What is the difference between the synagogue and the temple?

Answer 1

A synagogue (as called a shul) is a place for communal prayer. Jew's pray three time a day every day. In smaller communities only the Shabbos prayer service may be done at the synagogue and the others done individually. A synagogue building may also be used for Torah study and other community activities.

The Jewish Temple, located in Jerusalem, was a place where the scarifies described in the Torah were offered. People were permitted to attend the offering of the communal scarifies. Those who could not make it to Jerusalem would gather together in there own communities at the same time the scarifies was being offered. This also became a place for prayer, a synagogue.

Since the destruction of the Temple we can no longer offer scarifies but we still gather together in synagogues to acknowledge the offerings that should be made and to offer prayers instead.

The Reform, Reconstructionist, and Messianic Movements call their places of prayer a temple. However the concept of any temple other then the one Jerusalem is problematic in normative Jewish theology.

Answer 2

A synagogue is a place of worship for Jews where they gather for prayer, study, and community events. The temple, historically referring to the ancient Jewish temple in Jerusalem, was the central place of worship in ancient Israel where sacrifices were offered. Today, temple can also refer to a place of worship for followers of certain branches of Judaism.