Obj. ID: 3472
  Sacred and Ritual   Rabbi Avraham Synagogue in Djerba - Tevah

To the main object: Rabbi Avraham Synagogue in Djerba, Tunisia - Interior

The reader's desk is a wooden structure placed in the centre of the synagogue under the clerestorey (see: main photograph). It comprises a platform enclosed by wooden panels topped by a banister, creating a rectangular space. It is reached through five stairs leading to a main arched gate and two side rectangular entrances. A table for reading the Torah is located in the eastern side of the space facing the Torah ark and forming with the gate a west-east axis.

The free standing main gate encloses an ogee arch surmounted by an open-work scroll, while the rectangular side gates are topped by balustrades. The arch is inscribed in square Hebrew letters and reads:

"זה השער לה' צדיקים יבואו בו" (תהילים קי"ח:כ).

"This is the gate of the Lord, into which the righteous shall enter" (Ps.118:20).

Two built-in high tables are placed on both sides of the main gate, formed by a board topping a cupboard.

The parapet enclosing the platform comprises rectangular lower plaques decorated with geometrical patterns topped by a balustrade terminating with finials. The balustrade surrounding the table is higher and arched (fig. 1).

Elongated benches surround the reader's desk, as part of the sitting arrangement.