Synagogue

A synagogue or synagog (from Greek συναγωγη, transliterated sunagoge, "place of assembly" literally "meeting, assembly") is a Jewish house of prayer and study. The Hebrew term for synagogue is Beit Knesset (House of Assembly) or Beit Tefila (House of Prayer). There are usually separate rooms for prayer (the main sanctuary) and smaller rooms for study. Rooms set aside for study are referred to as a "Beth midrash" (Hebrew, House of Study.)

Blueprint for synagogues

It is a myth that synagogues are based on the destroyed Temple in Jerusalem. There is no set blueprint for synagogues and the architectural shapes and interior designs of synagogues vary greatly. Other local religious buildings and national culture usually influence synagogue architecture. The myth may have arisen because synagogues have been referred to in the Rabbinical Literature as Little Temples and indeed their popularity originated with the destruction of the original Temple as an alternative to the central worship in Jerusalem. According to tradition, the Divine Presence can be found wherever there is a minyan (a quorum of ten—in Orthodox Judaism, defined as ten Jewish men aged 13 or over).

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A synagogue may contain any (or none) of these features:

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• an ark (called aron ha-kodesh by Ashkenazim and hekhal by Sephardim) where the Torah scrolls are kept (the ark is often closed with an ornate curtain (parokhet) outside or inside the ark doors);
• a large elevated reader's platform (called bimah by Ashkenazim and tebah by Sephardim), where the Torah is read (and from where the services are conducted in Sephardi synagogues);
• an Eternal Light (ner tamid), a continually-lit lamp or lantern used as a reminder of the constantly lit menorah of the Temple in Jerusalem; and,
• (mainly in Ashkenazi synagogues) a pulpit facing the congregation to preach from and a pulpit or amud (Hebrew for "post" or "column") facing the Ark for the Hazzan (reader) to lead the prayers from.

A synagogue may have artworks, especially ornamentation of the main interior features; but normally not three-dimensional artwork (sculpture) depicting naturally occurring objects, as these are considered to be like idolatry. Rabbis have suggested that a synagogue should have twelve windows, plain or depicting the Twelve Tribes of Israel, to remind participants that their prayers are not individual but communal, i.e., for all the people of Israel, present or not. This particular suggestion, however, is honored far more in the breach than in the observance.

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The synagogue (or if it is a multi-purpose building, the prayer sanctuaries within the synagogue) should face towards Jerusalem. Thus, sanctuaries in the Western world generally face east, while those east of Israel face west. Sanctuaries in Israel face towards Jerusalem. But this orientation need not be exact, and occasionally synagogues face other directions for structural reasons, in which case the community may face Jerusalem when standing for prayers.

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