In the Northern Israel, in the city of Acre (Akko in Hebrew) is Or Torah, a Tunisian synagogue that contains tons of intricate mosaics. The synagogue was erected in 1955, by Zion Badasche, who felt it was his mission to go to Israel and build a synagogue covered with mosaics.
The history of the Jews in Tunisia (one of Africa's northern most countries) goes back to when Rome was busy conquering the world and scattering Jews to the four corners of the earth. Before 1948, the Jewish population of Tunisia reached a high of 110,000. However, once the modern state of Israel was born, Jews began leaving in droves. Starting in the 50's half the population left for Israel and the other half left for France. As of just last year, there were only 700 Jews still left in Tunisia, which is not surprising since it is an Arab country.
Okay, back to the Tunisian synagogue in Israel. This synagogue is truly a work of art. The temple mosaics include people, animals, birds, fish, flowers, and stories from the Hebrew bible. The mosaics are everywhere - so that not one wall, section of the floor, ceiling, or stairwell, has been left uncovered. To complement the mosaics, there are 140 stained glass windows. In essence, stained glass is a kind of a mosaic too, except it's made using glass instead of tile.
 |
| Can't imagine how difficult it is to reproduce Hebrew letters? |
 |
| Compared to desks and tables, you see how large these mosaics are. |
The majority of mosaics that adorn the synagogue are manufactured at Kibbutz Elion, located in Northern Israel. Interestingly, I just learned that the kibbutz accepts international volunteers, who work in exchange for food and lodging. Hmmm, I think I will have to look into learning a bit more about that place.
