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The elements that make a building a synagogue are the aron
ha-kodesh (holy ark or niche in the eastern wall, containing the Torah scrolls);
the amud (prayer desk, facing the ark) and the bima (the pulpit), where
the Torah is read. The auditorium, designed by Abramovitz, focuses
upon two thirty-foot-high Commandment Tablets flanking the highly noted east wall
window. The tablets feature the first letter of each commandment in mosaic, followed
by the rest of the text in gold leaf. The playful animal-like shapes of the mosaic letters are
often seen in artist Ben Shahn's work. |
