2. The style of building adopted in the ancient synagogues of Palestine is illustrated by the above- mentioned ruins in N. Galilee. 'Almost all these sjTiagogues lie north and south, so that the entrance is at the south. As a rule they appear to have had three doors in front — one principal entrance and two smaller side doors. In some instances it can still be seen that the building was divided by two rows of pillars into three aisles. Some had a portico in front. In general the style was influ- enced by the Gra!co-Ronian, although it shows very characteristic differences from it. In par- ticular it was markeil by a wealth of overladen ornamentation ' (Schiirer*, ii. 446). This orienta- tion of the synagogue from north to south contra-
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diets a prescription of the Tannaite hftlacha (Tos. Miijilla, iv. 227"), accordinjr to wiruli tlie sj'na- pojiiie entrance, like that of the sanctuary {Nu 3**), IS to be at the east. One is tempted to assume that this rule, found only in the Tosuplita, has in view Babylonia and other lands to the east of Palestine ; for in these the orientation from east to west corresponds with the direction prescribed to the congregation at prayer in the synagogue. In the Tosephta there are other traces of Baby- loninn redaction. As far as the synagogues of Galilee aie concerned, their orientation, as the ruins show, was the opposite of the direction prescribed for prayer. In an early halachic tradi- tion (Siphrfi on Dent. % 29, 7u6 ; liab. Berak/i. 3Un) it is said, upon the ground of 1 K 8**, that during prayer the worshipper must face towards Jerusalem and" the sanctuary : those dwelling in the north stand with their face to the south, those in the south face the north, those in the west the east, those in the east the west. From this it follows that the worshippers in the synagogues of N. Galilee would turn in prajer towards the entrance. The direction towards the sanctuary, i.e. towards that part of thesj'nagogue whicli is turned towards the sanctuary, is dealt with in the following rules, which are likewise found only in the Tosephta (Megilla, iv. 227") :—
•The elders (C';pt) take their places facing the people, and with their bark to the sanctuary (Clip 's'73). Tlie book-press in the 8>'nav,'o;;ue is so placed tliat its front is towards the people, its buck to the sanctuary. When the priests lift up their hands to bless, they stand with their face to the people, their back to the sanctuarj-. The synajjo^iie attendant inazzan) stands with his face turned towards the sanctuary, which is •Iflo the direction in which all the people face.'
In the above quotation piip may be a designation of tlie particular side of the synagogue itself. In any case, we may a.ssunie that this jiurt of the building was not ahvay.s opposite the entrance.
In the case of t«o considerable synagogues, we know that they had the form of a basilica with a double row of ])illars. The exinession SnrXri aroi. is used of both of them. One is the famous great synagogue of Alexandria mentioned above ; the other is that of Tiberias, to which an anllior of the 4th cent, (.see Agada dcr pal. Amor. iii. 672, from Midr. Tehillim on Ps 93, end) applies that designation.
According to Philo (in Flaccum, § 7) there were exhibitcil in the -npljioKoi. of the synagogue of Alexandria dedicated gifts and inscriptions set up in honour of the emperors (Schiirer^ ii. 446, iii. 52).
3. Of the furnishings oi the synagogue the most inijiortaiit was the press (nj'n) in wliich the sacred writings were kept. The complete expression is O'-iEO •?!? .i3'n (Tos. Yndayiin, ii. ()83") ; rarely do we find the Aram, term niiik ( = Heb. j^iij), Jerus. RIcq. 73rf'"-'°. The same 2nd cent, tradition which censures the use of kdv n-D by uneducated persons as a term for the sj'nagogue (see p. (J30''), condemns in the same way the emjdoying of the term mnN for the book-press (Hhabbath, 32a). It apiiears lb;il in popular speech piK or (<:nK meant either a collin or a press for keeping victuals (see Kclim, xii. 3), and hence the word i3Ti established itself for the press of the synagogue which served a sacred purpose. It ajipears in Aram, as Knn-n (Jerus. Bcrakh. gc"*" ; Jiab. Meg. 2G6), and is re- produced by the Or. Ki^urrbt (Chrya. Oral. adv. Jiiil. vi. 4).
Tlie press was furnished with a species of canopy callcii nV; (.lerus. Mrg. 73(/'" ; see Levy, ii. 318//), whicli was spread over it before the cominciicciiient of the Salibath(JeriiH. Sluihb. 17c"). In Babylonia its name was kdtd (Meg. 2(ih). As long as the congregation remained in the synagogue the press
was not to be denuded of this adornment (Bab, Sutn, 39J, .iD'n.i D'ssnS).
The press appears to have been placed in a shut- oft' part of the synagogue, with a curtain in front of it wliich, like the curtain in the sanctuary, bore the name nrnE (Aram. xriDns). Behind this curtain took place the rolling up of the Torah after the reading of the Scripture lesson (Jerus. Sola, 22a "^ ; Jerus. Meg. 756 "" ; Soph. xi. 3).
The cloths in which the copies of the sacred writings kept in tlie press were wrapped were called n'lnjso, or, in full, i£n "^c 'd or d'ied W 'd, also DnsD D (see Kelim, ix. 3, xxiv. 14 ; Kegaim, xi. 6 ; Tos. Kilayim, v. 80'» ; Tos. Yadaijim, ii. 683"). Such cloths were used elsewhere also to wrap up the books of Scripture : thus in Sanhed. 100« we read of the cloths in which, in tlie house of the Bab. Amora Jehuda (3rd cent.), the books were wrapped (mi.T :t -an -iso 'D). By .i:'n 'd (Tos. Kilayim, v. 80'*) appear to be meant the cloths used to wrap up the books that lay in the synagogue press. From a controversy between the schools of Hillel and Sliammai {Kelim, xxviii. 4) we learn that these cloths used to be adorned with em- broideries (niTisD). Little bells were also attached to them (D'TSO 'd^ D'JI, Tos. Kclim, i. 1, 579'-' ; Bab. Hhabb. 586).