OK where to start... This past week, we went on vacation. To some this means Florida, Virginia, or who knows what else. My family goes to upstate NY. Our first stop was to visit some family in Woodridge, NY. We had a great time, and I enjoyed the shul a lot. Not so much because of the spectacular davening, but the really beautiful murals of the Jewish Zodiac they have painted across the top of the shul. You don't find to many murals downstate in "frummy" shuls (of which I am a member). We then went on to spend a great week with some family in Rochester. My kids love it there because they can play outside and with other kids on the block w/0 having to worry to much about cars, abductions, and other things you find more of in Brooklyn (the worst being Brooklyn land mines left by people who don't clean up after their dogs). The Shul I davened in in the mornings has always been a nice building, having originally been a church. The shul is even called St. Regis at times, being located on N St. Regis Drive. What I always liked was the chandeliers. They also have the Zodiac images on them. I was curious how these things relate to not making an image, because if I wasn't Jewish, it would be a curious thing to see murials and images of Virgins, Centaurs, and other things you don't find in a typical Brooklyn shul. How interesting that Elul is the Virgin and this ARTICLE about not wearing make-up appears. Make your own damned inferences! anyway, here is a LINK I found from Ohr Somayach about the Zodiac. Hat tip to Lion of Zion for sharing my feelings of wedding make up!
2 comments:
Zodiacs used to be very popular in shuls. Many of the Lower East side shuls have them. I remember seeing a few in Israel as well.
This is your Rochester host speaking: glad you enjoyed your stay, and we miss you already. Just in case anyone was wondering, the zodiac chandeliers in our shul were taken from the congregation's original shul building in another part of town; they were not installed during the present building's days as a church. Although it's hard to see in the photos, each zodiac sign is accompanied by the name of the corresponding month in Hebrew.
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