Portfolio > Wednesday Project

Posted March 27, 2013

Prague's Sephardic Jewish community built the ornate Spanelska Sinagoga in 1867. When the Nazis invaded in 1938, they closed it as part of their attempt to destroy Czech Jewish life. My family and I had the good fortune to be there for Rosh Hashona in 1995, the day the shul re-opened to the public. It was an emotional moment. Services were in Czech, Hebrew and English. Survivors, young Jews discovering their roots and tourists crowded the synagogue.

The architectural detail of a star emerging from the darkness symbolizes the return of Prague's Jewish community from near extinction to vibrancy.