Chapter Fifteen

Conclusions

Jewish art and architecture flourished in two distinctive periods: the Second Temple period and Late Antiquity. Differences between these two periods are significant, and are primarily political and social. During the Second Temple period, the Land of Israel was a Jewish state with its Temple in Jerusalem. The ruling classes, although Hellenized, retained parts of their faith and laws. The art of the period shows connections with the neighbouring Graeco-Roman culture. However, at the same time, Jewish art withstood foreign influences by evolving strictly aniconic features; it was charac- terized, together with the other arts of the period, by highly skilled indigenous stonework, by the predominant Oriental elements of endless patterns, horror vacui, plasticity of carving, and by sym- metrical stylization. The strictly aniconic and non-symbolic art characterizing the Second Temple period is the out- come of Judaism’s struggle against paganism and idolatry. By rigid observance of the prohibition against animate images, the Jews retained their own identity and distinctiveness. This quality of Second Temple period art completely disappears during the period of Late Antiq- uity, when art and architecture are influenced by political and social changes in the Land of Israel, most particularly the destruction of the Temple, the loss of independence, and the removal of the center of Jewish life to the Galilee. The prevailing architectural structure is now the synagogue, which replaces the Temple as the center of Jewish religious, national, and social life. In addition, the decline of paganism and the rise and expansion of Christianity causes a change in the Jewish attitude towards art: it now expresses its ornamentation and decorative architecture in figurative and symbolic ways. With the destruction of the Temple, a need for a concrete visual image becomes strongly felt. Thus, during this period the Temple implements take on a symbolic significance in synagogue and funerary art. The art of the period of Late Antiquity is an expression of Jewish local communal life, in contrast to the national spirit of the Second Temple period art. A continuity and connection may be traced between the art of the Second Temple period and that of Late Antiquity: The tradition of relief and sculptured architecture continues in Late Antiquity and to some extent follows the decorative style of Second Temple period art. The Second Temple period tradition of floral and geometric motifs, and especially the rosette, its most prominent motif, continues. This may have been due to traditional pattern books which were kept and handed down from generation to generation. Reminders of the Temple, its architecture, ritual, and ceremony, are present in the synagogue art of Late Antiquity. These include the menorah and ritual utensils, as well as the priestly courses list found on stone slabs in several synagogues. Symmetrical stylization, a tripartite division in the architectural ornamentation, and Oriental elements, are all basic features of the art of both periods. Distinguishing features of Jewish art, such as unidentical symmetry, are already present in the art of the Second Temple period but become more prevalent in Late Antiquity. The establishment of the synagogue, with its characteristic architecture and art, is the most impor- tant innovation in the Jewish world of Late Antiquity. The synagogue plan was determined by the prominent place assigned to the Torah Shrine on the Jerusalem-oriented wall, which then deter- mined the arrangement of the interior of the synagogue and its orientation. Synagogue ornamenta- tion was the choice of the local community, but surrounding cultural influences did have a strong 610 chapter fifteen attraction: for instance, the façade decoration of Galilean and Golan synagogues is influenced by the style and execution of the neighbouring Syrian-Hauran architecture. By comparison, the synagogue mosaic pavements express an established local art tradition which depicts the nave ornamentation in a programmed style, using certain iconographical themes for the panels. All these distinctive char- acteristic features of synagogue architecture and decoration in Late Antiquity helped Judaism to maintain its unique identity in a world of Christian expansion and the decline of paganism. Functional and architectural differences distinguish between the Second Temple period structures and the synagogues of Late Antiquity: The Second Temple period (pre-70 CE) synagogue building was utilized for Torah reading and as study and meeting places for the community. The later syna- gogue emphasized prayer and ceremonies, and its functions were liturgical and ritualistic. The focal point of the early synagogue was the center of the hall while that of the later synagogue was the Torah shrine built on the Jerusalem- oriented wall. In the early synagogues architectural decoration was simple. The later synagogues are richly ornamented both outside and inside, and the halls are often decorated with mosaic pavements. In the early structures, benches are constructed along all four walls facing the center, whereas in the later structures the benches face the Torah shrine. The Torah Shrine received its place of importance only in the later synagogue buildings, some time after the destruction of the Second Temple, when the synagogue took its place and became the official functioning religious institution. The major architectural feature of the synagogue, the Torah Shrine, was a permanent fixture in the synagogue building from its inception after the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple (Hachlili 2000: 161–163). Built usually on the Jerusalem-oriented wall, the Torah Shrine took the structural form of an aedicula, niche, or apse. All three types of repositories were constructed of stone, were elevated on bases and approached by steps. The Torah Shrine was the receptacle for the Ark of the Scrolls, which was probably made of wood. Typological differences in the Torah Shrines should be attributed either to local preferences, popular vogues, or historical development. Chronologically, the aedicula was the earliest type of Torah Shrine, having already been in exis- tence in the second century. It was the most popular type in Galilean and Golan synagogues, where it remained the most common form until the sixth century CE, probably owing to the conservatism of the congregations and local traditions. These synagogues underwent few changes in structure, design, or ornamentation during the centuries of use and consequently there was also no real change in the Torah Shrine. Niches as Torah Shrines have been found in synagogues throughout the Land of Israel and the Diaspora, but there may have been local and traditional influences at work as well. The semicircular niche appears already in the third century CE in the Dura Europos synagogue; in the Land of Israel it developed during the fourth century and was preferred in some locations, as is indicated by the two synagogues at Hammath Tiberias and another four, situated in close proximity, in south Judea (Eshtemoʿa, H. Maʿon, Susiya, and H. Rimmon). However, when the niche was created by blocking previously built entrances, its shape was rectangular. Scholars have explained the creation of the niche as a result of changing custom, the shrine having been given a permanent place inside the synagogue. New synagogues constructed in the sixth century CE show a significant architectural change: the addition of an apse as the Torah Shrine enclosure. The apse was a dominant architectural feature and an integral part of the construction of these synagogues; it was also a characteristic feature of churches in the Land of Israel and Syria, although the apses of synagogues and churches bore no resemblance to one another in either style or content. The bema placed in the front of the niche or apse probably served as a convenient position for reading the Torah, as it would have been in