Balak (בָּלָק) [1]
Numbers 22:2–25:9 • Micah 5:6–6:8
Balak, king of Moab, hires Balaam, a diviner from Pethor [2], to curse Israel. He tries three times — and three times Balaam blesses instead. The prophet Micah reminds us that God does not require outward rites or excessive sacrifices, but moral conduct.
Numbers 24:5
מַה־טּוֹבוּ אֹהָלֶיךָ יַעֲקֹב; מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל.
“How good are your tents, Jacob — your dwellings, Israel.”
The Great Synagogue of Trenčín has become beautiful once again.
Built in 1913 by the architect Richard Scheibner [3] in the rare Byzantino–Art Nouveau style [4], it is distinguished by a large central dome whose shape evokes a Mongolian yurt.
During the period of the Slovak State [5], an ally of the Reich during the Second World War, the Jewish community was deported and the synagogue stripped of its furnishings. Under the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, it served as a clothing warehouse, and was later whitewashed and converted into a cultural center.
The synagogue was solemnly reopened in November 2025, following restoration work [6] that restored its original colors. In addition to synagogue services, it now hosts exhibitions — including a permanent one on the history of the city’s Jews — as well as concerts and lectures. In 2026, Trenčín is a European Capital of Culture, and the synagogue is among the major sites of the program.
[1] In the Diaspora, the weekly reading is Chukat–Balak .
[2] According to traditional identification (Targum, Rashi, Ibn Ezra), Pethor is located in the upper Euphrates valley, in northern Mesopotamia — corresponding today to northern Iraq, northeastern Syria, and southeastern Turkey.
[3] Richard Scheibner (1880–1945), a Berlin‑based architect born in Piešťany, Slovakia, designed the Trenčín synagogue in 1912–1913, one of the very few religious buildings in his oeuvre. The project was carried out in collaboration with the Slovak architect Hugo Pál (1870–1932) and the local firm Fuchs & Niegreisz.
[4] The Byzantino–Art Nouveau style, rare in Central Europe, combines Neo‑Byzantine elements (domes, arcades, oriental rhythms) with the flowing lines and floral motifs of Art Nouveau.
[5] From 1939 to 1945, the Slovak State was a satellite of the Reich, led by Jozef Tiso (1887–1947), a Catholic priest and head of the Hlinka Slovak People’s Party. His regime enacted antisemitic laws, organized the spoliation of Jewish property, and participated in the deportation of Slovak Jews. Tiso was condemned in 1947 for collaboration and crimes against humanity, and hanged.
[6] The restoration work (2021–2025) was funded by the EEA/Norway Grants, the Slovak State, and the Jewish community of Trenčín. It was carried out by the Bratislava firm ARCHITEKTI B.K.P.Š, under the direction of Martin Kosi and Pavol Paniak. The synagogue is part of the Slovak Jewish Heritage Route, managed by the ZNZ Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Slovakia, which currently includes 32 sites across the country, including several synagogues and four cemeteries.