Sanctuary Doors at Temple Beth Am
Judaism has a lovely way of embracing the oneness and wholeness of everything while simultaneously making beautiful distinctions between things. Jewish thresholds and rituals play an important role in amplifying an awareness of important transitions.
The Shema prayer describes how Jews mark a doorpost with a mezuzah, so as to be reminded of sacred purpose each time one passed through a portal. At the entry to the Temple Beth Am Sanctuary, the concept of “mezuzah” is expanded beyond the placement of a contained text on the door jamb. Here, the doors themselves and the vestibule inside provide an opportunity to shift one’s state of mind as they gently rise and elevate toward reflection. The art glass of the entry doors, like the central Sanctuary skylight, recalls a tallit (prayer shawl) pattern in the repetition of two words, Beth Am; House of The People. A mirroring of these words hints at the geometry of the central ceiling vault inside. Metal yuds that serve as the entry door pulls recall the mirrored yuds of an aleph, together suggesting the eternal connection between the sacred and the everyday.
