In 1731, more than half the Jews in the world lived in the Galician region of Poland and Ukraine. Someone in Gwozdziec, a speck of a town in the sprawling Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, had an idea to cut a hole in the ceiling of their wooden synagogue and build, in its place, a magnificent, tent-like dome. The dome was illuminated by brightly colored paintings of animals, many of which, no one in the town had ever seen. Soon other Jewish communities were inspired to build and paint ever more imaginative synagogues. Two hundred years later, in their attempt to wipe out all the Jews, the Nazis burned every one of these synagogues to the ground. Since 2006, John Rubin Productions, Inc. and Trillium Studios have been filming a documentary about the efforts to reconstruct the Gwozdziec synagogue. Some of the people involved in this reconstruction are members of the Lexington-area timber-framing community. Come join W&L Hillel and Rockbridge Country timber-framers for this unique opportunity to see the documentary and learn first-hand about this extraordinary project.