Judaism

1. The Synagogue. Judaism

2. The Synagogue • The Synagogue is the Jewish holy place. • The word synagogue means meeting place. • It is used for worship, learning ,weddings and festivals.

3. The Rabbi. • The Rabbi is the person who is in charge of the Synagogue. • He carries out a similar job to a priest in a Christian church.

4. Inside the synagogue. • Inside the synagogue on the western wall facing the holy city of Jerusalem, is the Ark. • This contains the Torah scrolls on which the Holy scriptures are written.

5. The Torah scrolls. • The scrolls are taken out of the ark each time they are read in the synagogue

6. The Torah scroll. • The Torah scrolls are dressed in a velvet jacket called the MANTLE. • The mantle symbolises the robes worn by the Temple priests in ancient times.

7. The Torah scroll. • When the Torah is being read the mantle is removed. • As the scroll is so sacred it is not allowed to be touched by hand.Therefore a YAD is used this is a silver pointing instrument.

8. The 10 commandments. • Near to the Ark you can see the Ten commandments written on tablets of stone. • The scriptures tell that when they were first given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai they were written on tablets of stone.

9. The 10 commandments. • In the Synagogue ,however, the tablets only show the first two words of each commandment in Hebrew ,the traditional language of the Jews.

10. Ner Tamid. • Above the ark is a light that is always kept burning. This reminds Jews of the light that was always kept burning in the temple in Jerusalem hundreds of years ago. • It symbolises the presence of God,which Jews believe is always around them.It is called the NER TAMID

11. Seating arrangements. • In most synagogues men and women sit separately.With women sitting in a area called the gallery and the men sat in the main area below. • In some synagogues called REFORM synagogues families are allowed to sit together.

12. What happens at the Synagogue? • The synagogue is used for many special occasions as well as for worship.

13. Jewish weddings. • Most Jewish Weddings take place in the synagogue. • The Bride and Groom stand under the huppah or wedding canopy.

14. Bar Mitzvah. • Bar mitzvah ceremonies also take place in the synagogue. • This is a ceremony that takes place when the Jewish boy is 13. • After the service the boy is responsible for his own faith.In the synagogue he has now entered adulthood.

15. Bat Mitzvah. • A Bat Mitzvah is the ceremony that takes place when a Jewish girl is 12.

16. Bat Mitzvah. • A Bat Mitzvah can only take place in a REFORM synagogue. • The Girl is then accepted as an adult. • IN BOTH ceremonies the boy and girl must read from the torah in Hebrew in front of all their friends and family.

17. FESTIVALS. • The synagogue is also the place where many Jewish people meet to celebrate their festivals such as Rosh Hashanah,which marks the start of the Jewish new year.

18. Special clothes. • In the synagogue special clothes are worn for prayer. • These clothes are very symbolic and are often given as gifts for Bar / Bat mitzvah ceremonies.

19. What are the special clothes? • Jewish men and Women all wear a prayer shawl called the TALLIT.The fringes symbolise the 613 commandments. • They also wear TEFILLIN leather straps with small boxes around their forearm and forehead it contains extracts from the Torah. • They also where a KIPPAR A small head covering

20. OUR VISIT. ENJOY YOUR VISIT TO THE REFORM SYNAGOGUE. LOOK OUT FOR ALL THE THINGS YOU HAVE LEARNT ABOUT.