This column is republished with permission from J – The Jewish News of Northern California. It was published on Jan. 15, 2026. Read the original article.
In the early morning hours of Shabbat on May 21, 1754, the Jewish community of Prague experienced one of its worst nightmares: A fire broke out in the Jewish Quarter. The blaze was immense, and with only bucket brigades available to combat the flames, the destruction was catastrophic. By the time the fire was finally extinguished, 190 homes and six synagogues had been reduced to ash.
The Jewish community was particularly devastated by the destruction of sacred ritual objects. A poem composed in the aftermath, preserved in a communal memorial volume, laments the loss of parochet (decorative, often highly embellished, curtains that hang in front of the ark), me’ilim (Torah scroll covers) and menorahs, comparing the destruction in Prague to the fall of the Jerusalem Temple itself…