The different design styles of the synagogues teach us about the effects of the environment and the nature of community life in the places where they were placed at the time. The synagogue from the town of Vittorio Veneto in northern Italy, built in 1700, was designed in a typical Italian Baroque style reminiscent of a guest room in the palace of a noblewoman. Unlike it, the Kadavumbagam Synagogue from Cochin in southern India, from the 16th century, is a wood-carved structure whose spectacular ceiling is decorated with motifs similar to those seen in mosques and Hindu temples.
The synagogue from Horb, in southern Germany, was built in the first half of the 18th century. Its walls and ceiling are wood-paneled and decorated with paintings and inscriptions by a well-known artist. This synagogue is a rare relic of an artistic tradition, typical to the wooden synagogues in the rural areas of Poland and Germany.
Tzedek ve-Shalom Synagogue, built in the 18th century in Suriname, South America, tells the story of Sephardic-Portuguese Jews who came from Europe to the"New World." In addition to the synagogues, you may witness the impressive decorations for Torah scrolls, including mantels, cases, markers, and rimonim, as well as parochets belonging to many communities around the world, from Morocco to Poland, from Afghanistan to the Netherlands. All of these together invite the visitor to join a historical and geographical journey that reveals diverse traditions and influences.
