Tag #121773 - Interview #79524 (Beno Ruso)

There were 7 synagogues in Bitola before WWII. They included: El Kal de la Havra Kadisha; El Kal de haham Jichak Levi (this was a beautiful temple next to the donor’s house); El Kal de Shlomo Levi (this was in the donor’s house, it didn’t survive the war); El Kal de Jahiel Levi (in a space dedicated for this purpose); El Kal de Ozer Dalim (in a special building donated by the Aruti family, this one fell to ruins in 1950); a temple for the youth in a school building and a temple in the Los Kurtizos neighborhood. Sources: Zeni Lebl and Mark Cohen]. Since he was a powerful rich man he had a special seat right next to the altar [bimah]. I remember when I used to come I knew exactly where he sat. He was one of the people right next to the altar.