The local Jewish institution for instruction in the Torah and worship, but not infringing on the ritual or sacrificial roles of the Jerusalem priesthood. In antiquity, it was the local religious focal point of individual Jewish communities, both in Palestine and in cities of the Diaspora. Congregations were usually governed by a body of elders, who exercised certain disciplinary functions. While the term synagogue applied to the congregation, eventually it was also used of the buildings in which the people met, and in great cities such as Alexandria these could be quite elaborate. After the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in AD 70, the institution of the synagogue gained even greater importance as the major religious institution in Jewish life. Rabbis became leaders of synagogues in this later period. In Orthodox synagogues, men and women have traditionally separated; but in non-Orthodox synagogues, they now sit together.
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A synagogue (Hebrew: בית כנסת ;
The Hebrew term for synagogue is Beit Knesset - בית כנסת ("House of Assembly", not to be confused with the Knesset which is the modern name for the parliament of Israel, a political institution). Some congregations call their synagogues by other names, such as Beit Tefila - בית תפילה ("House of Prayer").
A synagogue usually includes a large hall for prayer (the main sanctuary), smaller rooms for study, and often a social hall and offices.
Many Orthodox Jews and most Conservative Jews in English-speaking countries refer to their houses of worship as synagogues. Spanish and Portuguese Jews call the synagogue an esnoga, which derives from "synagogue". Thus, even now, whenever any group of ten men comes together, they form a minyan, and are eligible to conduct public prayer services, usually in a synagogue.
In Eastern Europe, synagogues were established by like-minded groups of people.
Most Orthodox and many Conservative synagogues host prayer services every day. Larger (particularly Orthodox) synagogues schedule multiple morning, afternoon, and evening services at different times to accommodate the varying schedules of their many congregants. Special services are held on Shabbat and Jewish holidays, with larger (particularly Orthodox) synagogues having several simultaneous or overlapping services in different rooms of the synagogue, geared to different groups (e.g.
Synagogues also cater to communal activities. Shabbat kiddushim, banquets in honor of bar or bat mitzvahs, luncheon meetings, fund-raisers sponsored by the synagogue's men's club or sisterhood society, Purim carnivals, and Passover Seders often take place in the synagogue's social hall.
Typically a synagogue (especially in North America and in Europe) will have a dual leadership: a lay leadership comprising a committee and a president (or chairperson) who may be elected by all members, and a rabbi—a spiritual guide who is usually appointed by the lay leadership. In Conservative and Reform synagogues, the Hazzan is often hired exclusively for the High Holidays services on account of his beautiful singing voice.
Design
The architectural shapes and interior designs of synagogues vary greatly.
Traditional and Orthodox synagogues
Orthodox Judaism has considered synagogue construction over the last two thousand years as following the outlines of the original Tabernacle, which was also the outline for the temples in Jerusalem. The Orthodox synagogue usually contains the following features:
An ark – called the Aron Ha-Kodesh – ארון קודש, the Holy Ark by Ashkenazim and heikhal – היכל [temple] by Sephardim – where the Torah scrolls are kept. The Ark in a synagogue is positioned in such a way that those who face it, face towards Jerusalem. A large, raised, reader's platform called the bimah - בימה - by Ashkenazim and tebah by Sephardim, where the Torah is read and from where the services are conducted in Sephardi synagogues.A synagogue may be decorated with artwork, but in the 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, the synagogue interior was laid out with both a spiritual and a communal focus. In an Ashkenazi synagogue, all seats faced the aron kodesh (Ark) in which the Torah scrolls were housed. In a Sephardi synagogue, seats were arranged around the perimeter of the sanctuary, but when the worshippers stood up to pray, everyone faced the Ark.
Another related place of worship which is often a small synagogue is the shtiebel (שטיבל, pl.
Reform synagogues and temples
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, featured 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 .
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 synagogue was renamed a "temple," to emphasize that the movement no longer looked forward to the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem.
With the emigration of German Reform Jews to America in the mid-nineteenth century, the synagogue exterior also changed.
Conservative synagogues
The Conservative movement, which also developed in Europe and America in the 1800s, rejected Reform as being too liberal and Orthodoxy as being too outdated.
Reconstructionist synagogues
The Reconstructionist movement, which arose in America in the latter half of the 20th century, counts less than 100 synagogues worldwide. In keeping with a Reconstructionist Jewish spirit of liberalism, Reconstructionist synagogues are not as strict nor traditonalist as Conservative Judaism in the design of the synagogue and do not use the mechitza.
Famous synagogues
In Israel and regions of the Jewish diaspora archaeologists have uncovered many ruins of synagogues from thousands of years ago. Synagogues have also been discovered in Egypt and on the island of Delos which predate the synagogue at Masada. The Dura-Europos synagogue (in today's Syria) is considered to be the world's oldest preserved Jewish synagogue. The oldest active synagogue in Europe is the Alteneushul (Old-New Synagogue) in Prague, Czech Republic, which dates from the 13th century. During Kristallnacht on November 9-10, 1938, the Nazis in Germany and Austria destroyed or significantly damaged 1,574 synagogues, which included many of the greatest synagogues of Europe. The Hurva Synagogue, located in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, was the main synagogue in the holiest Jewish city from the 16th century to 1948 when it was destroyed by the Arab Legion. The Barbados Nidhe Israel Synagogue ("Bridgetown Synagogue") located in the capital city Bridgetown. The Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island is the oldest Jewish house of worship in North America. The Snoa Synagogue in Willemstad, Curaçao, Netherland Antilles is the oldest synagogue still standing and in continuous use in the Western Hemisphere. The Bevis Marks Synagogue in the City of London is the oldest continually functioning synagogue in the world. The largest synagogue in the world is Temple Emanu-El, a Reform house of worship located on Fifth Avenue, New York City, with an area of 3,523 m². The Dohány Street Synagogue or Great Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary is the largest synagogue in Europe and the second largest in the world, after the Temple Emanu-El in New York City. Other large synagogues include the Great Synagogue and the Belz World Center in Jerusalem, Israel; Synagogue in Novi Sad, Serbia, the Sofia Synagogue in Sofia, Bulgaria. The synagogue of Congregation Beth Israel in West Hartford, Connecticut, has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.|
The dome of the Hurva synagogue dominated the skyline of the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem for centuries. |
Remains of the Hurva today |
Scenes from the Book of Esther from the Dura-Europos synagogue, 244 CE |
Great Synagogue of Plzeň |
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Temple Beth-El, the oldest synagogue in Florida, built in Art Deco design |
Dohány Street Synagogue, Budapest |
Fasanenstrasse synagogue (Berlin) after the Kristallnacht. |
Interior of a Karaite synagogue (kenesa) |
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Sofia Synagogue, Sofia, Bulgaria |
Synagogue offshoots
Another type of communal prayer group, favored by some non-Orthodox Jews, is the chabura (חבורה, pl.
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