Synagogue Essays

Synagogue Essays Synagogue Essay Synagogue Essay A synagogue will look like any other building from the outside the only sign you might get from the outside is the star of David which is called magen David in the Hebrew tongue. There may also be a sign outside stating the name of the synagogue. There are many names for a synagogue such as; shul which means school in Hebrew, bet haknesset, which means house of assembly this is only used by Sephardim, which is oriental Jews. A synagogue is primarily a place of worship but also functions as a community centre for the Jews. The building is so important that the whole Jewish community that worship there will revolve around the building. It is used as a teaching school for Jewish children where they will be taught the Hebrew alphabet, numbers of Hebrew and about their faith. This school is a Jewish equivalent to a Christian Sunday school. If you now go inside you would see that the synagogue is rectangular and although you will not realise it, but the whole synagogue is built facing Israel, if possible, Jerusalem. There will be a sink where the congregation will wash their hands and feet before praying or worshipping. You will also notice that there are separate seats. This is because in orthodox synagogues, the men sit on the ground floor and worship and the women sit in the gallery. There is a good reason for this and not because the Jews are sexist but because in Judaism, the men take on the role of worshipping and the women are expected to look after the house and the children so if people were late (the women). This may be because they had to change the baby or something like that so instead of disturbing the congregation and asking a row to stand up so she can get to her seat the mother can just slip into the gallery. The male children will stay with their mothers until they are thirteen and have had their bar mitzvah and then they will join their fathers. So you would go and sit in the appropriate section and you would notice a raised platform in the centre. This is a bimah in Hebrew and it is where the rabbi stands to deliver his sermons. Another name for a bimah is an almemar. The bimah is raised to symbolise that when the scrolls are being read from it, that the scrolls are above the congregation, this shows that the word of god contained in them and god himself is more important and higher than anybody in that congregation. It is also at the centre of the synagogue symbolising that god is at the centre of peoples lives. There will also be a cupboard or alcove called the ark, which is the most important feature of the synagogue as it is where the torah is kept, these will be in the ark and are the Jewish bible. The ark will be covered with a parachet (a curtain) you will know that this place is holy and important, as it will be beautifully decorated and it is the focal point of the whole synagogue. There will be two tables of stone bearing the Ten Commandments, usually above the ark; there will be a menorah, the seven-branched candlestick and the ner tamid, the ever-burning oil lamp. All of these are a reminder of the temple in Jerusalem, which was the first static synagogue; all that remains of this is the west wall. People will now start to arrive. If it is the Sabbath they will arrive on foot, as you are not allowed to drive on the Sabbath. People will be wearing their best clothes probably suits for men and nice clothes for women. Although you will not notice it, but they will not be carrying anything in their pockets or have any hand luggage. The service will now start. As I have already mentioned the rabbi is the spiritual leader of the synagogue but there will also be a cantor or chazan present the man who will lead the Jews in song and prayer these will both be men in an orthodox synagogue as will the rabbi be. You will also notice that there are no pictures of humans on the walls as they are forbidden and the walls will most likely be a plain colour like white for example. The men will also be wearing kippahs a kind of hat, which stands them out as one of gods people and also worn to show respect for god. The males of he congregation will wear the tallit. The tallit is a prayer shawl with six hundred and thirteen tassels to remind the wearer of the six hundred and thirteen laws found in the torah. As I have already mentioned, the ark is the sacred cupboard or alcove in the synagogue. It is the most important place because it contains the torah scrolls which is the Jewish bible. The Hebrew name for the torah scrolls is sefer torah which basically translated to a scroll. The ark will be exquisitely decorated and the curtain will most probably be velvet (the curtain is called the parochet. ) the scrolls itself are also highly decorated. They are made from a parchment an animal skin that has been stitched together to form one long scroll, on this parchment, the five books of Moses are then written going down in columns. One scroll contains two hundred and fifty columns and one scroll is an average of sixty metres long. And at each end the scroll is stitched onto the etz chaim (this is Hebrew for tree of life as the Jews regard the scroll as the most important thing in their lives. One scroll can take up to one thousand working hours to produce and must be done by a trained scribe. A mantle will also cover the scroll. The mantle is a piece of velvet, which will also have silver decorations, also, hanging around one of the etz chaim will be the yad which is Hebrew for hand. The yad is used for pointing whilst reading the torah as the scrolls are not allowed to be touched by the hand of man. This is because the scrolls are so holy that no man, even a rabbi, considers himself important enough to touch them. In the synagogue, there are a few symbolic and holy objects such as the ner tamid an ever-burning lamp which is kept going in the synagogue constantly as a reminder of the presence of god in the synagogue. There is also the menorah which is a reminder of the first temple built where it stood in that temple as a reminder of the seven days it took god to create the world. You may have drawn this conclusion yourself, but if not, then all synagogues in he world follow the same blueprint as the first temple in Jerusalem and anywhere in the synagogue you look there are reminders of this. Examples of this are objects such as the menorah the seven-branched candlestick, the tablets of stone bearing the ten commandments, the ark and the ner tamid the ever-burning lamp showing that god is always present in the synagogue. In conclusion, I know that this synagogue is an orthodox synagogue and not a reformed or liberal synagogue because, the bimah is at the centre of the synagogue symbolising that god and his words found in the torah should be held at the centre of peoples lives. Also, the men and women sit separately and the women arent taking a leading role in the actual worship itself. There would also never be a female rabbi conducting a service at an orthodox synagogue. The services coincidentally, are in about 70% Hebrew in an orthodox synagogue, which is much higher than the percentage of Hebrew, used in reform or liberal services. There is also no music played and the hymns and songs are sung without the aid or backup of music. In a liberal or reformed synagogue however things would be very different, for instance, there is quite a large chance that a female rabbi would be conducting the service, the man and women are more equal they sit together and worship together as one big mass. The bimah may be at the front which, in my opinion, gives a sense of preaching and I think Jews know their religion, they dont need to be educated about it they just want to worship god. There also may be an organ to accompany songs and hymns because music is permitted in reformed synagogues. There would also be slightly less Hebrew spoken. So this synagogue I have described to you is an orthodox synagogue. Orthodox translates to right belief and is considered to be traditional Judaism.