Fonds Reconstruction and Reorganisation of the Communities

Collection description

Collection

Country:: Belgium

Holding institution:: Central Jewish Consistory of Belgium

Holding institution (official language):: Consistoire central israélite de Belgique

Postal address:: Joseph Dupontstraat 2 / Rue Joseph Dupont 2, 1000 Bruxelles

Phone number:: +32 (0)2 512 21 90

Web address:: http://www.jewishcom.be/

Reference number:: CJCons-Brussels-Fonds Communautés, 2.1. et 2.2.

Title:: Fonds Reconstruction and Reorganisation of the Communities

Title (official language):: Fonds Reconstruction et Réorganisation des Communautés

Creator/accumulator:: Consistoire central israélite de Belgique; Centraal Israëlitisch Consistorie van België

Date(s):: 1879/2003

Language:: French; Dutch; Flemish; Yiddish; Hebrew

Extent:: 5 linear metres

Scope and content:: This fonds contains archival material related to the reconstruction and reorganisation of the Jewish communities of the country.

For the Communauté israélite de Bruxelles (CIB), we note documents concerning damage sustained to the synagogue at rue de la Régence 32 during the Second World War, the recruitment of new members, the accounts and budgets of the CIB, ceremonies and sabbatical dinners held there (1995-2003), ceremonies (1955-1994), as well as a list of members (1932), reports of the board of administrators (1946-1993) and documents concerning the ministers of worship (1956-1993) (see boxes 2.2.1.1 to 2.2.1.6).

Regarding the Communauté orthodoxe de Bruxelles located in the rue de la Clinique, we find documents concerning authorisation to buy the land, construction (1923-1935), refurbishment of the synagogue (1920), the Pardes-Shalom trial (1955-1963), the reorganisation of the community after the war, damage sustained, litigations, conflicts related to kashrut (1938-1940), as well as lists of members (1938), documents regarding the accounts and budgets (1938-1952, 1988-1990), the recognition of the oratoire of Cureghem (1923), the ministres officiants (1938-1939), annual reports (1952-1956), construction works to the synagogue (1960-1968), the Maale synagogue, inauguration of the mikveh (1950), shehitah (1954-1969), buildings (acquisition of the Lycée français, 1945-1983) (see boxes 2.2.2.1 to 2.2.2.5).

For the Communauté Sépharade de Bruxelles (CSB) we note documents concerning the history of the CSB, its statutes,and general matters (1945-1952) (box 2.2.3.1) and concerning negotiations regarding the building permit for the rue du Pavillon and the construction of the synagogue, building plans (1962-1970), budgets and accounts of the CSB (1972-1978), reports of the board (1958-1992), annual reports and various correspondence (see boxes 2.2.3.1.1 to 2.2.3.1.4). The fonds also contains files related to other synagogues and places of worship in Brussels, such as the Jewish community of Saint-Gilles (box 2.2.4.I) and the Maale community (1966-1993) (box 2.2.4.II).

For Antwerp, we note archival documents concerning the Machsike Hadass community (1933-1939), the Shomre Hadass community (1936-1940), the (post-war) census of communities, damage sustained during the Second World War, the Sephardic community (1939-1955), as well as annual reports and correspondence with the Machsike Hadass and Shomre Hadass communities, and files concerning the oratories in the Gitschotellei and Heide-Kalmthout (see boxes 2.2.5.1.2 to 2.2.5.1.9).

We also note material concerning the Jewish community in Ostend, notably files concerning general matters (1925-1938), accounts and budgets (1938-1940), staff and ministers of worship (1938-1940), as well as activity reports (1938-1956), correspondence (1947-1999), and documents concerning the Jewish cemetery in Ostend (1984) and the renovation of the synagogue (1996-2004).

The so-called “green boxes” contain: correspondence between the Jewish community of Spa concerning the appointment of Wolfgo Lepkifker as ministre officiant and hazan (1939), correspondence regarding the creation and dissolution of the synagogue of Borgerhout and the creation of the position of ministre officiant (1913-1922), correspondence concerning patronage of a synagogue in Limburg (Waterschei) and a list of Jews living in Limburg (1938-1939), correspondence and bookkeeping records concerning the Khall Hadass Jeschurun synagogue (1939), correspondence with the Jewish community of Seraing and a list of members (1937-1940), correspondence and bookkeeping documents of the Communauté israélite de Liège (1939-1940) [box 1]; correspondence of the CCIB with different communities, correspondence regarding invitations and absences, deaths, resignations, elections of administrators, aggregation of synagogues, the Fonds Consistorial, minutes of meetings, annual reports, internal regulations (1939-1940) [box 2]; a file concerning the construction of the synagogue in the rue de la Clinique (1932), a file regarding the clearance of the debts of the Orthodox community of Brussels (1939) [box 3]; files concerning the Jewish community of Antwerp, the appointment of rabbis (1904-1935), the construction of the synagogue (1890), the census of members, including a list of names (1879-1887) [box 4]; files regarding the CIB incl. concerning accounts, budgets, correspondence, staff, rabbis, ministres officiants, employees, reports of the general assemblies, reports and notes (1925-1939), files concerning the Jewish community in Ghent including annual reports, budgets, accounts (1937-1940), files regarding the Orthodox community in Antwerp incl. budgets and accounts, annual reports (1938-1940), files concerning the Jewish community in Arlon including correspondence, reports, notes of the board of administrators (1938-1939), files regarding the Sephardic community in Antwerp including budget, accounts, staff, rabbis and ministres officiants, members (1914-1940), files regarding the Jewish community in Charleroi, including budgets and accounts, reports of meetings and of the general assemblies, annual reports (1937-1940) and files concerning the Jewish community of Arlon, including budgets and accounts, lists of members (1938-1940) [box 7].

Administrative/biographical history:: The Consistoire central israélite de Belgique / Centraal Israëlitisch Consistorie van België (Central Jewish Consistory of Belgium)(CCIB) was created in 1832 by Adolphe Oppenheim, Henri Furth, Sigmund Benda, Adolphe Hauman and Henri Schuster. They were inspired by the similar institution established by Napoleon in the early 19th century. The founders tried to acquire the same benefits that had already been granted to the other recognised denominations for the Jewish religion. As the Jewish contact institution to the Belgian authorities, responsible for the management of the Jewish religion, the CCIB represents Belgian Judaism and embodies the spiritual authority of the religious communities. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the institution tried to be the guarantor of the emancipation and modernisation of the Jewish communities in Belgium, along the lines of the Enlightenment philosophy, which led to friction with the most conservative communities. These communities tried to escape the authority of the CCIB in order to enjoy a greater spiritual independence.

The CCIB was also a meeting place for the different conceptions of Judaism. Key figures were, among others, rabbi Élie-Aristide Astruc, rabbi Armand Bloch, rabbi Ernest Ginsburger and rabbi Robert Dreyfus. Among the presidents of the Consistory we note iconic figures such as Louis Lassen, Joseph Oppenheim and Jacques Wiener in the 19th century, Franz and Paul Philippson, Ernest Wiener, Jean Bloch and Georges Schnek in the 20th century.

The range of functions of the CCIB has greatly expanded since the Second World War. It supports cultural, educational and heritage initiatives. The CCIB has supported the Institut d’Études du Judaïsme Martin Buber in Brussels, the Instituut voor Joodse Studies in Antwerp, the Fondation pour la Mémoire Contemporaine, the Joods Museum voor Deportatie en Verzet in Mechelen; it was at the initiative of the creation of the Jewish Museum of Belgium and the Institut de la Mémoire Audiovisuelle juive. The Consistory publishes the quarterly Nouvelles Consistoriales – Consistoriaal Nieuwsblad, and organises radio and television broadcasts. The institution is involved in the Organe de Consultation entre Chrétiens et Juifs en Belgique. It plays a key role in domains such as inter-religious dialogue, Jewish education, preservation of Jewish cultural heritage, the study of the history of Belgian Judaism, remembrance of the Shoah and the dissemination of Jewish culture. Although the CCIB was liberal from 1832 until 1880, it is currently influenced by Orthodox Judaism and refuses to include the liberal community Beth Hillel. The current president of the Consistory is Professor Baron Julien Klener. He remains the moral authority of Belgian Judaism, its representative and the manager of its communities. (J.-P. Schreiber, Politique et religion. Le Consistoire central israélite de Belgique au XIXe siècle, Bruxelles, éd. de l’Université de Bruxelles, 1995; http://www.jewishcom.be/)

Access points: locations:: Antwerp; Arlon; Belgium; Brussels; Charleroi; Liege; Limburg; Ostend; Seraing; Spa

Access points: persons/families:: Lepkifker, Wolfgo

Subject terms:: Architectural drawings; Architecture; Cemeteries; Education; Education--Schools and universities; Hazanim; Jewish community; Jewish community records; Kashrut; Mikveh; Orthodox Judaism; Rabbis; Ritual slaughter; Sephardi Jews; Shabbat; Synagogues

System of arrangement:: The files are arranged by community. Please note that this fonds is, for the time being, divided into two series: a series of cardboard boxes and a series of green storage boxes. They should be subject to a new arrangement, and the documents should ideally be ordered by community. In anticipation of this operation, users are advised to consult the two series, as they are complementary.

Access, restrictions:: Consultation requires the authorisation of the president of the Central Jewish Consistory of Belgium.

Finding aids:: There is a summary list as well as a list made by B. Dickschen for the series known as the “green boxes”.

Yerusha Network member:: State Archives of Belgium

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