Flood-hit Prague shul reopens
by PRAGUE (JTA) -- Jewish leaders here have celebrated tangible signs of recovery from last August's devastating floods that damage, On the first day of Passover, prayers were held in the Altneu, or Old-New, Synagogue for the first time since water seeped throu
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Israel's ambassador to the Czech Republic, Arthur Avnon, who attended the first prayers at the synagogue, said the occasion was moving.
"The synagogue is a place which you would look at with awe at any time, but on this occasion I compared how disastrous it looked when I saw it when the flood was still rising and how it looked now. There was a sense of satisfaction and elation," he told JTA.
Rabbi Yehuda Yesharim, who is now conducting daily prayers at the synagogue, built in the 13th century, said holding the prayers on the first day of Passover had been a symbolic choice. He said restarting prayers demonstrates that Jewish life continues despite the floods.
"Spring is the time of flowering and here we are renewing our prayers," he said.
For more JTA stories, go to http://www.jta.org
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