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Yusef Abad Synagogue, Tehran, Iran
The Yusef Abad Synagogue is a synagogue (referred to as “kenisa” in Persian1) located in Tehran, Iran, serving as a primary cultural and spiritual venue for the community.2 Given its convenient location and large size in its namesake neighborhood, the Yusef Abad Synagogue has emerged as the central place of worship in Tehran.3
Description
History
In the 1950s, a small synagogue named Suket Shalom served the Jewish population in the Yusef Abad community of central Tehran.4 The Yusef Abad compound covers a large area of 1076 square meters (11,582 square feet) on Seyed Jamal-e Din Asadabadi Street and Fifteenth Street.5 Its growing membership due to the increase in population of Jews in Tehran led to a decision to expand the synagogue.6
In 1966, Ebrahim Yusian initiated the start of its expansion, contributing to the purchase of land abutting the Suket Shalom Synagogue. He acted as an advisor to the engineers and architects replacing the old synagogue with a new larger building, completed a year later, to accommodate the increasing demand for synagogue services.7 In 1997, faulty electric wiring caused a fire, severely damaging the eastern section of the synagogue, leading to construction of an additional ceremonial hall with space for 250 persons in which to hold religious and cultural events.8 On the southern side of the compound, there is a small balcony and a courtyard.9 A remodeled kitchen, washrooms for men and women, and a small mikvah, a bath used for religious ritual purposes, are located within this courtyard.10 Recently, the yard has also been used to accommodate larger crowds on the Sabbath and other ceremonial occasions.11
Features
The Yusef Abad Synagogue has exterior and interior designs and layout that have been influenced by local Persian architectural styles for religious buildings.12 These include plain brick for a simple exterior and glazed tiles, stucco walls, painted plaster, arches, domes, and pillars in the interior.13,14 The large rectangular wooden doors of the Holy Ark facing the bimah are were built for the synagogue by artisans in Isfahan in 1971.15 Additionally, the synagogue is a magnificent example of Persian tile mosaics, using colors blue, white and black, and traces of green, yellow, and beige.16 Tiles frame the two separate sections in which the Torah scrolls are kept. There are also geometric patterns and curving floral and plant motifs surrounding the Holy Ark and the Hebrew inscriptions that are similar to religious quotations seen in mosques throughout Iran, reinforcing the combination of Persian art with Jewish heritage.17 In addition to the main hall in which the Torah is read, an additional location in the Northeast corner of the building for reading the Torah.18
Current Standing
Yusef Abad has emerged as the most popular synagogue in Tehran.19 Poetry readings and lectures are routinely held at the synagogue, encouraging attendance by the younger generation, and creating new opportunities for youth and families to socialize.20 Even non-Jewish guests are sometimes invited to these cultural events.21
Yusef Abad synagogue has had renovations to its mikvah (a bath for religious purification rituals, used most often by women), indicating women’s increased involvement in synagogues in Tehran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.22 Since the revolution, public space has become more religious, changing the way Jewish women practice their religion.23 This change in religious observation has led to women petitioning for more mikvaot to be built in the courtyards of existing synagogues in Iran.24
Sources
Notes
1. Gharipour, Mohammad, and Arlene Dallalfar. “Chapter Ten.” Essay. In Synagogues in the Islamic World: Architecture, Design, and Identity, edited by Mohammad Gharipour, 187. Edinburgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press, 2019.
2. Gharipour, Synagogues in the Islamic World, 199.
3. Hadizadeh, Bahador. “Tehran 2021 - Walking in Yousef Abad Neighborhood / تهران، یوسف آباد.” YouTube. YouTube, January 17, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAR06WhepMY.
4. Gharipour, Synagogues in the Islamic World, 199.
5. Ibid.
6. “Yusef Abad Synagogue, Tehran, Iran Tourist Information.” TouristLink. Accessed August 1, 2022. https://www.touristlink.com/iran/yusef-abad-synagogue/overview.html.
7. Gharipour, Synagogues in the Islamic World, 199.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid.
12. Gharipour, Synagogues in the Islamic World, 189.
13. Sohrabi, Narciss M. “Tehran Synagogues: The Socio-Cultural Topographies and Architectural Typologies.” Journal of Modern Jewish Studies, 2021, 7–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/14725886.2021.1971934.
14. Gharipour, Synagogues in the Islamic World, 189.
15. Gharipour, Synagogues in the Islamic World, 200.
16. Ibid.
17. Ibid.
18. Sohrabi, “Tehran Synagogues”
19. Gharipour, Synagogues in the Islamic World, 201.
20. Ibid.
21. Ibid.
22. Gharipour, Synagogues in the Islamic World, 189.
23. Gharipour, Synagogues in the Islamic World, 193.
24. Ibid.
Works Cited
Gharipour, Mohammad, and Arlene Dallalfar. “Chapter Ten Synagogues and Sacred Rituals in Tehran: An Ethnographic Analysis of Judeo-Persian Identities and Spaces.” Essay. In Synagogues in the Islamic World: Architecture, Design, and Identity, 185–204. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2019.
Hadizadeh, Bahador. “Tehran 2021 - Walking in Yousef Abad Neighborhood / تهران، یوسف آباد.” YouTube. YouTube, January 17, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAR06WhepMY.
Sohrabi, Narciss M. “Tehran Synagogues: The Socio-Cultural Topographies and Architectural Typologies.” Journal of Modern Jewish Studies, 2021, 7–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/14725886.2021.1971934.
“Yusef Abad Synagogue, Tehran, Iran Tourist Information.” TouristLink. Accessed August 1, 2022. https://www.touristlink.com/iran/yusef-abad-synagogue/overview.html.
Image Gallery
Orijentolog. YusefAbad synagogue Tehran. Photograph. Wikimedia. 2005. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:YusefAbad_synagogue_Tehran.jpg.
Marizad, Mehdi . Anniversary of Ruhollah Khomeini, Yusef Abad Synagogue - 30 May 2018 30. Photograph. Wikimedia. May 30, 2018. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anniversary_of_Ruhollah_Khomeini,_Yusef_Abad_Synagogue_-_30_May_2018_30.jpg.
Marizad, Mehdi . Anniversary of Ruhollah Khomeini, Yusef Abad Synagogue - 30 May 2018 03. Photograph. Wikimedia. May 30, 2018.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anniversary_of_Ruhollah_Khomeini,_Yusef_Abad_Synagogue_-_30_May_2018_03.jpg.
For more images of the site, visit:
https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/northern-tehran-yusef-abad-synagogue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAR06WhepMY