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Congregation Amijai

The Congregation Amijai is a Conservative (or Masorti) Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in the Belgrano neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The congregation was established in 1993 and the synagogue completed in 2002. The synagogue building is regularly used as a concert venue.

Congregation Amijai
Spanish: Comunidad Amijai
The synagogue exterior in 2013
Religion
AffiliationConservative Judaism
RiteMasorti Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organizational statusSynagogue
StatusActive
Location
LocationBelgrano, Buenos Aires
CountryArgentina
Congregation Amijai is located in Buenos Aires
Congregation Amijai
Location of the synagogue in Buenos Aires
Geographic coordinates34°33′20″S 58°27′07″W / 34.55562569847308°S 58.45198963217525°W / -34.55562569847308; -58.45198963217525
Architecture
Architect(s)Urgell-Penedo-Urgell
TypeSynagogue architecture
Date established1993 (as a congregation)
Completed2002
Specifications
Capacity900 worshippers
Interior area3,500 m2 (38,000 sq ft)
Website
amijai.org

History

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Placa con el Premio, al frente del edificio la Comunidad Amijai en Buenos Aires (in Spanish)

In 1993 several Jewish families in the Belgrano neighborhood of Buenos Aires decided to form a new Masorti congregation and chose Darío Feiguin as their rabbi. The name of the new synagogue, "Amijai" means "my nation lives" in Hebrew. Their first few services were held at the Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano. In 2001, thanks to a donation from businessman Natalio Garber, former owner of Musimundo, the congregation purchased an old safe factory next to Chinatown to construct their own building.[1]

Architecture

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The congregation chose architecture firm Urgell-Penedo-Urgell, winner of the Konex Award for architecture to design their building. The building took 16 months to complete and involved input from a variety of different architects. After the 1994 AMIA Bombing, the synagogue was built to be bomb-proof.

The building area is approximately 3,500 m2 (38,000 sq ft) and, in addition to the synagogue, includes a community dining hall, classrooms, administrative offices for staff and Rabbis, a library and meeting spaces. The building was constructed out of reinforced concrete and includes a V-shaped roof which allows for 25 meters of light to enter the building.

The main temple is used for concerts and is known for its good acoustics.[2]

In 2008 the building won the First Prize in Architecture from the Government of the Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires as one of the best examples of architecture in the city.[3][4] The doors of the main temple are made of natural bronze. The Altar was made of carved wood by local artists. The main temple seats 900 people. The architectural work was selected for the 2012 Venice Biennale and was featured in that year's arts and architecture catalog.

During the construction of the building, a design contest was held for a Tree of life art piece in the temple garden to honor the memory of congregants' loved ones. Submissions were submitted anonymously with pseudonyms, and a design by Clorindo Testa was chosen. The aim of the piece was to have bronze leaves representing lost loved ones illuminated by an eternal flame.

Religious life

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Congregation Amijai is dedicated to the study of Torah and the congregation respects the dietary laws of kashrut. The congregation believes "in a Judaism far from bourgeois comfort, ignorance, individualism, compulsion and fear." The synagogue gives charitably to the community, with monthly tzedakah collections, collaboration with the local non-profit Sonrisas in the town of Esteban Echeverría, a community dining room/soup kitchen for homeless and low income residents and winter clothing drives.[citation needed]

The Congregation supports the Argentine Ecumenical Movement and participates in the National Plan for Cultural Equality. In 2014 Rabbi Alejandro Avruj joined Pope Francis as part of the interfaith delegation of the Pope's visit to the Middle East. Rabbi Avruj worked alongside the Pontiff on social justice related issues when the latter was Archbishop of Buenos Aires and thus was invited to participate as part of the delegation.[5][6] In an attempt to foster peace between Jews and Palestinians, the synagogue organizes and promotes recitals and concerts with both Jewish and Palestinian artists.

Arts and culture

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In addition to prayer services, the synagogue building hosts regular concerts, lectures, ballet, theatre and dance performances. The music performances include a variety of different genres, including jazz, klezmer, zarzuela,[7] tango, classical,[8][9] chamber music,[10][11] folk music, rock, religious music,[12][13] country,[14] and ópera.[15] It was anonymously gifted a 19th-century Steinway pianos.

Those who have performed concerts in the synagogue have included Darío Volonté, Daniel Barenboim, Luis Alberto Spinetta, Camerata Bariloche,[2] Pinchas Zukerman,[16] the Russian National Orchestra, the Harlem Opera Theater, the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Hesse, la Kammerphilarmonie de Frankfurt, Martha Argerich,[17] Sandra Mihanovich, Bruno Gelber,[18] Atilio Stampone, Hermeto Pascoal, Chango Spasiuk, Jaime Torres, and Pedro Aznar, plus others.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Vanzini, Marcos Gabriel (2011). Historias Curiosas de Templos de Buenos Aires (in Spanish). p. 48-213. ISBN 978-987-673-005-1 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b "La música clásica encontró nueva morada en una sinagoga" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  3. ^ "Premios de Arquitectura Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Edición 2008". Sociedad Central de Arquitectos (in Spanish). 2008. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014.
  4. ^ "Distinciones para el estudio Urgell Penedo Urgell en 2012". ArquiNoticias N° 171 (in Spanish). October 31, 2012.
  5. ^ "Alejandro Avruj, Rabino de la Comunidad Amijai y de estrecho vínculo con el papa Francisco, detalló en Radio Jai cómo será el itinerario en el cual acompañará a Jorge Bergoglio en su recorrido por Israel". radiojai.com.ar (in Spanish). Archived from the original on May 21, 2014.
  6. ^ "Un cura y un rabino argentinos acompañarán la misión del Papa en Medio Oriente". prensajudia.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on May 21, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  7. ^ a b "Agenda Cultural" (PDF). Congregation Amijai. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.[self-published source?]
  8. ^ "Las orquestas están cambiando". Clarín (in Spanish).
  9. ^ "Concierto de música clásica". Instituto Italiano de Cultura (in Spanish). Archived from the original on July 14, 2014.
  10. ^ "Sonidos entre la vida y la muerte". Clarín (in Spanish).
  11. ^ "Bemoles: Viaje a Schubert". Clarín (in Spanish).
  12. ^ "Concierto Ecuménico". Amijai Cultura (in Spanish). Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.[self-published source?]
  13. ^ "Concierto de Cantos Sagrados" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  14. ^ "Temporada musical del templo Amijai". La Nación (in Spanish). March 23, 2006. Archived from the original on January 29, 2018.
  15. ^ "Las propuestas del off de la ópera". El Día (in Spanish).
  16. ^ "Cuando el virtuosismo no es excesivo". Página 12 (in Spanish). August 14, 2008.
  17. ^ "Amijai". Revista Cantabile (in Spanish). p. 226. Archived from the original on June 24, 2014.
  18. ^ "Homenaje a la trayectoria artística de Bruno Gelber". Diario de Cultura (in Spanish). April 2014.

Further reading

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