Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York
On page 33 of Creating Judaism there is a picture of the sanctuary of Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York, at 1 East 65th St., which the congregation generously supplied. I recently had an opportunity to actually go into the sanctuary, which has recently been redone (the reconstruction is documented in the museum there). The picture does not even begin to do justice to the majesty and awe of the sanctuary, which outstrips many of the gothic cathedrals of Europe. From the enormous soaring roof to intricate mosaic windows to the imposing dais in front of a vast number of pews, it is quite a structure. The virtual tour can be seen through the congregation’s website, but I highly recommend a visit.
Incidentally, at least on the day that I visited (no religious services were being held then) there was an American but no Israeli flag on the dais. It has become common for modern synagogues to have both, and I suspect that the absence of an Israeli flag hearkens back to the Congregation’s history without making a modern statement about the importance of Israel.
