Practices

• Purposes of public worship:

  • Gives an opportunity to feel the strength of the faith
  • Gives an opportunity to make friends with other
  • Gives Jews a sense of belonging to a whole community
• Bimah - raised platform in front of ark where scriptures are read
• In liberal synagohues:

  • Prayers are said mainly in English
  • Women attend all the services and sit with men
  • Rabbi may well be women
  • Some different prayers
• Worship is important for Jews because the Torah tells them “to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul” - Deuteronomy 11
• Importance of tenakh:

  • Psalms are an essential part of daily prayers
  • Jews meditate on tenakh to help understanding and relationship with God
  • Torah is important in synagogue worship and daily living
• Importance of Talmud

  • explains 613 mitzvot
  • explains how mitzvot should be applied to daily lives
  • basis of hazalkah
• Jewish food laws

  • ”you may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud” - Deuteronomy 14
• “the pig is unclean, although it has a divided hoof it doesn’t chew the cud, you are not allowed to eat their meat” - Deuteronomy 14
• Aron hakodesh


  • Large cupboard facing Jerusalem
  • Holiest place in the synagogue
  • Centrepiece of the synagogue
  • Holds the Torah
  • Symbolises the ark that held the tablets given to Moses
• Sefer Torah


  • Scroll kept inside the aron hakodesh
  • Handwritten by a scribe
  • Covered with a mantle or cloth that is ornately decorated
• Ner tamid


  Light above the aron hakodesh that never goes out
• Bimah


  • Raised platform with a reading desk
  • From here the Sefer Torah is read
  • Often placed in the centre of an Orthodox Jewish synagogue
  • Often close to the aron hakodesh in Reform Jewish synagogues
  • Represents the altar in the Temple
• There are no images of God or people in a synagogue, as the Ten Commandments forbid worshipping idols
• Men and women sit in separate sections in Orthodox Jewish synagogues, while Reform Jews of different genders sit together to worship
• Shul


  Orthodox Jews' term for a synagogue, meaning 'school'
• Temple


  Reform Jews' term for a synagogue
• For Jews, worship can take place either in the synagogue or at home, and it is often more important to practise faith at home
• Mitzvah


  Duty as part of the covenant with God
• Worship in the synagogue includes


  • Daily services
  • Rites of passage
  • Festivals
• Worship at home includes


  • Prayers
  • Shabbat meals
  • Study
• Orthodox synagogue services


  • Three daily services in Hebrew
  • Person leading the congregation faces the aron hakodesh
  • Men and women sit separately
  • Men cover their heads with a skull cap or kippah
  • Married women wear a scarf over their head
  • Worshippers often sway
• Kippah


  Skull cap worn by Jewish men to show respect for God
• Tallit


  Garment worn by Jewish men to remind them they are obeying God's word
• Tefillin


  Leather boxes containing verses from the Torah, worn by Jewish men during morning prayer to concentrate on God
• Reform synagogue services


  • Not held daily like in Orthodox synagogues
  • Services in both Hebrew and the language of the country
  • Men and women sit together
  • Musical instruments are often played
• Hazzan


  Cantor who leads prayers, often singing or chanting
• Siddur


  Prayer book used during each service, containing the daily prayers
• Shema


  Jewish declaration of faith, which Jews have a duty to recite three times a day
• Amidah


  Central prayer in Jewish worship, performed standing and in silence while facing Jerusalem
• Services also contain readings from the Torah, followed by final prayers such as the Aleinu
• Jews pray three times a day at home, and there are often reminders of God found in the home, such as a mezuzah on the doorpost
• Shabbat


  • Observed as a day of rest to commemorate God resting on the seventh day after creating the world
  • Begins on Friday at sunset and lasts until sunset on Saturday
  • A time for family and community
  • Services at the synagogue are well attended
• No work is to be done on Shabbat, including tasks such as cooking and driving
• Orthodox Jews' observance of Shabbat


  • Stick closely to tradition
  • Try to observe Shabbat wherever they are in the world by not working and not lighting candles after sunset on Friday
  • Walk to the synagogue during Shabbat to avoid driving
• Reform Jews' observance of Shabbat


  • Try to keep Shabbat, but if not possible they try not to worry too much
  • Often light candles after sunset
  • May alter the timings of symbolic rituals
  • May drive to the synagogue to attend services during Shabbat
• Challah


  Bread served during the observation of Shabbat, representing the food God provided for the Jews when they were walking through the desert
• Kiddush


  Prayer said over the wine to make Shabbat holy
• Nevi'im


  Prophets, part of the Hebrew Bible
• Havdalah


  Service marking the end of Shabbat, with blessings performed over a cup of wine and a box of spices passed around
• Brit Milah


  • Ritual of circumcision for boys, part of the covenant between Abraham and God
  • Usually done at home seven or eight days after birth
  • Carried out by a mohel, a person specifically trained to perform circumcision
  • Includes a blessing, the boy being given his Hebrew name, and a celebratory meal