sarah in nyc

After visiting Central Synagogue, we hopped on the subway to 29th street to the church known as “The Little Church Around the Corner”. We had a wonderful tour guide. One of the fascinating things about churches is that the buildings themselves can  deliver  a strong theological message--not just a general religious one but one that is particularly denominational.   I know that my usual topic is Jewish ritual art, so if you do not want to read about theological splits in the Protestant church then just skip this post. I grew up not far from the spot of land where the Pilgrims first set foot on this continent. The Puritans were essentially  interested in creating a further reformation of the Anglican church.They saw the lushness of the churches and the vestments and even the church service to be on the slippery slope to what they saw as the great evil, Catholicism. The Puritan desire to seek the divine through the austere expressed itself architecturally. The...

My husband and I love architecture. So the Open House NY weekend is one we anticipate every year. We can’t always participate because some years the weekend falls on yom tov. This year coming as it did after three shul days in a row it was very, very welcome.  One of the sites this year was Central Synagogue. I was inside the magnificent building for this first time this spring to see the adult bar-mitzvah class that I had taught lead a service. I knew my husband would love this jewel-box of a building. The synagogue was built in the 1870’s. Several years ago the building was being renovated to it’s former glory. Just before renovation was completed a giant fire broke out. They began the renovation anew. Every surface of the interior is covered with a pattern. The floors, the columns, the walls, the woodwork are all patterned. One might assume that so much pattern would seem busy. Instead, all of the pattern is soothing. There is a whole lot going on here visually in ...