Pavoloch Torah Ark

Solomon Yudovin

1910

Photograph of large, ornate structure decorated with flourishes, lions, and vines, with three men in hats and beards standing in front of two closed doors at the bottom, and several other figures sitting in benches in foreground.
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In 1910, some four thousand Jews lived in the shtetl of Pavolitsh (Ukr.: Pavoloch). Despite its small size, the community boasted a substantial synagogue. Its plain exterior, however, gave little hint of the splendor of the Torah ark that stood within. The ark had two tall tiers, adorned with tablets of law, griffins, a double-headed eagle (a Russian imperial symbol), and other ornate decorations. The six medallions on the doors contain the words of the verse “Our Father, our King! Open up the gates of heaven unto our prayer.” This photograph was taken by Solomon Yudovin during the ethnographic expedition to Volhynia and Podolia led by the Jewish writer, ethnographer, and cultural activist S. An-ski. The goal of the expedition was to document Jewish folk art and folkways that, even before World War I, were deemed to be in danger of disappearing. On the bimah is temporary electric lighting, rigged to give Yudovin enough light to take his photograph.

Credits

Courtesy Harvard Widener Library.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 7.

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Jewish Visual and Material Culture at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

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