Jewish Geography BULLETINS FROM AROUND THE WORLD, BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE JEWISH TELEGRAPHIC AGENCY
The Trondheim Synagogue in Norway, which is one of the northernmost in the world.
NORWAY CITY’S ONE-OF-A-KIND APPROACH TO OBSERVING SHABBAT by DAN FELLNER COMMUNITY
IF EVER THERE WAS a synagogue that’s earned the right to throw itself a birthday shindig, it’s the in- triguing house of worship in central Norway, about 350 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle. Over the past century, the Trondheim Synagogue has weathered iso- lation from the rest of the Jewish world; the Holocaust, which wiped out half its community; challenges relat- ed to Shabbat observance because of its far northern latitude; and persistent antisemitism. This fall, the synagogue will be observing its centennial with a three-day celebration, culmi- nating in an October 26 event that members of Norway’s royal family, the country’s prime minister, the mayor of Trondheim, and other dignitaries are sched- uled to attend. “There will be speeches, songs, and, of course, we will tell the history of the community,” says John Arne Moen, president of the Trondheim Jewish
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