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The Remuh Synaguge
The Remuh Synagogue is located on a small courtyard on Szeroka street. Its construction was financed by a wealthy merchant, Israel Isserles (who had emmigrated from Ratyzbony) as a gift to his son, the well known rabbi and theologian Moses Isserles.
Remu Synagogue. Foto: A.Olej&K. Kobus:
Rabbi Moses Isserles was already famous in his youth for his Talmudic commentaries. Later he ran a Talmudic school and the rabbinical court. He was, however, best known as the author of Mapa, or The Tablecloth, which was an interpretation and expansion of Rabbi Yosef Karo's Talmudic commentary Shulchan Aruch. He was also known among his contemporaries as a man endowed with the gift of being able to perform miracles. To this day pilgrims gather at his grave in order to pray to God.
The synagogue courtyard. Foto: J.J.
The synagogue's beginnings were modest, as services were originally held in one of Israel Isserles's homes, though when King Sigismund Augustus gave his permission in 1556, the building was officially consecrated and recognized by the municipal administration as a house of prayer. It did not function for even a full year before it was lost in the 1557 fire that consumed all of Kazimierz. Luckily the synagogue was quickly rebuilt.
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Stanislaw Baranek, the architect who oversaw the renovations, gave the nave an elongated shape with a tunnel-vaulted ceiling. The renovations enriched the women's area, but more importantly it altered the interior lighting by adding two enormous semicircular windows that stretched nearly the entire breadth of the western wall above the aron ha-kodesh. Its peaked roof with wide eaves recalls the architecture of a Chinese pagoda.
A few elements of the original 17th century interior remain, including the collection box, the carved stone border of the aron ha-kodesh surrounded by four pilasters whose capitals are richly embellished with floral patterns and biblical inscriptions. To the right of the ark, there is a plaque commemorating the place in which Remuh stood during while delivering his services.
Bimah in Remu Synagogue. Foto: J.J.
The current bimah is a faithful replica of the one destroyed during World War II. It is enclosed in a light, open wrought-iron grating, to which one can enter either from the north or south through wooden double doors that are embellished with polychrome bas-reliefs depicting elements from Holy Jerusalem�e.g. tables laden with bread, menorahs, and vessels used the ritual washing of hands. Sacrifices for Sukkot (The Feast of the Tabernacles) are also depicted, including baskets full of flowers and fruit.
The Nazis destroyed much of the synagogue during the war, using it as an army warehouse. It is now Cracow�s only active and functioning synagogue where Jews can regularly attend services.
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