Hi, my name is Beth Sholom Synagogue. I was designed by Stanley Saitowitz | Natoma Architects, the pretty pictures were taken by Rien van Rijthoven & Bruce Damonte and there is a story about me at ArchDaily. Let me tell you about myself.
I live on the corner of a San Francisco Street. I have not friends on the block, I am not sure why, perhaps they don’t know that I am really beautiful on the inside.
You know there is a whole shpil about me that I am an outline of a menorah and my stones are the Wailing Wall, whatever. Let me tell you how I really feel. You see Gothic cathedrals where built to defy gravity. I was built to celebrate the heaviness, the gravity of our existence. My message to the world is that you will never fly, never soar. I am no menorah; I am a rosy butt cheek that just landed on the hard surface, I am here to tell you that no matter what you do, you will end up on your ass anyway, accept it now.
So let me show you that I am really beautiful on the inside. Like all my conservative, orthodox, reform and chasidic cousins I was built on the fundamental principal that congregation has no voice. There is no interaction but knowledge, value, wisdom, liturgy is focused to a single point, like the rays emanating from the sun.
- I am like a Greek Amphitheater, except there are no Gods or Drama at my feet.
- I am like the British Parliament, except nobody has the right to speak from the seats.
- I am like Chassidic bleachers but without the smell of cholent or the kugel stains.
- I am facing each other like the Lincoln Square Synagogue but there is no one to “wink and stare” with.
- I am like a cinema without a movie.
Don’t even think of making love on my last balcony row. I want you to feel hemmed; I want you to feel like a squirrel inside the giant drum, forever spinning purposelessly.
My heaviness should be with you always. Even when you go outside to look at the beautiful San Francisco stars, you should remember that I will crush you in the end, I will roll you over.
I am emancipated Beth Sholom, I got rid of the ugly and provincial heimisher glitz. Instead I am sleek and modern. I celebrate the sophisticated grayness of a concrete slab and I make sure that kinderlach that come to play with me, will always remember fondly the stylish fluorescent ambiance of a dental office reception.
Further Reading:
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Well, Ben, you are one smart and accomplished guy. You should do some pics of your finished design projects and post them so we can better get an idea of who you are and what you have helped to create.Your critique of the Beth Shalom, San Francisco is too witty and wise for me, so I will refrain from making any comments other than to say the prayers that emante from the synagogue are no doubt beautiful and well received.
I was thinking of making a better presentation of my work. But for one is is not too glamorous, some of the things I worked on are very technical and can't be easily illustrated and also I get emotionally invested in everything I do so it is not easy to describe it dispassionately.
There is one more thing I don't understand. How someone who can't sign his own name can demand a complete disclosure form others?
Well that was fun. Should we damn all synagogue architecture or just the modern ones. Our community centers around an 85 year old building built in imatation of one in Venice. Evey one loves it so much that we have stayed long enought for the neighborhood to disintergrate in to a durggy mess and gentrify back up again. It is hard to make any changes (airconditioning) as it is considered sacred space. Service participation is high thou. Now Beth Shalom truly is odd. Is there a Bima? Do the Rabbi and cantor stand in the middle with their backs to 1/2 the congregation?
The inside does have an arc like quality, not that the arc was built for either comfort or beauty. It would be interesting to visit and see how and if it functioned as a worship space. Have you attend a service? Is the large sancturary used every Shabbat or only for Bnai Mitzvot and holidays?
People make the same mistake with buildings as with women, they try to judge them by looks only. You have to live with one even to begin, but here I made an exception just for fun. Stanley Saitowitz designed another conservative temple in La Jolla. I was tempted to write about that one as well. It has the same “British parliament” configuration.
BTW, I absolutely adore the Venetian shules, especially because my hero Leon De Modena spoke in each of them. Where is your community?
I am the Rebbitzen at Beth Am of Baltimore and an interior designer. Here
is a link to our synagogue's web site. My poor fact checking – I should
have said Florence thou there are many European elements in the structure.
People are justly devoted to the building but it is a balancing act to use
it for a living congregation many of whom are new comers to Baltimore and
the old timers who want no changes at all. This is not a problem unique to
our community of course. Thanks for your response Rena Konheim