To
the left is the inscription over the entrance to the sanctuary
at Fieldgate Street Synagogue.
The Hebrew translates to: 'How lovely are your tents oh Jacob, your dwelling
places oh Israel'
The article below was
written in 2007. Subsequently Fieldgate Street has
reopened for once a month Shabbat morning services and is
also holding High Holyday services.
Affectionate memories of Fieldgate Street Great Synagogue,
Fieldgate Street, London E1
A small significant part of the Jewish East End of
London may have to open its doors on Shabbat for the last
time, and Fieldgate Street Great Synagogue as an active
synagogue may be no more. This small synagogue has always
been located between two Worlds. In days gone by it was next
to St Mary’s church, while today the huge East London Mosque
occupies that same space. A photo taken a couple of years ago
shows it to be the only synagogue with its own minaret!
Declining attendance in recent years has led to increasing
difficulty in maintaining a minyan (the 10 men required to be
in attendance for an Orthodox service to take place) and if
this continues the
synagogue’s closure will be the inevitable result.
The word ‘Great’ in the title of such a small synagogue always
confused me until I checked into the history of the Federation
of synagogues – the organisation to which Fieldgate Street has
always been affiliated. In the late C19th many small
synagogues were opened in back rooms, attics and even gardens
of properties in the East London Ghetto by the flood of Jewish
refugees fleeing Eastern Europe. In 1887 local MP, Samuel
Montagu, fearing for the safety of the users of these cramped
spaces, founded the Federation of Synagogues to amalgamate
them into larger, safer premises - hence the term ‘Great’ in
the title of many of the Federation’s synagogues, and hence
the foundation of Fieldgate Street Great Synagogue in 1899. A
plaque on the wall as you enter Fieldgate Street commemorates
this momentous event.
The interior of Fieldgate Street presents a visual summary of
the history of Jewish settlement in the East End. For
example, along the wooden panelling edging the upstairs ladies
gallery are the names of humble tailors and carpenters who
gave donations from their meagre earnings to fund the
synagogue, while under many of the wooden pews in the
sanctuary can still be found siddurim & machzorim (prayer
books) dating from the late C19th which feature inscriptions
written in Hebrew & Cyrillic script. These books were the
personal property of the immigrants who founded the synagogue,
and were one of the few possessions brought with them to the
East End on their fraught journeys from the persecution of
Czarist Russia.
As time has gone by more and more of the children of our
immigrant ancestors have moved to leafier suburbs. This has
had an inevitable toll on the viability of the remaining East
End synagogues, and as they closed so they amalgamated with
those that remained. Hence nearby synagogues such as
Vine
Court, Alie Street, Ezras Chaim & Stepney Orthodox
amalgamated with Fieldgate Street. Sadly it may now be Fieldgate
Street’s turn to close.
Fieldgate
Street has had its legendary figures, pre-eminent amongst whom
was the late Reverend Leibish Gayer. Rev Gayer was born in
Poland in 1913, came to London in 1934 and joined Fieldgate
Street in1935. He became in turn its chazzan, torah reader,
minister and president, and remained so until his death in
1992. He was known for his compassion and kindness. A
story is told of his early life in Poland when he went to his
local burial society to arrange the funeral of his late mother
and was asked how much he could afford to pay. His
financial means were insufficient so the chairman of the
burial society threw a shovel at him and told him to go and
bury her himself. This scarring experience defined how
he would treat his own congregants, and he is mourned to this day by
those who knew and loved him.
My own
acquaintance with Fieldgate Street began in 2000 following the
death of my mother. I wanted to understand more about her
background and it seemed natural to begin my exploration by
visiting one of the remaining East End Synagogues. Fieldgate
Street was where my journey began. It was here that I met a
wonderful cast of characters, all of whom were refreshingly
different from the stereotype of the modern, affluent suburban
Jew. It is with great affection I recall service leader
Reverend David Silverstein who made this nervous outsider so
welcome. I also fondly remember many others - some of whom
are no longer with us: Dovid was born in India and was fond
of telling me that I looked like his brother. He would come
round at the beginning of the Shabbat morning service to offer
the congregants sweets and I jokingly referred to him as ‘the
sweet man’. He always led part of the service and had a voice
like an angel. One day he failed to come to the Shabbat
morning service, and that was the day he had died. And then
there was Sam, a reformed gambler and lovely man who would
always great you with a great big smile. My Fieldgate Street
friend Jack passed away earlier this year. Jack was a veteran
of Dunkirk and the Normandy landings, and had witnessed the
Jewish East End decline from a vibrant centre of Jewish life
to the remnant it is today. His catch phrase was ‘Get on with
it!’, and he would utter this loudly whenever he felt the
service was dragging on too long. Sometimes it had an effect
and sometimes it didn’t!
Without
synagogues like Fieldgate Street there would not have been a
Jewish East End of London. Synagogues like these
provided sustaining comfort and support to our immigrant
ancestors, and our debt to them is huge. Fieldgate
Street if the worst should happen I will miss you.
Philip
Walker