The individual images form a collection of details that directly convey a sense of the psychological, historical and spiritual journey of the Jews. While making a point of including selections from virtually all corners of the globe represents a didactic choice and metaphorically addresses the diaspora, Folberg's main purpose is not documentary.
Character permeates the preponderance of subjects.
Camera angles and compositions are consciously pushed to sell us on the character of each specific locale. The ornate splendor of the Szeged, Hungary synagogue stands in contrast the worn. The light-filled interior bathing the two banks of pews that face one another in the SpanishPortuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam, Holland conveys the community, almost democratic spirit of Jewish worship. Knowing that Folberg made a project of selecting and photographing each synagogue over a three-year period is a partial antidote for the lack of human and community context offered here. If he is going to place the burden for telling a story on the architecture, something of the seeds, the flavor of the wider context of place must be allowed to enter the images.