Grigorescu, Felicia: Forme de artă în cimitire evreieşti din nord-vestul Romaniei (Satu Mare, 2013)
Glosar de termeni
symbolic analysis of this architectonic ensemble, basing himself on all the references to the Biblical text, which he interprets through the prism of the profound meanings of the elements, which were filled with bright antique elite. The ensemble is seen as a metaphor of the balance between the masculine and feminine features of nature. They make a declaration about the creative nature of God in the human equation as the divine union between man and woman. In this context, the presence of the pomegranate is interpreted as ornaments of the pillars, described in the Biblical text121 * 123, the seeds of the fruit being associated to the seed of the sexual act. The elements of decorum of the pillars continue this sexual interpretation of the ensemble: thus, the corolla of the lily is associated to the woman’s vulvae, while the column itself would represent the phallus. ...In this metaphor, it is proven that God embraces our human sexuality but emphasizes the divine nature in the creation and evolution of his kingdom.... Afterwards, Shapiro makes another association of the two pillars of the Temple with two plants that are specific to and unique in Israel: the white water-lily and the blue water lily, each marking the most southern and the most northern area of the distribution of their species, Israel being their joint ...between the Southern border of the distribution of the white water lily and the Northern limit of the blue water lily... The author noticed that in the time of the Temple’s construction, the distribution of the water lilies marked the northern and the southern borders of Israel and represented, symbolically, the united kingdom. Jachin would represent North-Israel and Boaz the southern part of the kingdom. It is also assumed that the pillars would have contained collectors in their column in the upper part of the column and probably they were used as gigantic torches which were lit at night during the holidays from the Jewish calendar. It is also assumed that the torches, when lit, would have generated a spectacle that could be seen from miles away. Ornamental vessels. The vessel in general may symbolize “treasures”; it is a keeper of a valuable object. It is also a place where wonders take place . The vessel contains in different ways the elixir of life, which is so coveted by man, whether he belongs to the polytheistic or monotheistic religions. The ornamental vessels are very much present both in the synagogal and cemeterial, as well as especially in the urban, architecture. For our study, the cause of their inclusion among the symbol-generating elements is still the Biblical reference: to cover... the ten bases and ten layers on the basesm. The vessels are specific to the original syntheses of the Judaic eclecticism, especially in frequent baroque-Moresque juxtaposition. When it enters the decoration of the upper parts of the synagogue, they are made of plate. These ornamental vessels of the synagogal exteriors - though frequent also in the Christian and civil architecture - represent, however, features that were appropriated by the Judaic eclecticism, in the quest of its own architectonic expressions. 121 The Bible, I Kings 7: 18, 20 1-2 Chevalier, Gheerbrant, D.S., voi. I, p. 429 123 The Bible, 1 Kings 7: 43 133
