Shemot (שְׁמוֹת – The Names)
Exodus 1:1–6:1 and Isaiah 27:6–28:13; 29:22–23
A new Pharaoh subjects the Hebrews to harsher servitude and orders the drowning of the male firstborns. Moses, saved from the water by Pharaoh’s daughter, is raised in the royal court. As an adult, he kills an Egyptian mistreating a Hebrew and flees to Midian. There, God appears to him in a burning bush and commands him to return to Egypt to free the Hebrews. In the Haftarah, Isaiah prophesies the redemption of Israel, announcing the end of exile and the spiritual restoration of the nation.
Exodus 2:10
וַתִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ מֹשֶׁה וַתֹּאמֶר כִּי מִן-הַמַּיִם מְשִׁיתִהוּ
She called him Moses, saying, I drew him out of the water.
The Scola Levantina, erected in 1541 by Levantine Jews(1), is one of the five historical synagogues in the ghetto(2) of Venice. All these synagogues are built on upper floors to limit the effects of acqua alta(3). Its interior, in baroque style, is dominated by red tones. The ceiling adorned with geometric patterns supports bronze chandeliers, while the windows, formed of glass discs, resemble boat buoys. The Holy Ark and the bimah, richly decorated, are surrounded by carved wooden benches, and the women’s gallery, adorned with an elegant balustrade, overlooks the prayer space.
(1) Levantine Jews are from the eastern Mediterranean regions under Ottoman rule, particularly Greece and Turkey.
(2) The Venice Ghetto was created in 1516. It is the world’s first Jewish ghetto. Jews were confined there at night and monitored by Christian guards. The word “ghetto” derives from the Italian ghèto, meaning “foundry,” referencing the industrial site where this neighborhood was established.
(3) Acqua alta is an Italian term meaning “high waters,” referring to the exceptional tides that regularly flood Venice and affect all its buildings.