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• 1 media/beth-sholom-by-stanley-saitowitz-natoma-architects-inc-02-1600.jpeg 2021-04-15T15:24:40-07:00 Congregation Beth Sholom Synagogue 11 plain 2021-04-29T15:34:12-07:00

  “A mitzvah is a candle, and Torah is the light.” (Proverbs 6:23)

  Historically, light has played a crucial part in synagogue architecture as it recalls the story of light in the Temple of Jerusalem. Light, symbolizing God's presence, appeared in the form of a menorah which stood in front of the Holy of Holies and illuminated the darkness (1). Accordingly, Orthodox Congregation of Beth Sholom heavily draws on the symbolic and historic importance of light. On the windowless exterior, the zinc sheathed squares evokes the Western Wall in Jerusalem through its beige color (2). During its conception, Beth Sholom’s then-rabbi asked for a rounded sanctuary referring to the traditional form of synagogues found in Prague and Mumbai (3). Given the dense and limited space of the San Francisco streets, this challenging brief was answered by designing a monumental concrete bowl for the sanctuary. From the outside, the outline of an iconic semicircle balanced on a single story in conjunction with its bright light-tan color suggests an image of the menorah as well.
  
  Inside the sanctuary, the menorah imagery is captured by shadows casted by the beams built into the slice carved out of the ceiling of the eastern wall (4). The shadow menorah animates the wall, tracing the movement of sun through the day, and reiterating the Torah’s teachings on the cyclical nature of life and time. Due to the windowless structure, all light comes from the slices of sky in the roof. In continuity with the historic models, the lighting in modern synagogues is most often diffused with a stronger emphasis on two major interior features, the Torah Ark or Aron Kodesh and the bimah, the space from which services are conducted (5). Like the traditional floor plan of Sephardiac Temples, Torah Ark is located at the end of the longer axis of the sanctuary at the lowest point. The bimah is also located on the same axis. The seating of the sanctuary sweeps up in an arc to the north and south of the bimah so that congregants face one another as well as the service leaders, thereby bringing the entire community together in song and prayer. The women are no longer separated by a balcony as in Orthodox tradition, rather women and men are sitting across from each other and are separated by the slice of light shining on the bimah (6). The room is a vessel focussing all worshipers in a single community centered on the Bimah without visual distractions of the bustling city. The sanctuary’s seating arrangement cradles the worshipers and sustains the intimacy of space (7). For Rabbi Micah Hyman, this design strategy has a strong spiritual impact commenting, “The real story is light,” and then immediately quoting the biblical text, “I’ll dwell among you once you build me a place.” For him, these skylights not only provide glimpses of light, but of God’s presence in the world, while still allowing for a quiet, inwardly-focused space (8).

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  1. Hollenstein, Roman. “Synagogue Architecture in the Recent Past and Present.” In Sacred Buildings, 40. De Gruyter, 2008. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7643-8276-6_2.
  2. Congregation Beth Sholom. “Our Building — Congregation Beth Sholom San Francisco.” Accessed April 21, 2021. https://www.bethsholomsf.org/our-building. 
  3. Mirsky, Maya. “Let There Be Light! Synagogue Architecture Embraces New Ethos.” The Jewish News of Northern California, February 8, 2019. https://www.jweekly.com/2019/02/08/let-there-be-light-synagogue-architecture-embraces-new-ethos/. 
  4. Natoma Architects. “Beth Sholom Synagogue.” Accessed April 23, 2021. http://www.saitowitz.com/work/congregation-beth-sholom-synasgogue/.
  5. Hollenstein, Roman. “Synagogue Architecture in the Recent Past and Present.” In Sacred Buildings, 41. De Gruyter, 2008. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7643-8276-6_2.
  6. Sarah Amelar. 2008. “Congregation Beth Sholom Synagogue.” Architectural Record, August 19, 2008. https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/8118-congregation-beth-sholom-synagogue.
  7. Saitowitz, Stanley, Mason Walters, and Stephen Marusich. “A Circular Journey.” In Solid States: Concrete in Transition, edited by Michael Bell and Craig Buckley, 124–29. Princeton Architectural Press, 2010.
  8. TelRav, Julie I. “Set in Stone: The Influence of Architecture on the Progressive American Jewish Community.” ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 118. The New School for Social Research, 2013. https://search.proquest.com/docview/1417070078?accountid=9645.