Amazing story: The Great Synagogue of Lyon, France was built in 1864 to accommodate a rapidly growing Jewish community. The beautiful neo-Byzantine building was designed by noted architect Abraham Hirsch. The Germans marched into Paris in 1940, but Lyon was in the Free France zone and the Great Synagogue stayed open. Even after Lyon was occupied in 1942, a small but brave group of Jews kept the shul open. But on December 10, 1943, the iconic house of worship was targeted for destruction by the Milice, the fascist French police force modeled after the notorious German Gestapo. The shul’s rabbi was witness to what happened that Friday night. A member of the Milice entered the sanctuary right after the start of Shabbat, armed with three powerful hand grenades. His plan was to toss them into the crowd of standing worshippers from behind and escape through the back of the sanctuary. Seen only by the rabbi, the Nazi pulled out the pins and then suddenly froze. At the moment he prepared to throw the grenades, the entire congregation turned to face him. Eye-to-eye with his intended victims, the would-be assailant was so rattled that he tossed the grenades just a few feet then ran out of the building. A few people were wounded by shrapnel but nobody was killed.What happened at that pivotal moment? The Nazi had entered the synagogue at exactly the section of the Friday night service known as “bo’i l’shalom” - when worshippers turn toward the back of the sanctuary to welcome the Sabbath bride. He didn’t go through with the massacre because seeing the faces of his victims meant seeing their humanity. Genocide starts with dehumanization and ends when we look at other humans and see the face of God.
Amazing story: The Great Synagogue of Lyon, France was built in 1864 to accommodate a rapidly growing Jewish community. The beautiful neo-Byzantine building was designed by noted architect Abraham Hirsch. The Germans marched into Paris in 1940, but Lyon was in the Free France zone and the Great Synagogue stayed open. Even after Lyon was occupied in 1942, a small but brave group of Jews kept the shul open. But on December 10, 1943, the iconic house of worship was targeted for destruction by the Milice, the fascist French police force modeled after the notorious German Gestapo. The shul’s rabbi was witness to what happened that Friday night. A member of the Milice entered the sanctuary right after the start of Shabbat, armed with three powerful hand grenades. His plan was to toss them into the crowd of standing worshippers from behind and escape through the back of the sanctuary. Seen only by the rabbi, the Nazi pulled out the pins and then suddenly froze. At the moment he prepared to throw the grenades, the entire congregation turned to face him. Eye-to-eye with his intended victims, the would-be assailant was so rattled that he tossed the grenades just a few feet then ran out of the building. A few people were wounded by shrapnel but nobody was killed.What happened at that pivotal moment? The Nazi had entered the synagogue at exactly the section of the Friday night service known as “bo’i l’shalom” - when worshippers turn toward the back of the sanctuary to welcome the Sabbath bride. He didn’t go through with the massacre because seeing the faces of his victims meant seeing their humanity. Genocide starts with dehumanization and ends when we look at other humans and see the face of God.
