Metadata: Archives of the Rabbinate and Beth Din
Collection
- Country:
- Belgium
- Holding institution:
- Communauté israélite orthodoxe de Bruxelles
- Holding institution (official language):
- Communauté israélite orthodoxe de Bruxelles
- Postal address:
- Rue de la Clinique 67a / Kliniekstraat 67a, 1070 Bruxelles (Anderlecht)
- Phone number:
- +32 (0)2 345 45 18
- Reference number:
- ComIsrOr-Brussels-Archives du Rabbinat et du Beth Din
- Title:
- Archives of the Rabbinate and Beth Din
- Title (official language):
- Archives du Rabbinat et du Beth Din
- Creator/accumulator:
- Communauté israélite orthodoxe de Bruxelles
- Date(s):
- 1947/2004
- Language:
- French
- Hebrew
- English
- Yiddish
- Extent:
- 3 linear metres
- Scope and content:
- This fonds contains archival material of the rabbinate and beth din (rabbinical court). We primarily note attestations issued by the rabbi and beth din, files concerning i.a. ritual slaughter (shehitah), supervision of kashrut, salaries, etc. as well as conversion certificates and conversion files, and other files on a variety of questions dealt with by the rabbinate. A part of these files concern individual cases and requests treated by the rabbinate; they are arranged alphabetically by applicant. The material in this fonds is mainly composed of the files of rabbi Chaïkin.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The Communauté israélite orthodoxe de Bruxelles (CIOB) was established at the end of the 19th century, following the influx of Jews from Central and Eastern Europe and the Russian empire. Over 200 families gathered to celebrate Simhat Torah in 1904, in a rented place of worship (oratoire) in the rue Van Artevelde in Anderlecht. Two years later the congregation moved to rue de Lenglentier 18. Rabbi Salomon Bamberger officiated there from 1907 until 1913. Rabbi Bamberger and Meir Polazinzki, president of the community, applied for official recognition by the Consistory and the Ministry of Justice; it was recognised by royal decree of 20 June 1910. The community was recognised under the official name of Communauté israélite orthodoxe de Bruxelles in August 1912 (royal decree of 11 August 1912). Given the influx of faithful, the community soon wished to erect its own synagogue. Construction was not begun until 1928; its design was entrusted to the architect Joseph De Lange. Located in the rue de la Clinique, in the heart of the Jewish quarter, the synagogue was inaugurated on 6 April 1933. Rabbi Sagalowitch was appointed the spiritual leader of the CIOB. He was primarily to address the financial difficulties that had struck many of the members of the community. The Shoah particularly affected the members of the CIOB, who were less integrated into Belgian society than other, less strictly religious Jews. In the aftermath of the Second World War, rabbi Steinberg devoted himself to the spiritual reconstruction of the community and to the interior decoration of the synagogue. A Jewish school was created. The Athénée Maïmonide was founded thanks to the initiative and commitment of the members of the CIOB, notably rabbi Steinberg and Seligman Beer Bamberger. This school gradually became a central element in the life of the Jewish community in Brussels. The CIOB manages the kashrut supervisory committee for the city of Brussels, it provides its members with access to a mikveh and a rabbinical court (beth din). Rabbi Chaïkin was its minister for several decades. At the dawn of the 21st century, rabbi Serfaty has taken up this task. The number of faithful is nevertheless in decline. (La Communauté Israélite Orthodoxe de Bruxelles http://www.jewishcom.be/wordpress/nl/2009/03/01/la-communaute-israelite-orthodoxe-de-bruxelles/; J.-P. Schreiber, Politique et religion. Le Consistoire central israélite de Belgique au XIXe siècle, Bruxelles, éd. de l’Université de Bruxelles, 1995, pp. 372-381.)
- Access points: locations:
- Brussels
- System of arrangement:
- Many files are arranged in alphabetical order of the persons concerned.
- Access, restrictions:
- Consultation requires the authorisation of the Chief Rabbi of the Communauté israélite orthodoxe de Bruxelles.
- Yerusha Network member:
- State Archives of Belgium
