Lighting Up the City of Lights

Bienvenue! The first Jews arrived in France two millennia ago with the Romans, after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Indeed, the town of Rouen in France has the oldest Jewish building in Europe, a Romanesque stone structure over 1,000 years old that carries the Hebrew inscription: "May the Torah reign forever."

Like Jewish history elsewhere, French Jews have had their share of ups and downs, of growth and decline, years of flourishing and banishment. Amazingly, the peak of French Jewry's spiritual growth came during the horrible years of the Crusaders. The famous Rashi and Rabenu Tam of the 12th century were among hundreds of brilliant medieval French rabbis and scholars, known as the Tosafists, whose commentaries are studied to this very day.

Unfortunately, the French liberal tradition of Egalite was counterbalanced by widespread anti-semitic feelings. The famous case of Captain Dreyfus' demotion, and later vindication at the beginning of this century, affected the course of Jewish history in the following decades.

Famous contemporary French Jews include artists such as Pissaro, Mane-Katz, Marc Chagall whose colorful imagination transformed the old drab European shtetl into a dream town, Offenbach and Chaim Soutine, writers Proust and Ionesco, and the Rothschild family, which financed the French railway system. France had three Jewish Prime ministers: Blum, Mayer and Mendes-France.

During the Second World War, the infamous French Vichy regime collaborated with the occupying German army, allowing the Nazis to deport 120,000 Jews to their doom.

The four-story Holocaust Memorial (17 rue Geoffroy-l'Asnier) houses photographs and documents of the Nazi camps and prisons. Three miles from Paris, the Memorial in Drancy at an ex- internment camp, is dedicated to the memory of the Jews deported from France to Auschwitz.

Following the war, the decimated and depressed Jewish community in France fell into a decline. But after the fall of French colonialism in North Africa during the sixties, the Jewish influx from Arab countries swelled the French Jewish population to 750,000. Sephardic immigrants are responsible for the revival of Jewish communities in southern France (i.e. Carpentras and Avignon), which had lost their last Jews decades earlier.

Half of France's Jews are located in Paris, but active congregations and historic sites can be found all around the country, including Lyon, Marseilles, Toulouse, Brittany and Normandy, Nice, and the Riviera. Today, the French Jewish community is the fourth largest in the world.

The future of the French Jewish community looked bleak after years of losing its youth to apathy and assimilation. But a stirring back-to roots 'Teshuva' revival among the youth, has helped reverse the trend.

Central to this Jewish revival is the charismatic Rabbi "Muleh" Azimov, sent to France by the Lubavitcher Rebbe in the early seventies. Rabbi Azimov's dynamic youth movement added spice and sizzle to the quality of French Jewish life. It kindled an interest and inspired a revival, sparking a grassroots Jewish movement that some refer to as "The Real French Revolution."

Spirits soar high at a public Menorah lighting near the Eiffel Tower, as youth dance and sing the Hebrew words of Haaderet V'haemunah prayer to the tune of La Marseilles, which was formerly the French National Anthem.

Temple Victoire, (44 rue de la Victoire) was financed by the Rothschild family, who still attend services there. The Rabbis here still wear Napoleonic-era costume.

The Cathedral Synagogue, built 1874 in neo-romanesque style, is austere yet magnificent, decorated with marble and stained glass and dominated by opulent candelabras, and the high chairs on either side of the Ark are for the Chief Rabbi of France and the Chief Rabbi of Paris.

It should be noted that contrary to Jewish tradition, these two grand synagogues do not face East. This arrangement is attributed to Napoleonic design, to divert the Jewish community from looking toward Israel.

Temple des Vosges (14 Place des Vosges) is an Ashkenazic synagogue in the heart of the Marais, one of the most beautiful squares of Paris. The Temple is back-to-back with a Sephardic synagogue known for its wrought-iron interior.

An historic national landmark, the Agoudas Hakehilos synagogue (10 rue Pavee) in the Pletzel was designed in 1913 by the famous architect of the Paris Metro, Hector Guimard in the art nouveau style.

The Consistoire Centrale 17 rue Saint-Georges, 75009, 01-40-82-26-26) is the official and central governing body of French Jewry. It provides a list of synagogues and kosher restaurants, butchers, bakers and patisseries. It also publishes a comprehensive list of all kosher Packaged products sold in a Parisian supermarche, as they do not carry printed Kosher symbols as do many products in American supermarkets.

France has many kosher boulangeries (bakeries), patisseries (pastry shops), and epiceries (small groceries). Paris has over 100 eateries that are certified kosher, which is spelled "Cachere" in French. The Kosher certificate issued by the Consistoire Bet Din can be found posted by the door, window or near the cashier.

Lotus de Nissane (39 rue Amelot in the 11th arrondisement) offers excellent Kosher Chinese food. There is Kosher takeout at 53 rue Amelot. Le Chandelier offers creative Kosher French dishes. Yaholom offers glatt Kosher Mideastern/Israeli dishes. The pastries at Zazou's bakery are a delight!

The Pletzel, an affectionate Yiddish term meaning "small place," is located in the Marais section. Situated at the site of the "Juiverie," a 13th century ghetto, the Pletzel's narrow and winding cobblestone alleyways are busy as a beehive, with all kinds of nooks and crannies.

They may not be the fancy-shmancy restaurants with fine table linen (most are of the snacky pizza & felafel kind), but there is enough variety in both cuisine and price to keep the visitor satisfied.

Pletzel eateries and their personable storekeepers offer a rare combination of Haute Cuisine served in a quaint "Heimish" atmosphere. Alive with food, flavor and character, the Pletzel throbs with lively politics, art, and discussion of the past present and future, while violins play klezmer music with happy Èlan. The picturesque Pletzel also features many synagogues and bookstores. In recent years, parts of the charming 'Pleztel' scene have shifted to the Montmarte section, but the special flavor and style remain the same.

Another dynamic Jewish shopping area in Paris is Rue Richer, offering a choice selection of Kosher restaurants, snack bars, and bookstores.

Bibliotheque Nationale (58 rue de Richelieu) contains more than 30,000 Hebraic books, manuscripts and Dead Sea Scroll fragments.

Centre National d'Art Georges Pompidou (rue Beaubourg) houses numerous books on Jewish history, as well as paintings by Soutine, Modigliani and Chagall.

Jewish Art Museum (42 rue de Saules) contains a collection of religious items, drawings, engravings, sculptures, mosaics, and paintings by Chagall, Mane-Katz, Benn and Lipchitz. Also on exhibit are wooden models of 16th, 17th, and 18th century East European synagogues. The Museum will reopen next year in a 17th-century mansion in the Marais, the historic Jewish quarter.

Musee de Louvre (rue de Rivoli) has Jewish archeological items and antiques from Israel.

Alliance Israelite Universelle (45 rue Bruyere) has over 100,000 Judaica books and manuscripts.

Bibliophane (26 rue des Rosiers). Librairie Hebraica, Judaica (12 rue des Hospitalieres Saint-Gervais), Chir Hadach (52 rue des Rosieres). Colbo (3 rue Richer) is one of the largest Jewish bookstores.

Maison France-Israel, (64 avenue Marceau). Not far from the Arc de Triomphe, this institution is receptive to American tourists and makes visitors feel at home. The complex also houses Jewish radio stations, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the France-Israel Chamber of Commerce, the Alliance France-Israel and others.

Centre Edmond Fleg, (8 bis rue de l'Eperon) is a student center with varied activities and a kosher cafeteria.

Centre Rachi, (30 Blvd de Port Royal) offers lectures, seminars, films, and other intellectual activities. It also has is a kosher cafeteria and a synagogue.

For more information about Jewish life in France, contact Chabad at: 8 rue Lamaratime 75509 PARIS 45-26-87-60, or visit www.loubavitch.fr

Bon Voyage!