Since 1960, this group of 16th and 17th century half-timbered houses has been the site of the Troyes Synagogue. The inscription at the door states, “I will enter here to praise God.”
Extensive work was done in 1987 that laid bare the half timbers, typical of the Champagne area, which were incorporated into the synagogue, giving it its current attractive appearance.
Rabbi Chlomo ben Itshak (Rabbi Salomon, son of Isaac), known as Rachi (1040-1105), founded a famous Talmudic school in 1070 in Troyes where the sacred texts of Judaism were studied. His commentary is still authoritative today and has influenced European thought, in particular the Renaissance Christian exegesis and the Reform.
Starting in the High Middle Ages, a significant Jewish community lived in Troyes and apparently enjoyed good relations with the Christian majority until the 12th century. The fact that there was a Jewish neighbourhood, called the «Broce-aux-Juifs», located at the heart of the «tête du bouchon» (see the rue Saint-Frobert) does not mean it was a ghetto. It was more a grouping of trades, as often occurred at the time in cities.
In the 11th century in Troyes, Jews owned land. Rachi, for example, was a winemaker. But the Crusades made things worse and their activities were restricted to finances. In 1215, the Latran Council imposed on them the wearing of the rouelle (a circle of red or yellow cloth). In 1288, rumours of ritual crimes circulated in the city and thirteen nobles, forced to confess their guilt to avoid a pogrom, were burned alive.
Opposite the synagogue is the Rachi European University Institute, a centre for Hebrew research and study. The building was bequeathed to the city by Jean de Brunneval in 1775. The Institute is a high-rise for Jewish thought, is open to everyone and offers a programme of weekly courses, public seminars and conferences during the academic year.
5, rue Brunneval -www.institut-rachi-troyes.fr
