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63-405: The Dura-Europos synagogue was an ancient Jewish former synagogue discovered in 1932 at Dura-Europos , Syria . The former synagogue contained a forecourt and house of assembly with painted walls depicting people and animals, and a Torah shrine in the western wall facing Jerusalem . It was built backing on to the city wall, which was important in its survival. The last phase of construction

126-497: A cow, which is the special sacrificial red heifer . A dorsal band decorates its body. The two animals just to the left of Aaron, a bull and a ram, are atonement sacrifices for Aaron to be made on Yom Kippur . The ceiling was believed to have been created between 244 CE and 245 CE; it was part of the retransformation from which the Dura-Europos synagogue derived. It was around 7m tall and had dimensions of 13.65m x 7.68m, like

189-421: A curved forepart. The most notable features of this era included domes and arches that contained geometrical polychrome designs. Many synagogue styles from the 16th to the 19th century can be seen across American and throughout Europe. However, after World War II , the ark design evolved into an art form. New experimental forms and materials were employed in the making of modern arks based on the unique interests of

252-641: A defensive measure. The city was abandoned after its fall and never resettled, and the lower walls of the rooms remained buried and largely intact until excavated. The short measure of time during which it was used ensured that it would have limited impact upon Jewish or Christian art. The excavations also discovered very important wall-paintings from places of worship of Christianity at the Dura-Europos church . In addition, there were wall paintings edifying Mithraism , and fragmentary Christian texts in Hebrew . In

315-401: A green dot in the middle of each. On the second and the fourth panels, the outer frame is decorated with red and pink bands, and alternating red dots and strokes against the white background, with bead-and-reel designs on the corners. On the corners of the strips, there are three-petal like strokes. Inside the frame, there are wavy green and dark green curvy lines of different thickness drawn from

378-557: A house of prayer. The Torah was brought into the synagogue for reading purposes. In synagogues outside of Jerusalem, the ark is placed in a chamber that is in a recess in the wall, facing Jerusalem , and worshipers face this direction when reciting prayers of the service such as the Amidah . The ark is often closed with a parochet ("curtain") placed either outside the doors of the Holy Ark ( Ashkenazi and Mizrachi custom) or inside

441-455: A mélange of oral narratives is that first synagogues in Kerala were not built until the medieval period. Various Kerala Jews and the scholars who have studied the community believe that the earliest synagogues in the region date to the early 11th century. According to a narrative, a Kerala Jew by the name of Joseph Rabban who accepted on behalf of his community copper plates granting the local Jews

504-402: A sea-goat; others are thought to represent Capricorn and Pisces. Another theme was the evil eye; an example is a tile featuring a double-lidded eye with a snake on either side. The same tile also had a scab, which was thought to be a scorpion, and three nails above the eye, with the inscription " IAO ". Several tiles, both inscribed and pictorials, had mystical and symbolic meanings. Even though it

567-629: A set of privileges by the Hindu King Bhaskara Ravi Varman was also given wood by his Highness for the erection of a synagogue around 1000. While no physical evidence of this and any other similar period building survives, study of the literature, Jewish folksongs, and narratives supports the notion that synagogues likely stood in Malabar Coast towns, places now within the modern-day State of Kerala, from this epoch. A portion of these medieval-period buildings perished when

630-537: A specific prototype. The tiles saved were mainly in Greek; the prototype was the tile painted black, with a black and red leafy wreath on it, where text was confined. One of the first tiles discovered, in Greek, reads "(Samuel [son] of Yedaya, elder of the Jews founded [the building])", naming Archisynagogue Samuel as the 'founder' in 245 AD. Often names were mentioned, and it suggested that they were donors or people involved in

693-467: Is debated, some scholars claim that the entirety of the ceiling symbolizes heaven and eternal immortality. However, some uncertainty remains due to the paint not being recognizable on the tile after sun exposure. A total of 234 tiles were discovered and brought back at the time of discovery. However, there may be more that were destroyed and different designs that had not been discovered.   The inscribed tiles were written in Greek or Aramaic and followed

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756-559: Is depicted standing just to the right of the door of the tent of meeting, denoted by the Greek alphabet inscription ΑΡΩΝ ("ARON"). He is dressed in contemporary Persian or Sassanid style, but with the same colors mentioned in the Book of Exodus: gold, blue, and purple. The Ephod worn by the high priest as described in the Bible is not shown. To the bottom left, there is a young priest leading

819-429: Is often compared to aerial mosaics, similar to coffered ceilings that supported the tiles, which were already discovered in western societies, such as Roman and Hellenistic cities. The original placement of the tiles, between 244 CE and 245 CE, has not been clearly stated, but each tile was around 0.37 to 0.42 m2 and about 0.045 m in depth. They were formed out of terracotta, which was heated, then decorated and plastered to

882-486: Is portrayed as the leader of the Israelites who are shown not as civilians or slaves, but as an armed military force. In this context, Moses' powerful stance and comparatively large size present him as the military leader of the Israelites. His long club-like rod or staff and bearded visage have been compared to a relief of Hercules from the 2nd-century Durene temple of Zeus , built during the 114 CE Roman occupation of

945-493: Is seen lowering his staff over the Red Sea, causing its parted waters to close and engulf the pursuing Egyptian army. Here he is facing to the right of the painting. And finally, Moses is seen looking to the left at his safely absconded Israelites, holding his staff at his side, pointed downward. The synagogue paintings' portrayal of Moses and the Israelites each contain influences from the concurrent Roman military culture. Moses

1008-477: Is the Delos Synagogue , a possibly Samaritan synagogue that dates from at 150 to 128 BC, or earlier, and is located on the island of Delos , Greece . However, it is uncertain if the building is actually a synagogue and that designation is generally considered untenable. The excavated Jericho synagogue has been cited as the oldest mainstream Jewish synagogue in the world, although identification of

1071-449: Is used to represent divine intervention or approval in several paintings. There have been scholarly debates questioning the wall paintings' influence over later Jewish and/or Christian iconography, which have been held due to the relevance of such early depictions of the biblical narrative. Depictions of Moses and the Book of Exodus occupy significant swathes of space in the paintings on

1134-919: The Aron Kodesh ( אָרוֹן קׄדֶש ) or aron ha-Kodesh ('holy ark') in Ashkenazi communities and as the Hekhal ('sanctuary') among Sefardi communities. The name Aron Kodesh is a reference to the Ark of the Covenant , which was stored in the Holy of Holies in the inner sanctuaries of both the ancient Tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem . Similarly, Hekhál ( הֵיכָל 'palace'; also written hechal , echal , heichal or Echal Kodesh —mainly among Balkan Sephardim)

1197-533: The Euphrates , Dura Europos very likely had a Jewish community from the 2 or 1 centuries AD. There is nevertheless no archaeological trace of a religious organization before the installation of the synagogue. The synagogue is a building belonging to the L7 block of Dura Europos: the city was organized according to a Hippodamian plan of regular rectangular blocks of 35–70 m (115–230 ft) since its development by

1260-530: The Jewish–Roman wars under Vespasian and Hadrian . The Jewish diaspora had an official representative in the Parthian and then Sasanian Empires , the exilarch , necessarily of Davidic descent. The towns of Sura and Nehardea were home to Talmudic academies whose fame can even exceed that of Palestine's, thanks to the respective influence of Abba Arika (Rav) and Rabbi Chila . Important caravan town on

1323-464: The Kotel which is considered as a synagogue itself, this custom also exists). Originally, the scrolls were placed in moveable containers that were risen up. The more permanent placement of the ark was designed as the tribes settled and built temples. As early as 245 C.E. in the synagogue of Dura-Europos a slit within the holy wall (or wall facing Jerusalem ) was created for the ark. In ancient times,

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1386-831: The Old Synagogue in Erfurt , Germany, which was built c.  1100 and the Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca in Toledo, Spain , which was built in 1190. However, neither has been used as a synagogue for centuries. The oldest active synagogue in Europe is the Old New Synagogue of Prague in the Czech Republic , built in the 1270s. The Ben Ezra Synagogue of Cairo is the longest-serving synagogue in

1449-537: The Seleucids , which archaeologists have arbitrarily numbered for more convenient reference. This islet L7 is located in the first north-south row, and the second east-west row north of the Decumanus Maximus : it is therefore bordered to the west by the street along the rampart, between the towers 19 and 20, and on the other sides respectively by streets A to the east, 2 to the south and 4 to the north. It

1512-572: The Syrian Civil War , the site was occupied by ISIL , and what was left of the synagogue and a number of other buildings there appear to have been destroyed, possibly in 2014. The presence of a Jewish community in Dura Europos long preceded the construction of the synagogue. The cities of Mesopotamia had flourishing Jewish communities, whose members descended both from exiles during the time of Nebuchadnezzar II and from refugees from

1575-651: The friezes from the Dura synagogue with those of the mithraeum , the Christian baptistery, and the temple of the Palmyrene gods. Scholars think the paintings were used as an instructional display to educate and teach the history and laws of the religion. Some think that this synagogue was painted in order to compete with the many other religions practiced in Dura-Europos; the new (and considerably smaller) Christian Dura-Europos church appears to have opened shortly before

1638-498: The 14th and 15th centuries, Spanish and German Jewish Hebrew texts depict a new design. These texts placed the scrolls inside the ark standing upright, decorated, and wrapped with the appropriate cloth and covers. A Sephardic synagogue based in Amsterdam (c.1675) contains a baroque style ark, which takes up the entire width of the central hub of the building. The Sephardic synagogue based as far north as London (c. 1701) adopted

1701-526: The Dura-Europos synagogue was active was not long as it was buried as part of the Roman defense against Sasanian troops in 256 A.D. The Dura-Europos Synagogue remains the earliest example of Jewish artwork available for study. It contains not only Hellenistic and Roman influences, but Sasanian as well. The layout of the paintings suggest that they were inspired by a copybook with examples and formulae. While there are similarities to other works of antiquity,

1764-633: The Kerala Jews had to leave them behind under the threat of persecution by the Moors and the Portuguese or as a result of natural disasters. The balance was rebuilt as a consequence of naturally occurring or intentionally set fires, modernization efforts, or assorted other variables. Other ancient post-70 AD synagogues are: Torah shrine The ark is also known as the ark of law , or in Hebrew

1827-528: The Tabernacle as a tent, but rather was inspired by Roman temples , and includes a cella , pediment and capitals of the Corinthian order . The local Jewish population did not mind illustrating the Tabernacle based on Roman civil architecture for unknown reasons. Coins showing similar structures were found in Dura-Europos, and the painter might have used them as models. In this particular work, Aaron

1890-699: The United States featured built-in arks in synagogues, such as the 1763 Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island , which was inspired by a trend of grandeur in architectural design. The United States Jewish community continued to favor the grand or classical design style until around 1840. In the mid-1800s the Moorish style synagogues influenced by the Oriental style became the latest fashion in synagogue design. The Oriental ark design included sliding doors and

1953-606: The Western Wall of the synagogue - of the 12 discrete paintings identified in the Hopkins schematic, 3 center on the narrative of Moses' life, with a total of 7 depictions of Moses across the western wall. Some paintings contain multiple representations of Moses within one distinct scene. The painting of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt features multiple Moses figures, much like the painting labeled WC4 . Between

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2016-504: The above ceiling. Imprints of brick and wooden beams were located on the ceiling tile at the time of the synagogue's build and made the tiles' placement clearer. The tiles are consistent with either pictorial images or inscriptions being displayed. There were about 20 different pictorial tiles that were repeated across the ceiling. They varied from sea animals, land animals, grains, and vegetation to faces and females. Often displayed are female faces, which have been counted to recur 23 times on

2079-560: The archivolt." The second one involves important religious scenes, objects and pictures of Jewish worship. The interior of the niche consists of three parts: the conch had a light-blue color that faded all at once after the excavation. The outer surface of the shell is a rich green color. The columns and the bottom of the niche are painted to look like marble revetments. The bottom of the niche consists of five rectangular panels that are framed on top and bottom by pink bands, and there are red vertical bands to separate them from each other. Out of

2142-487: The ark is open and the Torah is being moved to the reading table (or podium). However, there is no actual obligation (law) to remain standing when the ark is open, but it is a universally accepted custom. In addition to this custom is the custom to never turn ones back towards the ark even when leaving the sanctuary. Instead one must back out until they have left the vicinity of the ark, and only then can they turn their back (by

2205-642: The ark is the second holiest part of a synagogue after the Torah scrolls themselves. Customs call for the congregation when reciting key prayers (such as Avinu Malkeinu – "Our Father Our King", in many communities), to stand and face the ark, on fasting days, the Ten Days of Repentance between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur (also called the High Holidays), and for many piyyutim (poems, songs, etc.) recited during High Holy Day services. Many who partake in these customs consider it respectful to stand as long as

2268-424: The assembly hall. It was later found out that the previous synagogue was also decorated similarly, including tiles decorated with fruits, shapes, and flowers. However, the Dura-Europos synagogue's ceiling was made up of even smaller tiles than the previous ceiling; it occupied a larger space and had a wider variety of tile inscriptions. The synagogue's ceiling is made up of repeated tiles and inscriptions. The ceiling

2331-570: The building have decorative painting with no figures. Some of the paintings have figures whose eyes have been scratched out, especially those in Persian costume. Scholars cannot agree on the subjects of some scenes, because of damage, or the lack of comparative examples. The scenes depicted are drawn from the Hebrew Bible and include many narrative scenes, and some single figure "portraits"—58 scenes in total, probably representing about 60% of

2394-417: The ceiling and usually follow a particular pattern. The available prototypes are considered goddesses such as "Flora" or "Demeter-Persephone." Female faces were among the most popular pictorial tiles. Other popular pictorial types include vegetation, which consists of about 41 roses/flowers, a centaur, and pinecones, among others. Other tiles have a goat's head attached to a fishtail, which is often classified as

2457-474: The city. The mass of Israelites positioned to his left carry shields and spears. Their shields are layered and overlapped over one another to form a physical barrier, much like the Roman shield wall formations of the phalanx and the testudo . Behind the Israelite soldiers stand figures representing the twelve Elders of Israel, each holding a pole with a square banner or flag, resembling the Roman vexillum ,

2520-641: The cloth wrapped scrolls are believed to have been placed flat within a low wooden box. Historical records or discoveries point to a variety of exterior designs becoming popular within the Jewish culture of the time. Archeologists found early Torah arks within the Jewish catacombs in Rome decorated with Pompeian frescoes, paintings, and graffiti. Throughout Europe, in the Middle Ages , designs favored taller arks. In

2583-492: The creation, reconstruction, or decoration of the synagogue; it is not clear what their roles were, but their involvement is evident. Because of the paintings adorning the walls, the synagogue was at first mistaken for a Greek temple, though this was quickly corrected by the vice-director of excavations Robert du Mesnil du Buisson in Les peintures de la synagogue de Doura-Europos (Rome, 1939). Mesnil also made detailed comparisons of

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2646-757: The design as mainstream. In this period, most synagogues in Europe were designed with the reading table (or podium) in the center of the building. The ark was placed on the Eastern wall, so the congregation would be facing Jerusalem when praying. During the 18th century, German synagogues incorporated a baroque style design. Decorative features such as pilasters , columns, and vases became a standard practice. Wood and stone carvers in Eastern Europe began to employ unique local craft designs in synagogue architecture. Folk art and animals were popular design features added to arks created during this period. Early designs in

2709-485: The differences between each work bear too much difference in order for one to be considered influential. There have been attempts to link these works, but they have proven largely unsuccessful. The Leon Bible , as an example, which was written ca. 960, had in common with Dura-Europos the scene of the sacrifice of Isaac . However, the León Bible showed key differences. Their position in the León Bible shows them facing

2772-421: The doors of the ark ( Spanish and Portuguese and Moroccan or Sephardic custom). The parochet is an ornate cloth that resembles the same cloth that was once on the golden Ark. Both the aron kodesh and parochet are usually inscribed with verses from Judaic holy scripture . These inscriptions generally display the purity of the synagogue or the celebrated uniqueness of the scrolls placed within. Jewish law states

2835-494: The earliest Jewish presence in cities around the world. Some synagogues were destroyed and rebuilt several times on the same site. Others were converted into churches and mosques or used for other purposes. Evidence of synagogues from the 3rd century BC was discovered on Elephantine island . The findings consist of two synagogue dedication inscription stones and a reference to a synagogue in a papyrus letter dated to 218 BC. The oldest synagogue building uncovered by archaeologists

2898-529: The eleventh through the 13th centuries perished long ago as a consequence of natural disasters, enemy attacks, or the abandonment of buildings when congregations shifted. These extant synagogues, though altered over time, include not only the oldest found on the Indian subcontinent but in the British Commonwealth. The consensus among historians based on a compilation of limited recorded history and

2961-460: The first Moses's legs is an inscription in Aramaic reading, "Moses, when he went out from Egypt and cleft the sea." This inscription firmly identifies the murals as depicting the story of Moses leading the Israelites across the Red Sea from the Book of Exodus. First (on the right) Moses is seen raising a club-like staff and facing to the left, leading an army of Israelites behind him. Second, Moses

3024-447: The five panels, one and five are a pair and two and four are another pair: they are all designed by the same fashion. For the first and the fifth panel, the artists used black diagonal lines to divide triangular patterned designs. Opposing triangles on the top and the bottom of the panel has red stripes and are inscribed with peltae. Opposing triangles on the sides of the panels are decorated with brown-lined irregular concentric shapes, with

3087-414: The front face of the arch is particularly significant. The spandrels formed a rectangle that is 1.47m wide and 1.06m high, framed by a pink border that is 0.04m–0.05m wide. On the left side of the front face is a representation of a menorah, and on the right side was a depiction of the sacrifice of Isaac. Depicted in the central position was a columned building with an arched doorway. The paintings cover

3150-501: The military standards of the Roman army . Below the painting of Moses and the Israelites is a painting of a temple, portrayed explicitly as a contemporary Roman-style temple. The temple's pediment is low and is decorated with a rinceau design, often and originally found in Roman buildings. The temple also features Corinthian columns, characteristic of both earlier Hellenistic and contemporary Roman architecture . At either end of each of

3213-631: The original number. They include the Binding of Isaac and other Genesis stories, Moses receiving the Tablets of the Law , Moses leading the Hebrews out of Egypt , Moses at the burning bush , the visions of Ezekiel , a figure of Enoch or possibly Abraham , the water miracle in the desert , the return of Ark from the temple of Dagon , Ezra with the scrolls and many others. The Hand of God motif

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3276-452: The remains as a synagogue is not certain. It was built between 70 and 50 BC as part of a royal winter palace complex near Jericho . El Ghriba Synagogue in Djerba , Tunisia is said to have been built in 586 BC or 70 AD, which would make it the oldest synagogue still standing and in continuous use in the world. Two of the claimants to be the oldest synagogue structures still standing are

3339-594: The surviving paintings were begun in the synagogue. The large-scale pictorial art in the synagogue came as a surprise to scholars, although they already suspected that there was a tradition of Jewish narrative religious art at this period, which at the time of the discovery were thought to have all been lost, leaving only traces in later Christian art. The discovery of the synagogue helps to dispel narrow interpretations of Judaism's historical prohibition of visual images. The synagogue of Dura-Europos offers negligible influence on later Christian and Jewish artwork. The time that

3402-465: The synagogue ended up becoming the central nucleus and the most important building of a small Jewish quarter. The last state of the building, with its famous frescoes, is thus the second phase of the second synagogue to occupy the place. The decoration of the Torah shrine consists of two elements. The first one includes, "the uppermost step of the niche-block, the columns of the facade, and the intrados of

3465-522: The temple's two pediments are acroteria in the form of winged victory or Nike figures. Both the architectural ornament of the acroteria and the Nike symbol stem are characteristic of Hellenistic and contemporary Roman architecture. Located on the western wall of the synagogue, just left of the Torah niche , is a mural depicting the Tabernacle . The artist did not follow the biblical description of

3528-403: The top left and right corners of the panel towards the middle. The central panel of the niche consists of a veined black diamond with a yellow circle in the middle. The diamond is framed with the same bead-and-reel design that surrounded the second and the fourth panels. The four triangles that are on the side of the diamond are decorated in brown colors. The figural decoration above the niche on

3591-647: The viewer, whereas Dura Europos they are not. In the León Bible, the Hand of God bestows the benedictio latina , whereas in Dura-Europos it makes an appearance with no such manuscript. The Dura painting shows Abraham's hand free of Isaac 's hair, whereas in the León miniature, it is grasping it. Finally, in the Dura painting Abraham is using a knife as opposed to the sword he uses in the León Bible. Historic synagogues Historic synagogues include synagogues that date back to ancient times and synagogues that represent

3654-415: The walls of the main "Assembly Room", using three levels of pictures over a dado frieze of symbols in most places, reaching a height of about 7 metres. Stylistically they are provincial versions of contemporary Graeco-Roman style and technique; several different artists seem to have worked on them. Technically they are not fresco (paint fused into wet plaster) but tempera over plaster. Earlier parts of

3717-463: The world, having continuously served as one from 1025 AD until the mid 20th century. Owing to the expulsion of nearly all of Egypt's Jews to Israel , the building is no longer used as a synagogue, but instead has been renovated and preserved as a museum. The oldest of India's synagogue buildings can be found in the state of Kerala, where synagogue construction began during the medieval period. Whereas Kerala's first Jewish houses of prayer said to be from

3780-566: Was a small garrison and trading city on the river Euphrates , and usually on the frontier between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Parthian and finally the Sassanid Empires of Persia . It changed hands at various points but was Roman from 165 AD. Before the final Persian destruction of the town in 256–257 AD, parts of the synagogue which abutted the main city wall were apparently requisitioned and filled with sand as

3843-504: Was dated by an Aramaic inscription to 244 CE, making it one of the oldest synagogues in the world . It was unique among the many ancient synagogues that have emerged from archaeological excavations as the structure was preserved virtually intact, and it had extensive figurative wall-paintings, which came as a considerable surprise to scholars. These paintings are now displayed in the National Museum of Damascus . Dura-Europos

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3906-468: Was originally a residential block comprising up to ten separate units (designated by the letters A to I on the map below), one of which was dedicated to the needs of the Jewish community and transformed into a building of worship. This location on the outskirts of the city, as well as modesty of the first building, are often used as an argument to emphasize the small size of the community. With the expansions and reconstructions made necessary by its development,

3969-577: Was used in the same time period to refer to the inner sanctuary. The hekhal contained the Menorah , Altar of Incense and Table of the Showbread . In some ancient synagogues, such as the fifth-century synagogue in Susya , the Torah scroll was not placed inside the synagogue at all, but in a room adjacent to it, signifying that the sacredness of the synagogue does not come from the ark but from its being

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