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Wikipedia states that:

In some ancient synagogues, such as the fifth-century synagogue in Susia, the Torah scroll was not placed inside the synagogue at all, but in a room adjacent to it, signifying that the sacredness of the synagogue does not come from the ark but from its being a house of prayer. The Torah was brought into the synagogue for reading purposes.

I'm not sure if the majority of the first synagogues followed this idea and had the ark separate from the main prayer area. But, I haven't seen any shul that does not have the Aron Kodesh within the shul, itself. So, something changed at some point for some reason. When did that happen, and why was that change made?

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  • Don't you think it might be disrespectful to turn your back to the aron kodesh, where the sifrei Torah are kept?
    – ezra
    Commented Apr 25, 2018 at 22:13
  • A source for your last statement would be great
    – ezra
    Commented Apr 25, 2018 at 22:37
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    " Why did the rule / halacha then become to face the Aron?" It did not. The aron is placed based on the way we face
    – user15253
    Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 12:27
  • Thanks to everyone who commented. It helped me revise my question. Please delete irrelevant comments, in view of the above edits.
    – DanF
    Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 22:24
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    That wikipedia article is severely lacking in citations... do you have another source that corroborates the claim about the housing of the Torah in the Susya synagogue? From what I can tell it had a niche in the northern wall (i.e. facing Jerusalem), presumed to be for the Torah. The niche, the bimahs, and seating benches are all within the same space. See here (scroll down to plans and drawings).
    – Deuteronomy
    Commented Jul 3 at 23:31

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Yes, it's true, once upon a time in ancient times Torah Scrolls were brought into synagogues, and were not there initially. This is due to several reasons. Many early synagogues arose in exile, located in ordinary residential buildings. People simply gathered to study or read the Torah in public. Aron HaKodesh is a relatively new phenomenon. They appeared about 2000 years ago, approximately. And the fact that it was presented in different ways everywhere. In some communities, Aron HaKodesh was a box on wheels that was "imported" into the synagogue or traveled with it. For the synagogue, the most important thing is first of all the Bimah. It is much older, this element of the synagogue was introduced by Ezra Soifer during the Babylonian Captivity. The reason for the changes associated with the appearance of Aron HaKodesh in the synagogue is the emergence of Minhagim in Galut conditions. Communities, for the most part, are free to choose the type and structure of their synagogues on their own. Once upon a time, the location of Aron HaKodesh was not important at all, he could be anywhere. And nowadays its location and direction serve us as the direction of prayer: towards Eretz Israel, towards Jerusalem, towards Kodesh Hakodashim. Times are passing, new customs are emerging, traditions are being formed, this is normal. A lot has changed in Galut over 2000 years. This is changing even nowadays...

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    Some sources to back up your claims would greatly improve this answer.
    – Deuteronomy
    Commented Jul 3 at 23:59

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