Eva's garden: 15. Hamsas, Herzl and stunning Synagogue

Interior of dome in Basel's Synagogue

Hamsa exhibition, Jewish Museum

A Hamsa exhibition and the history of Herzl's Zionist Congress in Basel draw me to visit the Jewish Museum in Basel despite walking in 33 degrees to find it. If you know my aversion to the heat, you'll know my dedication to this task!

Everything is labelled in German; there's no English nor any other language.

Chamsa-Hand mit Psalm. Nordafrica oder Näher Orsten 19/20 Jh

Wow, this ancient amulet necklace is just my taste!

Herzl and the Zionist Congress

Herzl an der Rheinbrücke zu Basel um 1900

In 1897 Theodor Herzl's idea for a Jewish National Assembly had its fruition in the first Zionist Congress which took place in Basel. The decision to create an official and legal home for the Jewish people in Palestine was postulated. Herzl took part in six congresses, five of which were organised in Basel.

The portrait above of Theodor Herzl, originally a photograph, was probably taken at the fifth congress ( December 1901) on the balcony of his room in the Hotel Drei Könige (Three Kings) in Basel against the background of the old Mittlere Brücke on the Rhine. The photo is world famous and is still used nowadays as a symbol of Zionism. Herzl does not look on the Rhine, but, in front of the rising sun, on immigrants to the Holy Land.

Zionistencongress

Basel, 29,30,31 August, 1897

Photos of the participants of the Congress

It's a small, modest museum, three minutes walk from the shule.

An original annotated sketch of the Kabbalah Tree of Life that we refer to in our Jewish Meditation sessions at Temple Beth Israel, Reform Synagogue led by Rabbi Fred Morgan (Shalom Eastern Europe Tour featured in this blog)

In the courtyard entrance to the Basel Jewish Museum are these gravestones dating back to the 13th century.

Jewish gravestone dated 1293

After the Museum I visit the Basel Synagogue. The guard welcomes and shows me inside, leaving me to enjoy the shule on my own.

When I step inside, it's formidable and takes my breath away.

Congregation numbers 200 families, 1000 people.

You can see the wallpaper tastefully decorating the synagogue.

Argau Synagogues

Two synagogues in Argau: one, Synagogue in Endigen, Argau, built in 1852. The Jewish community in Argau dates back to the Middle Ages. The second, below, is the Synagogue in Lengnau, Argau, built in 1845. Both have been renovated in the 1980s.