Q. Why is there more decorative art in churches than in synagogues?
A. There are a number of popular theories, e.g. that the strict observance of the Second Commandment with its ban on graven images prevented synagogues from indulging in art, and that Jewish communities were uprooted so often that they preferred makeshift synagogues that served a practical purpose and had little artistic embellishment.
Both theories are not entirely correct, since there is evidence of art in ancient synagogues (a number of synagogal mosaics, for example, have been unearthed in Israel); and in the Middle Ages and later, many synagogues were impressive and solid edifices.
There is another factor which played an important role: the attitude to the Bible. In Judaism, the words and message of the Bible were an art form in themselves, and embellishing the synagogue or house of study with artistic creations was hardly necessary.
Further, in Judaism everyone could read and the Bible was the inheritance of the people, whilst in Christianity the scriptures were the preserve of the priests and the people were largely illiterate.
What ordinary worshippers knew of the Bible was read from the pictures, statues and icons which surrounded them in their churches and cathedrals.
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END OF THE BEGINNING
This Shabbat we come to the end of the Book of B’reshit. It’s a unique part of the Bible because it’s all about beginnings.
The first four chapters show how the world began; how civilisation developed; how gender, childbearing and family originated; and how every aspect of human life emerged.
The narratives about the patriarchal period show the beginnings of history, and it all adds up to the answer to the question of where we came from.
No other Biblical book gives the same weight to human beginnings.
BEGINNING OF THE END
Jacob is on his death bed. He says to his family, "Gather round and I will reveal to you what will befall you in time to come" (Gen. 49:1).
There is a well-known commentary that says that the Divine Presence departed and Jacob found himself unable to reveal the future (Pesachim 56a).
But when you read Chapter 49 of B’reshit you see that he did tell the family about the future, analysing each person and summing up what they would make of their life! The rabbis don’t seem to notice this.
Perhaps the explanation is that each member of the family would build his or her own future as an individual. When Jacob spoke to each one he told them what aspect of their character they would be advised to use in this task.
What he did not tell them was the national future, which depended on the sum total of all their individual efforts… and on God.