What makes a synagogue

Synagogues were also called batei tefila , or Houses of Prayer, and batei midrash , or Houses of Study. In Eastern and Central Europe, this led to the synagogue being called a shul , the Yiddish word for school.

It was a statement about the traditional belief in the restoration of the ancient Temple in messianic times. Would it be a contradiction to the essence of their newly acquired status as emancipated Jews with rights of citizenship? The establishment of the Hamburg Temple was thus a statement that Hamburg was their Jerusalem, and that their temple was a replacement for the ancient Temple that had stood there before. This trend continued for well over a hundred years.

Since the late s, Reform ideology has moved a long way from those days in Hamburg. Conservative Judaism also revised its allegiance to the traditional prayers for the restoration of the ancient Temple and its offerings. They saw these as phenomena to remember but not to be revived in the messianic age.

If the synagogue is going to attract people and grow then it has to share knowledge and leadership. If a small group within the synagogue seeks to control it then they will be limiting themselves and send a message to other people that it is a closed organization.

In order to move successfully into the future, the synagogue has to redefine itself as more than a place that holds religious services. Yes, it has to meet the religious and ritual needs of its people, but its perspective has to be one of serving the community in an open and creative fashion. The name of the game is reaching people through partnerships and sharing in the holy work of reaching out to the Jewish community at large. Collaboration means learning to let go and have sole ownership over involving Jews in the ritual, spiritual and educational aspects of Jewish communal life.

Synagogues and other communal organizations are uniquely positioned to pool their resources and expand the meaningful impact they can have on the community. Among other functions they can share back office tasks, develop shared programming, consider merging declining synagogues and overall, create strategic alliance that enable the synagogue to play an important role in strengthening Jewish identity through its activities. Rabbi Herring introduces us to not only the role of the synagogue, but also the role rabbis play in synagogues and in the community.

He offers a way of looking at the various roles a rabbi in the 21st century needs to fulfill in the community. The rabbi has to not only be a spiritual leader, but also implement the role with passion whether it is in regards to education, prayer or leadership development. As Rabbi Herring reminds us, there has to be a shift in roles for professional and volunteer leadership in the congregation.

Rabbis cannot fill all the roles and it is a challenge to train congregational volunteers to develop themselves while serving the synagogue community. The Jewish community is looking for a new model for Jewish spiritual leadership and this book provides us with a glimpse of what that looks like.

As he so aptly points out, rabbinical organizations do not mandate their rabbis to undertake systematic continuing education in order to remain members in good standing. A rabbi receives ordination and then is out in the world.

Just as many other professionals are required to continue to learn and develop their skills rabbis should also be held to that standard and have access to educational practical experience that will challenge their understanding of their roles in the synagogue.

The main prayers happen in the prayer hall, which is usually rectangular with seats on three sides facing inwards. There are certain features that appear in all synagogues, regardless of whether they are Orthodox or Reform. A day in the life of Jess, a young Progressive Reformed Jew.

A day in the life of Nachi, a young Orthodox Jew. All synagogues have a large cupboard facing Jerusalem called the aron hakodesh.

It is the holiest place in the synagogue. It is the centrepiece of the synagogue and holds the Torah. It symbolises the ark that held the tablets given to Moses.

The Sefer Torah is a scroll kept inside the aron hakodesh. Handwritten by a scribe, it is covered with a mantle or cloth that is ornately decorated.