.
After the war, the synagogue underwent renovation, which was not completed until 1967.
Owned by the City of Paris, the synagogue has been listed as a Historic Monument since December 11, 1987.

Architecture

The Hebrew inscription on the large semicircular gable reads: «This is none other than the house of God, this is the gateway to heaven» (Genesis 28:17), the same as on the synagogues in Reims and Bar-le-Duc. Inside, the same gable reads «Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself» in French.
The interior decor features religious inscriptions above the doors. On the choir vault, the names of the prophets are written in French. David's name is inscribed in the cul de four. Above the holy ark is engraved the phrase «ה׳ ניסי» («The Lord is my banner» Exodus 17:15).

Image opposite: the pediment of the Grande Synagogue de la Victoire. Public domain.

It also features a series of twelve stained glass windows symbolizing the tribes of Israel, identical to those in the Dijon synagogue.
The choir is separated from the congregation by a balustrade, and the bimah (officiant's tribune) raised by five steps.