The Algemeiner reports: JNS.org – A team of Israeli, Lithuanian and American archaeologists has unearthed the remains of two mikvahs (ritual baths) used by congregants at the Great Synagogue in Vilna, which is the modern-day capital of Lithuania.
The synagogue, which was at heart of Vilna’s large Jewish community for hundreds of years, was completely destroyed in the Holocaust, but evidence of underground spaces discovered in a study carried out last year led to the excavation of the site and the exposure of the ritual baths.
The Great Synagogue of Vilna, built in the 17th century in Renaissance-Baroque style, was a large community center and a hub for Torah study. The facility included 12 different synagogues and study halls; mikvahs; the community council building; kosher meat stalls; and the school of famed Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, who is more commonly known as the “Vilna Gaon.”
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