Today
Small but many-voiced — Jewish life in Finland today
Judaism in Finland has undergone significant changes. Only a few decades ago the community was predominantly Ashkenazi, but today it is diverse in its backgrounds, its religious orientations and its ways of living Jewish life. Three Jewish communities operate in the country: two historical, traditionally Orthodox communities — the Jewish Communities of Helsinki and Turku — as well as the progressive community Or Hatzafon Finland. Alongside these, the Finnish branch of Chabad Lubavitch is also active.
Today an estimated 3,000 Jews live in Finland, most of them in Helsinki and a smaller number in Turku. Not all of them, however, belong to the communities: their combined membership remains below 1,300.
Decades of growing diversity
The growth in diversity has taken place gradually: over the decades, immigration, mixed marriages and conversions have brought with them new voices, backgrounds and ways of living Jewish life. The change is still ongoing.
The country's first female rabbi was ordained in 2023. Women have been in the leadership of the communities for longer still: the Turku community was led by a female chair from 1979 to 2012, and the Jewish Community of Helsinki elected its first female chair in 2025. These developments reflect the living and changing nature of the community.
A living minority
The Jewish Community of Helsinki has its own school, a day-care centre and a lively associational life. Numerous organisations operate within it — among them the burial society Chevra Kadisha, as well as women's, youth, and sports organisations.
The community is also internally diverse: alongside its Ashkenazi foundation, it also includes members of Sephardi and Mizrahi background as well as a considerable number of converts to Judaism. The Jewish Community of Turku remains active and has likewise gained new members through both immigration and conversions.
Or Hatzafon Finland is the newest and smallest of Finland's three Jewish communities and the country's only progressive community. Its roots reach back to 2018, and it gained official community status in August 2022. Its Hebrew name means northern light, and the community is a sister community of Shir Hatzafon in Copenhagen. It brings together some sixty people of very different backgrounds, and the community emphasises openness and equality. Or Hatzafon gathers regularly: every couple of weeks the kabbalat shabbat service that begins Shabbat is held together with a shared Shabbat dinner, and Jewish festivals are celebrated together. The community also meets around many kinds of social and educational events and organises conversion courses.
Challenges and continuity
The small community also faces challenges. Concern for security and rising antisemitism have cast shadows over everyday life, and maintaining continuity requires work from one generation to the next. Yet Finnish-Jewish life is not a museum piece but a living present: prayers are said in the synagogue, pupils learn in school, festive tables are laid and traditions are passed on.
Part of the Finnish mosaic
Over the course of a good two hundred years, Jews have become an integral part of the Finnish mosaic — a minority that is at once deeply Finnish and proudly itself. Its history is a reminder that Finnishness has always been more multifasceted than any single story would suggest — and that even a small community can leave a great mark.
A living present
