For most of the history of tsarist Russia, Jews were forbidden from residing in Moscow without special permission. Only in the second half of the 19th century were the rules relaxed somewhat, allowing for the establishment of a small Jewish community. Its first synagogue was built by the banker and railroad magnate Lazar (or Leon) Poliakov. Matti Friedman tells the story of this synagogue’s elegant parokhet—a curtain for ark where the Torah scrolls are kept—which is now found in the St. Petersburg Museum of the History of Religion. (Video, 9 minutes.)
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