Ukraine: Zhovkva Historic Photos
(ISJM) Sergey Kravtsov of the Center for Jewish Art has sent these historic photos of the synagogue of Zhovkva. The two interior photos of the Aron-ha Kodesh wall provide a reminder of how richly sculpted and painted the interiors of the synagogue was - although much of the decoration including the musical instruments and the view of Jerusalem probably date to the late 19th or first decades of the 20th century. Such motifs were common - almost ubiquitous in Polish synagogues (and synagogues founded by Polish immigrants in America and elsewhere) of the time. The view of the Ark, however, shows it in all of its Baroque splendor.
The photo of the destruction of the synagogue raises the issue of exactly how and when the synagogue was destroyed. Was it set afire (as we see here) or was it blown up? Both fates are possible. Many synagogues went through multiple destructions during the German occupation. First they were pillaged and burned, and then later, when empty, if no other use was apparent, they were blown up. Many of the big masonry synagogues, however, were so strongly built, with walls often more than a meter thick, that even when exploded much of the original structure remained. Wooden synagogues, of course, were burned, and therefore we have few of those left.
There is disagreement over whether Germans or Ukrainians burned the Zhovkva synagogue. I don't know the details, but it is possible that some of the local population helped set the synagogue afire under the protection, and possibly the direction of the Germans, who are shown in this photo.
USA: Zodiac (Mazalos): Oct 19 Program on Kabbalistic Astrology in New York Synagogues by Samuel D. Gruber
(ISJM) On Sunday, October 19th (Chol Hamoed Succot) at 11:30 am, The Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy and The New York Landmarks Conservancy will present Mazalos: Kabbalistic Astrology in New York Synagogues. This unique presentation, taking place at the Orenstein Center, (15-17 Willet Street), explores Mazalos, a sacred Jewish art form featuring zodiac symbols. A panel of experts including scholar Miriam Aranoff, conservator Beth Edelstein and urban historian Elyssa Sampson will discuss the history and preservation of Mazalos, followed by an optional tour of the zodiac paintings on the Lower East Side. While few examples of Mazalos remain, two prime examples can be found on the sites of the Bialystoker Synagogue and Congregation B’nei Jacob & Anshei Brzezan, (a.k.a. The Stanton Street Shul).
The Zodiac has been one the most persistent motifs in Jewish art, and its use and meaning remain fascinating to scholars, worshipers and increasingly a lay audience. Jewish interest in the movement and meaning of the constellations (Mazalos) no doubt grew out of the highly developed Near Eastern and Egyptian discipline of astronomical observation and calendar calculations. Certainly for Jews, the constellations also were a constant reminder of the heavenly realm, of which they were an obviously active part. Most scholars find that the Jewish use of the Zodiac - that is the collection of symbols representing both specific constellations and months and seasons of the year- is meant in one way or another (no overall agreement on specifics) to invoke awareness, contemplation and even worship of God's realm, and how it in inextricably linked - controlling or controlled by - the tides of time. Such issues that combine the unknowables of infinite space and unending time early found their way into the core of mystical writing in many religions, including Judaism. By the Middle Ages this developed into a "Jewish astrology," linked to esoteric Kabbala and more mundane magical pursuits. The representation of the zodiac, or at least of zodiacal symbols, appeared in the mosaics of many ancient synagogues and in medieval manuscripts. At the very least, it appeared on synagogue ceilings in 18th-century Greater Poland, and in the 19th and early 20th century could be found from Romania (where splendid examples still survive) to immigrant synagogues in America and Canada. The motifs also appeared as wall paintings and in stained glass designs in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
To my knowledge no full list of such representations has even been collated, and many examples have been destroyed. But others remain and are attracting the attention of art historians and students of Jewish worship, folk beliefs and mysticism.
Examples of zodiac wall designs from the Bnai Moses Joseph Zavichost Zosmer Shul at 317 East 8th Street in New York Photos by Samuel D. Gruber (June 2001).
Of course, without documentation, it is difficult for us to know what was in the minds of those who proposed and those who painted these decorations. Probably, like most synagogue ornaments, they spoke to a diverse audience on different levels. Symbols especially could be seen as decoration, or as emblems of stories or specific passages from scripture. Taken together, the zodiac symbols could be read literally as a calender, reminding the viewer of the liturgical calendar, and the passage of the seasons throughout the year. But for others, deeper meanings could be found based Talmud, Nachmanides, and mystical writings.
This October 19 program aims to trace the history of this endangered 2,000 year old synagogue art tradition, which finds its roots in the floor mosaics of second to sixth century Roman synagogues in ancient Palestine, and which made its way to the Lower East Side via immigrants from Galicia (the former Austrian region on the borders of modern-day Poland and Ukraine).
WHEN: October 19, 2008 11:30 AM
WHERE: Orenstein Center- 15-17 Willett/Bialystoker Place.
Refreshments will be served in the Orenstein Succah
FEE: $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $8 students. A $2.00 discount is available with pre-registration For further information, contact LESJ Conservancy: (212) 374-4100 X 1,2 or 3 or e-mail at lesconservancy@aol.com
The Lower East Side Conservancy is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving, sharing and celebrating the Jewish Heritage of the Lower East Side. Private customized tours available by appointment.
Currently an intern in the Sacred Sites Program of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, Miriam Aranoff pursued Middle Eastern studies at Columbia University and wrote her Master’s thesis on Hammurabi’s Code from Ancient Mesopotamia. M Edelstein, Objects Conservator at The Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art., received her degree in Art Conservation from NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts. Urban historian, Lower East Side community activist and Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy tour leader Elyssa Sampson will discuss the significance of the mazalos and the way in which they made their way to the Lower East Side via Galicia.
On-Line Essay by Jenna Weissman Joselit on 19th-century Depiction of Ten Commandments is an important contribution (and an easy read)
I recommend a recent essay "History: The Symbol the Split the Synagogue," in the summer issue of Reform Judaism magazine by Princeton historian Jenna Weissman Joselit about the reception and dispute over the stained glass depiction of the Ten Commandments in the 1850 Gothic-style Congregation Anshi Chesed on Norfolk street in New York City.
Joselit's remembrance of this episode reminds us to consider the life of symbols - how their meaning can change, or be shaded, depending on time and place and expectations. This is especially true of the major Jewish symbols - Menorah, Magen David, Decalogue...and we see it happening in the contemporary world with the popularity of traditionally esoteric mystical and Kabbalistic amulet symbols (now ubiquitous as jewelry & tattoos), and the transference of traditional ritual objects (such as the mezuzah) into similar portable symbols.
Historically, debates over symbols have been most-often sparked by synagogue decorations. The stained glass dispute at Anshi Chesed is part of a continuum of debate that goes back at least to the responsa of Rabbis Elyakim ben Joseph of Mainz and Rabbi Isaac ben Moses of Vienna in the 13th century. In this century there have been all sorts of controversies over the inclusion of figural art, narrative art and modern abstract art into synagogues.
I'd like to hear from my readers of disputes over synagogue art that they are aware of (or perhaps have even participated in). But please, no need to repeat episodes already documented in Vivian Mann's essential Jewish Texts on the Visual Arts (Cambridge Univ Press, 2000).
My favorite reaction to novelty in stained glass decoration is the responsum - or at least the verbal retort - of Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise when asked whether figural memorial windows installed in the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation in 1899 were appropriate for a synagogue. According to memoir of Rabbi Morris Feuerlicht, Wise said "he could see no present danger of such a window tempting even the most indifferent of Reform Jews to idolatry." Wise dedicated the new synagogue in 1900, his last such act before his death.
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