Roman Pillars in... Edgware?

Synagogue: Rav Schneebalg’s Shul

Location: Edgware, UK

Challenge: Adorn this masterfully-crafted Bima with an equally regal bima cover.

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When world-renowned synagogue architect David Wajsman approached me regarding this bima, I was immediately struck by its unique beauty. I see hundreds of bimas each year, but this one is definitely different!

David knew what he wanted for his customer- a brown velvet cover with four corner swirls and a crown in the center.

We took it from there and added pillars and arches all around the bima’s drop-downs. Gradually growing from front to back, the pillars always remain level to the ground and their arches grow according to the increasing height of the bima’s slope.

Another interesting fact about this bima cover was the complicated sewing pattern required to have the cover fitted to perfection. Here are the sewing patterns which our head seamstress developed in order to allow for the cover to fit like a glove on the actual bima, allowing for a 2 cm “lip” all around and a 5 cm seam on all four corners to hold the bima cover in place. The idea was to allow for easy access to the drawers.

As you can see, this is truly a show-stopping bima cover. Not what you see in every shul. Many thanks to David Wajsman for his vision and input.