Remnants of rich Jewish life in Romania

By Polina Olsen

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When Steve Laveson and Leslie Isenstein learned the extent of Jewish life in Romania, the country shot to the top of their must-see list.

They found contacts through the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, a guide/interpreter by googling “Romania tour guides,” and flew to Bucharest for their two-week trip in May 2008.

“They were so thrilled that somebody from the outside world cared that they existed,” Isenstein said about the Jewish communities they visited.

Travelers are rare outside major cities. The couple’s contact in Bucharest provided names of Jewish leaders in towns they planned to visit. A day or so before arriving at each place, they called and made an appointment.

“They hugged us and treated us like royalty,” Isenstein added, “especially because the Joint made the appointments.”

Throughout Romania, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (Joint) provides food and medical clinics, especially for the elderly trying to survive on worthless Communist-era pensions. They also subsidize the country’s eight kosher kitchens. As one 86-year-old man told the couple: “For us, the Joint is the air we breathe.”

“Bucharest is a big city made ugly by Ceausescu,” Isenstein said, referring to the communist dictator who was executed for crimes against the state in 1989. His dream of modernization sadly included replacing historic districts with monotonous concrete blocks. “The parts he didn’t destroy are lovely.”

Isenstein and Laveson explored Bucharest’s now derelict historic Jewish section. Here the Moorish influenced Choral Synagogue compound includes Eastern Europe’s only Jewish publishing house. The Holocaust Museum, Jewish Museum and a flourishing Yiddish theater are within walking distance. In fact, Abraham Goldfadn founded the world’s first Yiddish theater in Iassy, Romania, in 1876 and later opened in Bucharest.

Romanian Jewish communities follow a similar pattern to Bucharest although on a smaller scale, Laveson said. They include a synagogue, Jewish community center and medical clinic. While the Bucharest JCC has exercise equipment and a ballroom, most are simple offices with meeting space for 10-12 members. Synagogues are generally Orthodox with a central bima. Outside Bucharest, a small prayer room saves heating the entire synagogue during winter.

Immigration of young people to Israel and preserving the communities were common topics of conversation. Many believe improved JCCs are key to attracting youth. They often have just one Jewish parent and are not religious, Isenstein said.

“I know Romania was heavily anti-Semitic at one time but we couldn’t find any sense of that now,” Laveson said. Of the many synagogues and cemeteries the couple visited, none showed signs of desecration.

Bright folk art paintings decorate Moldavian churches and synagogues. Isenstein and Laveson agreed the Great Synagogue (ca 1839) in Piatra Neamt was the region’s best.

“They have all sorts of animal painting on the walls and ceiling,” Isenberg said, noting that Zodiac themes predominate. “The tombstones in the area also have animal symbols.”

Nearby, they visited the small wooden Ba’al Shem Tov synagogue (ca 1766). The Ba’al Shem Tov, a founder of the Hassidic movement, reportedly worshipped in a masonry synagogue previously located on the site.

“We knew nothing about Romania when we started,” Isenstein said.

While construction delays on two-lane national highways made travel challenging, the people and sights made the trip well worth it.

“The old wooden houses and churches were amazing,” she said. “You still see peasant costumes and tons of horses pulling wagons.”

“We’d love to raise money for the [Jewish] community,” Laveson said, reflecting on the many synagogues and cemeteries under restoration. “The money that comes in from the Joint is mainly to help the living, and not much is available to maintain or restore what’s there.” Realizing Jewish life was so widespread and artistically rich was the best part of the trip, the couple agreed: “The carving on cemetery stones was mind-boggling. Wonderful. When you see that kind of stuff, you know there was a rich life.”