Yom Kippur special: The world's most beautiful synagogues
Despite the
very modest demands of the Halacha for the design of Jewish houses of
prayer, extremely impressive buildings have been erected around the
world over the years. Here's just a peek into eight of these magnificent
synagogues.
Lilit Wagner
It is well known that
the Halacha, and rabbis' halachic rulings, dictate almost every aspect
of Jewish life. But when it comes to the synagogue, which is supposed to
be the center of Jewish activity in the community, there are no
halachic rulings dictating what it should look like and what are the
architectural rules it should be built according to. The only
instructions mention a platform in the middle and a Holy Ark facing the
Land of Israel.
The
Shulchan Aruch code of Jewish Law suggests having 12 windows partly
facing Jerusalem, with the sky reflected through them, so that the
worshippers can direct their hearts as they look at the sky. But apart
from these instructions, the synagogue may be round or triangular,
symmetric or asymmetric, as the architect pleases. It can also be made
of wood, stone, iron or clay, and as long as there are 10 men present
for a quorum - a proper prayer can take place.
spite the very modest demands, extremely impressive buildings have
been erected around the world over the years in places with thriving
Jewish communities, which sought to demonstrate their presence through
an impressive Jewish center, both in terms of its external architecture
and the ornaments, chandeliers and furniture within it.
Here are several examples of centuries-old buildings, which are still
considered some of the most beautiful synagogues in the world, and
still serve - even as the Jewish community around them dwindles - as
museums of the Jewish culture which used to thrive there.
The Grand Choral is the second largest synagogue in Europe. It was
built between 1880 and 1888 after Tsar Alexander II cancelled some of
the restrictions on Jews' residence in St. Petersburg and allowed Jews
who served in the army, academics, senior merchants and technicians to
live in the city and in other big cities.
Photo: Dennis Jarvis/ Flickr
The construction of the synagogue, which served the entire community
in the capital of Tsarist Russia, took eight years. Famous Russian
architect Vladimir Vasilievich Stasov supervised the design, which drew
its inspiration from Berlin's New Synagogue, Arabesque motifs and
Byzantine elements.
In 1999, Edmond Safra's family donated $5 million for the
synagogue's renovation, and it is considered today one of the city's
architectural pearls.
The Dohány Street Synagogue is the largest in Europe and the second
largest in the world, and can seat up to 3,000 worshippers. It was built
between 1854 and 1859 at the heart of a neighborhood in which Theodore
Herzl's house of birth stood.
Photo: Galit Kosovsky
The building is filled with Jewish symbols, mainly Stars of David
which appear both in the stones and on the vitrage windows. The roof is
topped by the Tables of the Covenant with the Ten Commandments engraved
on them. The Bible verse "Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I
will dwell among them" (Exodus 25:8) appears at the front of the
building facing the main street.
Upon the rise of Nazism, anti-Semitism in Hungary grew, and
during World War II the synagogue was used as a stable and as the German
army's radio communication base.
The Jewish community in Hungary has grown significantly smaller
over the years, due to the immigration to Israel and the assimilation
process, but the Great Synagogue of Budapest remains one of the most
famous tourist attractions in the city. It is part of a complex which
includes a museum on the history of the city's Jews, a Jewish cemetery
and a memorial site for the 564,500 Hungarian Jews who were murdered in
the Holocaust.
The Neue
Synagoge was built between 1859 and 1866 as the Jewish community's
center of religious life and culture in Berlin. Because of the Arab
elements in its design, and its resemblance to the Alahambra Palace in
Granada, Spain, it was considered one of the most important buildings in
Berlin in the second half of the 19th century.
Photo: AP
The original building - with its golden dome and the main hall
which seated up to 3,000 people - was torched during the Kristallnacht
pogrom in 1938, although it was not completely burned. It sustained a
lot of damage in the Allies' bombings during World War II and was
demolished in 1958.
The synagogue's reconstruction work began only after the Berlin
Wall was torn down, and in May 1995 it resumed its role as a Jewish
cultural center, although it did not restore the glory of the 19th
century.
The synagogue in Bulgaria's capital is the third largest synagogue in
Europe. It is 31 meters high and can seat 1,300 worshippers in its main
prayer hall. It was opened for Bulgaria's Sephardic community in a
festive ceremony in September 1909, in the presence of Tsar Ferdinand I
of Bulgaria, after nine years of construction.
Photo: Rachel Titiriga/ Flickr
The architectural style is Moorish with Arab elements, inspired
by the Leopoldstädter Tempel in Vienna. The interior features many
columns of Carrara marble, Venetian mosaics and a chandelier in the
middle of the hall, which weighs 1.7 tons and is considered the biggest
in the Balkans. The rumor said that the gold covering the chandelier
came from the biblical Land of Israel.
Today the synagogue houses the Jewish Museum of History, which
includes the Jewish communities in Bulgaria before and after the
Holocaust.
This was the first synagogue built in the United States by Jews from
Eastern Europe. The building was designed by brothers Peter and Francis
William Herter. When it opened in New York's Lower East Side in 1887,
the media would stop praising its beauty, the high ceiling, the
stained-glass rose windows, the magnificent copper designs and the
handmade wall paintings.
Photo: Librarygroove/ Flickr
For 50 years, the place served as a meeting point for the new
immigrants arriving at the new world. There, they received a hot meal,
information on odd jobs, apartments or any other need raised by the
community. Over time, the community dwindled and the place was deserted
by the end of the 20th century.
In 1996, the Eldridge Street Synagogue was designated a National
Historic Landmark, and in December 2007, after 20 years of renovation
that cost $20 million, it reopened to the public.
At
the end of the 19th century, during the reconstruction of Prague's
Jewish Quarter, the "Society for the Construction of a New Temple"
purchased an old house on Jerusalem Street as a site for a new synagogue
that would serve the community. The construction work began in 1905,
and the synagogue was dedicated during the holiday of Simchat Torah in
1906.
It was designed in Moorish Revival form with Art Nouveau
decoration. The entrance features a large Muslim arch and a large window
with a Star of David at its center. The Bible verse "This is the
gateway to the Lord – the righteous shall enter through it" (Psalm
118:20) appears above the arch. The main hall has seven arches on
pillars supporting the building, and the women's gallery features
vitrage windows and many copper chandeliers.
During World War II, the building was used as a storeroom, and as a
result it did not sustain too much damage. In 2003, a parchment scroll
was found in the synagogue, signed by the people involved in its
construction with the following text: "May this temple survive many
centuries and testify, even in the distant future, to the devout souls
of its founders. May it fully serve its purpose for all time: to bring
together worshippers in a place where they can uplift their souls to the
Creator. May the Lord give! Done in Prague, on the 16th of September of
1906."
The synagogue still serves Prague's Jewish community and
features a permanent exhibit which surveys the history of the Czech
Jewry in the years after World War II.
The Jakab and Komor Square Synagogue in Subotica was built in 1902
during the administration of the Kingdom of Hungary (part of
Austria-Hungary). Hungarian architects Marcell Komor and Dezső Jakab
were responsible for the design, and it is considered to this very day
one of the finest surviving pieces of religious architecture in the art
nouveau style, with its concrete and steel construction, mixed with
ornaments from the popular Hungarian culture.
Photo: Klovovir/ Flickr
Its main dome is surrounded by smaller domes on four corners, and the
interior design features golden wall decorations, wall paintings and
stained-glass windows.
During the synagogue's construction, Subotica had a thriving Jewish
community of some 3,000 members, which was almost completely annihilated
during World War II. But although there are not enough worshippers left
in the area, the building itself remains intact and has preserved its
important role in the city's history. When there was no Jewish community
left in the area, the building was used by the Subotica National
Theater.
Since the destruction of the Jewish neighborhood in Florence in 1848,
the community members had sought to build a central synagogue which
would serve all of the city's Jews. But the plans were only realized 30
years later, thank to a large donation from the president's community,
David Levi, who left his estate and property for the construction of a
synagogue which would be "worthy of Florence's beauty."
Photo: Harshlight/ Flickr
The synagogue was built in a style which was particularly
popular those days, a combination of Moorish and Byzantine architecture.
The synagogue's roof has a central dome raised on pendentives is
reminiscent of the Hagia Sophia. The corner towers are topped with
horseshoe-arched towers themselves topped with onion domes in the
Moorish Revival style.
The synagogue is lit by 16 windows from above, and additional
light comes from large windows on the eastern side of the building. The
eastern part of the roof features half a dome which symbolizes the
direction of the prayer.
The
synagogue is located at the center of a public garden with exotic
plants, and a magnificent Moorish style gate, creating an atmosphere of
oriental splendor. The garden includes memorial stones, including one
featuring the names of the Jews of Florence who were murdered in the
Holocaust, a monument for the Jews of Florence who were killed during
World War I while serving in the Italian army, and a memorial for three
Florence Jews who were killed in Israel while fighting the War of
Independence. Arie Avisar, who did a lot to restore the community after
World War II, received his own monument.
The history of Florence's Jewish community is commemorated in an
exhibition at the museum on the synagogue's first floor. The exhibition
is divided into two parts: One features the history of Florence's Jews,
and the other presents different items used for holy ceremonies and
holidays.
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