ICJudaism: A Teacher’s Guide to Judaism

      Hosted by ICTeachers                                                                Formerly: Mike’s Rough Guide to Judaism

Disclaimer:

The contents of these pages represent the author’s personal views, experience and understanding.
There are bound to be some things here that some Jews would disagree with.

 

Synagogue 2

There is no set design for a synagogue, rather there are four things that need to be present in the room that is used for prayer:

1 & 2. At least one Sefer Torah (Torah scroll) which will be stored in  a cupboard called the Ark (in Hebrew the ark is called the Aron HaKodesh (Holy cupboard) . It may be built in to a wall, mounted on the wall or free-standing. Traditionally, the Ark is at the end of the room facing towards Jerusalem (ie east, in Britain). The Ark is usually beautifully made and decorated, as befits a container for the Torah. On or above the Ark there is often a slogan - a quote from the Hebrew Bible or from Talmud, chosen by the community eg Know before whom you stand (Talmudic) or Serve the Lord with joy (Biblical - Psalm 100).

The ark often has curtains that are drawn when there is no service going on, or even during parts of a service when the ark is closed.

3. Above the Ark is the Ner Tamid (perpetual light), the reminder of God’s presence. The Ner Tamid is kept burning (or, these days, switched on) continuously. It is a reminder of the Menorah (the 7-branched lamp) that stood in the Temple.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. The bimah is a raised platform from where the Torah scrolls are read. The bimah may be in the centre of the room or it may be right in front of the Ark, as in the photograph above - you can just see the edge of the reading desk where scrolls are placed while they are read  You can also just make out the rimonim (finials) and breastplate of a scroll on the stand to the right of the Ark ( their prescence there indicates that there is a scroll on the reading desk - otherwise they would be on the scroll and in the Ark). The Bimah helps to enable a community to fulfil the commandment that everyone should be able to hear the Torah read.

Seating

In an orthodox synagogue there will separate sections for men and women. Generally the women’s section is separated from the men’s by a curtain or is upstairs in a “ladies gallery”. In a progressive synagogue there is more likely to be mixed seating.

Seating may be fixed - an indication that the room is dedicated only to prayer, or moveable, indicating that the room may be used for a variety of purposes. Orthodox synagogues generally have somewhere to store personal property such as tallitot (prayer shawls) and prayer books, since they cannot be carried to synagogue on Shabbat or festivals. Where seating is fixed each seat will have a built in box for this purpose.

Decoration

In line with the 2nd of the 10 Commandments (Judaism usually refers to them as the 10 Sayings), synagogues are unlikely to contain likenesses of people or animals (such as statues, paintings or stained glass representations of biblical stories or characters etc.). While many synagogues do have stained glass, its designs are generally abstract. There may be sculptured or carved objects, or abstract images (often donated in memory of deceased relatives). Many synagogues are plainly decorated.

 

Back...                                                    Visiting a synagogue...

A modern Aron HaKodesh (ark). The wooden panels are actually doors which can be closed when there is no service in progress.

Note the Ner Tamid, just above  the ark and, above that, the community’s chosen slogan: which means Serve the Lord with Joy, a quote from Psalm 100. You can tell from the handrail that there are steps leading up to the Ark.

4Wimbledon & District Synagogue, London)