The Sacred Portal

This study is concerned with the examination of some of the most important thematic motifs that dominate the art of the ancient Jews. Its focal point is the mosaic pavement of the Beth Alpha synagogue that stood, some 1500 years ago, in the Lower Galilee of ancient Palestine. The crowning design in the decorative scheme of that synagogue is a pedimented portal, elaborately worked out in mosaic cubes, which forms the backbone of this study and provides its title. Originally published by Wayne State University Press in 1966, this edition contains a new Introduction by Jacob Neusner.