Читать книгу Judaism I - Группа авторов - Страница 71

In Late Antiquity, the synagogue continued its identity-forming and representative function both in Palestine and the Diaspora. In the case of Palestine: »Literary and archaeological sources show that it (the synagogue) continued to serve as a central public framework for each Jewish community. Rabbinic literature mentions no other public institution of the community.«¹²⁴ From the third century CE, synagogues were mostly oriented architecturally toward Jerusalem. »Prayer became an increasingly important part of the synagogue activities in Roman Palestine, as had been the case earlier in the Diaspora.«¹²⁵ There are also reports of smaller localities in Judea and Galilee with several synagogues. There is archaeological evidence of synagogues in most parts of the Roman Empire in Late Antiquity. Symbols, the Menorah in particular, represent Jewish identity.