"The isolated ruins lay hushed in the late afternoon sun as we clambered the low walls and paced the broken pavement. A fallen architrave, engraved with ancient Jewish symbols of a menorah, shofar, lulav, and etrog, lay on the ground near the remians of a high semiciricular brick structure, thought to be the Holy Ark niche. We photographed the site as a matter of course. We did not know then that we had stumbled on a mission".

"By the time we arrived in Piedmont and canvassed its synagogues, enclaves of art and tradition, we realized that we were on a new course. More of Renaissance Italy could wait. These synagogue treasures -- the legacy of scattered Jewish communities that dotted the hills -- must be documented."

After five years of fieldwork and seven additional years of research the project that began as an inspiration evolved into a coffee-table size book illustrated with over 300 color photographs of synagogues in 30 small Jewish communities located in central and southern Europe. The art and architecture of these synagogues underscore the centrality of the synagogue to the life of a Jewish community and the book is premised on the idea that synagogues are the "most significant clue to the public aesthetics of Jewish life."

Synagogues Without Jews focuses on lesser known synagogues that are often the "sole reminders of an enterprising Jewish existence that once extended to every hamlet." There was a real sense of urgency in doing this work as the authors explain: "As we researched we were literally racing against time, against indifference, deterioration, and demolition."

In one town the synagogue is now used as a barn, in another it had been torn down 11 months earlier, and in others they are storerooms, workshops, apartments, churches. In addition to describing the spiritual, artistic, and economic achievements of Jews from these communities, the authors met and interviewed Jewish and non-Jewish residents who remember when these were thriving Jewish communities. The interviews were transcribed and translated by volunteers in Israel and these memories are another significant contribution of the book.

When they embarked on this work of love, the authors had no idea that it would be published by so prestigious a press as The Jewish Publication Society or win a Jewish Book Council award. Although Rivka and Ben Zion Dorfman were retired from their professional lives', this research became their lives' work and it is a monumental achievement. Synagogues Without Jews is an excellent addition to any Jewish library (and would make a lovely gift) -- it is a scholarly, very readable and beautiful book that is written with compassion and grace.

Reviewed by Deborah Rosenbloom.