Congregation Sherith Israel at 2266 California St. is a Jewish Reform synagogue, designed by Beaux-Arts architect Albert Pissis, and was completed in 1905. The synagogue is registered on the National Register of Historic Places. It houses a 60‑foot painted dome with a blue‑sky oculus and a 3,500‑pipe organ.
Opposite each other are the synagogue’s stained‑glass half‑moon windows, designed by the architect Albert Pissis’ brother, Emile Pissis. On the left, the west window, shows Moses unveiling the Ten Commandments, and on the right, the east window, shows Isaiah’s charge from God to “feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless.”
A view straight up into Albert Pissis’ 1905 dome shows a cerulean oculus or dome opening, ringed by a gilded sunburst and 24 sky‑blue “petal” windows, which are not visible in the photo. Outside of the Oculus runs a frieze of painted and sculpted zodiac‑and‑tribe medallion sculptures, each medallion in gold leaf.
The west stained glass window shows Exodus — in California? The window apparently depicts Half Dome in the background, Sierra granite peaks to the left of Half Dome, a pine tree straight out of Yosemite, and a spiky Mojave yucca.
These five stained glass windows on the west side of the synagogue, from left to right, tell the story of 1 Samuel in the Old Testament, the transition from tribal rule of the 12 tribes of Israel to monarchy under King Saul.
These five stained glass windows on the west side of the synagogue, from left to right, tell the story of 1 Samuel in the Old Testament, the transition from tribal rule of the 12 tribes of Israel to monarchy under King Saul.
This is a lovely photo essay, with mostly well-done information. Just two corrections. The frieze outside the Oculus does not represent “zodiac and tribe medallions,” but images of objects used in different Jewish rituals. For Sherith Israel and Jews worldwide, the story of 1 Samuel is not in the “Old Testament.” It’s in the Bible.
Pretty sure the mountain is meant to represent Sinai, but I’m no expert.
Rosh —
While, of course, that’s how it is written in the Torah, the window is *definitely* meant to evoke Half Dome.
Thanks. I wondered what was up with the girl who doesn’t quite fit.
It’s interesting to read a couple of your old articles. Those Shalit negotiators thought they’d achieved a concession we now know they had not.
Why are we not seeing more institutions LOUDLY throwing their FULL weight behind protests of Israel’s Likud (IRGUN terrorist) party’s advertised and underway GENOCIDE and ETHNIC CLEANSING of the Gaza strip and West Bank?
This ought to be ground zero for people of all faith to stand up to unacceptable evil being committed purportedly in their names, in OUR NAME as Americans and citizens of the world watching as tens of thousands of innocent and completely trapped civilians are starved and slaughtered for an odious advertised land grab, under the banner of ANY religion. What is the purpose of worshiping God if not to bring light to the darkness? Of what use is stained glass without the light of God behind it?
Sons and Daughters of Abraham have the pulpit rightnow – SPEAK OUT LOUDER. Criticism from within the community is undeniable, less ‘hasbara-ble’, much more difficult to pretend isn’t happening – as criminals literally pretend no one is being starved in Gaza.
*(And for those who would say it’s ‘off-topic’ to speak this message on this gallery of stained glass, I’d just ask when you would find it appropriate to be outraged and alarmed about ongoing mass-murder being committed allegedly in your name, for the benefit of your faith or creed. Ask your God when it would be appropriate for you to be personally outraged and stand up against it, if only symbolically – at LEAST symbolically. You too share this pulpit, this humanity.)
Why are we not seeing more institutions LOUDLY throwing their FULL weight behind protests against hamas, their holding of Israeli hostages and their crusade to destroy the Jewish state? Forget October 7 already??
So you support Hamas? I don’t hear anything but defenses of attacking and killing civilians from you yet. OBVIOUSLY a terrorist attack from Hamas is LOUDLY dealt with by the world. Israel’s genocide in Gaza has yet to be.
Or did you actually get confused between the two orders of magnitude? Sure you did.
October 7 was one terrible day, almost TWO YEARS AGO, that a WAR CRIMINAL has used to pretend human rights abuses are justified on all civilians AND REPORTERS in Gaza. Israel’s armed forces knew about the event prior to and not only dismissed it, they failed to respond for some 10-12 hours.
Now that government is endangering the lives of the remaining few hostages they pretend to be at all interested in, as they IGNORE THE ENTIRE REST OF THE WORLD, human rights and law generally, to say nothing of the the 10 commandments. That’s why they’re facing massive protests internally, almost TWO YEARS LATER, because some people still DO have a conscience and understand that starving civilians is not only wrong, not only a war crime, but uniting the entire world against them as a nation much as Russia has in attempting to annex Ukraine. If you like to pretend invading Gaza City and bombing civilians and starving children is somehow intended to bring back the hostages safely, rather than diplomatically agreeing to a staged ceasefire and withdrawal (which Nyetanyahu does not want because it will end his cabinet and he’ll be prosecutable again), realize that you are part of the problem. You are living in a world of lies and pretending it’s reality, against the entire world’s condemnation. Shame.
I previously called Israel 6th largest, it is 26th largest. That’s still quite a lot bigger and more powerful than the starving, trapped, bombed, deliberately targeted for genocide civilians of Gaza and the West Bank, who aren’t even allowed to collect rainwater because the occupiers deny them even that, using violence.
If you would like to continue the charade of Nyetanyahu rather than see hostages possibly returned alive, even if you disregard the lives of millions of innocent civilians deliberately marked for death by Israel – a massive WAR CRIME being committed in plain sight by a so-called US “ally” – please, continue to give false distractions here as if that will keep war criminals from the consequences of their crimes against humanity. Tapdance, obfuscate, equivocate, lie if you need to. It isn’t distracting anyone anymore, the world sees what is being done.
There will be justice, but ask yourself if you want to be on that side instead of on the side of genocidal war criminals who deliberately starve women and children. Decide for yourself, like we all must.