6 March 2021

A Gallery of European Synagogues Throughout the Centuries


Tel Aviv’s Museum of the Jewish People (Beit Hatfutsot) recently commissioned Arik Boas Animation to create a series of snapshots of life in and around European synagogues throughout the centuries.

It is part of its new exhibition - Hallelujah! Assemble, Pray, Study – Synagogues Past and Present. The result is something rather special. We start with the Ashkenazi Synagogue of Venice, in the 16th century. Religious instruction for children takes place inside, alongside a wedding ceremony in the piazza.


It’s time to fast-forward to Amsterdam in the seventeenth century.  We witness the city’s Portuguese Synagogue, passing through Torah study in the back room, into a spirited community discussion at the main hall.


Next, this gallery piece shows the Vilnius Great Synagogue Courtyard (Schulhof) in the nineteenth century, with the rabbinical court ending a pillory punishment and a soup kitchen‫.‬


Finally we arrive at a cantorial concert taking place in The Great Synagogue (Tlomackie) in the Polish capital Warsaw in the early twentieth century.  I don’t know if there are more pieces in this wonderful collection but will add them if and when I discover there are.  This last animation is I think my favorite with its fiddler completely off the roof.

Did you spot the time-traveling cat which made an appearance in each of the animations? No?  Perhaps you had better check through them again!


Allow the use of cookies in this browser?

Kuriositas uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyse traffic. Learn more about cookies and how they are used.
Allow cookies Cookies settings