Objects

The photograph was taken at the Great Synagogue of the Hasidim of Bełz in Jerusalem (Hebrew: בעלזא בית המדרש הגדול) in the ezrat nashim (Yiddish: weibershul), a space intended for women. During rituals and prayers, women and men stay in separate spaces. From the Middle Ages onwards, separate women-only rooms (Hebrew: ezrat nashim, Yiddish: weibershul) were added to existing synagogues or new temples were built already with such rooms. Ezrat nashim is usually located either at the level of the main prayer hall or, as has become the rule since the late 16th century, above the vestibule, i.e., on the west side. The women in the photograph are standing in front of an openwork partition - a mechitza. Through the clearances, they can follow the service, listen to the prayers and sermons.

The synagogue housing the photographed women is the largest in the world. Its construction took 15 years and was completed in 2000. Inside is the largest aron ha-kodesh (torah ark) in the world. The building is a kind of memorial to the Great Synagogue of Bełz, which was destroyed during the Second World War. The demolished synagogue in Belz, according to Hasidic beliefs, was the site of the descent of the Messiah.

MBK, AW