European Day of Jewish Culture

European Day of Jewish Culture, Sunday September 7th, 2008

This coming Sunday, September 7, is the 9th edition of the European Day of Jewish Culture. This year the theme is Music, "inviting the public to discover the place of song and music in Judaism, as well as the cultural diversity characteristic of Jewish music, or the Jewish contribution to the world of music." In the United Kingdom the event is called "European Days of Jewish Culture and Heritage", because events and activities are scheduled over a period of three weeks.

As I wrote in an earlier posting: "The day is a celebration of Jewish heritage sites and culture across Europe and is now observed in 30 countries. Developed following a program in Alsace that arranged for dozens of usually inaccessible synagogues, former synagogues and cemeteries to be open to the public, the Day of Jewish Culture now includes almost every conceivable type of cultural event including lectures, concerts, tours, and seminars. But access to Jewish sties for a wide (and mostly local public) and instruction about them remains at the heart of the celebration."

Ruth Ellen Gruber writes in this month's Hadassah Magazine (go to current issue) an introduction to and reflection upon The European Day of Jewish Culture

Ckick here to see the schedules of events in different countries. When you arrive at the page click the different countries on the map, or click here for each of the 19 countries whic has posted its schedule on-line:

Belgium, Czech-Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom.