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Beth Shalom Temple
Hebrew: בית הכנסת בית שלום Spanish: Gran Sinagoga Bet Shalom
The synagogue exterior, 2008
Religion
Affiliation	Conservative Judaism
Rite	Nusach Ashkenaz
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Synagogue
Status	Active
Location
Location	Calle I Esq. 13, Vedado, Havana 10400
Country	Cuba
Location of the synagogue in Cuba
Geographic coordinates	23°08′30″N 82°23′22″W / 23.141634°N 82.389425°W / 23.141634; -82.389425
Architecture
Type	Synagogue architecture
Style	Modernist
Date established	1904 (as a congregation)
Groundbreaking	1951
Completed	1953
Specifications
Capacity	300 seats
Materials	Cement-block

Beth Shalom Temple (Hebrew: בית הכנסת בית שלום, romanized: Beit haKnesset Beit Shalom; Spanish: Gran Sinagoga Bet Shalom), commonly referred to as El Patronato, is a Conservative Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in the Vedado neighbourhood of downtown Havana, Cuba.

Completed in 1953, Temple Beth Shalom is the main synagogue serving Havana's Jewish community of 1,500 people. The congregation was founded in 1904 and it has been an epicenter of Jewish life in Cuba. The synagogue welcomes thousands of visitors each year for both Shabbat and tours of Jewish Cuba.

History

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Beth Shalom Temple" Havana – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Jews arrived in Cuba shortly after the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492. Subsequent waves of Portuguese Jews from Brazil and Dutch Jews arrived in Cuba from the 16th to 19th centuries. Ashkenazi Jews from Europe started arriving in Cuba, usually via the United States, following the Spanish-American War. The congregation was established in 1904.

The synagogue originally opened its doors in 1953 as the grandest Jewish house of worship in Havana. Its soaring Romanesque fused European and Moorish-Spanish elements into a unique hybrid Modernist style.

By the 1980s however, shifting political tides had greatly thinned the Jewish population. In 1981, the state purchased a large portion of the building to establish the Bertolt Brecht Cultural Center. Extensive restorations in the 1990s revived the sanctuary's structural integrity and interior opulence with support from benefactors like the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and under the guidance of Shmuel Szteinhendler.

Temple Beth Shalom's history and enduring makes it a site of pilgrimage for Jewish visitors from across the globe.

As of 2017, the congregation did not have a regular rabbi.

With the relaxation of religious restrictions, Temple Beth Shalom led a revival of public Jewish expression. The temple continues asserting its position as the flagship institution sustaining the Cuban Jewish community. The building also houses a Jewish library.

Visitors to the synagogue have included Steven Spielberg, Sean Penn, Fidel Castro and Raul Castro.

See also

• History of the Jews in Cuba
• List of synagogues in Cuba

References

1. ^ "El Patronato (Beth Shalom)". Synagogues360. 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
2. ^ Tapper, Josh (January 27, 2015). "For Cuban Jews, improved US ties may not ease hardships". The Times of Israel. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
3. Ziri, Danielle; Gellis, Mike; Senft, Steven; Toussier, Isaac (April 18, 2017). "So close and yet so far: The Jews of Cuba". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
4. "For Cuban Jews, endless deprivation". Globe: FIU.edu. Archived from the original on July 4, 2008.
5. "The Cuba Connection". The Star Tribune – via Jewish Cuba.
6. "Havana Synagogue Dark for Decades is Once Again Aglow in the Light of Shabbat Candles". United Jewish Communities. Archived from the original on October 9, 2007.
7. Jewish Community of Cuba: The Golden Years, 1906-1958. Nashville, Tennessee: Westview Publishing Company. February 2006. ISBN 0-9776207-0-0.

External links

Media related to Beth Shalom Temple (Havana, Cuba) at Wikimedia Commons

• "Havana Synagogue Tour". Havana Jewish Tour. Retrieved November 7, 2024.

v t e   Jews and Judaism in Cuba
History	Cuba Latin America and the Caribbean
Groups	People Cuban Jews Rabbis Politics Israel–Cuba relations
Synagogues	Beth Shalom Temple Centro Hebreo Sefaradi Sinagoga de la Communidad Hebrea Hatikva Former Chevet Achim
List of Cuban Jews List of synagogues

v t e City of Havana, capital of Cuba
History (Timeline) Geography Seal Architecture Culture Economy Transportation Government Demographics Infrastructure Sports People from Havana

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• 20th-century synagogues in the Caribbean
• Ashkenazi synagogues
• Ashkenazi Jewish culture in North America
• Conservative synagogues in North America
• Jewish organizations established in 1904
• Modernist synagogues
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• Synagogues in Havana
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