Europe's newest and one of the largest synagogues in Eastern Europe was inaugurated on Máramarossziget on Friday. The rabbis of New York, Paris, London and Frankfurt took part in the event, informs Digi24.
In the report read on the Transindex.ro portal, it is written that hundreds of Hasidic Jews flew from New York to the inauguration on Thursday in a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. It was the first time that such a huge plane landed at Szatmárnémet airport. Even the reception of the plane was a historic moment, at least for the staff of the Szatmárném airport. "We prepared a risk study, we made certain efforts. We equipped ourselves with another fire truck from disaster management. We brought a ladder from Cluj, we would have had our own ladder, but in order not to risk it, we brought a much more calibrated ladder for such an aircraft," said Mihai Pătrașcu, director of Szatmar Airport.
The chief rabbi of New York Jews, Aaron Teitelbaum, told Digi24 that he decided to build the synagogue here because his grandfather was born on Máramaros Island. On Thursday evening, additional flights to Vienna and London were expected at Szatmar airport. At least 500 Hasidic Jews from all over the world will attend the opening of the synagogue.
“The new synagogue is essentially a whole complex, the construction of which began in 2017, which includes the new synagogue, a restaurant, a Jewish school and a hotel. In the near future, Sziget will become a place of pilgrimage for the community," emphasizes Vasile Moldovan, mayor of Máramarossziget. The synagogue was built exclusively with money from the New York Hasidic community. It is not known exactly how much was spent on the entire complex. The Torah alone, the Jewish holy book that will be placed in the synagogue on Friday, is estimated to be worth €360,000. The former Jewish community on Máramarosziget numbered 30,000 people. Elie Wiesel, the late Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was also born here.
Source: Transindex.ro
Photos: screenshots from Digi24 video
