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Synagogue is a Greek word which means Jewish house of prayer. In modern Jewish communities, synagogues are used for public prayer, and sometimes as community centers, catering hall, kosher kitchen, day care center, Jewish library or religious school.

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Public prayer services are part of halakha (Jewish law) and tradition (Talmud, Berakhot 26a).
Prayer is an important form of communicating with God, and maintaining a relationship with Him; and it is also good for the health of the soul, to which Torah, prayer and religious observances are a form of nourishment.
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6y ago
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13y ago

Synagogue comes from a Greek word meaning "assembly," and may have come about in ancient times and been influenced by the Hebrew term בית כנסת, meaning "house of assembly." Other Hebrew names for a synagogue include בית תפילה (house of prayer), שול (shul, or school) and אסנוגה (esnoga, a Sephardic Jewish term).

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13y ago

"Synagogue" is a Greek word meaning "assembly." They have existed for millennia, even as the Holy Temple existed in Jerusalem. In ancient times, Greek was the language used by the educated and in business, so adoption of a Greek word for temples made sense.

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13y ago

In ancient times, Jews used to have one Holy Temple in Jerusalem. That Temple was destroyed in the year 70 CE.

Starting in the 19th Century, many non-orthodox Jews gave up on the idea of ever rebuilding that Temple, so they started calling their synagogues a temple. Orthodox Jews do not share this view, and never use the word temple to mean a synagogue.

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7y ago

According to our tradition, we can pray privately when necessary, but communal prayer in the synagogue has a much stronger effect (Talmud, Berakhot 7b-8a). Praying also strengthens the spiritual level and the bonds within the community.

The importance of prayer:
Prayer services are part of halakha (Jewish law) and tradition (Talmud, Berakhot 26a); and the Torah records several prayers of our forefathers.
Prayer is an important form of communicating with God, and maintaining a relationship with Him; and it is also good for the health of the soul, to which Torah, prayer and religious observances are a form of nourishment. Judaism sees it as centrally important to thank God, to recognize that He is the source of prosperity, and to be close to Him.
How do Jews pray?
The Jewish prayer-book has a structured order. Prayers are ancient, and often are sung or chanted. Some prayers are said in unison (such as Shir Hakavod), and some are not. Some prayers are said more than once per day (such as the Shema), some once a day (such as Yotzer Ohr), and others are said only on Sabbath, festivals or certain occasions. Some prayers are said aloud (such as Kaddish), some are sung (such as Lekha Dodi) and some are to be whispered (the Amidah). Most of the services are in Hebrew, but a couple of prayers are in Aramaic (such as Brikh Shemei).


While praying, Jews either sit, or stand, depending on the prayer. There is also some bowing forward (in the Amidah and Aleinu), but Jews today do not kneel except once a year on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).
In between the prayers, Kaddish is said; and the Torah is read on many occasions (over two hundred times a year).
While formal prayer services are held in the synagogue three times each day throughout the year, many other blessings (such as those over meals) are said in the home.

  • See also the Related Links.

Link: What is the Jewish prayerbook?

Link: When are synagogue services held?

Link: What is the purpose of the "eternal light"?

Link: Which way does the Holy Ark face?

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13y ago

The synagogue has 3 functions:

A house of prayer

A house of study

A house of assembly

It is the center of Jewish culture and life in many areas of the world.

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14y ago

A synagogue is a holy place because that is where Jews get together to pray to G-d and read the Torah on Shabbat (the Sabbath) and Jewish holidays.

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12y ago

synagogue is a Greek word for "gathering"

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Q: Why do some Jews call a synagogue a temple?
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Related questions

What is another name for a synagogue?

a shul or a bet-knesset. Non-Orthodox Jews also call it a temple.


What is the difference between a jewish house of worship and a temple?

Some Jews refer to their synagogue as a temple. (The word "Temple" also refers to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, which was destroyed by the Romans about 1950 years ago.)


Who founded the synagogue?

it was first taught of by Ezra the prophet upon his return from the Babylonian exile. but decided against it, Jews that found it to hard to visit the Temple 3 times a years might go to the Synagogue instead and ignore the Temple. The Synagogue was used in the Babylon as a house of Study thus also prayer, but once the Jews returned to Israel, it was only used outside of Israel so there would be some connection. Most of the laws regarding to a synagogue today are from Ezra


What temple do the Jews worship at?

The English name for the Jewish place of worship is 'synagogue'. Some groups refer to them as Temples but that's mainly amongst the Reform movement.


Were do Jews go to prayer?

A synagogue a.k.a Shul, Beit Knesset or in some places in the USA, a temple. This is where Jews go for formal prayer, but the truth is that you can pray anytime anywhere (unless the area is dirty, smelly or a restroom).


Is a synagogue and a temple the same thing?

Both are places of worship. A Mosque is used for Muslim worship. A Synagogue is used for Jewishworship.


Do Jews go to a synagogue?

As is the case with Christians and church, some Jews do go to synagogue and some don't - and of those that do, regularity of attendance varies greatly between individuals (some go three times every day, some once a week, some only for festivals and some only for Yom Kippur, when many Jews who don't go at any other time of the year attend).


True or false- is a Jewish place of worship a synagogue or a temple?

A multiple-choice question cannot be answered with 'true' or 'false'. Jewish places of group-worship are called synagogues. Some Reform and Conservative Jews call them temples. But individual prayer can take place in any place the individual chooses, if it's consistent with the mood, decorum, and holiness of prayer. While 'synagogue' is exclusively used to refer to Jewish houses of worship, 'temple' can be used to connote a synagogue or a Shinto, Buddhist, Confucian, or other Asian house of worship (in which a Jew may not pray, on account of the idols present).


Can south African modern orthodox Jews appear to live the same as reformed Jews in the states?

In South Africa, like most countries aside from the USA and the UK, the Jewish communities are overwhelmingly Orthodox. Whether or not a person who attends an Orthodox Synagogue is Orthodox in his "non-synagogue activities" is purely up to the believer. So, some members of the Orthodox community may not actually be observant Jews and would appear like Reform Jews in the USA. However, they would not call themselves Orthodox, but Jews who happen to belong to an Orthodox synagogue. Actual Orthodox Jews in South Africa would be indistinguishable from Orthodox Jews in the USA.


What is the difference between a Jewish synagogue and a Jewish Temple?

Conventionally, Orthodox Jews call their places of worship a Synagogue and Reform Jews call their place of worship a Temple. A synagogue will have a clear separation between men & women; with the women behind a partition or on a balcony. Temples have mixed seating. Synagogues follow the Hebrew order of prayer that Jews have been using for over 1,000 years - you can use a 600 year old prayer book and feel at home. Temples use whatever the latest version of their prayer book is - and it's not necessarily in Hebrew. In a synagogue all public posts (Rabbi, Sexton, Gabbai, etc.) will be held by Jewish men. In a temple some of these may be women, some of whom may not Jewish. Answer 2 That's much too simplistic. Many Orthodox Jews call the synagogue a "shul," which is a Yiddish word, and literally means "school." But you will hear that word from Jews of any affiliation who speak Yiddish. Reform Jews did once call their synagogues exclusively "temples," because of a philosophy that the Land of Israel was anyplace where there were Jews who formed a community. But after the Holocaust that philosophy changed, and many Reform thinkers began to question whether that was really possible. So Reform edifices built or named recently tend not to be called "temples." There is also a movement within Reform Judaism to return to traditional ways of living. These Jews still consider themselves Reform Jews, with liberal ways of thinking in regard to women's roles in worship, and as leaders, but reject the sort of "Classic Reform" ideology of 1880-1940, or so, where Judaism tried to come into line with gentile ways of doing things, like calling rabbis "ministers," and singing hymns with organ accompaniment. Nicknamed "Reformadox," such Jews would reject the idea of calling a synagogue a "temple." There are also a few smaller denominations of Judaism, such as Reconstructionism, which is older than the Conservative movement, and does not use the word "temple," and the fairly new Renewal movement, which has very few edifices of its own, and is new enough that there are not yet many people who "grew up" as Renewal Jews, but members of that movement would tend to shy away from the word "temple," to describe a building, as most of them regard the Temple as a spiritual domain. Using the word "Orthodox" as though it means one thing is also incorrect. There is Modern Orthodoxy, and then there are the Haredi (sometimes called the Ultra-Orthodox, but they personally find the term offensive), and different ways of expressing those ideas. There are people who refer to themselves as "observant," or "traditional," while rejecting an identification, or affiliation, with a denomination. There are even synagogues which are unaffiliated. Any one synagogue will have people with different personal levels of observance, and while it's true you would not find someone at a Haredi shul who refers to it as a "temple," you certainly hear both "shul," and "synagogue" among other Jews. Both those raised in Conservative and Reform homes, as well as those who grew up in Jewish homes that were unaffiliated, people will say "temple," but they tend to be older people, usually older than about 55. Younger people will usually say "synagogue," but some say "shul," and others, who come from large congregations, might call the building the "JCC," for "Jewish Community Center," with the place within the JCC set aside for worship being referred to as the "sanctuary."


What do some Jews wrap round their wrists seven times when going to the synagogue?

Tefillin or phylacteries


What do Jews when entering a synagogue?

Kiss the mezuzah. Some also say a verse from Psalms (Tehillim) when entering.