“Let them build me a sanctuary and I will reside among them” (Exodus 25: 8).
This illustrious commandment related to the Temple in Jerusalem, the dwelling place of the Lord on earth. The synagogue is certainly not the Temple whose reconstruction is long awaited, but it is the identity of each Jewish community through the centuries. This identity is intimately linked to the Exile.
The Synagogue is the testimony of the existence of a Jewish life past and present. These shrines, built in various places and at different times, symbolize the greatness of the Jewish people and Judaism in Europe, marked by an illustrious past and an uncertain future. Going to meet these places nourished by memory reveals a wish, that of unveiling and transmitting the material and spiritual heritage left by the synagogues in Europe.
From the breathtaking Great Synagogue of Budapest to the Venetian Sinagoghe to theatrical exuberance, twins from London and Amsterdam, to the sumptuous Victory Synagogue in Paris, each construction is accompanied by a desire to magnify the building to sanctify the Lord.
By pushing the door of these houses of the Lord, one enters a universe where Art, History and Spirituality are united.