Modern Synagogues (original) (raw)
Synagogue Typology in the 19th Century
Synagogues represent the longest surviving sacred building type of the Western Hemisphere with a two and a half thousand year old history. However, architecturally this continuity is more fragmented than the relatively shorter history of churches or mosques as Jewish people migrated frequently and Judaism was almost indifferent to the realm of the visual. Still, some types did develop in places of longer Jewish sojourn—antique and Byzantine synagogue types in Eretz Israel, Iberian synagogues until expulsion in 1492, Ashkenazi types in the Rhineland and Central Europe until medieval eviction and the Eastern-Central European, Polish-Lithuanian-Moravian types until modernity. Modernity, the last period of western (Christian) culture, no longer blatantly contradicted Jewish tradition as was the case in previous epochs and some cultural convergence had taken place. This and Jewish emancipation contributed to the dissolution of the last surviving tradition of Central-Eastern and East European synagogue architecture. Traditional types were replaced in the 19th century by new ones in which link between architectural style, composition of volumes, space conception, structure, decoration and many other facets of architecture were deconstructed. This paper tries to establish a system in this apparently free picking of architectural elements.
Exceptionally Jewish: Israeli Synagogue Architecture in the 1960s and 1970s
This article examines three exceptional synagogues designed in Israel in the 1960s and 1970s. It aims to explore the tension between these iconic structures and the artworks integrated into them. The investigation of each case study is comprised of a survey of the architecture and interior design, and of ceremonial objects and Jewish art pieces. Against the backdrop of contemporary international trends, the article distinguishes between adopted styles and genuine (i.e., originally conceived) design processes. The case studies reveal a shared tendency to abstract religious symbolism while formulating a new Jewish-national visual canon.
A New Orthodox Synagogue in Manhattan: Decision-Making and Design
Arts
The Lincoln Square Synagogue, the largest Orthodox synagogue built in Manhattan during the last half century, was established in 1964 but moved in 2013 to a new building nearby, designed after the firm of CetraRuddy Architects, won a design competition. The present article is based on interviews with building committee members, the rabbi, and the architects as well as on press accounts and a book about the congregation’s history. The article recounts the process of designing the building, assesses the successful results, and provides future building committee members with ideas, caveats, and evaluations of design procedures.
The Architectural Origins of the Great Early Modern Urban Synagogue
Leo Baeck InstituteYear Book, 2011
Throughout the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, synagogues across Christian Europe were generally small and, as far as their exteriors were concerned, they adhered to prevailing norms of vernacular architecture, so as to be ‘‘invisible’’ or at least unrecognizable as houses of worship.1 This was not just a defensive measure by Jews in order to avoid unwanted attention but was also a result of the restrictions placed upon the Jewish populace by the government which required that they be inconspicuous. Synagogues are important artifacts of Jewish material culture. Their size renders them immovable and they represent a substantial investment in resources.This either requires a communal investment or a significant sum from a benevolent benefactor. Like any form of art, a statement is made through the production, visibility, and maintenance of synagogue architecture. Therefore a ‘‘great synagogue’’ constitutes a much larger, more pronounced statement. The cultural meaning of a great synagogue can be echoed, and thus reinforced, when aspects of its architectural design are duplicated elsewhere.
Italian Synagogues from 1492 to the Present
Fine, Steven, ed. Jewish Religious Architecture: From Biblical Israel to Modern Judaism (Leiden: Brill), 275-286., 2019
Discusses major trends in the development of the design of synagogues in Italy.
The Modern Israeli Synagogue as an Experiment in Jewish Tradition
Israel as a Modern Architectural Experimental Lab, 1948–1978. , 2019
The present chapter analyses the exceptional designs of three synagogues built during Israel’s first three decades of statehood. In the reviewed period, Israeli architecture was devoted to the building of a nation and the forging of a new Jewish and Israeli identity. The architecture of several synagogues built in that period is characterized by exceptional expressive features. Such are the synagogues reviewed in this chapter: the Central Synagogue in Nazareth Illit, designed by architect Nahum Zolotov (1960–1968); the Military Officers’ School Synagogue in Mitzpe Ramon, designed by architects Alfred Neumann and Zvi Hecker (1967–1969); and the Heichal Yehuda Synagogue in Tel Aviv, designed by architect Yitzhak Toledano and structural engineer Aharon Rousso (1972–1980). Architectural historian Amiram Harlap describes these synagogues in his book, where he portrays them as expressing Jewish symbols and ideas. I maintain that Harlap’s interpretation contributed to these buildings’ later reception as canonical Israeli synagogues. The present research investigates the tension between the synagogues’ designs and their interpretations. My argument is that this tension represents the consolidation process of Jewish national identity in Israel’s formative years.
2019 Early Modern Synagogues in Central and Eastern Europe
Jewish Religious Architecture: From Biblical Israel to Modern Judaism, 2019
Original essay on synagogue architecture with insights into social and intellectual history, visual symbolism, folklore and local customs; includes section on alternative prayer spaces in Hasidism. A Leiden-Boston: Brill publication, edited by Steven Fine.
Women Design Synagogues: Gender Insights into the History of Modern Israeli Synagogue Architecture
Israel Studies, 2023
Women have been active as architects in Israel since 1921, designing projects of varied types and scales, including synagogues. The first woman to design a modern synagogue in the country was Judith Segall Stolzer, who in 1935, won a prestigious competition for Hadera’s central synagogue. A few decades later Genia Averbuch designed three synagogues in a remarkably innovative modern style. These female architects were noteworthy partners in the endeavor to develop a local style in the design of synagogues. This article engages with four synagogues designed by two of the country’s first female architects and explores their symbolic style against the built environment of the day. It examines the architectural planning process – references, concepts, and ideas – as well as the unusual commissioning of women as architects for these projects, with an emphasis on their contribution to Israeli culture, the development of a local style in modern architecture, and synagogue design.
The Modern Synagogue Architecture between Ethos and Eidos
Construction of a synagogue is an ethical act facilitating the covenant between the People of Israel and the Almighty, about which the Talmud says: "Look how dear Israel is to the Holy One Blessed Be He-to whatever place they have been exiled, the Divine Presence is with them." And inevitably, the ethical imperative of constructing a "little sanctuary" in the Diaspora results in a physical, visible form. Thus emerges a representation, an eidos, discussible in the context of other built objects and their meanings coined in architectural, and not necessarily Jewish, terms. The relationship between ethos and eidos, created either simultaneously with a synagogue or throughout the time spans when its meaning was considered, is the subject of the present paper. This is not a proper place to discuss in depth the categories of ethos (plural ethe) and eidos. Instead, we will point out such examples as the ethos of Isaac, the blessed settler in Beersheba; the Davidic ethos of the city patron; the ethos of Solomon, founder of the Temple, and that of Esther, the savior of the Jewish people in captivity. An exemplary eidos is the Temple of Solomon with its many imagined and reconstructed features; other examples include historical patterns of synagogue architecture, like the nine-bay layout, the tripartite ground plan, the T-shaped footprint, or the nineteenth-century Moresque garment.
Delivered at “Synagogue Wall Paintings: Research, Preservation, Presentation,” International Workshop, The Center for Jewish Art, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, September 13–14, 2016
Moorish Revival Synagogue Architecture: Community and Style, Past and Present
2020
The Moorish architectural style, originating in medieval Spain, was revived in the mid-nineteenth century. It became strongly linked with synagogues, first in Germany and then throughout the Western world. My research analyzes why the architects and Jewish communities were so attracted to the Moorish Revival style. During this period, European Jewish communities were tasked with constructing synagogues that could showcase their newfound freedoms as well as their history, culture and aspirations. Many argue that this style was chosen to demonstrate the connection between the communities and their ancient Middle Eastern history.
Tehran synagogues: the socio-cultural topographies and architectural typologies
JOURNAL OF MODERN JEWISH STUDIES, 2021
A look at the past shows that Jews lived more or less in several neighbourhoods in Iran, where along with adhering to the communal life, their synagogues and religious sites existed. At the beginning of the Jewish settlement in the Oudlajan neighbourhood in Tehran, due to their growing population, there were about twelve synagogues belonging to the families and immigrants of particular cities and used for daily prayers. After the Islamic Revolution, the immigration of Iranian Jews from central parts to the north of Tehran and migration from Iran to other countries increased remarkably. At present, there are more than ten synagogues, hospitals, libraries, restaurants, etc., in Jewish neighbourhoods in central Tehran, which were formed in the modern and early-modern times. This study aims to investigate the typology of the synagogues of Tehran and their relationships with the surroundings. Data collection was based on personal interviews conducted with various groups and communities related to synagogues and visual documentation. Besides, I have carried out field research and several surveys using questionnaires that I distributed amongst the community and academics. This paper tries to identify the status of synagogues in various cities of Iran, especially Tehran.