The Chabad synagogue (in Yiddish — “Shul”) "Shomrei Shabbat" was built over 100 years ago. It was built thanks to the donation of “Malbish arumim”(“Clother of the naked”) – a charity society that provides clothes for poor Jews (and this is why it is named so).
The inhabitants of Odessa have jokingly called it “the tailor‘s synagogue”. Today it is difficult to recall all of the Jews who attended this synagogue, but a partial list of some of those who lived nearby includes: the founder and first mayor of Tel-Aviv – Meir Dizengoff; one of the most famous Zionists – Vladimir Zhabotinsky; “the father of Zionism” Theodor Herzl predecessor – doctor Leon Pinsker; the great Jewish poets Chaim-Nachman Byalik and Yehoshua Ravnitsky; the great writer Shalom Aleykhem; and the well-known Jewish historians – Shimon Dubnov and Yoseph–Gedaliya Klausner. These and many more inhabitants of Odessa have most likely spent time between these walls.
The Synagogue served the Jewish community up until the year 1927 when, with the rise of Communism, it was locked up and became forbidden territory. It was turned into a mall center in which there was nothing but cells. In 1992, with great efforts on the part of the community, it was restored to its former status and today Jews from all over the city enjoy praying there.
On the Shabbath and on holidays it is very overcrowded. The synagogue was built to accommodate 200 people, but on holidays, thank G‑d, over 1000 people are obliged to take part in the prayers from the outside yard surrounding the synagogue. Our future plans for expansion include enlarging the sanctuary using the surrounding area to enable worshipers to pray comfortably inside.
