Для исследователей еврейского традиционного искусства и культуры
росписи синагог представляют неисчерпаемый источник художественных образов и символов, дающий возможность проникнуть в духовный
мир восточноевропейского еврейства. Но источник этот до сих пор остается труднодоступным в силу многих причин.
Studies in recent years have made it possible to identify Northern Bukovina as
a regional center of existence of the Eastern European tradition of synagogue
murals. Painting decoration of well-known today synagogues in Novoselytsia
(1918–1919) and Chernivtsi (Beit Tfila Benjamin, 1920–30s) shows the unity
of this iconographic program, a naive perception of the language of images,
expressiveness and depth in interpreting the images and subjects ofthe biblical motifs and scenes. Carpet-like style of painting, great variety of subject
repertoire, and saturation of images make these synagogues similar to those
of Romania (historical regions of Southern Bukovina, Bessarabia and Moldova). However, the breadth of the program of their decoration as a whole
and its individual cycles has almost no parallel in Europe. It is quite likely
that the distinctiveness of these paintings is associated with the spread of the
Sadigura-Vizhnitz branch of Hasidism in Bukovina, although there is no direct evidence in support of this hypothesis as of yet.
These paintings adhere to the general principles of the Eastern European
synagogue decoration, reflecting in their structure the cosmological ideas and
images of sacred Jewish history. These pantintings’ subject matter manifestly
follow traditions of the period, but their interpretation also shows the influence
of medieval approaches (techniques of depicting human body), the power of
folk traditions and contemporary trends of the time. The murals contain motifs
of local architecture and landscape, including images of the Khotyn fortress
and Bukovinian synagogues-residences of Sadigura-Vizhnitz Tzaddikim, rabbinic interpretations of various themes, patterns of established designs and prototypes, and yet at the same time there is a vivid, original art-making, compositional and coloristic integrity of the artistic ensemble.
These sites show the strength of the religious spirit of the pre-war Jews
of Bukovina. The artistic tradition which in this region has retained its lively,
emotional nature, emphasizes the connection with centuries-old cultural heritage of shtetl.
