Congregation Sons Of Israel

 Saint Augustine, FL

April 7th, 2022

First Congregation Sons of Israel is the oldest Synagogue in St. Augustine. In the late 1800s, the congregation’s first families came from Russia and Eastern Europe to settle in St. Augustine. In 1908, the community was chartered with the State of Florida. Religious services were held in members’ homes until a Synagogue was constructed. 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. It can be found in the beautiful historic district at 161 Cordova Street. They are a conservative, egalitarian congregation. Sabbath services are conducted weekly.

The Congregation Sons of Israel

Artifact #1

In 1958, the beautiful historic stained-glass windows were obtained and installed in the sanctuary by Rabbi Jacob and Mrs. Dora Tarlinsky’s three daughters (Sarah Bernstein, Florence Feiden, and Lena Lichter). In the summer of 2013, the windows underwent a much-needed restoration. Ken Hardeman, the great-grandson of the original window artist, did this. The leftover pieces of the original windows were used to create this mosaic piece that rests above the entrance to the synagogue.

Artifact #2

Torah, the same as Pentateuch or the Five Books of Moses, is found in the ark cabinet located at the head of the synagogues chapel. The Torah teaches the Jewish about God and gives rules on how they should live their lives. For reading in the synagogue, the Torah is written on a scroll. The scrolls are written in Hebrew, from right to left, and are traditionally read four times a week. The importance of the Torah is shown in how the scrolls are treated.

Exterior #1

Exterior #2

In Conversation #1

This is a Hebrew prayer book, also known as a siddur. This book contains the entirety of the time-based order of daily prayers and the Jewish liturgy used on the sabbath and weekdays for domestic and synagogue rituals. I thought about this when we were granted the ability to see this institution's Torah, written script. 

Medieval Hebrew Prayer Book

In Conversation #2

The Jewish ghetto in Prague grew up in Josefov around the Old-New Synagogue (Staronová Synagoga), which was used as early as 1270. It has the distinction of being the oldest functioning synagogue in Europe, as of today is once more the heart of Jewish worship in the city. The Gothic oddity, the whitewashed temple is topped with brick gables, and its interior is simple with little changed since the 13th century. A wrought-iron grill encases the pulpit, and the Torah scrolls are contained in an Ark on the wall. Apart from a couple of chandeliers, the only embellishment is a tattered red flag bearing the Star of David hanging from the ceiling, given as a gesture of respect to the Jewish community by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV in 1357; the red banner close by was a gift from Ferdinand III in thanks for Jewish help in repulsing a Swedish invasion in 1648. The building has survived fires, pogroms, and sieges down the centuries, giving rise to the legend that angels protect it.

Old New synagogue Image Link

Creative Component 

Literary Component 

This literary component comes from the first stanza in One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII by Pablo Neruda. "I don't love you as if you were a rose of salt, topaz, or arrow of carnations that propagate fire: I love you as one loves certain obscure things, secretly, between the shadow and the soul." I chose this stanza because God is not just a ruler but a loving father of men in the Jewish faith. They say God's love is as strong as death; although one may die, God and Israel and the love between them live on. Their relationship is not just a loving one but a covenant. Just as Neruda has a special relationship with his partner, so do the Jewish and God. 

Castillo De San Marcos

Saint Augustine, FL

March 31st, 2022

Castillo San Marcos in St. Augustine is Florida's dominant Spanish Colonial landmark and is the oldest masonry fort in the United States. Construction of the fortress began in 1672 and took a quarter-century, completed in 1696. The Castillo was never taken by force, with walls 16 feet thick at the base and protected by a moat. In 1763, as a provision of the Treaty of Paris (1763), Britain gained all of Florida in exchange for returning Havana and Manila to Spain, captured during the Seven Years' War, and the fort was renamed Fort St. Mark until 1784. At the end of the American Revolution, the Second Treaty of Paris returned Florida to Spain. Spain signed the Adams-Onis Treaty in 1819, ceding Florida to the United States, and the fort was renamed, Fort Marion. In 1924, the regiment was designated a National Monument, and in 1933 it was transferred to the National Park Service from the War Department. In 1942, in honor of its Spanish heritage and construction, the fort was again given its original name of Castillo de San Marcos.

Castillo De San Marcos National Park Services

Artifact #1

These images show Castillo De San Marcos' main watchtower. The Spanish constructed the coquina stone watchtower to guard the Matanzas Inlet as the first alert to the much larger Castillo de San Marcos fort 15 miles north.

 

Artifact #2

The Spanish kept this moat dry and, during sieges, used it as a pen for domestic animals. Whenever the fort was under land attack, the canal could be filled with seawater by opening floodgates on the seawall. Around the outside of the defense is an artificial slope called a glacis. This embankment shielded and protected the lower fort walls from enemy cannon fire. The area between the glacis and the moat is called the covered (covert) way. This allowed soldiers to leave the fort and still be covered or protected by this wall.

Exterior #1

Exterior #2 

In Conversation #1

The Theodosian Walls are among the most impressive monuments of Late Antiquity. These land walls protected Constantinople for centuries while other cities like Rome,  Antioch, and Alexandria were sacked. These Theodosian Walls consisted of an inner wall, an outer wall with an inner terrace, and a wide moat, with a second outer wall in front of it. Attackers first had to cross the canal and its wall while being fired upon from both the outer and inner walls – the towers of the internal walls were equipped with ballistae and catapults. Even if some attackers could scale the outer wall, they would then be trapped on the inner terrace, facing a taller wall reinforced by massive towers. As Constantinople lies on a triangular peninsula surrounded by the sea on two sides, its land walls were frequently the primary defenses required. Then, the triple line of protection of the Theodosian Walls helped make Constantinople virtually invulnerable for centuries. The impenetrable idea of these walls reminded me of the coquina used to make Castillo De San Marcos.

Theodosian Walls Image

In Conversation #2

The Citadel of Aleppo is a masterpiece of medieval Islamic fortress architecture. Its oval shape and extensive defenses enclose an area of approximately seven hectares. The natural hill the Citadel was built upon has long been used as a stronghold. During the Hamdanid reign of Aleppo under Sayf al-Dawla in the 10th century, early constructions of a citadel took place. The Citadel's strategic importance was reactivated by the time the Crusades began. In the 12th century, Nur al-Din ruled Aleppo. He rebuilt its fragmented interior and fortified the remnants of the earlier fortress. However, the majority of the Citadel's surviving features date to the period of Saladin's son, al-Malik al-Zahir Ghazi, who ruled between 1186–and 1216 AD. Linking the Citadel to the city by a stately ramp, it also includes two massively constructed towers that conceal a U-shaped corridor that would force an attacking army to change direction six times while exposing them to projectiles and burning liquid from gaps in the vaults above. Most of the Citadel's construction, both military and the stately and religious buildings within, date to the Ayyubid al-Malik al-Zahir Ghazi. Aleppo was more exposed to Frankish attacks from nearby Edessa and the western coastlands than Damascus. 

Citadel of Aleppo

Creative Component 

I thought there was nothing I could do but sit here and wait for time to go by. I was tired and didn’t want to do anything. Therefore, I hid away to be left alone with my thoughts. Being here sucks, I thought. I don’t want to be in this place. I don’t like it here. My complaints got me thinking about the word place. What is place? How can an individual define it? The place is defined in the dictionary as “a portion of space available or designated for or being used by someone.” But I think there’s more to it. The place isn’t just an object or area; it’s a feeling. I think it’s a place you feel connected to, almost like your home but different. You feel attached despite obstacles, despite space. It feels like home more than home for some. It’s your safe space. A place can also be one you’ve never been to before. It’s something you feel a strong connection to, like an ancestral homeland—my space.

Literary Component 

On page 40, in the Parable of the Sower, there is a scene where an outsider shoots through Laurens communities gate. She says, "It's like an island surrounded by sharks. Except our land sharks are on their way in. It's just a matter of how long it takes them to get hungry enough." I chose this quote because it reminds me of The Siege of St. Augustine in 1702. When Lauren talks about the island surrounded by sharks, I think about when the Spanish town had to move into the Castillo to be safe from the impending English attack. The Castillo, throughout history, has been a very sought place, so I think of it as the Spanish are trying to keep their very own island away from all the hungry sharks at this point.