Synagogue

Throughout the long and tortuous history of the Jews, the synagogue has been a constant presence and a source of spiritual strength. Playing a symbolic as well as a practical role, it has acted as the focus for the faith of countless Jewish communities all over the world. The significance placed on the synagogue, with its rituals and traditions, emphasises the fact that Judaism is not simply a religion, but a way of life. In this book Harold Meek gradually unfolds the story of the synagogue from its origins in Solomon's Temple to its exuberant Baroque phase in Venice and thence to the classic simplicity of the modern building. Over the course of several millennia, the style of the synagogue has grown and developed, drawing in a vast array of cultural and artistic influences to produce a rich and coherent heritage. A heritage that is always aware of its biblical antecedents and still strongly based on God's commandments to Moses to construct a Tabernacle in the desert. Highly illustrated, with much specially commissioned photography from around the world, this book provides a detailed and comprehensive picture of the synagogue and its decoration. Numerous metropolitan and provincial synagogues, from the flamboyantly Moorish to the sparsely contemporary, are represented as a monument to the art and architecture of Judaism.