International Survey of Jewish Monuments

https://jewish-heritage-europe.eu//lithuania-archaeology-/

https://jewish-heritage-europe.eu//germany-frankfurt-jewi/

A reminder, today (Tuesday Oct 27) is the third in Dr. Vladimir Levin's excellent series of lectures on synagogues in Eastern Europe. This one if on "Choral Synagogues." These are free and well-worth the time spent. Besides addressing topics that are freqeuntly overlooked - or at least quickly passed over in introductory talks - Dr. Levin also illustrates myriad lesser-known but well-deserving synagogue buildings an their architects.

This will be great!

These color photos of Vincent Giordano's have never been printed or exhibited. These and many others have been scanned from color negatives in the upcoming online exhibition introduce the architecture of Ioannina's Kehal Kadosh Yashan Synagogue, built in the 1820s and still in use.

The death of Haya Bar-Itzhak in Haifa is a great loss to the world of Jewish Studies, and especially to Jewish folklore and Polish-Jewish studies. May her memory be a blessing. While it may seem that folklore is far from the study of art and architecture, most students of Jewish art know there is indeed a deep connection which stills calls for more exploration. In the early of architecture this is even more true, where only a few scholars have turned to look at the role popular beliefs, legends, local customs and popular entertainment have played in both creating different forms of communal and scared space, and also influencing how these space and places are understood and appreciated. Thinking of Prof. Br-Itzhak, we would like to hear for members and followers of links between folklore, space and place.

We look forward to this!

Indefatigable photographer and friend of ISJM Christian Herrmann has posted some recent photos of Jewish sites on the Greek island of Kos. The Kos Jewish community was very old - it is mentioned in 1 Maccabees and by Josephus in the first century CE, but the Knights of Rhodes expelled about 1500 Jews in 1306 and ended the ancient Romaniote community. Sephardi Jews settled on the island in the Ottoman period, but there were only three families in 1910. Jewish refugees from Asi...a Minor settled here after the Greco-Turkish War of 1918-22. This synagogue was built in 1934 and reflects the modernism of the time, perhaps with influence from Italy. It is a good example of a modern synagogue with a gate and courtyard of the type we see in Ionannina and elsewhere in Greece, though in a different (modern) style. There were other modern synagogues built in Greece in the interwar period, but perhaps the one Kos most resembles (at last on the outside) is in Nis, Serbia. An earlier synagogue was apparently destroyed in an earthquake in 1933. Around 1990 the synagogue was given to the municipality and is now a community center. https://vanishedworld.blog//kos-a-jewish-community-in-th/

https://jewish-heritage-europe.eu/2020/10/23/hungary-koszeg/

WATCH: Greece’s Romaniote Jews are among the oldest and least-known of all the Jewish communities in the diaspora. Dr. Samuel Gruber and Renee Pappas speak with CEO Dan Mariaschin about the ethnic Jewish community that once thrived in the northwestern Greek city of Ioannina and talk about how the late Vincent Giordano's photos of the once-thriving Romaniotes inspired them to finish his work. Gruber and Pappas also speak about an exhibition centered around Giordano’s work, tit...led Romaniote Memories A Jewish Journey from Ioannina, Greece to Manhattan: Photographs by Vincent Giordano," that was previously hosted at the Embassy of Greece in Washington, D.C. and the Consulate of Greece in New York City. Sam Gruber says "I'm knowledgeable but not expert in Romaniote Jewish history ...there a few little misstatements but they do not change the overall narrative. But unlike edited a Facebook post, a Zoom interview is forever." That said ...if you have questions about Romaniote Jewish history, art, and architecture ...ask away and we will try to answer. If one person has the question - no doubt more people want to know, too. YouTube: https://youtu.be/hAVCRO6yFHw

Here a few more of Vincent's photos that are both part of the documentation of the Old Synagogue in Ioannina - but also beautifully composed images. These color images were not printed in Vincent's lifetime, and are quite different from the black and white photos which were excited several times. for now, these have been scanned from negatives. Someday, we hope they can be printed for a physical exhibition, too.

Thinking About Synagogue Precinct Gates Synagogue mavens, it seems there has been increased attention in recent years to Jewish cemetery gates, but how about to synagogue precinct gates? Posting Vincent Giordano's photo from Ioannina, Greece, makes us think of this. Gates are very important in the Jewish imagination. Synagogue are frequent seen and named as "Shaarey Tefilla" (Gates of Prayer), or Shaarey Zedek (Gates of Justice)." On Yom Kippur, the congregation prayers ferve...ntly as the gates close. Books of biblical or Talmud commentary frequently include an image of gates on the frontispiece or title page. In most of the world until the 19th century, synagogues were set away from the street either by law or custom. The provision of a courtyard facilitated community assembly, social gatherings, outdoor festival celebration (sukkot, weddings), and offered some security from fire, vandals, and thugs. Engravings of synagogues from before the mid-19th century often showed a view of the entire precinct including a gate. In the 19th century in much of Europe and America, synagogues assumed a more public face, and soon entrance to the prayer hall was directly from the street. Instead of a courtyard, there could be added vestibules, but there was rarely a big front gate. Since that change most representations - prints or photos - have focused on the facade, or on two sides if the building is free standing. It is hard just using published sources to even know if there was or is a gate. now, Google earth and streetscape offer some help, but mostly we just need to look and see. We are sharing some images - old and new - of synagogue precinct gates. we know there were/are many more, and we have not gone through all the ISJM photo files, nor have we yet consulted the Center for Jewish art or other sources. CJA director Vladimir Levin recently gave an informative lecture about the East European Shulhoyf, especially the one in Vilna. Those spaces often had substantial gates. Please post examples of synagogue gates that you know, and share photos if you have them. We'll post all the results on the ISJM webpage.

ISJM is happy to be partnering with Queens College to prepare the coming online exhibition ROMANIOTE MEMORIES - A JEWISH JOURNEY FROM IOANNINA, GREECE TO MANHATTAN: PHOTOGRAPHS BY VINCENT GIORDANO ....leading up to the exhibit launch we'll be posting a selection of Vincent Giordano's photos ...