Here’s the view from the women’s section. I read somewhere that these slits in the wall were made in the 17th century. The acoustics within the synagogue are not great and if you’re more than a few inches from the openings, it’s very difficult to hear. If someone is chatting, it’s nearly impossible to follow the services. I discovered the radiators only at the end of the service. It was cold in there.
These two stone structures originally held the money collected for taxes. The broken stone pillar in front originally supported the lectern of the prayer leader. If you look closely, you can see the letters “shin” and “tsade,” for “shaliach tsibbur”.
The stone Torah ark was elaborately carved.
Details of the parochet (curtain in front of the ark).
