Virtual Tour

The building evokes an image of a mountain. Indeed, that is what Mr. Wright sought to achieve — Mt. Sinai in modern materials of concrete, steel, aluminum and glass. Mt. Sinai was the location God chose to reveal His Torah to Moses for Israel and for mankind. It is, therefore, a natural symbol of communion between God and humanity. Mr. Wright used this image of the mountain as the basic form of the Synagogue. Since Mt. Sinai, at the time of the giving of the Law, was ablaze with light, the natural construction medium for the tower was glass: at night, the inner light of the Sanctuary shines through.

Like the original Mt. Sinai, Beth Sholom is a low, flat-topped mountain with a tent-like form. On its three great ridges the architect placed stylized seven-branched Menorot which are visible from every point of the compass. The Menorah, in the Bible, is the central symbol in the ancient tent-tabernacle, and hence is given prominence at Beth Sholom.

Mt. Sinai, according to one Jewish scholar, is "a traveling Mt. Sinai." Wherever through the centuries Jews traveled, they took along a simulacrum of Mt. Sinai to sustain their faith and courage and to provide inspiration.

As the priest in olden times greeted those who came and left the Tabernacle with a blessing, so over the main entrance of Beth Sholom was spread the Canopy in the form of the outstretched hands of the Priest, with hands joining, as if in the act of pronouncing the benediction.

In front of the Synagogue, and separated from it by about twenty-five feet, one finds the Laver. In ancient days the Laver (from the word "to lave" or "wash") was made of copper. In it the worshippers would wash their hands before the sacrifice and service. Before the large entrance gates of Beth Sholom Mr. Wright set up a fountain with flowing waters as the symbol of the old Laver as well as a symbol of purity for those who enter to join together in the worship service.

Before leaving the outside of the great Synagogue, it might be pointed out that, as one looks down upon the building (as in the view from an airplane), one sees a hexagon — a six-sided figure. When asked why he chose this particular shape, Mr. Wright answered by putting his two hands together and saying; "when one enters a place of worship, he should feel as if he were resting in the very hands of God". Placing one's hands together, one sees at once how the six sides of the hands form a distorted hexagon that Mr. Wright used as the basic shape of the foundation of the Synagogue. The two prolongations on either side of the front represent the thumbs the Priest's two hands. In this manner Mr. Wright represented the natural form that he saw as the symbol of the Synagogue.

Next: Sisterhood Sanctuary >>