Mystical Politics: Reconstructed wooden synagogue from Gwoździec, Poland

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Reconstructed wooden synagogue from Gwoździec, Poland

None of the 16th-17th century wooden synagogues of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth survive today. Those that survived wars and fires were finally destroyed by the Nazis during the German occupation of Poland. But part of one of them has been reconstructed - the bimah and the gorgeously multicolored ceiling of the synagogue in Gwoździec, Poland. It forms the centerpiece of the Polin Museum of Jewish History in Warsaw. From the website of the museum:

Wooden synagogues were common in the 16th and 17th century because of the accessibility and low cost of the raw material.

They were built by local craftsmen, not necessarily Jews, inspired by manors and rich bourgeois mansions. High-pitched synagogue roofs dominated the surroundings. Underneath there was the praying hall, corridor and increasingly large women’s section. The synagogue in Gwoździec, humble on the outside, hid extraordinary riches inside.

The wooden building, erected most probably in 1640, was 15 meters high. During its existence it underwent numerous modifications. For example, the southwest brick wing was added later to be used as a children’s study room (kheder) and a heated praying place during winter. The main hall reserved for men was an octagonal copula decorated with fabulous biblical paintings. The women’s section was located in the north and south part of the synagogue and on the gallery above the entrance hall. The synagogue was famous for its polychromes covering the ceiling and the walls, interlaced with biblical verses, proverbs and anagrams. One of the synagogue creators was Mordekhai Lissnitzki of Jaryzow. The paintings were restored by Izhak ben Yehuda of Jaryzow in 1729.