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The Great Synagogue (Oldest) at Baghdad, Iraq
Synagogue: Walking through the Jewish mahalleh of Baghdad one can smell the market food, and see people are bustling through the streets. Many of them pass by one of the greatest sites in the mahalleh: the Great Synagogue of Baghdad. The gathering area of the Baghdadi Jewish community is one of the largest synagogues in Iraq. Home of beautiful Jewish art and a center for religious worship, the Great Synagogue of Baghdad was a past treasure, destroyed by years of ill-treatment.
The Great Synagogue of Baghdad is thought to be one of the oldest, if not the first, synagogue in the world. It was built by King Jehoachin,who was exiled from the nation of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon (present day Iraq) in 597 BCE. Supposedly, he took with him earth from Israel which was then used to construct the bricks of the synagogue, named the Shad veYativ Synagogue. Translated Shad veYativ means “the Divine Presence was removed and settled in this place,” a reminder to the exiled community that God would also be with them, even if they were not in Israel [1]. If the legends are true, this place could be one of the first synagogues. The first Temple in Jerusalem was to fall in the coming years and the transition from temple and sacrifice worship to individual prayer in synagogues would begin [2]. The Great Synagogue was supposedly so big that it could hold around twenty thousand people and “it [even] looked a little empty when a dozen different congregations were in simultaneous attendance” [3].The synagogue, formerly one of the grandest synagogues in Iraq containing over seventy gold and silver encrusted Torah scrolls, no longer stands. There is a reconstruction of the synagogue in Israel.
Description
Architecture: The architecture of the Great Synagogue differs from the usual synagogues found across the world. Due to the hot and arid climate of the Middle East and North Africa, many synagogues were designed as open air synagogues; instead of an enclosed worship space, they had open, outdoor worship areas. The synagogue was not a space solely for religious worship but a communal gathering area. The open space provided an ideal area for community activities, gossiping, school, and prayer. The Great Synagogue of Baghdad exemplifies this architectural style. Many of the synagogues in Iraq are actually modeled after the design of this synagogue.
The main area of the synagogue was the square, uncovered plaza where prayers took place. A teva (pulpit) stood in the middle of the square shadowed by a roof. Around the courtyard were hekhalot (sanctuaries) which opened to the courtyard. The sanctuaries had stone roofs and benches on which worshipers sat. Each sanctuary also contained niches with Torah scrolls [4]. The middlemost west-facing sanctuary was the knesset ha-hekhal. It had three niches to hold the most valuable Torah scrolls and was the designated seating area for the head of the Baghdadi Jewish community [5]. The sanctuaries facing east and some of the ones facing south and north were divided into two floors: one as a gallery, and the other as a seating area for women. If more women came than seats available, they climbed and watched the service from the rooftop of the synagogue. Around the pulpit there were open seats. If it rained, which was uncommon, people spread mats from the roof over the pulpit to the roofs of the hekhalot. Public buildings were also modeled after this design as it provided for fresh air to come through the building during hot months [6]. The design of these synagogues greatly influenced the design of early Islamic mosques which also contained prayer niches that faced toward a specific direction with a large square courtyard for prayer [7].
Unlike Western synagogues in Europe, which were built out of tough durable material to withstand the elements, Eastern synagogues were built out of dirt, clay or wood. Middle Eastern and North African communities had no problem rebuilding their synagogues several times [8]. The Great Synagogue was known to be renovated at least four or five times [9].
Baghdad/Nehardea: King Johaichim, along with with many other Jews, was exiled to the city of Nehardea in Babylon, modern day Baghdad. The town is located at the intersection of the Euphrates River and the Malka River. The community then created the first Jewish settlement of Nehardea. They still gave offerings to the first Temple from Babylon that were transported to Jerusalem. Nehardea was also the capital and base for the Babylonian exilarch. There is even some evidence to show that the first Jewish exilarch came from the exiled community. The community of Nehardea also established an academy for study that became one of the most influential academies in the Middle East during the beginning of the third century CE. The Babylonian Talmud was said to have been created partially in the Nehardean Academy. However the academy was destroyed in 259 CE. and moved to Pumbedita [10]. Nehardea functioned as the center for Babylonian Jewish life, with relative peace and connections with the outside government.
Baghdad, founded in 762 CE, was able to use the advanced culture of the surrounding Jewish cities to thrive 11]. Now, since the majority of the Jewish population has left Iraq, only one functioning synagogue remains standing in Baghdad, but the last remaining Jews do not even worship there.
Sources
Suggested Further Readings:
- "Jewish and Moslem Places of Worship: Mutual Influences", David Cassuto
http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFA-Archive/1998/Pages/Jewish%20and%20Moslem%20Places%20of%20Worship-%20Mutual%20Influe.aspx
Bibliography:
American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. "Nehardea." jewishvirtuallibrary.com. Accessed July 20, 2015. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0015_0_14655.html.
Avishur, Yitzhak. "Synagogues in Babylon." Journal of the Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center, no. 3 (Summer 2001). http://www.babylonjewry.org.il/new/English/nehardea/13/8.htm.
Cassuto, David. Jewish and Moslem Places of Worship: Mutual Influences. mfa.gov. Last modified July 16, 1998. Accessed July 22, 2015.
http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFA-Archive/1998/Pages/Jewish%20and%20Moslem%20Places%20of%20Worship-%20Mutual%20Influe.aspx.
Committee for Historical Research in Islam and Judaism. "Origins of the Jewish Exilarch." alsadiqin.org. Accessed July 21, 2015. http://www.alsadiqin.org/en/index.php?title=Origins_of_the_Jewish_Exilarch.
Gharipour, Mohammad. "Synagogues in the Islamic World." In Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, edited by Norman A. Stillman. N.p.: Brill Online, n.d. Accessed July 22, 2015. http://0-referenceworks.brillonline.com.luna.wellesley.edu/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-in-the-islamic-world/synagogues-in-the-islamic-world-COM_0020710.
Haddad, Heskel M. Born in Baghdad. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse Inc., 2004.
Miller, Fred P. "Jewish History - Babylonian Academies." MollerHaus.com. Accessed July 21, 2015. http://www.moellerhaus.com/Misc/babJews2to5cent.htm.
Footnotes:
[1] "Origins of the Jewish Exilarch," alsadiqin.org, accessed July 21, 2015, http://www.alsadiqin.org/en/index.php?title=Origins_of_the_Jewish_Exilarch.
[2] Yitzhak Avishur, "Synagogues in Babylon," Journal of the Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center, no. 3 (Summer 2001): http://www.babylonjewry.org.il/new/English/nehardea/13/8.htm.
[3] Heskel M. Haddad, Born in Baghdad (Lincoln, NE: iUniverse Inc., 2004).
[4] Mohammad Gharipour, "Synagogues in the Islamic World," in Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, ed. Norman A. Stillman (n.p.:Brill Online, n.d.), accessed July 22, 2015, http://0-referenceworks.brillonline.com.luna.wellesley.edu/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-in-the-islamic-world/synagogues-in-the-islamic-world-COM_0020710.
[5] David Cassuto, Jewish and Moslem Places of Worship: Mutual Influences, mfa.gov, last modified July 16, 1998, accessed July 22, 2015, http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFA-Archive/1998/Pages/Jewish%20and%20Moslem%20Places%20of%20Worship-%20Mutual%20Influe.aspx.
[6] Gharipour, "Synagogues in the Islamic," in Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic.
[7] Cassuto, Jewish and Moslem Places of Worship: Mutual Influences, mfa.gov.
[8] Cassuto, Jewish and Moslem Places of Worship: Mutual Influences, mfa.gov.
[9] Gharipour, "Synagogues in the Islamic," in Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic.
[10] "Nehardea," jewishvirtuallibrary.com, accessed July 20, 2015, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0015_0_14655.html.
[11] Fred P. Miller, "Jewish History - Babylonian Academies," MollerHaus.com, accessed July 21, 2015, http://www.moellerhaus.co/Misc/babJews2to5cent.htm.
Sources for Images:
Aldorado. Of Boys Alliance School, Baghdad. Photograph. babylonianjewry.org. Accessed July 27, 2015. http://www.babylonjewry.org.il/new/english/index.htm.
Lisbona, David. Reconstruction of the Great Synagogue of Baghdad.
Photograph. Flickr.com. January 8, 2008. Accessed July 27, 2015. https://www.flickr.com/photos/dlisbona/2183004186.
Rabbi Ezra Dangoor in the Great Synagogue in Baghdad, 1910. Photograph. babylonianjewry.org. Accessed July 27, 2015. http://www.babylonjewry.org.il/new/english/nehardea/13/8.htm.