14—Friday, March 15, 1974
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Artistic Creat i v ity Traced in Digs of Ancient Synagogues
,
The unusual feature of the
communities thrived until the- seven-branch menora, the was a geniza or depository
Ein
Gedi discovery was an
for
religious
objects
and
shofar,
lulav
and
etrog
be-
about the time of the Cru-
saders. They were "lavishly came "crystalized" as Jewish worn;out books, and the syn- inscription in the mosaic in
agogue had two entrances. the floor. Half in Hebrew and
decorated with mosaics, symbols.)
carvings in stone with tall
The central section of the Above the door of one of half in Aramaic, the inscrip-
columns supporting decora- mosaic of the Hammat- them the expedition found the tion was a curse which read:
tive capitals (the top part of Tiberias synagogue repr e- largest carved menora ever' "Whosoever shall sow dis-
a column) under lofty cell-, sented the sun god, Helios recovered from an ancient cord between a man and his
fellows, or who denounces
ings." The names of wealthy riding his chariot among a site, Kellner wrote.
them
to the Gentile, or steals
The
'synagogue
at
Khirbet
contributors to the synagogue zodiac-circle of nude figures.
or the names of prominent Four female figures in the Susiya (Khirbet means ruin property, or whosoever shall
rabbis were inscribed in the corners depict the seasons of in Arabic) lies in an area reveal the secret of the
dominated by Arab herds: to the Gentile — m a y
stone or in mosaic form.
the year.
men. Established in the 4th whose eyes range over the
The
zodiac
became
a
theme
The expedition to Masada
Century,
it was finally aban- entire earth and sees the
uncovered a Herodian relic, in _Jewish art in talmudic doned about the 9th or 10th hidden, He shall set His face
believed to be •the earliest times. Not only was it sig- centuries. Later used as a against the person and his
existing Jewish house of wor- nificant of the 12 signs of mosque, the synagogue had seed and shall uproot him
ship. The synagogue was the constellations, but it came a large open fo re c our t from under the heavens. And
built during Herod's reign to symbolize the 12 tribes of through which one entered the entire people say: Amen,
with a second phase from the Israel. Kellner notes that the and mounted a monumental amen, Selah!"
time when the Zealots ruled earliest Jewish references to
the zodiac signs relate them
Masada.
to 12 organs of the human
A second synagogue was body.
discovered accidentally by a
The mosaic section nearest
Catholic priest and archeolo.
gist. Assigned to excavate -a the entrance of the synagogue
fortress built by Herod, the bears a Greek inscription
priest uncovered a great hall honoring the founders of the
divided lengthwise by two synagogue, flanked by. two
sets of columns. Only after lions. Severus, who heads - the
the Six-Day War were Jews list of founders, has been
allowed to enter the ruin and identified as a disciple of the
discover that this "triclin- presidents of the Sanhedrin.
The synagogue is now a
ium," as the priest called it,
was really an ancient syna- public monument.
Near Meron stands the
gogue. '
There was no. ark (A..ion newly-restored synagogue of
Hakodesh) or b i m a (plat- Khirbet She m a-. This 4th
form), but ritual baths (mik- Century synagogue has been
vot) were found at bath sites. rebuilt near the traditional
The synagogue at Khirbet Susiya built in the 4th Cen-
The flight of the Jews led tomb of Shammai, famous 1st
tury, had a large open forecourt and was later used as a to the rise of communities Century BCE rabbi and con-
mosque. Worshipers in the synagogue faced a wide wall all over Israel,. and by the temporary of Hillel.
Surrounded by Jewish corn-
oriented toward Jerusalem. The sanctuary had two bimas. 2nd Century the focus of
Archeologists are reconstructing the Khirbet Shema
Jewish history •became Ti- munity structures, the syna-
stitution in Jewish life, re- one must look outside the berias. Here at least 13 syn- gogue w a s discovered in synagogue, near Meron in the Galilee. It has a two-tiered
flects the changing conditions city.
1970. It is a basilica of the bima on the left which is oriented toward Jerusalem, and
In Beth Shean near the agogues existed.
of Jews and Judaism in dif-
"broadhouse" type in which is a basilica-type structure with eight columns.
Digs
on
the
west
shore
of
ferent geographical areas Iordan River, a synagogue Lake Kinneret have un- the entrance is in the narrow
and in successive time believed to be the first Jew- earthed the remains of six wall, and the bima is on the staircase to get into the
sanctuary.
ish community center was
periods.
synagogues at H a in m a t long side of the building fac-
For example, Kellner notes discovered. At first, arche-
ing
south
to
Jerusalem.
Unlike other synagogues of
Tiberias, one superimposed
that_ in the time of the Sec- ologists thought it was a typi- on the other, extending_ in
The dig at Khirbet Shema the period, the worshipers
ont Temple and in the early cal ancient synagogue with time from the 3rd through was an entirely American ex- faced a wide wall oriented
talmudic area there was a mosaic floor, : depicting a the 8th centuries. Housing pedition, sponsored by the toward Jerusalem. Another
"extreme rigidity in the in- menora surrounded by ani- what is believed to be the American School of Oriental. feature of the synagogue was
terpretation of the Law be- mals, flora and fruit. As the most beautiful synagogue in Research, and aimed at ex- that it had •two bimas. A
cause of the fear of idolatry" dig pro-ceded, however, other Israel, the building had a tending the. knowledge of recess behind one of them is
and thus there were no hu- rooms were found forming a basilica (church-like) layout talmudic archeology.
evidence of the site of a now
man or animal embellish- complex.
missing ark. Spread out be-
with
a
tripartite
mosaic
cov-
The archeologists on the fore the bima is a carpet-like
Remains of about 30 syn-
ments on the synagogues.
ering
the
floor.
dig
found
the
synagogue
had
However, with the waning of agogues, mostly fragmentary,
mosaic covering the entire
The upper section of the some unsual features. For floor of the sanctuary.
the fear of idolatry and the have turned up in the Golan
constant exposure to Hellenic. Heights. These synagogues mosaic near where the ark example, the synagogue had
In other excavations, such
culture, synagogues in the influenced neighboring Arab was placed is. a pictorial a basilica plan and two rows as at Eshtemoa, a hoard of
5th Century were adorned houses, for nearby remains representation of the Torah of four columns each were silver and jewelry in pottery
with depictionS of the sacri- of an Arab house revealed shrine, flanked by menorot found, with eight capitals, all vases was uncovered. At Ein
different. A frescoed chain-
fice of Isaac, Daniel in the that its entrance had a place and other Jewish symbols.
(Kellner notes that after the her, found under the rem- Gedi, a seven-branch menora
lion's den, David playing the for a mezuza, and above that
Segment of Kfar Nahum
and 5,000 coins in a syna-
lyre and: Noah and the ark. was the carving of a menora. second war against the Ro- nants of the gallery for wom- gogue cash box were un- (Capernum) 3rd Century
Other discoveries in the mans such symbols as pic- en, was believed to be a
However, a move toward
Synagogue.
conservatism regarding the Golan showed that Jewish tures of the Torah shrine, storage for Torahs. There earthed.
Archeological excavations
in Israel which unearth the
ruins • of ancient synagogues
help reconstruct the history
of Judaism and the changes
in Jewish creativity.
Sidney Kellner, a trained
art historian who recently re-
turned from an extensive
sabbatical study tour of
archeological digs in Israel,
reported his findings in a
special article for the Newark
Jewish News. He is a mem-
ber of the American School
of Oriental Research and of
the Israel Exploration So-
ciety.
According to Kellner, the
art and architecture of the
synagogue, as the central in-
use of the human form led
to a gradual withdrawal of
the human figure, and by
the 6th and 7th centuries ani-
mals remained for symbolic
effect.
Roman influence led to
geometric and floral mosaic
patterns on 'the floors of the
synagogues which can be
traced back to the 4th Cen-
tury.
Although a mandate by
King Solomon, made during
the dedication of the First
Temple; began the tradition
of pointing to Jerusalem as
a focal point for the religion,
archeologists have discovered
that to trace the early de-
velopment of the synagogue,
.
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The Masada Synagogue, built during the time of King
Herod, is believed to be the earliest Jewish house of wor-
ship. Built in two phases, the second part was added during
the Zealots' rule of Masada.
Mosaic floor of Beth Shean Synagogue depicts a
menora surrounded by animals, flora and fruit, The syna-
gogue is believed to be the site of the first Jewish com-
munity center.