Names of Synagogues in Poland: Onomastic Judaica Rooted in Cultural Memory גוּט טַק אִים בְּטַגְֿא שְ וַיר דִּיש מַחֲזֹור אִין בֵּיתֿ הַכְּנֶסֶתֿ טְרַגְֿא

Abstract:

The chapter focuses on popular, official and unofficial names of synagogues in Poland, considered to be a type of “onomastic Judaica”. By this type of “linguistic Judaica” we mean a set of anthroponyms, toponyms and chrematonyms directly related to Jewish culture, especially its religious dimension. Among the chrematonyms in this onomastic area, we find the names of synagogues, which can be qualified as proper names. Their main element is the term that identifies the object, i.e., synagoga [synagogue], or its synonym, such as bożnica / bóżnica, dom modlitwy [house of prayer], or adopted from Yiddish and Hebrew ( bet ha-) midrash, shul / shil, shtiebel, kloyz and others. The choice of the identificatory term was originally dependent on the fraction of Judaism. The distinguishing element in the names of synagogues is determined by location: a city, a village, a district (i.e., “Lesko synagogue”). The identificatory term can be accompanied by a modifier: great, small, old, new, etc. (i.e., “the Great Synagogue in Tykocin”). The name may also include a reference to the owner or a social group, such as a guild, an association, an institution (i.e., “the Chevrah Lomdei Mishnayot Synagogue in Oświęcim”). Finally, there may be references to other qualities or characteristics (i.e., “the Sand Synagogue in Białystok” or “the White Stork Synagogue in Wrocław”). Rooted in social and cultural memory, the names of synagogues shed light on the history of Jewish presence in Poland along with cultural and semiotic interfaces.