The Klausen Synagogue in Prague dates back to 1694.
to a growing number of people who sought to explore their Jewish roots. The community currently has 200 members and adds about five more every month. “Often, I meet people who simply want to learn about the culture, tradition and religion of their grandparents,” says Maxa. “They say, my grandmother and grandfather were Shoah survivors—can I come and learn more about Judaism? We offer a wide range of activities, including, of course, regular services, but also educa- tional courses to help these people recon- nect with the tradition.” Maxa, who himself grew up in Prague with little connection to his Jewish roots, wants to revive some of the rituals that threaded through Prague’s pre-war Jewish world—includ- ing a tradition of organ accompaniment in the city’s synagogues. Jewish organist Ralph Selig performed during the Kol Nidre service. Like many of his congregants, Maxa has a family history that intertwines with the losses of the last century. His father came from Prague and survived the Holocaust. He does not know if his father visited the Klausen Synagogue, but he knows it was a familiar part of his world. “It means a lot for me that the tradition was not exterminated.” n
festivals, early Hebrew manuscripts, and Jewish customs and traditions. Museum director Pavla Niklová says that re- turning the synagogue to use for Yom Kippur happened almost by accident. Maxa was ask- ing if she knew about a space large enough to host his growing congregation, Ec Chajim, for the holiest day in the Jewish calendar: its own space, which opened four years ago, could not accommodate the expected crowds. Since the museum had just taken down its exhibition in the Klausen Synagogue, she had an answer. The clean, empty space was ready to be re- filled with Jewish life. Visiting the synagogue just before Yom Kippur, Niklová said she was awed to see the building returned to its original purpose. She hopes that it will continue to be used for large services. “I felt like the synagogue started breathing again,” she says. For many in Prague’s largely secular Jew- ish community, Yom Kippur is the single most important service of the year. Even Jewish families that suppressed religious practices under Communism often passed on the memory of Yom Kippur, says Maxa, who founded Ec Chajim in 2019, responding
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