Jewish Synagogue Paso

About Us

Gran Templo Paso, founded in 1930, is one of the oldest synagogues in Argentina. It is a significant religious landmark in the traditional Once neighborhood. Together with its history and tradition, what sets our synagogue apart is the cultural activities it promotes.

Gran Templo Paso is of the most beautiful temples in South America. It housed the first Talmud Torah (religious studies house) in the city of Buenos Aires, founded in 1894. The impressive building itself, which was later declared part of the city's historical heritage, was completed in 1929 with the most beautiful Ashkenazi (European) iconography that reflected its founders' origins.

The temple accommodates 2,000 people and is renowned as a liturgical center where the celebrations of the cycle of life are enjoyed in an atmosphere that is cozy and majestic at the same time.

Our Rabbi

Ariel Korob was born in Afula (Israel) in 1970. He married Irene Wolkostawski in 2000, with whom he has three children: Lautaro, Meirab and Naamá.

He holds a degree in Communications by Universidad de Buenos Aires (1998), he graduated from Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano (2000), and completed the Mercaz Melton Jewish Educators Program at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2001). He also graduated with the 5th class in the Jewish Community Organization Leadership Program run by Leatid (Latin American Center for Jewish Institutional Management Training and Research), a division of the American Joint Distribution Committee (2004).

He currently teaches Bible and Jewish Law (Halaja) at Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano, and Hebrew at ISEDET (Higher Evangelical Institute on Theological Studies).

He is the founder and editor-in-chief of Sambatión, Latin American Jewish Studies Magazine (2006).

He is currently completing his PhD thesis at ISEDET on Tanaj (Jewish Bible).

History

Institutions such as these, born out of immigration, are part of an effort to build a community in a new context that is not always friendly, but always in hope. This same spirit gave rise to Talmud Torah, the only kind of religious school that existed in the Jewish Community at the time, founded by Simón Isaac Tenenboim in 1894 and located at Viamonte 1466. Through this institution, Jewish immigrants intended to extend the educational model they had been raised with. The first President of the institution was Mr. Efraim Rosenzvit. The headquarters were later relocated to Lavalle 1958. Although it was indeed the only one during many years, its designation as "First" ("Harishono" in Yiddish) was created to set it apart from others when this type of organization started flourishing. This was the first all-inclusive institution in the country. Later there was a new relocation to Lavalle 1747, together with the Mikve (ritual bath) of the Community. David Isaac Maler became the Rabbi in 1923, a year after his arrival from the USSR, and held his position until his death in 1949. He also founded and directed the Rabbinate of AMIA (Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina). He was succeeded by Rabbi Amram Blum until 1970, and also in the Rabbinate of AMIA since 1953: he is a significant figure in Argentine Jewry, especially due to his relationship with Juan Domingo Perón, the most important political presence in the country between the 40's and 70's. In 1927, during the administration of Mr. Boris Rotblat, the Talmud Torah was merged with Dr. Hertzl school in the Asociación Israelita de Beneficencia y Culto. The building of Gran Templo took place between 1924 and 1929, including the headquarters for the educational institution in the basement. The works enjoyed the valuable support of Boris Garfunkel, who was also a cornerstone of the Jewish community as a whole for his commitment and support to all projects.

Extracted from an article by Dr. Horacio G. Rosenfeld in a brochure published by Gran Templo Paso marking its centennial in 1995.

The meaning of what we do

Our effort is aimed at the most sovereign practice we have: keeping hold of our times and building a communitarian agenda, to serve properly those who need and expect from us.

What we do

Besides the traditional synagogue religiuos activity, among the Great Temple Paso´s cultural initiatives we can mention the Jewish Tango Orchestra, music concerts with the highest artists of classical music on the national stage, yiddish courses, and the setting up of a Yishiva or centre of Latinamerican Conservative Jewish studies, a space for the study of Torah for youngsters and adults, meetings and conferences of the highest level in the community.

In addition, every Friday, the Social Action department carries out a Charity Tea for members, and a communitarian Kabalat Shabat.

Lehem Mishneh (Communitarian tea)

It is the tea meal served on Friday for those who do not have the financial resources or would like to be accompanied to start Shabat with a full stomach and their heart also filled with company and biblical words.

Meshartim (Community servers)

They are in charge of the organization of cultural events aimed at rescuing our people's heritage and providing our Jewish singularity to the building of the society we live in.

Ahat Esreh

It is our weekly magazine. Its name is also a project: being part of a vision where the Jewish component defines the field of n experience of plural manifestations. The editorial team assumes three main guidelines in their work,

Tefilot

Shaharit: Sundays 8am. Monday to Friday. 7:30 am. Minja and Arvit: everyday (even Shabat) 7:30 pm. It is modified according to the stars rise.

Courses

Adults: Mekor Haim (Jewish life). Thursdays 8pm. Parashat ha-Shavua Shabat 11:30 am. Mishnah. Shabat 7:45 pm.

Maagal ha Haim (Jewish Life Cycle)

The community walks along those who wish to give a spiritual meaning to their turning points in life and seek for being committed with a life where important events and celebrations are the starting point of the relationship with the community.

Brit Milah Simhat Bat Bar and Bat Mitzvah Huppah Guiur (Conversion to Judaism)

The life cycle

Most peoples in the world remember the different stages that their members go through in life: birth, teen age, madurity and death, as parts of the life cycle that, like all the stages in it, men remember and celebrate: rather on the turning point than during the stage itself.

In all cases, this is achieved by a passing over rite, a symbolic mark that establishes a before and after in the spiritual frame of those who go thorugh that imaginary border that accounts for our evolution and development as human beings, where body and soul are brought together in an only being.

Jewish tradition has made from these points, shared by the whole humanity, a sacred moment. Worshipping time, shared growth, getting closer to divinity. And this is done by specific rites; Judaism celebrates the step from thorough dependance to birth through Simhat Bat (for girls) and Brit Milah (for boys): the step from childhood to teen age through Bar or Bat Mitzvah; from teen age to adulty by Huppá; and finally the cycle is continued and completed through rites related to death, trascendental entrance to the eternal continuity of the poeple's life.

Brit mila

As social creatures, we give thanks for fatherhood-motherhood as a gift, present from God, who gathers and tie people together as the result of love. God gathers people at an instance for celebrating trascendence in love. By this celebration, a Jewish boy is officially brought into the Community, the inmediate environment that will allow his future development. He does so through the Mitzvah that the Torah prescribes. The latter consists of cutting the foreskin or prepuce and leave the mark that defines belonging to the Jewish people for its reproduction. As in many other examples of communitarian life, belonging to the spirit has a physycal brand of manifestation of the spirit, our sense of belonging to the Jewish people.

The ceremony consists of a serie of blessings where it is recognized the boy's entry to the pact that will link him with the whole Community and, by this, to the society itself. It implies thanking God, by naming the boy - a central formality, the way he will be named/recognized- name he will carry for others: and also thanks expressed by parents for being able to reach this sacred moment.

Simhat Bat

However less popular than Brit Milah, this joy that ties us up to life, giving birth to a human being, naming the daughter within our cultural environment is just an excuse to gather those beloved and dear for us. It is at the same time a trascendent act, as naming is provding a place, an identity, a personality. God changed the name of Avram for the one of Abraham in order to point out that our father will be father of many nations, and that change had a big impact on his future actions, not only at a personal level, but knowing that his behaviour will be reference for the future generations in the Israeli people. This is the trascendence of his name that sets one aspect of his soul. In the same way than Shlomo, a king of peace just like its root -Shalom- its names provides this meaning; its not a matter of arbitrariety, but somehow the result of a choice for a name to hold the eternity of the soul.

In our communitarian house, the ceremony takes place during Shabat -in the morninig or afternoon- bringing together the corresponding Tefilah. It is a very sensitive ceremony where, along with the aliot to Bible where parents thank God for making them attend that moment (the blessing Sheejeianu), grandparents and other relatives take part in it and, along with the parents, bless the little baby holding a Huppá.

What is Bar/Bat Mitzvah?

In the Bar/Bat Mitzvá we celebrate the passage of a boy/girl of our people from childhood to teen age. Asuming new tasks that will open in front of him new horizons of independence and autonomy, and that will transform the familiar environment in which s/he is raised. It brings growth among parents´ love, who gave birth to children as a result of their love, therefore learning to grow and co-operate in different tasks, together. Some as sons and daughters, others as perents. That´s why this is a fmiliar celebration and not individual.

Preparation in this communitarian house intends to link the specific values that the whole familiar group holds to accompany the children along this path turned into celebration; not only for the date of the celebration, but also for the on-coming days.

Therefore, we encourage the active participation of children and their families in this celebration. The intention is to turn Tefilah, not only aesthetically looked after by a litugical team, but also having a personal component from each Bar/Bat that makes something unique from the ceremony.

We also know that there is a deep belief about the values of our people as a Community. Building the Community is the richest ambition, although not the most explicit of the Jewish people, and specially for the families that approach our space.

We remember that Bar/Bat Mitzvah is sometimes the reason and excuse why many families get closer to the Synagogue, but our real task starts when the celebration comes to its end. When the enthusiasm for the ceremony fades out, and we see the size of our goal of communitarian building is cristalized. This happens when these people settle down in our house as an everyday reference, be it for celebrations or sad moments in our life, be it for helping us in some of our programs.

Huppah

How can we bring the love that joins a couple into a religious ceremony? How can we bring together the message from the Israel´s tradition to those who join in marriage with the message that each couple speaks from its singularity?

The answer to these questions implies some work with each couple done by meetings that allow us to create links. This leads us to translate the essence of the relationship into a ceremony. And we get prepared for a relationship that is a potence at the beginning: the future marriage to Community.

We have the expectations that the couple feels in our house as at home, so it becomes in their space for communitarian life.

Within the frame of the life cycle, it means give thanks for the opportunity that human beings have few times in our lifes: providing a little bit of our heart to others. We call this link love. And we tank for it.

The ceremony recovers the Histoy of the Temple and the youth of the project, and the prepared ceremony. This is done by several meetings and activities whose purpose is to accompany the couple in the variety of changes that marital life implies, and its involvement in communitarian life. This is not always taken into account, starting by the fact that a change of status, even in couples already living together, involves a personal recognition and assumption that love experience means more than two people, and that their bondage to community implies the desire to love a family: a moment of trascendence in the relationship between two.

Guiur - A process of personal development

What is converting?

Our patriarch Abraham was the first one from whom we learnt that Judaism is a path of choices that moves us, emotionalyy and with others from our orginal place. He was the first one that lived himself a personal transformation- his own convertion to Judaism. Through his choice, Abraham seeded light for those who wanted to join the task of building and believing in Community. Ever since, the path is open for all those who see an option on it for their own lives. We propose this spirit of continuity with our tradition through the space of Guiur (Convertion). This is the starting point of a path that allows us to pact with the Community the committment of changing it with good deeds that lead to growth and development.

This space is set in our own Great Temple, aware of the eagerness for more spirituality and meaning for our lives in this era, and specially for the Community of the neighbourhood (Once). Eagerness of those looking forward to follow the same path that our patriarch Abraham walked thousands of years back.

What is the process like?

Getting ready for it implies an initiation through an interview with our Rabbi, in which the candidates is given a warm welcome to this spiritual process, they talk about personal motivations for their decision, and a recommendation is made to the Department of Guiur Coordination, whose office is in the CIRa building (Congregación Israelita de la República Argentina), in 769 Libertad St.

There takes place double-sided participation: religious services in our community Fridays and Saturdays and, besides, weekly meetings in the CIRA. Since then, the process of collective work is started based on contents, but sustained and approved by communitarians practices. Guiur is celebrated when the process of meditation and reflection that gave birth to Guiur is completed.

Those interested can contact the Communitarian Secretary to ask for an interview.

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