Weekly Torah Portion

At the synagogue we attended when we lived in London, there is a very careful focus on aesthetics in the main sanctuary. The architecture and interior are stately and always project an aura of specialness. The coral red carpeting gives the room a regal feel, as do the large, always-well-polished silver basins and washing cups used by the Kohanim inside the sanctuary prior to their ascending in front of the room to bless the congregation each holiday.

But one of my favorite (or favourite!) ornamental flourishes is the curtain on the towering ark protecting a couple dozen Torah scrolls. Or curtains, I should say. While many synagogues may have a special white cover for the ark during the High Holidays, the rest of the year whatever design hangs in front of the doors guarding the holy Torah usually does not change.

However, the handful of synagogues adhering to the German Jewish community’s customs usually maintain a working collection of curtains. There is always a different ark cover for Shabbos than on the weekday. And most holidays have their own themed designs, too.

In London’s Munk’s shul, as it is called, they have some 10 different curtains. During the current period of the Three Weeks in which we mourn the loss of the Temple, a beautiful dark purple is the background for an embroidered silhouette of the Western Wall. Throughout the eight days of Chanukah, a life-size golden menorah graces a royal blue fabric. And during the High Holidays, three different themes, all white and gold, are on show. There is yet another design for the Sukkos festival immediately afterward.

Ensuring timely changing of the large fabrics each week or season is itself a chore, dutifully attended to by a handful of volunteer members and their young children. What they are doing is not only preserving an august decorum, though. They are also helping ensure the hundreds of people who worship together do so in an environment that is dynamic instead of static. Much as the prescribed prayers will differ depending on the nature of the day, this congregation is ensuring the physical environment, the very feel of the room, evokes an awareness that something is different.

The last two chapters of this week’s Torah portion cycles through all the different holy days of the Jewish calendar. G-d tells Moshe to command the people: “Be punctilious in presenting to Me at stated times the offerings…” (Bamidbar 28:2) Each holiday has a different character, once reflected by the unique combinations of animals offered by the Jewish people in the desert and later in the Temple in Jerusalem.

While we still have a distinctive liturgy for each holiday, ensuring we feel meaningfully different during each phase of the Jewish calendar is up to us. The activities we schedule, the clothing we wear, the food we eat can all help us celebrate each of Judaism’s special times. Whether we attend a synagogue with revolving artwork or not, we can all invest in immersing ourselves in the different types of sacredness our nation has continued to treasure for so many years.

Munk’s synagogue in London, hours prior to one Rosh Hashanah evening: