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Is There Really a Distinctive Architectural Style in Synagogues?

Most peoples have their architectural style, especially when it comes to building holy places. However, the Jewish people, due to numerous persecutions and forced migrations, were never able to find their distinctive architectural style when building synagogues.
Paying attention to the numerous synagogues built in different parts of the world, we can see that they are all different from each other. The holy places of the Jews never had their unique style because in different lands they always remained aliens. Thus, their architectural solutions never had permanence.
Moreover, among the Jews, we know more geniuses of science than geniuses of architecture. Due to the poverty of the Jewish people, synagogues were often owned by non-Jewish people. Moreover, most often the architects of synagogues were specialists who were far from Jewish culture. When building holy places for Jews, depending on the place of construction, one can notice the use of local interior and exterior items, such as the exterior doors Ottawa, the modern exterior style of the synagogue in Santiago, and so on. The main emphasis has always been on spirituality, and not on external implementation.
Modesty above all
The Jewish people in their history have never known when they would have to pack everything they own to start looking for a new home. In this regard, the distinctive architectural style of synagogues has never acted as the main attribute. Despite the misconceptions, most people never had the stunning wealth that other people believed. In the absence of a well-to-do patron, society led an extremely modest lifestyle.
Wherever the Jewish people went, they had to face the fact that they could not own land, or they could only rent land on which they could build their holy place. Thus, there was no need to think about building an expensive synagogue with a certain architectural style. Their architectural structures looked quite modest and even unsightly.

Height matters
In some places, especially in the eastern lands, the Jewish people led a quieter life and had a more stable position in society. The scripture stated that the synagogues should be distinguished by the fact that they should be the tallest buildings in the city. It was forbidden to build buildings higher than holy places. However, it was extremely difficult to achieve such a result in foreign lands, since local churches had a higher value and status. It was extremely difficult to build synagogues higher than the local holy places.
The Jewish people found a way out of any situation. They built buildings that went into the ground, so the overall height was much greater. The construction of synagogues took place partly underground, which was reflected in the words of the one who composed the Psalms. The Jews relied on the Psalms, which stated that they should cry out to the Almighty from the depths.
Scripture also dictated that Jewish churches should have windows. They must teach the Jewish people that when turning to the Almighty, they must be fully aware of what is happening outside. The Jewish people should not cry out to God, praying only to meet their needs, instead, they should be as close to the world as possible.
However, such a structure cannot be observed everywhere. In some parts of the world, synagogues were built without any windows. This was done so that other non-Jews would not hear prayers that might offend them.

Simple interior with religious symbols
Looking at the churches of different peoples, we can notice several differences. The most important difference is that synagogues have the simplest design, yet they differ in functionality. Despite their simplicity, the Jewish people have never shown a lack of sacred symbols.
In every Jewish church, we can see several basic religious symbols. Here are the most prominent elements:
● Bimah;
● Aron ha-Kodesh;
● Eternal light.
Most Jewish churches were simple in design. They had only the most necessary religious symbols. However, there are ancient synagogues that have vivid artistic expressions. They were decorated with fantastically beautiful mosaics depicting various animals, birds, people, geometric figures, etc.
If in the most ancient synagogues you can see the image of human figures, then over time the Jews ceased to emphasize the image of people. Such a principle was contrary to the commandments that said that the Jewish people should not look for an idol. However, among the pre-modern synagogues, one can see those that did not adhere to what was said in the commandments, so it cannot be said that the architectural style was consistent.
Conclusion
Synagogues have never had consistent and distinctive architectural styles. Depending on the lands on which the Jewish people built their churches, they all have different architectural solutions. However, they all have a simple design but differ in functionality. Being aliens in different lands, the Jewish people resorted to the help of local architects who built synagogues based on their views on how the church should look like.

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Trump’s Nobel Peace Prize Quest And the Ukraine War

By HENRY SREBRNIK In a recent letter nominating U.S. President Donald Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel heaped praise on the diplomatic deals known as the Abraham Accords, establishing diplomatic relations between his country and three Arab states.

Netanyahu called the 2020 accords, brokered by Trump, “breakthroughs” that had “reshaped the Middle East,” making a “historic advance toward peace, security and regional stability.” Trump brokered the treaties between, initially, Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, signed at the White House that September 15. 

As I wrote at the time, Trump deserved the prize, but his detractors saw to it that it was instead awarded to the World Food Program, “for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.”

A worthy organization, of course, but it could have been granted the prize in any year since its foundation in 1961. Trump deserved the prize, but didn’t get it, due to animosity from the international liberal elites.

By 2021 Trump was out of office, but he would still have been eligible. Instead. the prize went jointly to Maria Ressa, a Filipino-American journalist and investigative reporter for CNN and a professor at Columbia University, and Dmitry Andreyevich Muratov, founder of a pro-democracy Russian newspaper, for “their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.” Again, more of a “human rights” award than a diplomatic effort to end armed conflict.

Trump has long sought a Nobel Prize and has publicly questioned the decision to award the honour in 2009 to former president Barack Obama, who had barely entered the White House at the time. This time around, despite lingering bias, I think Trump will receive it. He can’t be overlooked — because he is really bringing at least a modicum of peace between longtime foes around the world. 

The August 8 agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan notched another victory for him. The photograph of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan shaking hands, with a smiling Trump holding both their arms, should alone do it. And it comes after a series of such deals. He spent much of his appearance promoting his administration’s role in overseas peace processes. His last such success came at the end of July, when he intervened to bring Cambodia and Thailand to the negotiating table after a border dispute. 

Trump claimed involvement in a May ceasefire between India and Pakistan, two nuclear powers, though India denied, for domestic reasons, that the U.S. was a major actor. In June, he celebrated a peace agreement brokered by the U.S. between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, doing so with a signing in the Oval Office. 

“Today’s signing follows our success with India and Pakistan. They were going at it. They were going at it big,” Trump reminded people. “Also the Congo and Rwanda. Now that was one, which was going on for 31 years, and we have it all done, and people are very happy.”

Several world leaders have said they were nominating Trump for the prize, including Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet. Among others, the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan have expressed their support. Pashinyan and Aliyev said that they believe Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize and that they will advocate on his behalf to the Norwegian Nobel Committee. Aliyev remarked that what Trump did in six months was a “miracle.”

Now comes the hardest part: the horrific Russia-Ukraine war. It has become Trump’s obsession to end it and enter the history books as a peacemaker. The symbolism of Trump meeting Vladimir Putin on the tarmac in Anchorage, Alaska August 15 was a photograph that undoubtedly made it to the front pages of every newspaper in the world. Prior to the meeting, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party candidate who lost the presidential election to Trump in 2016, said she would nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize if he managed to pull off this extremely challenging feat!

Of course, the Alaska summit was actually just a first step. The ball is now in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s court. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Aug. 20 that Russia would agree to Western security guarantees for Ukraine only if Russia and China have a veto. 

Russia’s list of demands includes assurance that Ukraine will not join NATO. Conversely, Moscow will have to accept an eventual Ukrainian accession to the European Union. Remember: unlike the U.S. and Europe, neither Russia nor Ukraine can afford to lose. Both — yes, both — see themselves up against the wall. 

A redrawing of national borders seems inevitable. Much of Donetsk, Luhansk, and of course all of Crimea, with their Russophone populations, will likely remain Russian. On the other hand, Ukraine will become a far more homogenous nation state, perhaps a step towards its greater democratization. Otherwise, the war will continue. 

And I haven’t even mentioned Gaza.

As for Trump’s Nobel? The road ahead is rough, but it will still be a sure thing.

Henry Srebrnik is a professor of political science at the University of Prince Edward Island.

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How beginners can profit from crypto

There are some people who have made money through investing in cryptocurrency. However, how can crypto help you make a profit if you are a beginner who doesn’t have a lot of technical expertise? Here is a list of some of the ways you can make money with crypto without having a lot of experience in the subject. 

Get in early

One way you can, potentially, earn money from crypto without needing any deep technical knowledge is by finding opportunities to get in on the ground floor. If you study any upcoming crypto launches by, for instance, looking at the list of new crypto presales from Best Wallet, you might find a coin or token which you could make a profit from. Very often, a cryptocurrency’s presale price is lower than what it trades at when it first appears on the open market. So, if you are careful, do your own research, and have luck on your side, you could make a profit from a cryptocurrency presale. 

Earn interest

If you want to make a profit in a slow but sure manner, then earning interest on a crypto savings account might just be for you. Much like a traditional, fiat, savings account, your money is lent out to borrowers or, in some cases, put into liquidity pools, and you earn interest, which can be as much as 10 per cent. Most major exchanges will let you do this, and they are often pretty user-friendly, too, so it won’t require a great deal of crypto expertise. If you do put your money into a savings account, make sure you research the platform and start with a small amount, the sort of amount of crypto you could afford to lose. It also helps if you diversify somewhat and use different platforms to avoid the risk of losses. 

Earn as you learn

While the debate between centralized and decentralized exchanges isn’t going to go away at any point soon, something that can work in favor of centralized exchanges is how they can give you free crypto in the form of learn-to-earn programs. These involve surveys and quizzes about particular cryptocurrencies, which reward players with some of the subject cryptos once they have completed them. Although the rewards are not exactly massive – usually a few dollars’ worth of the said crypto – they are real. What is, perhaps, even more useful is that the quizzes are educational, so you won’t just gain crypto from doing them, you will also learn more about the whole cryptosphere. 

Keep loyal

If you’ve been shopping at any point this century, the chances are that you will be familiar with the concept of loyalty cards. These give you rewards for doing your shopping, or eating and drinking, at a specific chain or store. And what’s true of traditional retail is becoming ever more commonplace with cryptocurrency. Whether it’s with crypto debit cards, which give users rewards in the form of crypto, shopping platforms such as StormX or Lolli offering points, or travel sites like Travala giving customers crypto cashback, there are plenty of ways in which you can get crypto just by getting things you would normally get. And, better yet, they usually just need you to sign up and link your card to your account, so there’s no mining or staking or anything like that. As ever, though, make sure that you read the small print and check that you comply with any tax requirements for any coins or tokens earned via a crypto loyalty program.  

Hold steady

Crypto investors who make money know when to get into a market and come out of it. However, one thing that can work in your favor is the simple act of buying and holding crypto. Now, this isn’t foolproof. Firstly, because nothing is foolproof and, secondly, because prices can go down as well as up. That said, there is a theory that, ultimately, this is the best way to make money with crypto, because it can involve a long-term strategy. You will, however, need to make sure that you do your own research, remember that prices can go down as well as up, and never invest more than you can afford to lose. It also helps to be patient, because you might not see a profit you want to take for quite some time. So just buying and holding can help you turn a crypto profit without having to study the technical intricacies of cryptocurrency. 

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Team Spirit: Jewish College Sports Programs Making Headlines

For many educational institutions, sports are no longer just an optional activity: they have become an important part of the educational process. They build not only physical endurance, but also social skills, values and a sense of belonging to the Jewish community, as is often written on the website jewishsportsreview.com. Let’s take a look at the place of sports in Jewish colleges.

Features of Sports Programmes

Jewish educational institutions have always placed a special emphasis on the harmonious development of the individual. However, in the past, sports activities often took a back seat to academic subjects and religious education. Today, the situation has changed: more and more colleges are realising that sports are not just physical activity, but a tool for character building.

Sports in Jewish colleges serve several key functions:

  • Social integration: joint training and competitions bring together students from different departments and courses.
  • Strengthening values through fair play, respect for opponents, the ability to lose gracefully and win without arrogance are fully consistent with the ethical principles accepted in Jewish culture.
  • Leadership development: team captains and sports event organisers gain experience in team management and decision-making under pressure.

Participation in sports clubs helps maintain a balance between mental and physical development, which is especially important for students who often have a heavy academic workload.

Sports Programme and Discipline Opportunities

Sports programmes at Jewish colleges are diverse and tailored to the interests of students, as well as the infrastructure of the educational institutions. In addition to traditional sports such as basketball, football and volleyball, the schedule may include baseball, tennis, table tennis and even sports related to historical or cultural traditions.

Interestingly, some colleges take Jewish holidays and Shabbat into account when drawing up their sports calendars so that training sessions and competitions do not clash with religious obligations. Students can combine sporting achievements with preserving their cultural identity.

Participation in intercollegiate tournaments is becoming an important element of sports programmes. This is not only a test of skill, but also an opportunity to represent one’s college at the regional or national level, creating a positive image for the educational institution. In such tournaments, the emphasis is often not only on winning, but also on the ability to behave in the spirit of fair play, which creates a special atmosphere of friendship and mutual respect between teams.

Impact on Student Life and Career

Sport in Jewish colleges plays a significant role in shaping the student experience. It helps students develop skills that are in demand not only in sport but also in any area of life: the ability to work in a team, make quick decisions and take responsibility for results.

Many graduates who participated in sports programmes note that this experience proved useful in building their careers. For example:

  • Team leaders subsequently demonstrate high managerial competence at work.
  • Players who are used to constant training and discipline adapt more easily to stress and deadlines.
  • Participants in intercollegiate games gain public speaking and networking skills that help in business negotiations.

In addition to career advantages, sport improves health and reduces stress levels, which is especially important for students who are balancing their studies with community projects and religious obligations. The atmosphere of support and mutual assistance created by sports teams helps many students adapt to college life more easily, especially if they have come from another city or country.

Joining a sports team or regular training can become an important part of student life. Those considering this option should take several factors into account:

  • Assess your goals: do you want to play sports professionally or just to stay in shape and socialise? This will help you choose the right level of commitment.
  • Check your schedule to make sure that training does not conflict with your studies or religious obligations.
  • Take advantage of college resources: many institutions offer free gyms, coaching, and access to sports clubs.

It is equally important to remember that sport is not just about winning. It teaches patience, respect for others and a willingness to work hard. At Jewish colleges, sports programmes are designed to combine these values with cultural and spiritual elements, making them unique.

Sports programmes at Jewish colleges become a space where traditional values are organically intertwined with modern approaches to education and leisure. For many students, participating in college sports is just as important as academic success. After all, team spirit, the ability to work together and support each other are qualities that stay with a person for life.

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