Sukkah and Salmiakki – Jews in Finland Today

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27th April 2023 at 17:00 CET

Sukkah and Salmiakki – Jews in Finland today by Mercédesz Czimbalmos, PhD – Dóra  & Pataricza, PhD Åbo Akademi University.

Finland is often regarded as one of the world’s most secularised countries, even though most of its population belongs to the historically dominant Lutheran church. The local Jewish minority, numbering approximately 1200 people, is organised into several communities, the biggest of which is the Jewish Community of Helsinki which is one of the most northern Jewish communities in the world. The synagogue was inaugurated in 1906, and the community centre in 1961. The Jewish Community of Helsinki offers many activities and services to its 1100 members from birth until old age. Finland is one of the few countries with a surviving East European (Litvak) Jewish community post-Holocaust. The number of conversions and mixed marriages is exceptionally high in the community. Still, it remains officially orthodox and maintains a distinct Finnish-Jewish identity. The vibrant blending of cultures, languages and religious perspectives in Finland’s Jewish population that is manifested in the Jewish Community of Helsinki offers an example to the country’s fast-growing variety. This presentation provides an introduction to several Jewish sites in Finland, including the country’s synagogues, cemeteries, and other historically significant Jewish landmarks. In addition, it presents some of the findings of the recently finished Minhag Finland project, conducted at Åbo Akademi University.

The event is in English. Free Entrance.

The event is organized by Paideia, Jewish Community Stockholm and Åbo Akademi University.

Registration is obligatory by April 25th.

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