Jewish Stained Glass Windows Celebrate Triumph Over Tragedy

These beautiful and very modern stained glass windows are located in the Podil Synagogue in Kiev, Ukraine. They are colorful and graphic and I do wish I could get a breakdown of all the elements and their meaning, as there was certaily a great deal of thought and effort put into their design. One of the overwhelming feelings I get from looking at this set of stained glass windows, located in the lobby of the Synagogue, is the idea of triumph over tragedy, which is certainly a very fitting concept now that we are in the period on the Jewish calender called “the three weeks” leading up to the very sad day of Tisha B’Av.

If you are every in Kiev, this synagogue is certainly a place to visit as it is beautifully restored, built in 1895. Until then, the images of this set of stained glass could certainly be used as inspiration for tissue paper works of art, or even collages or drawings celebrating the Jewish people and rememembering Jerusalem.

This one is the most mysterious to me. Is that Roman column a reference to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, or the attempts of the Greeks to erradicate the Jews, or at least Jewish practices, namely the story of Chanukkah.
See the man with the prayer shawl?

Love this one with the likeness of the synagogue worked into the piece.
Truly stunning work of art. Not usually a fan of this style, but here it really works, and the layers of meaning bring its beauty to another level altogether.

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