Congregation Or VeShalom

A Sephardic Synagogue in Atlanta, Georgia, USA

•  About OVS

  • Or VeShalom, meaning “Light and Peace” in Hebrew, traces its genesis to the Edict of Expulsion promulgated by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella on March 31, 1492 - the same year as the discovery of America by Columbus. The Spanish monarchy, spurred on by the Catholic Church, decreed that all Jews must leave Spain within six months or convert to Catholicism, under pain of death.

    These exiles fled to the Ottoman Empire where they remained for over four centuries in cloistered communities, keeping alive their Spanish language and culture in the hope of someday returning to their ancient homeland of Spain.

    The beginning of this century found these exiles anxious to unshackle themselves from Moslem rule and they migrated to America by the tens of thousands. Some of them made their way to Atlanta and founded Or VeShalom in 1914. At that time there was a membership of 57 families. These Sephardic Jews emigrated with their families from the Isle of Rhodes and from Turkey. Today, we have an extremely diverse membership that traces its roots from the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, North and South America, and even Atlanta!

    The congregation’s first permanent Keilah was at Central and Woodward Avenues where it remained from 1920 to 1948. As a result of continued growth, in 1948 a larger building was acquired on North Highland Avenue. The current building on North Druid Hills Road, which has an award-winning design, was dedicated in 1971 and rededicated in August 1998, with the addition of the Rotunda and Victor D. Maslia Wing.

    Services are primarily Sephardic, yet its members reflect a varied and harmonious background of Sephardim and Ashkenazim.

    The Sanctuary At the front of the sanctuary is the Holy Ark where the Torah (scroll containing the Five Books of Moses) is kept. The Ark is on the eastern wall of all synagogues so that we face Jerusalem when we pray. Walls on either side of the Ark are a replica of the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Above the Ark is the ner tamid—eternal light. This light burns continually as a symbol of our unyielding faith.

    In the center of the sanctuary is the teva or bimah, a platform on which stands a table where the Torah is read. The silver art work around the bimah represents the seven minim, the main crops in Israel—wheat, barley, figs, grapes, pomegranates, olives and dates. A member of our synagogue, Victor Benatar, designed and executed the artwork on the bimah.

    The late Sol Beton, a member of our synagogue, designed all the stained glass you see. The windows on either side of the Ark depict the burning bush intertwining the Tree of Life. Together at the top of the panels, the bush and the tree form the Hebrew letters for the Almighty. The ceiling windows represent the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

    Plaques located along the walls of the sanctuary are memorials to deceased family members. Lights signify the anniversary of the deceased’s death or Meldado. Several times during the service, persons memorializing a deceased relative will stand and recite the Mourner’s Kaddish, a prayer declaring our commitment to G-d and to life.

    The Rotunda and Victor D. Maslia Wing The addition of the Rotunda and the Victor D. Maslia wing to our synagogue was dedicated in August 1998, in memory of Victor D. Maslia. This addition undertakes to respond architecturally to both the Sephardic expressions of culture and the traditional symbolism of the Jewish religion. The six smooth stone spheres at each corner of the Rotunda silently echo remembrance for the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust—each a wordless marker of the hollowness left by the horror of their loss. The floor of the Rotunda is Jerusalem Stone—marble quarried in Israel and shipped to Atlanta. On the outside of the Rotunda on the entablature is an inscription from our biblical teachings (Psalms 118, Verse 20): "This is the Gate to the Lord, Let the Righteous enter it."

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