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CCAR RESPONSA

New American Reform Responsa

46. Jewish Colors

QUESTION: My synagogue is redesigning the bimah and ark. When considering color combinations, some individuals have stated that the true Jewish colors are blue and white as in the flag of Israel, and that our design should be limited to those colors with perhaps some gold reminiscent of the ancient desert tabernacle. Are there specific Jewish colors? (Michael Horn, Miami FL)ANSWER: I do not know how the Israeli flag came to be blue and white, and have not been able to find any answer for this in the literature. This may have followed the colors of the tallit which generally were blue or black and white (Shulhan Aruk Yoreh Deah 8). However, in the Bible many different colors were used, as seen in the Book of Exodus (25.3 ff) which utilized gold, silver, copper, blue, purple, crimson, as well as the colors of various stones for the breast plate of the high priest. The desert tabernacle was not a drab affair. This may be seen in the reconstructed models (Moshe Levine The Tabernacle). This was equally true of the temple built by Solomon (I Kings 6 ff; II Chronicles). If we look at the remnants of early synagogues which have survived, we can see a colorful floor mosaics as well as wall decorations (Lee I. Levine (ed) Ancient Synagogues Revealed etc). This may be seen clearly in the grand synagogue of Dura Europa which revealed magnificent multicolored wall paintings (C. Kraeling The Synagogue of Dura Europa; Erwin R. Goodenough Jewish Symbols in the Greco-Roman Period). These ancient synagogues were more colorful than anything to which we may be accustomed. That tradition has continued in ritual objects, so we find it in synagogue textiles as well as home objects (Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimbett and C. Grossman, Fabrics of Jewish Life – Textiles from the Jewish Museum Collection; Ruth Eis Ornamented Bags for Tallit and Tefillin of the Judah L. Magnes Museum). Illuminated manuscripts also demonstrate the wide variety of colors used in our tradition (Joseph Gutmann Hebrew Manuscript Painting). There are many other books which show this for the synagogue and home. We should note the colorful Isaac Mayer Wise Temple in Cincinnati built in the Moorish style of the 1870’s, and decorated in a joyful multi-colored manner. Any color within the boundary of good taste may be used for the bimah, Torah curtains, or the remainder of the synagogue. There are no restrictions and there are no specific Jewish colors.January 1991

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