Aberdeen Synagogue and Jewish Community Centre | |
Image Upright: | 1.4 |
Religious Affiliation: | Judaism |
Festivals: | --> |
Organisational Status: | Synagogue |
Organizational Status: | --> |
Leadership: | Lay-led |
Functional Status: | Active |
Location: | 74 Dee Street, Aberdeen, Scotland AB11 6DS |
Country: | United Kingdom |
Map Type: | Scotland |
Map Size: | 250 |
Map Relief: | 1 |
Coordinates: | 57.1423°N -2.1032°W |
Architecture Type: | House |
Established: | 1893 |
Year Completed: | 1945 |
Date Destroyed: | --> |
Elevation Ft: | --> |
The Aberdeen Synagogue and Jewish Community Centre (ASJCC) is a Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 74 Dee Street, Aberdeen, Scotland, in the United Kingdom. The building is the northernmost synagogue in the British Isles.
Several Jews were awarded medical degrees from Aberdeen in the 18th century,[1] but they did not live in Aberdeen (the degrees were awarded in absentia). Jews were living in Aberdeen by the late 19th century.[2] The Aberdeen Hebrew Congregation was founded in 1893, and initially worshipped in a flat on Marischal Street. In 1945 the congregation bought a house on Dee Street, and converted it into a synagogue and community centre. In 2016 Aberdeen Hebrew Congregation was reorganised and renamed as Aberdeen Synagogue and Jewish Community Centre.
According to the census, there are about 250 Jews in the Aberdeen area (city and shire). The community is mostly incomers who come to Aberdeen to work or study. The ASJCC tries to support all Jews in the Aberdeen area, regardless of which type of Judaism they follow.
There is a burial area for Jews in Grove Cemetery.[3]
There is also a Jewish Students Society in Aberdeen, which works closely with the ASJCC.
The community has not had a permanent full-time rabbi since the 1950s. Most services are led by lay members of the community, but rabbis do visit to lead services on major holidays and events. ASJCC's website has up-to-date details about services and events.