What is a Jewish worship like?

Answer 1

Someone who'd never been in a church or synagogue would see strong parallels. A congregation gathers, they sit down at some times in the service, stand at other times, sing hymns, pray, listen to readings from their holy books, listen to teaching or sermons, and have a procession or two during the service. If you look closer, you'd notice that a synagogue service typically involves a considerable amount of Hebrew, and that much of the Hebrew is chanted, and that Jewish liturgical chants are frequently in a minor key. In your typical Christian service, only the minister wears anything resembling vestments. In contrast, in Jewish daytime services, many in the congregation wear prayer shawls that can strongly resemble vestments, and all the men in many congregations wear little caps. Jewish morning services are long compared to what most Protestants and Catholics expect. A Sabbath morning service can easily last from 9:30 AM to noon, with most of the congregation staying for another hour to eat lunch after the service.