Behind the Headlines the Jews of Dijon

Twenty years ago, several hundred thousand North African Jews, fleeing an unstable and seemingly dangerous future, sailed across the blue Mediterranean to France. Not everyone headed for Paris, however. Many planted their roots in small towns where there had been few or no Jews. One such settlement was Dijon in Burgundy, an area which conjures up “a special mustard,” world-famous fine wines and delicious poultry.

Forty years ago, this September, Dijon was liberated from the Nazis who occupied the city throughout the war and who kept the town of 160,000 under tight surveillance because it is an important railroad and highway center.

Although the town synagogue was used as a stable and garage by the Germans, the house of worship survived the War. One person who may have been responsible for its escaping destruction was a Catholic clergyman, Chanoine (Canon) Kir, who later became mayor of this municipality as well as a member of Parliament. Kir pursuaded the Germans not to destroy the temple. He hid Jewish ritual objects in his home.

In the fall of 1944, that first Yom Kippur of liberated Europe, American Jewish GI’s from throughout the battle zone flocked to Dijon. “There were so many American Jewish troops here, that the overflow prayed in the streets,” recalled H.C. Bloch of Dijon.

COMMUNITY BEGAN ANEW AFTER WWII

After World War II, the Jewish community began anew. Since the vast majority of Dijon Jews had been deported during the war, it was not until the 1960’s with the influx of the North African Jews, that it flourished again.

Today, 250 Jewish families reside in this charming city in central France, about 200 miles southeast of Paris; a city of clean, winding pedestrian streets, with wooded 15th century houses; a city where the old town remains the shopping center; a city which features the majestic palaces of the Dukes of Burgundy.

Half of the 1,000 Dijon Jews are Sephardic. There are no real tensions to speak of between the two groups, though the service in the synagogue is Sephardic ritual.

ASSIMILATION IS HIGH

In a brief visit, it is hard to measure assimilation. It is safe to say, however, that as in all parts of France, assimilation is high. After all, French Jewish leaders told me, France assimilates Jews faster than any country in the world. One French rabbi added that when the Sephardim first came here two decades ago, they accused the Ashkenazim of assimilating.

“Now because of the free society here, the Sephardim,” he said sadly, “are doing the very same thing. They also are assimilating; and at a fast rate, too.”

In discussing the nature of this Jewish community, there are two prevalent viewpoints. One is that young people are moving toward “traditional Judaism,” according to Bloch.

But Ms. Claude Houlmann, who is Jewish and a tour guide in Dijon disagreed. She thinks assimilation is rampant. She also said she has many Christian friends and that she herself “never experienced anti-Semitism.” There are two kosher butcher shops in Dijon, and a mikvah. Rabbi M. Sibony told me that the synagogue is still the focal point for the Jewish community. Services are conducted Friday night and Saturday morning. On Saturday afternoons, there are special services for young people. Activities are held in the synagogue on Sunday. These include Hebrew-language classes and meetings of the Jewish National Fund, WIZO, and an active committee for Soviet Jewry.

For those who want more intensive Jewish activities, Paris with its 360,000 Jews is not that far away, an hour and forty minutes by rapid TGV, the world’s fastest train of the French National Railroads, which goes up to 169 miles an hour. The French system of high speed trains extends the range of convenient day trips and Jews in Dijon often travel to Paris and Lyon which is two hours away.

For those Dijon Jews who visit Israel — and many have — Air France has five flights a week from Paris to Tel Aviv, which says something about the traffic between the two countries.

JEWS IN DIJON SINCE 1196

Jews have resided in Dijon since 1196 when the Dukes of Burgundy placed the Jews under their jurisdiction. The synagogue and a “Sabbath House” were situated in the Petitie Juiverie section and there was a cemetery, too.

Interestingly, today in 1984, tombstones from hundreds of years ago have been discovered with Hebrew lettering. Museum officials here are now studying them to ascertain the nature of the diverse Jewish communities that lived here.

After the expulsions of 1306 and 1315, only a few Jews settled here until 1789 when they again moved in permanently. Many came from Alsace. The Jewish population numbered 50 families in 1803; 100 in 1869; and about 400 in 1902.

Bloch said that American Jewish tourists visit Dijon for wine tasting, and for week-long vacations on the popular barge waterway program on the Soane River. “They often show up at services,” he added.

There are other signs that there is and was a Jewish presence here, albeit indirectly. This reporter also kept seeing road signs to nearby Troyes, the birth-place of Rashi, the great commentator of the Bible and Talmud. It is said that in Rashi’s day, rabbis traveled to Troyes, via Dijon, often stopping in Dijon and staying over.