Hammat Tiberias

Hammat Tiberias. Skirball Museum. , While their date of origin is unknown, synagogues were common in the Land of Israel by the first century CE. With the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in the year 70, they emerged as the nucleus of Jewish religious activity. , Tiberias, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, was a major center of Jewish life in the third century. Just south of the city, the hot springs of Hammat were excavated by archaeologists in 1920 and 1961-1963. Two synagogues were discovered dating from the third or fourth century. In one of them a mosaic pavement was found, including images of the Ark of the Law, the signs of the zodiac, and inscriptions in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. , A section of the mosaic is reproduced in this exhibit. The surrounding architectural remains are typical of Galilean synagogues of the era. , Shared Civilization , Founded on past experience, modern Jewish life looks all the way back to antiquity. From the beginning, Jews have learned to share civilization with others. Two thousand years ago, in the formative age of Rabbinic Judaism, Jews lived in a dynamic relationship with Greco-Roman culture. Such creative interaction, reflected in this exhibit, is woven into the pattern of Jewish history.