Jewish History

Jewish History

The word synagogue, which is the common name of the place of Jewish worship, is a Greek word whose historical origin is unclear. It is attested in the Greek translation of the Bible (LXX) and writings of Flavius ??Josephus, where he first designates "the congregation" (kenesset) then became the specific name of the house where the meeting is meet for prayer (beth ha-kenesset). In the ancient sanctuary, the space devoted to the god - she was raised by a symbol or a statue - was accessible only to priests and officiants. The Temple of Jerusalem, the spiritual center of Judaism and worship until its destruction in 70 AD, also belonged to this type of sanctuary, with the only difference that the sacred space there remained empty, the vacuum being the only adequate expression the transcendental God of the Jewish religion

The origin of the synagogue, that is to say, a gathering of believers separated from the ancient ritual of the altar of the temple, dating back perhaps to the prophets and their followers but the synagogue as an institution characteristic of Judaism was born with the work of Ezra. She has since become so important that "the synagogue" comes figuratively to designate the system of Judaism, as opposed to "the Church".

Synagogues usually have a sanctuary, that is to say a big hall of prayer, which are contained in the books of the Torah. They may also include a room for community events. However, they contain mostly small rooms for study, even a Beit Midrash (house of study "): that, although originally intended for worship, the synagogue is in the Jewish history the location of the Talmud Torah , that is to say, the teaching of tradition and the Hebrew language, whether for children or adults. The preponderance of this role is as Philo of Alexandria, then the Jews of Venice and those countries Ashkenazi speaking Yiddish designating the synagogues named "didaskaleia", "scuola" that is to say" school This name is used to denote the synagogues informally, especially in the Ashkenazi community

Moorish style - a retrospective trend in the eclectic architecture of IInd half of XIX century and the IST half of the XX century, is a rethinking and simulations of architectural techniques of Spanish, Portuguese, Moorish and Islamic medieval architecture, in particular - Mudejar.

It is based on the synthesis of artistic traditions of the Visigoths, Berbers and other peoples that were part of the Arab caliphate. For religious and secular buildings of Moorish style is abundant in the lancet, horseshoe and scalloped arches, domes, friezes, cornices and wall carvings. Columns are faced glazed and ceramic tiles. Used mosaic, colorful stained glass and jewelry made ??of colored marble, usually used ornament.

The appearance of a spent era of romanticism in fashion Moorish exoticism associated with the search architectural style that could compete with bored forms of classical and Gothic. Publication of Washington Irving's "Alhambra," spurred the interest of Europeans and Americans to medieval Spain and neighboring Muslim ...