RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: DELOS SYNAGOGUE: OLDEST SYNAGOGUE IN THE WORLDThe synagogue of Delos, Greece, a small island next to Mykonos, is the oldest synagogue known today, its origin dating between 150 and 128 BCE. The building's most recent use is widely agreed to have been an assembly hall for Jews .
From The Island Packet, Rabbi Arthur Segal, at the synagogue on Delos Island, Greece. Thursday December 1, 2011.
However, the first use for the building is more controversial. While some people think the building was erected as a private house or a pagan meeting place, most believe that it was a synagogue even in its earliest form.
Located on the eastern side of the city of Delos, the synagogue was far from the central areas of the city. We know. We walked at and then ran it up hill trying not to miss the ferry back to Mykonos.
Instead, the synagogue was built in a section of Delos called the Quartier du stade. In this part of the city, in contrast to the religious and commercial focus at Delos' center, residences dominated the scene (there was also a small, easily accessibly port).
The synagogue itself consisted of two large rooms containing a throne and multiple marble benches as well as many smaller rooms which allowed for access to a reservoir. This "throne" seen in the photos, was called the "Moses Chair'' and seems to be used by the rabbi of the synagogue.
The synagogue was discovered in 1912 by a team led by archaeologist André Plassart . The synagogue is understood to have remained in use until the end of the second century AD. The dominating feature of the building is the large hall, which was presumably used in a flexible way, with moveable furniture, since there is no evidence for benches built along the walls.] The hall is oriented towards the east, with a series of secondary rooms at the southern end.
The original identification of the building as a synagogue by Plassart was based in large part on dedicatory inscriptions referring to "Theos Hypsistos," or "God Most High," often considered an appellation for the Jewish God in antiquity, though not exclusively.
Throne of MosesHere is a close up of the Moses Throne fromThe Synagogue was on prime ocean-view real estate. It truly was a Beth Yam, House by the Sea. Photo from same above web site.View to SoutheastBut here is the rub. Many Jewish historians state that the advent of a synagogue did not occur until after 70 CE, when Ezra's Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. If we define a synagogue as a meeting place for Jews, whether it be for social, political, prayer or study reasons, and whether it be a free standing building or a room in someone's home, we know therefore that synagogues began to exist, after the Babylonian Diaspora of 586 BCE. They existed while the Ezra's Temple still was in existence, and eventually developed a service, that would seem familiar today. They had set prayer including the Amidah, the Shema, and reading from the Torah as well as the books of the Prophets, along with a d'var Torah, aka a sermon. The reading from the Prophets was a direct afront to Hebrews, still mired in the cult of the Priests, with animal sacrifices, who believed in the Five Books of Moses only, i.e. The Torah, and none of the books of the Prophets, and certainly none of the oral law or its commentaries, which we call Talmud today.Hebraism and Judaism lived side by side for 100s of years before the Roman's destroyed Ezra's Temple in Jerusalem, and Jews lived in foreign lands, under Greek and /or Roman rule, long after they were allowed to return from Babylon to what we call Israel today.Certainly any critical or even superficial reading of the Christian Bible has Rabbi Y'shua ,aka Jesus, giving sermons in Synagogues and reading from the Law, aka Torah, as well as from the Prophets. And this was circa 35 or 45 years before the Temple was destroyed.Rabbi Arthur Segal www.jewishspiritualrenewal.org
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