A 200-year-old Hebrew inscription was discovered in the excavations of the Great Synagogue in Vilnius

The researchers, from the Antiquities Authority and the Lithuanian Excavations Association, invite the public to add information about figures mentioned in the 200-year-old inscription

An exciting discovery in Lithuania: for the first time since the start of the excavation project to uncover the Great Synagogue of Vilna, which was burned in the Holocaust and destroyed by the Soviets, inscriptions in the Hebrew language have been uncovered.
According to the researchers, Dr. Yochanan (John) Seligman from the Antiquities Authority and Justinas Rakas from the Lithuanian Excavations Company, who have been conducting excavations in Lithuania every summer for the past 4 years, "the large and significant inscription, from 1796, combines phrases from the book of Genesis and a number of Psalms, and is It was part of a stone table for reading the Torah that stood on the magnificent platform of the synagogue in Vilnius.

The table was donated - according to the scriptures, by two brothers - Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Shmuel, in memory of their mother, Sarah, and their father, Rabbi Chaim. From the inscription it appears that Rabbi Chaim immigrated from Lithuania to Israel, settled in Tiberias, and died in Jerusalem. From this table the Torah was read for about 200 years, until the synagogue burned down and was finally destroyed by the Soviets, 70 years ago.

This is how the inscription, which was read together with Dr. Vladimir Levin of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, reads: "To the detail 'we ascended' (year 1796) with joy to our country. Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Shmuel, the sons of Rabbi Chaim, who lived in Tiberias in the 1782th century and died in Sarah Av. Shabti D. Adar, and to Jerusalem a 'herald' (year 1786) I will give, and Rabbi Chaim ber Chaim died there XNUMX Nissan, you will 'stand up' (year XNUMX) have mercy on Zion".

According to the researchers, "These short sentences point to the deep connection between the Lithuanian community and the Holy Land, which has existed since the days of the Gaon from Vilna to the present day. From the initial investigation we conducted, it appears that the donor family was one of the leading rabbinic families in Lithuania at the beginning of the 18th century. At the same time, due to the lack of the family name in the address, the information we have is incomplete, and we invite the public to add pieces to the puzzle and provide information about the family via the project's Facebook page.

Another personal greeting was discovered in the form of a seat plate of the director of the 'Great Charity' association, the association that ran the Great Synagogue in Vilnius from the end of the 18th century until 1931. "These are the discoveries that particularly excite us: personal objects that provide a direct connection to the people, to those who prayed here. It immediately ignites the imagination", say the researchers.

The excavation of the Great Synagogue in Lithuania is a joint venture of the Antiquities Authority, the Lithuanian Excavations Company, the Goodwill Foundation, and the Jewish community in Lithuania. According to Israel Hasson, Director of the Antiquities Authority, "The project to uncover the ancient synagogue in Vilnius is part of the Antiquities Authority's concept of "heritage without borders", within which sites outside the borders of the State of Israel are also excavated and documented, which have a significant heritage value in the history of the Jewish people. This, as a part
From the perception that the authority was entrusted by the public in Israel to serve as the "guardian" on its behalf of the heritage and cultural assets.

This year's excavation, with the participation of a team of Israeli, Lithuanian and international diggers, revealed large parts of the synagogue's grand platform. The bimah, which rose to a height of two stories, was built in the 18th century, with a donation from the well-known Jewish philanthropist - the Yesod. The decorated platform, which was documented in photographs from the beginning of the 20th century, was a two-story structure between four magnificent columns that supported the ceiling. This year parts of these columns were discovered, and the front of the platform from which the cantor read the Torah to the audience for 300 years. An interesting discovery was the stage floor, which was colorful and fancy. Also, a basement was discovered under the stage, which was also unknown to the researchers. In addition, during the excavation, a prayer book that survived the Holocaust, hundreds of coins from the 16th to the 20th centuries and buttons of Napoleon's army, which passed through Vilna on its way to defeat in Moscow, in 1812, were also discovered.

The researchers add that "the discovery of the base of the synagogue's columns, the central parts of the stage and the inscriptions, testify to the potential inherent in the further excavation at the site and the exciting possibility of presenting the remains of the Great Synagogue in Vilnius and the synagogue's courtyard (the Shulhof) in the future, to the local and international public."

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