Our Windows

(From Left to Right)

Window 1
This window describes the majestic scene on Mount Sinai, a flaming mountain of rock crowned with the two tablets showing the Ten Commandments, which, according to tradition, were handed down on the Festival of Shavuot.

Window 2
This window depicts the great clouds which hovered over the Israelites as they left the land of Egypt, bordered by the flash of fire which guarded them during their journey. The oval contains the name of God at the very top; the animals and elements which are mentioned in the closing song of the Passover Haggadah about the only kid, the Chad Gadya, surround the Cup of Elijah in the center. Between this scene and the sea below are the symbolic four cups of wine, which are partaken of during the Passover Seder ceremony.

Window 3
The three large panels with the symbols of the new moon, the Shofar, the Memorial Lights, and the Book of Remembrance all relate to the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Under the Shofar, or Ram’s Horn, are the three Hebrew words given the equivalent of the three blasts of the Shofar sounded on the New Year, the T’kiyah, Shevarim, and T’ruah. Under the Memorial Lights the first word of the memorial prayer, Yizkor, is to be seen. The sealed book commonly referred to in the closing prayer of Yom Kippur is seen where the judgement of all life is symbolically sealed during the Neilah service, which takes place at the close of Yom Kippur when the gates of heaven are about to be closed.

Window 4
The Festival of Sukkot is depicted in its threefold meaning. First, the Sukkah or tabernacle commemorates the sojourn of the Israelites in the wilderness when they dwelt in huts. Below it are the special plants and fruit used during the festival, consisting of the palm branch and etrog, the citron, bound with the willows and myrtles used also in the daily procession at the close of the service. The decorated Torah scroll, together with the colored flags, are used in the procession on the last day of the festival called Simchat Torah, which means “Rejoicing with the Torah."