In Bar Am in Upper Galilee, you can see the remains of the majestic synagogue that tradition links to Simeon bar Yochay, the famous rabbi buried in Meron.
The façade of the building remains intact, and there are traces of the former upper floor. The building was oriented towards Jerusalem. In front of its entrance was an eight-column entrance hall with six columns in front and one column on each side.
Decorating the synagogue
The three entrances are richly decorated: the architrave above the main entrance is crowned with a masterly carved arch. The relief was originally depicting Niki, the winged goddess of victory, but the figure of the goddess was deliberately defaced. This may be the act of a blind zealot who believed that the synagogue façade should not be decorated with a 'carved image' or statue of a pagan god. The two side entrances are also decorated with friezes, one with a simple rope pattern, the other with a leaf pattern.
The synagogue layout
The synagogue is basilica-shaped, with two rows of columns dividing the interior into three naves. The floor was paved not with mosaics but with simple cubes. The interior is decorated with stone carvings: a carved lion's head and a stone slab covered with leaf patterns, shells and geometric ornaments.
There was another synagogue on the outskirts of the settlement. According to 16th century travel accounts, all three entrances were still intact at the time. By the 19th century, however, only one of them had survived.
