Obj. ID: 1657
Jewish Architecture Great Synagogue in Fălticeni - Main prayer hall - Wall paintings - Tribes of Israel
To the main object: Great Synagogue in Fălticeni - Main prayer hall - Wall paintings
The Symbols of tribes are the main theme in the decoration of the main prayer hall. The paintings are placed around the perimeter of the prayer hall on the south, west and north walls between the windows. The iconography of the images in the synagogue in Fălticeni have a number of features. The symbols of the tribes are placed on the fighting flags, as described in the Book of Numbers 2, when Israel became a camp in the desert. The symbols of the tribes placed on the flags of different colors, and each tribe has its own colored flag. The hands with flags are placed in a round medallion, which are flanked by painted columns. The tribes in the murals located on the sides of the world: of - Judah, Levi, Reuben, Simeon placed in the North; Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Gad placed in the West; Naphtali, Asher, Joseph, Benjamin placed in the South. The tribes not arranged in such an order as described in the book Numbers 2. The painting have unusually large size ().
Two inscriptions accompany to the pictures with the symbols of the tribes:
כן חנו לדגליהם וכן נסעו (במדבר ב:לד)
So they camped by their standards, and so they set out (Numbers 2:34)
יפה את רעיתי כתרצה נאוה כירושלם אימה כנדגלות
Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners (Song of Songs 6:4)