List of choral synagogues
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Choral synagogues (Yiddish: Khorshul) were built in Eastern Europe, from Hungary to Russia.[1] These synagogues represented the ideas of Jewish Enlightenment (Haskalah) and made certain reforms to the traditional Jewish customs (minhag).[2] Often, they featured male choruses, conducted sermons in local languages (German, Russian, etc.), enforced order during services, decorated their interior, and placed pews facing eastern wall where the Torah ark was displayed (in traditionalist synagogues, the ark and bimah stood in the center of the room).[1][2] However, the changes did not extend to religious beliefs and customs. Therefore, the differences between choral and traditional synagogues are more aesthetic.[3]
Active choral synagogues
- Moscow Choral Synagogue
- Grand Choral Synagogue of St. Petersburg
- Great Choral Synagogue of Kiev
- Brodsky Synagogue in Kiev
- Kharkiv Choral Synagogue
- Great Synagogue in Hrodna
- Choral Synagogue of Vilnius
- Kaunas Synagogue
- Templul Coral in Bucharest
- Great Choral Synagogue of Odessa
- Golden Rose Synagogue (Dnipropetrovsk)
Defunct choral synagogues
- Big Choral Synagogue of Riga (burned in 1941)
- Great Choral Synagogue of Daugavpils
- Great Choral Synagogue of Šiauliai
- Choral Synagogue in Samara (closed in 1929, being restored)
- Choral Synagogue in Smolensk (occupied by a school)
- Choral Synagogue of Drohobych
- Choral Synagogue in Białystok (burned during the liquidation of the Białystok Ghetto)
- Choral Synagogue in Vitebsk
- Choral Synagogue in Minsk (occupied by a theater)
- Choral Synagogue in Brest
- Choral Synagogue of Liepāja
- Choral Synagogue in Chișinău
- Choral Synagogue in Tallinn (destroyed during bombing in 1944)