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Stained Glass Gems Shedding light on our tradition Let there be lightThe light streaming into Sherith Israel’s sanctuary on Shabbat and the High Holy Days illuminates the ancient traditions of our people and our role as a pioneering California synagogue. East window The morning light shining through the great half-circle window on the east reminds us of the mitzvah of tikkun olam, repairing the world. The window’s glowing images depict a Biblical community embracing its needy and display the inspiring words of the prophet Isaiah: "Feed the hungry, clothe the naked and shelter the homeless." West window  The afternoon light on the west side of the sanctuary focuses our attention on Moses and the Ten Commandments. The grand window, "Moses Presented the Ten Commandments to the Children of Israel," designed by artist Emile Pissis, brother of Sherith Israel’s architect Albert Pissis, uses the three-dimensional qualities of multi-layered opalescent glass to tell the dramatic story. Pissis created a movie-star handsome Moses, red robe flowing, surrounded by vibrant tribal flags and the Hebrew people. But instead of standing at Sinai, the Jewish people are gathered on the granite rocks at the gateway to Yosemite, with Half Dome and El Capitan in the distance. This is a modern Moses for whom California is the Promised Land.  Unraveling the mystery of Sherith Israel’s art glassIn preparation for the building’s centennial in 2005, several art historians studied Sherith Israel’s stained glass windows. The identity of the artist/s was unknown until congregants Joan Libman and Ian Berke discovered an invoice for $1100 made out to Emile Pissis, the Paris-trained painter and brother of temple architect, Albert Pissis. Emile Pissis, who frequently painted scenes of Yosemite, designed the Moses window on the west wall and seven other windows in the sanctuary. The opalescent glass used in Sherith Israel’s windows is unusual and difficult to work with. Unlike much of the stained glass designed by popular firms of the same era — like Tiffany Studios, which often repeated designs in more than one installation — Sherith Israel’s windows are unique and integral to this building.
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