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Stairs of (Aliyat) Rabbi Sassi, Djerba, Tunisia

Aliyah, n.


The act of ascending to the reading desk of a synagogue to read from the Torah and voice out blessings. Borrowing from post-biblical Hebrew ‘aliyyāh, literally meaning to ascend, the Aliyat alludes to the ascension to the Rabbi Sassi oratory. [1]

Description

Site Description
Among the streets of Djerba, Tunisia, a doorway marks the entrance to an oratory site. A narrow passage of stairs leads the alyot to the site above. A wooden hand rail has been mounded onto the wall, support for the journey the individual has started. After reaching the top of the stairs, the first object in sight is a wicker bench that stretches along the wall, marking the entrance of the oratory and study room. [2] Fortunately, the site has been photographed in two different time periods, these which better accentuate the changes that have occurred. In 1997, multi-disciplinary artist Boris Lekar documented a number of photographs of this particular site as part of a commission work by the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. [3] The color white covers the walls up the stairs and the ceiling while the study room and oratory’s walls are pastel-white. [4] The white-painted celling appears to be made of wood, attached to it is a three-blade white fan and a few light fixtures. [5] While space is limited, a number of wooden fixtures, including two columns make up the carpeted layout of the site. Two long wooden benches stretch the length of two walls, seven smaller benches are arranged to form small group settings, and in the middle stands the Tevah, reader's desk or pulpit. Photographs [1997] capture a few books and a blue mantel on the Tevah and the hekhal, Torah Ark. Both fixtures are brown in color, surrounded by picture frames, some containing Hebrew scriptures and figures.[6]

2016
Twenty years later, the site’s interior design was renovated. Walls were painted blue and the wooden fixtures, grey. The interior appears to be adorned with a number of portraits and Hebrew writings. While the bench arrangements remain the same, cushions and tile floors give the site a new look. [7] The hekhal (Torah cabinet) has been covered by a black velvet small curtain with a white silk square in the middle - Hebrew inscriptions in the form of an eye adorn it. [8] Interestingly enough, a small uncovered bookshelf is full of old books, showing only torn book spines. The study room holds a collection of ancient documents, remains of the Yeshiva that once existed on the site. [9] A single doorframe marks the entrance to a small terrace – a space that is often used for the Sukkah [hut for Sukkot] The considerable changes suggest that the Jewish community in Djerba, while small, continues to prosper.

Rabbi Sassi Ha-Cohen
(1831 – 1905)
R. Sassi composed literature during his life time, works like Zera’ David (trans: The Seed of David) and written commentary on the different forms of studying Talmud. [10]

Djerba, Tunisia

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