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Congregation Agudas Achim - Austin, Texas

Arun Kodesh exterior door decoration

Designed by Mark Podwal, a Hebrew Zodiac etched in copper appears on the exterior of the ark doors. The artist based his drawing on the following Talmudic verse: “He who sees the sun in its seasons, the moon in its fullness, the stars in their orbit, the planets in their fixed order, will say ‘Blessed be the Creator of the Universe’”. Zodiac signs appeared frequently in early Jewish art particularly in synagogue floor mosaics. The balancing scale of Libra coincides with the month of Tishrei, the period of divine judgment. Taurus was linked to the calf slaughtered by Abraham for his angelic guests, while Gemini is said to represent Jacob and Esau. The twelve Zodiac signs were also said to correspond to the twelve tribes of Israel.

Arun Kodesh interior door decoration

"All that which I created, I created in pairs: Heaven and earth a pair, the sun and moon a pair, Adam and Eve a pair" (Song of Songs Rabbah). Based this verse, Podwal depicts the sun and moon, a pair of rimmonim, a pair of tefillin, a pair of hands configuring the priestly blessing, a pair of challot, and the two tablets of the Ten Commandments protected by a pair of lions on the interior of the ark doors.

The Parochet

Podwal's design for the Parochet, the curtain in front of the Arun Kodesh, is a Tree of Life with the Torah scrolls as the trunk. A second tree representing the Kabalistic diagram portraying the ten sefirot or attributes of G-d of appears among the leaves of the larger tree.

Sifrei Torah

Congregation Agudas Achim has acquired seven Sifrei Torah in its more than seventy-five year history. Five are installed in the Aron Kodesh of the main sanctuary. The remaining two Sifrei Torah are kept in the chapel where they are read during the morning minyan on Mondays, Thursdays and Rosh Chodesh. To assist new Jewish congregations, we make our additional Torah available for loan for High Holidays and other significant occasions. The Torah mantles, designed by Podwal, each represent a Jewish festival or day of remembrance. The Yom Ha-Shah mantle is worn by a Torah saved from the Holocaust and bears an upside down Menorah formed by converging railroad tracks.