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74

FRIDAY, JULY 6, 1990

Dijon An Attraction
For Jewish Travelers

RUTH ROVNER

Special to The Jewish News

E

very year on the first
of September, the foun-
tain in the central
plaza of Dijon, France, gushes
not with water — but with
wine. It's the natives' way of
celebrating the start of the
wine-producing season, and
just one reminder that in a
town in the heart of France's
Burgundy wine region, wine
is a source of pride, profit and
pleasure.
It was in Dijon that the
aperitif Kir was invented. It
is named for Felix Kir, a
Catholic clergyman and the
former mayor of Dijon, who
liked blending white Burgun-
dy wine and creme de cassis
(blackberry flavored liquer).
The director of tourism is a
wine expert. Jean-Michel La-
fond not only leads wine-
tasting tours of the nearby
vineyards near Dijon, but also
makes annual excursions to
Dallas, Dijon's sister city, to
conduct wine-tasting
seminars.
In a city where wine is
taken so seriously, food, of
course, is also important and
so are the ways to make it
more tasty. The tangy
mustard that is made here
has made the city's name a
household word.
For the Jewish traveler, Di-
jon has a special attraction.
Its only synagogue is not only
a striking sight, but also has
a dramatic history.
Dominating the corner of
rue de la Synagogue, Dijon's
Jewish house of worship is
sometimes mistaken for a
church or a mosque because
of its unusual design. The
brick and granite structure,
has a central dome modeled
after the dome of Paris' Sacre
Coeur Cathedral and four
minaret-style towers. It's a
style known as flamboyant
Gothic.
The main sanctuary is
striking, with a dramatic
vaulted ceiling, ornate iron
and glass chandeliers,
delicate wrought ironwork all
around the balcony and
twelve stained glass windows
representing the twelve tribes
of Israel.
Even more dramatic is the
story of how this synagogue
was saved during the Nazi oc-
cupation of Dijon, which the
rabbi related as we stood ad-
miring the sanctuary.
Not everything was saved,
of course; the Nazis destroyed
almost all the ritual objects.
Everything in the sanctuary

had to be replaced when Di-
jon was liberated. Only the
stained glass windows, the
Torah scrolls, and the eternal
light were preserved.
Moreover, the Jews of Dijon
suffered terrible personal
losses during the occupation.
Of 180 Jewish families living
here before the occupation,
150 were deported.
But after the liberation, Di-
jon's surviving Jews were
grateful that their synagogue
building was still standing.
And it was saved largely
because of the efforts of Felix
Kir. The same clergyman and
mayor who invented the
aperitif is remembered by the
Jews of Dijon for something
far more important to them.
The Nazis planned to take
over the synagogue and Kir
knew this. He came to the
leaders of the congregation
and offered to store the stain-
ed glass windows and other
sacred objects in a cellar of
the cathedral.
Jewish community leaders
carefully removed the win-
dows from the frames and
gave them to Kir for
safekeeping.
He also intervened when
the Nazis were deciding to
destroy the synagogue by per-
suading the commanding of-
ficers to use the building to
stable their horses and store
fodder — a strategy that sav-
ed the synagogue.
When Dijon was finally
liberated just before Yom Kip-
pur, 1944, the surviving Jews
worked feverishly to clean
their beloved sanctuary in
time for High Holy Day
services.
Yom Kippur, 1944, is now
part of the proud history of
this congregation. Not only
did resident Jews come joyful-
ly to the synagogue, but so
many American Jewish GI's
also poured into the
synagogue that other GI's
couldn't even get inside.
So they stood outside, and
heard the services clearly
through the windowless
building: There had been no
time to put the stained glass
windows back in their frames.
Besides their synagogue,
which was renovated in time
for a gala celebration of its
100th anniversary in 1979,
the Jews of Dijon maintain
two kosher butcher shops, a
mikvah, Hebrew classes for
their youngsters.
The Jews here also play an
active part in the life of the
city. And like the rest of Di-
jon's residents, they love
mustard-flavored food, and
good wine. ❑