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The Week in Germany: Culture

August 24, 2007

Replica of Western Wall Built in Berlin

The New Synagogue in Berlin's Oranienburger Strasse is one of the most beautiful Jewish houses of worship in Germany. photo: dpa

A new $8.2 million Jewish community center in the German capital of Berlin will feature a replica of Jerusalem's Western Wall "accurate down to the plants sprouting from it", The Associated Press recently reported. The 1,000-square-foot replica will be part of Szloma Albam House, which is due to open on Sept. 2.

"This is a symbolic part of making Berlin a central hub of Jewish life again," the center's executive director, Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal, told AP.

The Jewish community in Germany is the fastest growing in the world, according to the World Jewish Congress, fed by an influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe and Russia. According to the Central Council of Jews in Germany, the Jewish community has some 110,000 registered members. Berlin, with 12,000 Jews and eight synagogues, has the largest Jewish community in Germany.

One of the Szloma Albam House's primary functions is to help Jewish immigrants integrate into German society. Located on Münsterstrasse in Berlin's Charlottenburg neighborhood, it has been under construction for three years. But its synagogue is already open for worship. All services and classes will be taught in German.

The Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, is famous for the tradition of inserting tiny prayers on paper into its many cracks. The Berlin project began with photographs taken in Jerusalem of a section of the wall.

"Almost 19 tons of 'Jerusalem Gold' sandstone quarried in the region arrived in Berlin on July 11, and has since been chiseled and installed to match the photographs. The complete replica, located in the center's entryway, will also include identical plants sprouting from the cracks," the AP report stated.

The replica Western Wall is not meant to be used for worship, but as a symbol and reminder of the center's mission. The center's architecture reflects its philosophy, including a big contemporary cobalt and light blue glass window that serves as a symbol of transparency.

"Within the transparency is tradition, and that's why we're building the wall," Teichtal said as quoted by The Associated Press. "It's the strongest symbol of the survival of the Jewish people."

Links:

Central Council of Jews in Germany

Jewish Museum Berlin

Jewish Life in Germany (from Germany Info)

Scholarly Insights into "Being Jewish in the New Germany" - about the book by Jeffrey M. Peck (TWIG, Jan. 20, 2006)

Building German-Jewish Relations (TWIG, June 23, 2006)

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