<P> This zodiac wheel, along with other similar examples found in contemporaneous synagogues throughout Israel such as Naaran, Susiya, Hamat Tiberias, Huseifa, and Sepphoris, rest at the center of a scholarly debate regarding the relationship between Judaism and general Greco - Roman culture in late - antiquity . Some interpret the popularity that the zodiac maintains within synagogue floors as evidence for its Judaization and adaptation into the Jewish calendar and liturgy . Others see it as representing the existence of a "non-Rabbinic" or a mystical and Hellenized form of Judaism that embraced the astral religion of Greco - Roman culture . </P> <P> The southern panel, which was laid before the synagogue's Torah Shrine, is a liturgically oriented scene that emphasizes the centrality of the Torah Shrine . The Torah Shrine stands at the center of the composition and is depicted with a gabled roof . The Torah Shrine is decorated with ornamented panels featuring diamonds and squares . The floating conch shell seen in the center of the roof, is a stylized representation of the Torah Shrine's inset arch . A hanging lamp is suspended from the gable of the roof . As a symbolic marker of its importance, the lower register of the Torah Shrine is flanked by two roaring lions and is surrounded by Jewish ritual objects such as the lulav, etrog, shofar, and incense shovel . Two birds flank the gabled roof in the upper register of the Torah Shrine . </P> <P> Two large seven - branched Menorot candelabras stand on either of the Torah shrine . The base and branches of the two Menorot are not identical in form; the right - hand Menorah has an upright base, while the left - hand Menorah has two crescent shaped legs and one upright leg . Lastly, the entire scene is framed by the two pulled back curtains, which served to demarcate the sacred space of the Torah Shrine . </P> <P> The presence of the Menorah, which originally stood in the Jerusalem Temple, comes to highlight the continuing importance that the Jerusalem Temple occupied in the development of the synagogue . Additionally, the Menorah also maintained a practical function, as the primary light source for the area around the Torah Shrine . Sukenik believed that the two Menorot depicted flanking the Torah Shrine in this scene, likely stood adjacent to the Torah Shrine within the actual Beth Alpha synagogue . </P>

The mosaic floor of the beth alpha synagogue