The heart of ghetto society was the
synagogue, not only a place of worship,
but also the hub of all social life, a place
where the community at large could
meet. The synagogue should not be seen
merely for its religious function but also as
the place where members of the Jewish
community would come together to study
Torah and the sacred texts, to recognize
youths as full members of the congregation
at their coming of age ceremony — the
bar
or
bat-mitzvah
— and, more generally,
to “congregate”. Not only could a single
building house more than one synagogue,
it could also hold as offices, bread-making
ovens and a
mikveh
or ritual bath.
Community
Ferrara, axonometric cutaway
of the complex in Via Mazzini,
drawn by Francesco Corni on
the basis of a reconstruction
by Paolo Ravenna
8
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