Rashi Shul

The Rashi Shul is an eleventh century synagogue in Worms, Germany. The synagogue is named after the great Jewish scholar, Rashi, because he studied in the yeshiva attached to the synagogue. Shul is the Yiddish word for both synagogue and school. This, the synagogue and school where Rashi studied, has been known as the Rashi shul for many centuries.

The Rashi Shul is regarded as the oldest synagogue in Germany. The building was destroyed twice, once during the crusades and again on Kristallnacht. The 1175 rebuilding stood until 1938. It was painstakingly reconstructed in 1961, using as many of the original stones as could be salvaged. [ [ http://www.sacred-destinations.com/germany/worms-jewish-quarter.htm] ] The synagogue, open as a museum, continues to be a functioning synagogue used by the small Jewish community, by soldiers from the nearby American base, and by tourists.

Built at the point when late Romanesque style was fading and Gothic rising, the rectangular prayer hall features a pair of Romanesque columns supporting groin vaults. The windows in the thick stone walls are simple gothic arches. The windows in the adjoining study hall have rounded Romanesque arches. The women’s section of the prayer hall has Romanesque windows in the eastern wall, and gothic windows in the western wall. [ H.A. Meek, The Synagogue, Phaidon, London, 1995, pp.82-88]

Illustrations

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/germany/worms-jewish-quarter.htm

References