This section is dedicated to the images of the old synagogues. In Hebrew, the synagogue is called beit kneset – what literally means an assembly house. After the destruction of Jerusalem Temple synagogues became the main centers of religious and social life for the Jewish communities. In the 19th - early 20th centuries in the Ukrainian territories, which were part of the Jewish Pale of Settlement, a huge number of synagogues were built - both magnificent, beautifully designed and more simple, provincial ones.
In the showcase 1.08 it is placed a model of one of the most famous and oldest synagogues in Ukraine – Ostroh synagogue. The first references about one date back to the early 17th century. It is an original Baroque architectural memo. This synagogue was the cultural and educational center of the Jewish community of Volyn (Northern West of Ukraine) in the 17th - early 20th centuries. In addition to worship, general meetings of the Jewish community (Kahal) were held in its premises, children were trained, future rabbis were being prepared, and courts were being held. The peculiarity of the synagogue building was its defensive purpose. The thickness of the walls of the building was 2.5 m - about the same as the defensive walls that surrounded Ostrog. In Soviet times, the building of the synagogue was converted into a warehouse. During the Second World War, this construction has been badly damaged. Now it is destroyed by time and abandoned. And our model was created according to sketches of the early 20th century.
In the middle of the hall you can see the full-size model of the central element of the synagogue hall - Bimah. Bimah is a wooden structure that houses a Torah scroll during synagogue service reading. Notice that the carvings on different sides of this structure are made in different styles to demonstrate the variety of synagogue decorations. If you approach to the table for the Torah, you will see the scripture reproduced due to multimedia technology, and you can read it with help of virtual Yad.
On the walls of this hall were painted murals that decorated the interior of synagogues of Ukraine. Also there are presented parochets - the curtains that close the niche of Torah ark (Aharon ha-Kodesh) - the cabinet where the Torah scroll is held.
Showcase 1.09 presents the elements of the interior decoration of synagogues and the collection of ritual objects. Above one can see the synagogue lamp, Ner-Tamid, what means "eternal light" in Hebrew. It not only decorates the room and radiates light, but also symbolizes the enlightenment that Torah bestows. On the shelves below there are candlesticks used for different holidays: paired candlesticks for Shabbat, nine-candlestick – hanukkiah – for Hanukkah. Seven-candlestick, Menorah, is a symbol of the Jewish people. Copper mugs with two handles are designed for ritual hand washing before the meal. This ancient Jewish tradition recorded in the Torah has been performed by many generations long before humanity learned about the benefits of adhering to the rules of hygiene. There is a version that during cholera and plague epidemics in medieval Europe, Jews, by observing this ritual, had a significantly lower mortality rate from these diseases than Christians (other population). This formed the basis of many anti-Semitic myths, as if Jews were the organizers of the epidemics.
Showcase 1.10 contains a collection of clothing and items needed for prayer in the synagogue. Men entering the synagogue should cover their heads with kippah, and when praying, put a tallit on their heads and shoulders, a special linen cloth, and bind tefillin.
On the shelf below is a collection of Jewish prayer books of the late 19th - early 20th centuries. As a rule, they are divided into two categories: prayer books containing the texts of the daily prayers, the Siddur, and those containing the texts of the holiday prayers, the Machzor. Note the Siddur Prayer in the black case on the shelf. It was found in Netishyn, a town in the Khmelnytsky region (Western Ukraine), in the area where the Nazis massacred the Jews.