JHE PHOTO ESSAY: Shavuot 2020 — Images of the 10 Commandments to mark the holiday

Posted in: Architecture, Art, Events (general), Photo collections, Synagogues
Tagged: Austria, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Poland, USA
Posted on: May 28, 2020

Above the Ark in the synagogue from Conegliano, Italy, now part of the Italian Jewish Museum in Jerusalem

The festival of Shavuot, which begins tonight, marks the reception of the Torah — and Ten Commandments — at Mt. Sinai. Jews traditionally go to synagogue on Shavuot to hear the Ten Commandments read out:

1. I am the Lord your God. 2.’You shall have no other gods before me; You shall not make for yourself a graven image; 3. ‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain;’ 4. ‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy;’ 5. ‘Honor your father and your mother;’ 6. ‘You shall not murder;’ 7. ‘You shall not commit adultery;’ 8. ‘You shall not steal;’ 9. ‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor;’ 10. ‘You shall not covet.”

The two tablets of the Ten Commandments have become a symbol of Judaism and are frequently found in synagogue decoration — inside the synagogue above the Ark or as murals, and outside above the doorway or atop the peak of the facade.

As we have done in the past, we are marking Shavuot by posting here pictures of some of the many, many examples of the 10 Commandments found on the interior and exterior of synagogues.