The synagogue is a place where man can detach from daily life and go through a process of purification in order to focus on meeting his creator.
The Scroll, which is a central motive in the design, is a means for opening up a story which is not fragmented by the turning of pages, but which develops gradually and continuously to form a whole story. The contents of the Scroll are embodied within its layers, thus revealing its secrets through motion.
The motion in the structure develops along the sides of the curving scroll, which leads us towards the inner space and guides man into a process of spiritual chance, towards the gradual revelation of the place of prayer. The process of coming together around the center is experienced through watching the minimalist inner court, which frames the solitary olive tree. The court separates us from the turmoil of secular life and connects us, through the most basic means, to the earth and the sky. The space revealed is a world of tranquility and inner observance.
The building is designed as a spiral that aims to express the concept of cyclic meaning in Judaism, and the connection between spiral time and linear time. The experience of spiral time is an experience of recurrence and cyclic motion. The experience of linear time is one of development and change following the timeline. These two systems meet at momentary, unique moments in time, which together create the spiral continuum.
The hub of the Scroll`s coming together is the space of the prayer hall, which is isolated from its environment through a lack of direct visual contact with it. The disconnection transforms the place into a microcosm, where the strongest force is that of the light which penetrates the building through openings in the ceiling. The hidden light washes over the curved walls that come together in the direction of the holy shrine, which hovers over a pool of water, and which is lit by a gentle and indirect light that is reflected in the water. The place`s symbolism as a "Scroll of Light" aims to emphasize the meaning of the creation of light as the foundation of life and as a symbol of truth, wisdom, and hope.

2007

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