St. Augustine, FL
April 7th, 2022
The First Congregation Sons of Israel is the oldest synagogue in St. Augustine, FL. It is located down Cordova street and is still a place of active worship today. Their website notes, "Under the leadership of Rabbi Jacob Tarlinsky and his wife, Dora, the Synagogue was dedicated in 1923 with the completion and first service on March 30, 1924." The synagogue has been destroyed by storms and rebuilt, but it still maintains most of its original glory through the restoration of the historic stained glass windows and preservation of historic furniture.
Learn more at: First Congregation
Exterior Photo 1
Exterior Photo 2
Artifact 1
The artifact above was constructed after Hurricane Matthew knocked down the ceiling of the synagogue. The chandilier pictured is not from the original structure, but does date back to around the same time period and was placed after the damage from the hurricane. The current Star of David surrounding this chandilier was designed and implemented by a Flagler College student after the ceiling was repaired.
Artifact 2
The stained glass window shown is one of the windows on the top floor of the synagogue. These windows were brought from Georgia from a synagogue that was being demolished. They were installed in 1958 and were restored in 2013 by the great-grandson of the original designer when he found the original sketches. The extra glass from the broken windows before the restoration was saved and used to create the moasic depicted in exterior photo 1.
Image In Conversation 1
Disney is the most well-known producer of animated movies in our generation. Despite its success, Disney has done many problematic things in its career. Harmful Jewish stereotypes are very often used to create villains in Disney movies, and the corporation has been shamed for it for years. Anti-Semistism in Disney animated films is incredibly common and has been used to code some of our favorite characters, like Mother Gothel. These stereotypes are incredibly harmful, as it spreads negative misconceptions about Jewish culture. Keeping historic, cultural places like the First Congregation Sons of Israel Synagogue in operation are incredibly important for the preservation of Jewish culture and pride, as it gives the group places to worship and advocate for themselves against these awful misconceptions.
While it is well-known that the Star of David is a Jewish symbol, I have come across many people as a practicing Pagan who do not know the difference between a pentagram and a Star of David. Stars of David are six-pointed stars that Jewish people have adopted as a symbol of their faith. Pentagrams are a five-pointed star that Pagans wear as a symbol of protection, and it signifies the five elements: earth, fire, air, water, and spirit. If surrounded by a circle, this is referred to as a pentacle and signifies infinite connections rather than protection. Many people incorrectly associate this symbol with satanic religion, but it does not belong to them. Religious symbols can be incredibly sacred, and I believe it is important to be educated on them and their meanings in order to best support different religious groups.
Literature in Conversation
We Aren't the Only Species by Craig Santos Perez
"who age who change who language who pain who play who pray who save who mate who native who take who break who invade who claim who taste who want who talk who crawl who walk who yawn who trauma who laugh who care who hear who fear who steal who heal who friend who remember who sex who nest who settle who smell who help who eat who feed who greed who sleep who see who need who belong who bleed who speak who breathe who breathe who breathe who think who drink who sing who thirst who birth who kill who smile who lick who listen who kiss who give who sick who p*ss who sh*t who swim who migrate who die who fight who cry who hide who sign who mourn who mourn who mourn who work who school who tool who colonize who bond who protect who hope who lose who love who lonely who touch who moan who drown who hurt who hunt who run who hunger who nurse who suffer who build who trust who bury who future who house who house who house on this our only"
I chose this Craig Santos Perez poem in its entirety to relate to the First Congregation Sons of Israel Synagogue because I believe it highlights that all humans are the same and are connected. Judaism has faced many, many hardships throughout its history. It is only of the most persecuted Abrahamic religions and there are many harmful ideas about Judaism that are prevalent in modern media. It would greatly benefit everyone to realize that every human is just a human, and no differences are worth persecuting and harming others for. Craig Perez's poem is sending the same message, that all humans should support all humans.
Description: A digital drawing replicating a small stained glass Star of David.
Since stained glass is such an important art form within the synagogue and its history, I decided to attempt to recreate a stained glass Star of David in honor of the Jewish religion. It is not the fanciest piece of glass, but I think it's cute. The Star of David is an important symbolic image for Jewish culture. It is used to mark their heritage and culture and has been adopted as a symbol for them similar to that of the cross in Christianity.
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