Hardcover at Paperback Price! Throughout the long and often
tortuous history of the Jews, the synagogue has been a constant
presence and a source of spiritual strength. Playing a symbolic
as well as a practical role, it has acted as a focus for the
faith of countless Jewish communities all over the world. The
significance placed on the synagogue, with its rituals and
traditions, emphasizes the fact that Judaism is not simply a
religion but a way of life. In a lively narrative, Harold .A.
Meek gradually unfolds the story of the synagogue from its
origins in Solomon's Temple to its exuberant Baroque phase in
Venice and thence to the classic simplicity of the modern
building. Over the course of several millennia, the style of the
synagogues has grown and developed, drawing in a vast array of
cultural and artistic influences to produce a rich and coherent
heritage. A heritage that is always aware of its biblical
antecedents and still strongly based on God's commandment to
Moses to construct a tabernacle in the de