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Where to buy Torah reading table - shulchan - for a synagogue?
Rachelchana
A Torah reading table - shulchan - can be ordered from any carpenter. You need a table about 90 cm high. It should be about 1m wide by 1m deep. Under the shulchan could be its four legs or else the could be made into a cupboard to store items. For an Ashkenazi synagogue you want it tilted at about 5 - 10 degrees with a ledge at the bottom about 2 - 3 cm high. For a Sefardi synagogue (with the barrel-type Sefer Torah) you want it flat. It's customary to cover it with a velvet cover (typically dark blue, dark red or dark green) with golden trimmings.
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Where can you buy a Shulchan - Torah Reading Table - for a synagogue?
Jewish publishing companies and Jewish bookstores.
What is the desk used for in a synagogue?
If you are referring to the table on the Bima (pulpit), it is used to lay the Torah on, for reading.
Why is a bimah raised?
The bimah or bema in a is raised so everyone in the room can see and hear the person standing there. The bimah is the raised platform in a synagogue that holds the reading table where the Torah is unrolled for reading. Most of a synagogue service is frequently led from the bimah. Different architectural traditioins place the bimah in the rear, center or front of the synagogue.
What is the hebrew word for table?
table = shulchan (שולחן)
What happens to the bimah and what similar feature can be found in a church?
The word bimah refers to the raised platform holding the reading table in a synagogue. The table is used to hold the Torah scroll during a Torah reading, and most of the service is usually led from the bimah. In churches, the lectern is the traditional name for the place from which scripture is read, and the pulpit is the usual name for the place from which sermons are delivered. In some churches, these are separated, but in many, they are combined and used similarly to a bimah.
Does a synagogue have an alter?
No. A synagogue has only seats (or floor cushions in some cultures) for the congregants to sit on during a service, an ark or covered alcove in which the Torah scroll is stored when it's not being read, and a table upon which the Torah is placed and opened for reading, and upon which the individual leading the service may rest his prayer book. Anything else in a synagogue is local style, decoration, ambience, design, atmosphere, etc.
What is the desk used for in the synagogue?
There are two surfaces that may be described as desks, though the smaller one is more accurately classed as a forward-facing lectern.The larger "desk" is the Bima, a slanted table on which the Torah is opened to be read from. The Bima is in the center of the men's section of the synagogue.The smaller desk, the lectern, is the Amoud ("stand"), in front of which the leader of the prayers stands. It faces in the same direction that the congregants face, and is in the front of the synagogue to the right of the Holy Ark.See also:More about prayers and synagogues
What is the table in a synagogue called?
It's called the Bimah, and the Torah is placed upon it when it is read from. It's actually more of a low cabinet than a table. See also:Synagogue facts
What is there in a synagogue?
The central thing is the Holy Ark in which the Torah-scroll is kept. There are also chairs or benches, shelves for prayerbooks, a special table on which the Torah is read, and a lectern where the leader of the prayers stands. Anything else is optional.
Where does the person who leads the service stand in a synagogue?
According to some customs, that persons stands at the central bima (table), where the Torah is also read. That is the practice I've seen in Sephardic synagogues. In another custom, there is a lectern adjacent to the Holy Ark in the front of the synagogue, and that is where the leader of the prayers stands.
How is the Torah read in a synagogue?
The synagogue services for Monday, Thursday, Sabbath and holiday mornings, plus Sabbath, Yom Kippur, and fast-day afternoons, include public Torah reading. The scroll is placed on the reading table and opened. If it's not already dialed up to the correct spot for the scheduled reading, then it's rolled to the correct spot. Then ... without going into too much detail to describe the "choreography", the blessings recited, and the people involved ... the "reader" reads the text, in the traditional chant, reading the Hebrew calligraphy directly from the scroll. The entire process of reading out the prescribed one-week's-worth during the Sabbath morning service typically runs something like 30 to 45 minutes. Also, the whole process of public reading is part of a "community" prayer service, meaning that there must be at least ten Jewish male adults in attendance. If fewer than ten have arrived for this particular service, then the service may be conducted somewhat "pro forma", but it doesn't go into the "record book" ... several details are eliminated, including the Torah reading.
Are there any special artifacts in a synagogue?
Some synagogue artifacts are: aaron kodesh-"holy ark" which contains Torah scrolls Torah scrolls- parchment scrolls on which the bible is written bimah-table where Torah scrolls are read ner tamid- "eternal light" is a lamb that reminds Jews of the temple in Jerusalem mechitzah- divider between male and female prayer areas Torah cover-cloth fabric covering the Torah scrolls when not in use yad- "hand" a metal, sticklike instrument used to mark one's place when reading the Torah parochet-curtain that covers the ark Elijah's chair-traditional chair reserved for Elijah the prophet. used only during brit mila
