First Congregation Sons of Israel

St. Augustine, Florida

April 7, 2022

The First Congregation Sons of Israel synagogue is the oldest synagogue in St. Augustine. Services were held in the homes of members while the building was being constructed and the sanctuary was finally completed in 1923. The original congregation was mostly Russian and Eastern European immigrants that settled in St. Augustine. The sanctuary of the church was hit hard by two hurricanes and had to undergo intense restoration in order to open the sanctuary back up in 2018. Due to the water damage, the seats are now covered in the same material that boat seats are made out of in order to prevent further damage.

https://www.firstcongregationsonsofisrael.com/

Exterior Photo 1:

Exterior Photo 2:

Artifact Photo 1:

The cabinet at the front of the congregation holds the Torah scrolls. These cabinets used to be portable arks used to safely transport the scrolls with immigrants from Europe. There is no longer a need for many of these arks to be portable so most synagogues have permanent cabinets like this one. Above the cabinet is the Eternal light which is always on.

Artifact Photo 2:

Originally the windows of the synagogue were normal transparent glass, this glass let too much heat through so they decided to replace it with stained glass. The stained glass that is now in the Sons of Israel synagogue was originally designed in 1873 for a synagogue in Atlanta, Georgia but then put into the synagogue here in St. Augustine. The 3 daughters of the original rabi found the great-grandson of the original artist to restore the windows to their original beauty. Remnants of the original stained glass can be found on the exterior of the building in a beautiful mosaic.

In Conversation Photo 1:

One of the stained glass panels in the synagogue chapel features the famous Ark of The Covenant. Due to the mystery surrounding the Ark of the Covenant's location, it has made many appearances in the media. Including one of its more famous cameos in Raiders of The Lost Ark. This Indiana Jones movie brought in $367,452,079 gross revenue and follows Jones' journey to finding the ancient biblical artifact before the Third Reich in order to can prevent it from ending up in the wrong person's hands. The Ark is said to contain the tablets that God gave to Moses.

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In Conversation Photo 2:

Stained glass has been a popular form of architecture/ art since the middle ages and is usually found in churches or other important buildings in order to enhance beauty, regulate lighting and temperature, and tell a story. These stories typically have a religious background like the panels in the synagogue and many other religious buildings but this is not necessary as we see in the stained glass in the Ponce de Leon residence hall and dining hall. The Flagler College stained glass (pictured above) is one of the largest collections of Tiffany stained glass that remains at its original location and the gorgeous pieces of art attract thousands of visitors each year.

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Literature in Conversation:

In Parable of The Sower the main protagonist Lauren struggles with her religious beliefs as she grows up and we she her develop her own religion, Earthseed. Despite her Father being a christian pastor Lauren struggles throughout the graphic novel as she discovers herself and her views of God. She knows it will not be easy but because it is something she believes in Lauren begins to share her religion with others and gain followers, much like a congregation that is just starting out. In one of her journal entries Lauren writes, "I am Earthseed. Anyone can be. Someday, I think there will be a lot of us. And I think we'll have to seed ourselves farther and farther from this dying place." Many of original First Congregation Sons of Israel members were immigrants that had seeded themselves far from what was once home. They were in an unfamiliar place with new people; however, through their strong faith they managed to grow their congregation from a few people in peoples houses to a successful synagogue with a full congregation.

Creative Component:

Above is my take on a stained glass window panel. I kept the transparency low to give the appearance of glass. While making this panel I wanted to tell a story like the windows in the synagogue. I decided to make a story about home. The mountain at the top represent my home in Virginia then the arrows point down to a wave which represent Flagler, finally another arrow point to a house because although these two places are very different they have both become home to me.