Ever since the rededication of Etz Hayyim Synagogue, festivals and holidays are celebrated according to the Jewish liturgical year as well as occasional weddings and bar or bat mitzvahs.
There is a small group of resident Jews of diverse origin who regularly attend liturgical events at Etz Hayyim Synagogue, along with non-Jewish members of a Havurah (fraternity) of equally diverse backgrounds.
Etz Hayyim is open to Jews of any affiliation and to non-Jews because its identity is not found in the example of contemporary post-exilic synagogues, but rather in what synagogues represented in Hellenistic Antiquity: in keeping with the meaning of the Greek term “synagogue” they were first and foremost gathering places of meeting and debate.
Photo 1: © Etz Hayyim Synagogue
Photo 2: © Nikos Stavroulakis
