שובה ישראל עד ה’ אלוקיך
Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God
This verse from the book of Hosea (14:2) is a call to repentance, an essential preamble to Yom Kippur. On this day of fasting and prayer, the faithful seek to draw closer to God, purify their souls, and reflect on their past actions.
The Agoudath Hakehilos Synagogue1, an architectural masterpiece of Art Nouveau designed by Hector Guimard, stands out with its vertical structure, curves, and unique motifs. The interior is arranged to maximize the use of vertical space, with galleries on either side of the nave.
In 1941, on the day after Yom Kippur, explosive devices were placed by members of the M.S.R.3 in front of six Parisian synagogues4, including the one on Rue Pavée. These attacks were carried out to intimidate and persecute the Jewish community in Paris.
1. Union of Communities,
an organization founded to promote and defend the values and practices of Orthodox Judaism, with its Parisian headquarters located at the synagogue at 10 Rue Pavée (synagogue tour available in (360°).
2 Hector Guimard (1867-1942), a major French architect and designer of the Art Nouveau movement, famous for his designs of Parisian metro entrances and for his influence on early 20th-century architecture and design.
3 The Mouvement Social Révolutionnaire is a fascist party founded in 1940 in Paris, closely associated with the Vichy regime, most of whose members originated from La Cagoule, a clandestine terrorist organization (assassinations, bombings, sabotage, and arms trafficking). La Cagoule was active in the 1930s and was founded by dissidents from Action Française.
4 Excerpt from the newspaper “La Feuille d’Avis de Neuchâtel et du Vignoble Neuchâtelois” dated Saturday, October 4, 1941:
“In the night from Thursday to Friday in Paris, between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m., bombings occurred at seven synagogues. The synagogues on Rue de Tournelle (des Tournelles), Rue Montespan (Rue Pavée), Rue Copernic, Notre-Dame de Lazaret (de Nazareth), Notre-Dame des Victoires, and the sixth one located on a street whose name is not yet known (Rue Sainte-Isaure), were destroyed. The damage is considerable as only the walls remain. In the synagogue on Rue Pavée, near City Hall, the bomb was removed in time. Two people were injured. Admiral Bard, the prefect of police, arrived at the scene and is leading the investigation. The attack occurred the day after the Grand Pardon festival.”