Welcome to the Mishkan HaTsafon, the Synagogue of the North

Sunday the 24 of June 2007 - What a day! Even the weather decided to stay friendly - the small raindrops we considered as tears of happiness. On this day, the Jewish community of Bad Segeberg dedicated their new Community Centre - Mishkan haTsafon.

The craftsmen worked until the very last minute to complete their work in our community centre. It is more than just doing a job, when a craftsman works until 2 a.m. in the morning and starts again at 6 a.m. We are more than thankful for all the support we got. The motor of this project is the chairman of our congregation, Walter Blender. His enthusiasm transformed more than one hesitater into an active supporter.

Our congregation welcomed more than 600 friends and guests - including the Chief Minister of the federal state government of Schleswig-Holstein, Peter Harry Carstensen, the Mayor of Bad Segeberg, Hans-Joachim Hampel, the Chairman of the German Union for Progressive Judaism, Dr. Jan Mühlstein, and Rabbi Walter Rothschild. Representatives from the Christian Churches as well as of the Muslim community conveyed their greetings.

After the speeches and greetings were delivered, the three Torah scrolls of the community were brought into the Synagogue. The scrolls were accompanied by members of the congregation as well as friends and supporters of our community. Afterwards there was some time for refreshments, "sightseeing", and interviews.

In the early afternoon there was a Mincha Service, which was held in front of the building, since so many visitors wanted to join the service. One day before the dedication, some right-wing flyers had been distributed in Bad Segeberg. With this service we showed, once more, that we are not a sect or something else to be afraid of. The open-air service was a great success. The service was led by Rabbi Sylvia Rothschild, one of the sisters of Rabbi Dr. Walter Rothschild. This service was also a "Thank you" for our Rabbi, who has been working for the congregation and the regional council since 2003. At that time, we had no proper rooms and facilities. Now, in 2007 we dedicated our first synagogue and we had the means for an adequate induction of our Rabbi.

Background information:
The community centre was an old mill which was a very dilapidated ruin no one wanted to buy. But for our congregation it seemed perfect - a three floor building and a huge garden surrounding the building. In 2003, the municipal council of Bad Segeberg sold the building for a symbolic price of 1 Euro per square metre to the congregation. The members of the congregation worked very hard, in order to keep the costs of the reconstruction down. In 2006 and 2007 the congregation was supported by the federal state government. With this amount we were able to repair the basement and the ground floor. The second and third floor are not finished, yet. But the ceiling and the general structure is secured. In the basement, there are the rooms for the youth group, Makkabi, the Rabbi's office and a Mikwe, which is the only one working in Schleswig-Holstein. On the ground floor, there are the office of the congregation and the Regional Council of our 5 Jewish communities, a kosher kitchen (divided, for meat and dairy) and a big community hall, which serves as synagoguefor now until the first floor will be finished. The ceiling of the first floor is rather low, that's why we cut the ceiling in the hall where the Synagogue will be. This way we got a height of 5 m and a balcony. The balcony is due to the structural layout and is a reminder of the old former industrial building.

The old mill's tower will be reconstructed as a youth centre in the ground floor and a library on the first floor.