Synagogue

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Scolanova Synagogue, Trani, Italy

Great Synagogue of Florence

A synagogue (from Greek: συναγωγή, transliterated synagogē, "assembly"; בית כנסת beyt knesset, "house of assembly"; שול or בית תפילה beyt t'fila, "house of prayer", shul; אסנוגה, esnoga קהל kal) is a Jewish house of prayer. (it might also be of interest that the word when broken down could mean, "learning together" (syn - gr. together and aghoghei gr. learning or training)

Synagogue is commonly spoken of as a "shul" by Orthodox Jews, "synagogue" by Conservative, and "Temple" by Reform. "Synagogue" is a good all-around word to cover the preceding three possibilities.^[1]

Synagogues usually have a large hall for prayer (the main sanctuary), smaller rooms for study and sometimes a social hall and offices. Some have a separate room for Torah study, called the beth midrash—בית מדרש ("House of Study").

Synagogues are not consecrated spaces, nor is a synagogue necessary for worship. Jewish worship can be carried out wherever ten Jews (a minyan) assemble. Worship can also be carried out alone or with fewer than ten people assembled together. A synagogue is not in the strictest sense a temple; it does not replace the long-since destroyed Temple in Jerusalem.

In colloquial speech, Israelis use the term bet knesset (assembly house). Jews of Ashkenazi descent have traditionally used the Yiddish term "shul" (cognate with the German schule, school) in everyday speech. Spanish and Portuguese Jews call the synagogue an esnoga. Persian Jews and Karaite Jews use the term Kenesa, which is derived from Aramaic, and some Arabic-speaking Jews use knis. Some Reform and Conservative Jews use the word "temple".

Origins

Ruins of the ancient synagogue of Kfar Bar'am

Mosaic in the Tzippori Synagogue

Wall paintings from the Dura-Europos synagogue, 244 CE

Although synagogues existed well before the destruction of the 2nd Temple in 70 CE, communal worship in the time while the Temple still stood centered around the korbanot ("sacrificial offerings") brought by the kohanim ("priests") in the Holy Temple. The all-day Yom Kippur service, in fact, was an event in which the congregation both observed the movements of the kohen gadol ("the high priest") as he offered the day's sacrifices and prayed for his success.

During the Babylonian captivity (586–537 BCE) the Men of the Great Assembly began the process of formalizing and standardizing Jewish services and prayers that did not depend on the functioning of the Temple in Jerusalem. Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai, one of the leaders at the end of the Second Temple era, promulgated the idea of creating individual houses of worship in whatever locale Jews found themselves. This contributed to the continuity of the Jewish people by maintaining a unique identity and a portable way of worship despite the destruction of the Temple, according to many historians.

Synagogues in the sense of purpose-built spaces for worship, or rooms originally constructed for some other purpose but reserved for formal, communal prayer, however, existed long before the destruction of the Second Temple.^[2] The earliest archaeological evidence for the existence of very early synagogues comes from Egypt, where stone synagogue dedication inscriptions dating from the third century BCE prove that synagogues existed by that date.^[3] A synagogue dating from between 75 and 50 BCE has been uncovered at a Hasmonean-era winter palace near Jericho.^[4][5] More than a dozen Second Temple era synagogues have been identified by archaeologists.^[2]

Any Jew or group of Jews can build a synagogue. Synagogues have been constructed by ancient Jewish kings, by wealthy patrons, as part of a wide range of human institutions including secular educational institutions, governments, and hotels, by the entire community of Jews living in a particular place, or by sub-groups of Jews arrayed according to occupation, ethnicity (i.e. the Sephardic, Polish or Persian Jews of a town), style of religious observance (i.e., a Reform or an Orthodox synagogue), or by the followers of a particular rabbi.

Architectural design

Aerial view of the synagogue of the Kaifeng Jewish community in China.

Hechal Yehuda Synagogue, Tel Aviv

There is no set blueprint for synagogues and the architectural shapes as well as interior designs of synagogues vary greatly. In fact, the influence from other local religious buildings can often be seen in synagogue arches, domes and towers.

Historically, synagogues were built in the prevailing architectural style of their time and place. Thus, the synagogue in Kaifeng, China looked very like Chinese temples of that region and era, with its outer wall and open garden in which several buildings were arranged. The styles of the earliest synagogues resembled the temples of other sects of the eastern Roman Empire. The surviving synagogues of medieval Spain are embellished with mudéjar plasterwork. The surviving medieval synagogues in Budapest and Prague are typical Gothic structures.

The emancipation of Jews in European countries not only enabled Jews to enter fields of enterprise from which they were formerly barred, but gave them the right to build synagogues without needing special permissions, synagogue architecture blossomed. Large Jewish communities wished to show not only their wealth but also their newly acquired status as citizens by constructing magnificent synagogues. These were built across Europe and in the United States in all of the historicist or revival styles then in fashion. Thus there were Neoclassical, Neo-Byzantine, Romanesque Revival Moorish Revival, Gothic Revival, and Greek Revival. There are Egyptian Revival synagogues and even one Mayan Revival synagogue. In the nineteenth and early twentieth century heyday of historicist architecture, however, most historicist synagogues, even the most magnificent ones, did not attempt a pure style, or even any particular style, and are best described as eclectic.

In the post-war era, synagogue architecture abandoned historicist styles for modernism.

Interior elements

Gothic interior of the 13th-century Old New Synagogue of Prague

Bimah at the Bialystoker Synagogue with Torah Ark in background.

Interior of the Portuguese Synagogue, Amsterdam showing Bimah in the foreground, and Torah Ark in the background.

Bimah of the Łańcut Synagogue

All synagogues contain a Torah ark, a table from which the Torah is read, and a desk for the prayer leader.

The Torah ark, (Hebrew: Aron Kodesh—ארון קודש) (called the heikhal—היכל [temple] by Sephardim) is a cabinet in which the Torah scrolls are kept.

The ark in a synagogue is positioned in almost always such a way that those who face it, face towards Jerusalem. Thus, sanctuary seating plans in the Western world generally face east, while those east of Israel face west. Sanctuaries in Israel face towards Jerusalem. Occasionally synagogues face other directions for structural reasons; in such cases, some individuals might turn to face Jerusalem when standing for prayers, but the congregation as a whole does not.

The ark is reminiscent of the Ark of the Covenant which contained the tablets with Ten Commandments. This is the holiest spot in a synagogue, equivalent to the Holy of Holies. The ark is often closed with an ornate curtain, the parochet פרוכת, which hangs outside or inside the ark doors.

A large, raised, reader's platform called the bimah (בימה) by Ashkenazim and tebah by Sephardim, where the Torah scroll is placed to be read. Is a feature of all synagogues. In Sephardi synagogues it is also used as the prayer leader's reading desk.

Other traditional features include a continually lit lamp or lantern, usually electric in contemporary synagogues, called the ner tamid (נר תמיד), the "Eternal Light", used as a reminder of the western lamp of the menorah of the Temple in Jerusalem, which remained miraculously lit always. Many have an elaborate chair named for the prophet Elijah and only sat upon during the ceremony of Brit milah. Many synagogues have a large seven-branched candelabrum commemorating the full Menorah. Most contemporary synagogues also feature a lectern for the rabbi.

A synagogue may be decorated with artwork, but in the Rabbinic and Orthodox tradition, three-dimensional sculptures and depictions of the human body are not allowed, as these are considered akin to idolatry.

Until the 19th century, an Ashkenazi synagogue, all seats most often faced the 'Torah Ark. In a Sephardi synagogue, seats were usually arranged around the perimeter of the sanctuary, but when the worshippers stood up to pray, everyone faced the Ark. In Ashkenazi synagogues The Torah was read on a reader's table located in the center of the room, while the leader of the prayer service, the Hazzan, stood at his own lectern or table, facing the Ark. In Sephardic synagogues, the table for reading the Torah was commonly placed at the opposite side of the room from the Torah Ark, leaving the center of the floor empty for the use of a ceremonial procession carrying the Torah between the Ark and the reading table.

Denominational differences

New York's Reform Temple Emanu-El

Orthodox synagogues feature a partition (mechitzah) dividing the men's and women's seating areas, or a separate women's section located on a balcony.

The German Reform movement which arose in the early 1800s made many changes to the traditional look of the synagogue, keeping with its desire to simultaneously stay Jewish yet be accepted by the host culture.

The first Reform synagogue, which opened in Hamburg in 1811, introduced changes that made the synagogue look more like a church. These included: the installation of an organ to accompany the prayers (even on Shabbat, when musical instruments are proscribed by halakha, a choir to accompany the Hazzan, and vestments for the synagogue rabbi to wear.^[6]

In following decades, the central reader's table, the bimah, was moved to the front of the Reform sanctuary—previously unheard-of in Orthodox synagogues. The rabbi now delivered his sermon from the front, much as the Christian ministers delivered their sermons in a church. The synagogue was renamed a "temple", to emphasize that the movement no longer looked forward to the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Synagogue as community center

Synagogues often take on a broader role in modern Jewish communities and may include additional facilities such as a catering hall, kosher kitchen, religious school, library, day care center and a smaller chapel for daily services.

Synagogue offshoots

Since Orthodox Jews prefer to collect a minyan (a quorum of ten) rather than pray alone, they commonly assemble at pre-arranged times in offices, living rooms, or other spaces when these are more convenient than formal synagogue buildings. A room or building that is used this way can become a dedicated small synagogues and prayer room. Among Ashkenazi Jews they are traditionally called shtiebel (שטיבל, pl. shtiebelekh or shtiebels, Yiddish for "little house". and are found in Orthodox communities worldwide.

Another type of communal prayer group, favored by some contemporary Jews, is the Chavurah (חבורה, pl. chavurot, חבורות), or prayer fellowship. These groups meet at a regular place and time, usually in a private home. In antiquity, the Pharisees lived near each other in chavurot and dined together to ensure that none of the food was unfit for consumption.^[7]

Great synagogues

Interior view of the New Synagogue (Berlin)

During the 19th and early 20th century, it was fairly common for Jewish communities, particularly in Europe, to construct very large, showpiece synagogues. These edifices were intended not simply to accommodate worshipers, but to serve as emblems of Jewish participation in modern society. For this purpose, they were built to be not merely large, but architecturally impressive. Even small cities had elaborate synagogues of this type, albeit smaller than the synagogues of Vienna and New York. They are often designated as The Great Synagogue of..., or, in Russia, The Choral Synagogue. These notable synagogues include; the Amsterdam Esnoga, the Great Synagogue of Rome, the New Synagogue (Berlin), the Leopoldstädter Tempel, the Grand Choral Synagogue, the Great Synagogue (Sydney), the Moscow Choral Synagogue, the Great Synagogue of Florence, the Great Synagogue, Plzeň, the Great Synagogue (Warsaw), the Košice Orthodox Synagogue, the Novi Sad Synagogue, the Szeged Synagogue,^[8] the Sofia Synagogue and the Great Synagogue of Oran.

World's largest synagogues

Interior of the Belz Great Synagogue in Jerusalem.

• The largest synagogue in the world is probably the Belz Great Synagogue, in Jerusalem, Israel; whose main Sanctuary seats 6,000. Construction on the edifice lasted for over 15 years.
• The next largest may be the Satmar synagogue in Kiryas Joel, New York; which is said to seat "several thousand".^[9]
• The largest synagogue in Europe is the newly constructed Bratzlav Center at the graveside of Rabbi Nahman of Bratzlav in Uman, Ukraine; which seats up to 5,000.
• The Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary; which seats 3,000, and have and area of 1200 m² and height of 26 m (apart from the towers which are 43 m).
• Temple Emanu-El of New York, a Reform Temple located in New York City, with an area of 3,523 m², seating 2,500.
• Kehilas Yetev Lev D'Satmar (Williamsburg, Brooklyn); seating between 2,000 to 4,000 congregants.
• The Sofia Synagogue located in Sofia, Bulgaria, seating about 1,200.
• Congregation Shaare Zion, an Orthodox Sephardic synagogue located in Brooklyn, New York; which is the largest Syrian Jewish congregation in New York City. It is attended by over 1,000 worshipers on weekends.

World's oldest synagogues

The Sardis Synagogue in Manisa, Turkey. The synagogue was a section of a large bath-gymnasium complex, which was in use for 450–500 years.

1636 - The Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue, located in Recife on the site of the oldest synagogue in the Americas.

• The oldest Samaritan synagogue, the Delos Synagogue dates from between 150 and 128 BCE, or earlier and is located on the island of Delos.^[10]
• The Jericho Synagogue, the oldest, securely dated, mainstream Jewish synagogue in the world was built between 70 and 50 BCE at a royal winter palace near Jericho.^[11]
• The oldest synagogue fragments are stone synagogue dedication inscriptions stones found in middle and lower Egypt and dating from the third century BCE.^[3]
• The Paradesi Synagogue is the oldest synagogue in the Commonwealth of Nations, located in Kochi, Kerala, in India. It was built in 1568 by the Malabar Yehudan people or Cochin Jewish community in the Kingdom of Cochin. Paradesi is a word used in several Indian languages, and the literal meaning of the term is "foreigners", applied to the synagogue because it was historically used by "White Jews", a mixture of Jews from Cranganore, the Middle East, and European exiles. It is also referred to as the Cochin Jewish Synagogue or the Mattancherry Synagogue. The synagogue is located in the quarter of Old Cochin known as Jew Town and is the only one of the seven synagogues in the area still in use.

Oldest synagogues in the United States

Touro Synagogue, the oldest surviving synagogue building in the U.S.

Painting of the interior of the Portuguese Synagogue, Amsterdam by Emanuel de Witte (c. 1680)

• Congregation Shearith Israel, 1655, is the oldest congregation in the United States, its present building dates from 1897.
• The Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, is the oldest Jewish house of worship in North America that is still standing. It was built in 1759 for the Jeshuat Israel congregation, which was established in 1658.

Other famous synagogues

• The Rashi Shul, built in 1175 and razed on Kristallnacht in 1938, was painstakingly reconstructed using many of the original stones. It is still in use as a synagogue.
• The Synagogue of El Transito of Toledo, Spain, was built in 1356 by Samuel ha-Levi, treasurer of King Pedro I of Castile. This is one of the best examples of Mudéjar architecture in Spain. The design of the synagogue recalls the Nasrid style of architecture that was employed during the same period in the decorations of the Alhambra palace in Granada as well as the Great Mosque of Córdoba. Since 1964, this site has hosted a Sephardi museum.
• The Hurva Synagogue, located in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, was Jerusalem's main Ashkenazi synagogue from the 16th century until 1948, when it was destroyed by the Arab Legion several days after the conquest of the city. After the Six-Day War, an arch was built to mark the spot where the synagogue stood. A complete reconstruction, to plans drawn up by architect Nahum Meltzer, opened in March 2010.
• The Great Synagogue of Oran.
• The Barbados Nidhe Israel Synagogue ("Bridgetown Synagogue"), located in the capital city of Bridgetown, was first built in 1654. It was destroyed in the hurricane of 1831 and reconstructed in 1833.^[12]
• The Snoa in Willemstad, Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles was built by Sephardic Portuguese Jews from Amsterdam and Recife, Brazil. It is modeled after the Esnoga in Amsterdam. Congregation Mikvé Israel built this synagogue in 1692; it was reconstructed in 1732.
• The Bialystoker Synagogue on New York's Lower East Side, is located in a landmark building dating from 1826 that was originally a Methodist Episcopal Church. The building is made of quarry stone mined locally on Pitt Street, Manhattan. It is an example of Federalist architecture. The ceilings and walls are hand-painted with zodiac frescos, and the sanctuary is illuminated by 40-foot (12 m) stained glass windows. The bimah and floor-to-ceiling ark are handcarved.
• The Great Synagogue of Florence, Tempio Maggiore, Florence, 1874–82, is an example of the magnificent, cathedral-like synagogues built in almost every major European city in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Gallery

Interior of a "caravan shul" (synagogue housed in a trailer-type facility) in Neve Yaakov, Jerusalem, Israel.	The Synagogue in the Gerard Doustraat in Amsterdam, Netherlands.	The New Synagogue in Berlin, Germany.	The Choral Synagogue in Moscow, Russia.
The Great Synagogue of Santiago, Chile.	The Amsterdam Esnoga Synagogue in Amsterdam, Netherlands.	The Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary.	The Great Synagogue of Plzeň, Czech Republic.
The main synagogue of the city of Frankfurt am Main (Germany) before the Kristallnacht.	The Roonstrasse Synagogue in Cologne, Germany.	The Lesko Synagogue in Lesko, Poland.	The Bobowa Synagogue in Bobowa, Poland.
The Baal Shem Tov's shul in Medzhybizh, Ukraine (c. 1915). The shul no longer exists.	The Belzer synagogue of Belz, Ukraine. The synagogue no longer exists.	The Cymbalista Synagogue and Jewish Heritage Center at Tel Aviv University.	The synagogue of Kherson, Ukraine.
The dome of the Hurva Synagogue dominated the skyline of the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem for centuries.	The remains of the Hurva Synagogue as they appeared from 1977 to 2003. The synagogue is currently being reconstructed.	The Ashkenazi Synagogue of Istanbul, Turkey. The synagogue was founded in the year 1900.	Scenes from the Book of Esther from the Dura-Europos synagogue (244 CE).
The interior of a Karaite synagogue (kenesa).	The Central Synagogue on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, United States of America.	Temple Beth-El, the oldest synagogue in Florida, which was built in Art Deco style.	The Grand Choral Synagogue of St. Petersburg, Russia
The Paradesi Synagogue in Kochi , Kerala , India	The Synagogue in Podol district, Kiev, Ukraine	Great Synagogue of Rome, Italy

See also

• Beth midrash
• Jewish services
• Shtiebel
• Siddur
• Synagogue architecture
• Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue

References

• Levine, Lee (October 24n 2005) [2000]. The Ancient Synagogue: The First Thousand Years (2nd. ed.). New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-10628-9. 

External links

• Guide to synagogues and other Jewish heritage sites in Slovakia
• B'Nai Israel Synagogue on GuidepostUSA
• Joseph Tabory, A list of articles on Synagogues (in various languages), in Daat.col.il
• Eldridge Street Synagogue
• picture of Aron Kodesh in Rav Pealim Beit Knesset
• Webs.com
• MSN.com, Synagogue doubles as mosque during Ramadan