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A synagogue (from Greek: συναγωγή, transliterated synagogē, "assembly"; בית כנסת beit knesset, "house of assembly"; שול or בית תפילה beit tefila, "house of prayer", shul; אסנוגה, esnoga) is a Jewish house of prayer. Synagogues usually have a large hall for prayer (the main sanctuary), smaller rooms for study and sometimes a social hall and offices. Some have a separate room for Torah study, called the Beit midrash — בית מדרש ("House of Study"). Many Jews in English-speaking countries use the Yiddish term "shul" in everyday speech. Spanish and Portuguese Jews call the synagogue an esnoga. Persian Jews and Karaite Jews use the term Kenesa, which is derived from Aramaic. Reform and some Conservative congregations in the United States sometimes use the word "temple."
OriginsBefore the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, communal prayers centered around the korbanot ("sacrificial offerings") brought by the kohanim ("priests") in the Holy Temple. The all-day Yom Kippur service, in fact, was an event in which the congregation both observed the movements of the kohen gadol ("the high priest") as he offered the day's sacrifices and prayed for his success. The destruction of Solomon's Temple, and later the Second Temple, and the dispersion of the Jews into the Jewish diaspora, threatened the nation's focus and unity. At the time of the Babylonian captivity the Men of the Great Assembly began the process of formalizing and standardizing Jewish services and prayers that would not depend on the functioning of the Temple in Jerusalem. Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai, one of the leaders at the end of the Second Temple era, promulgated the idea of creating individual houses of worship in whatever locale Jews found themselves. This contributed to the saving of the Jewish people by maintaining a unique identity and a portable way of worship, according to many historians. Under Orthodox Jewish law whenever any group of ten men comes together, they form a minyan, and are eligible to conduct public prayer services—usually, but not necessarily, in a synagogue. In Eastern Europe, synagogues were established by like-minded groups of people. Such a synagogue was known as a kloiz, and was often delineated by the professions of its worshippers: e.g. "the tailor's kloiz," the "water-carrier's kloiz," etc. One kloiz which still bears that name today is the Breslov kloiz built by Nathan of Breslov in the city of Uman, Ukraine in 1834. Today, this kloiz accommodates worshippers in the annual Breslover Rosh Hashana kibbutz (prayer gathering). DesignThere is no set blueprint for synagogues and the architectural shapes and interior designs of synagogues vary greatly. In fact the influence of other local religious buildings can often be seen. Orthodox synagogues usually contains the following features: 
A synagogue may be decorated with artwork, but in the Rabbinic and Orthodox tradition, three-dimensional sculptures and depictions of the human body are not allowed, as these are considered akin to idolatry. Synagogue windows are sometimes curved at the top and squared at the bottom, recalling the popular depiction of the shape of the Lukhot (Tablets of the Law) which Moses received from God at Mount Sinai. There is also a tradition to install twelve windows around the main sanctuary to recall the Twelve Tribes of Israel, underscoring the importance of unity and brotherhood as a result of the communal prayers. 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. The Torah was read on a reader's table located in the exact center of each sanctuary, echoing the manner in which the Children of Israel stood around Mount Sinai when they received the Torah. The leader of the prayer service, the Hazzan, stood at his own lectern or table, facing the Ark. Chabad Lubavitch has based some of its Chabad Houses and centers on the architecture of 770 Eastern Parkway. [1] In the US, there are well over 1200 Orthodox congregations, including over 1000 of which are affiliated with the Orthodox Union (OU), and 150 with the National Council of Young Israel, as well as many associated with Agudath Yisrael, a widespread movement often identified with "black-hatter" Orthodox, especially Chassidim. Reform synagogues and templesThe 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 Orthodox halakhacitation needed), a choir to accompany the Hazzan, and vestments for the synagogue rabbi to wear [2]. 
In following decades, the central reader's table, the bimah, was moved to the front of the Reform sanctuary—previously unheard-ofcitation needed in Orthodox synagogues. The rabbi now delivered his sermon from the front, much as the Christian ministers delivered their sermons in a church. The synagogue was renamed a "temple," to emphasize that the movement no longer looked forward to the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem.citation needed With the emigration of German Reform Jews to America in the mid-nineteenth century, the synagogue exterior also changed. The wealthy German Jewish immigrants built grandiose temples. Temple Emanu-El, the oldest Reform congregation (founded in New York City in 1845), constructed an imposing Moorish-style building, with towering limestone walls, on Fifth Avenue in 1929. The architecture rivaled the design of the great cathedrals of Europe. Inside, arched walls and Tiffany and stained-glass windows accentuated the 2,500-seat main sanctuary and a smaller. Reform temples built in other American cities displayed Romanesque, Byzantine, and other grand, designs. Many recent Reform synagogues are built closer to traditional designs and many Orthodox synagogues now have the bimah in front. As of 2005, the Reform movement in the US encompassed approximately 900 congregations. Conservative synagoguesThe Conservative movement, which also developed in Europe and America in the 1800s, rejected Reform as being too liberal and Orthodoxy as being too outdated. However, like other varieties of Judaism, its synagogue design is not consistent. Some Conservative synagogues resemble Reform temples—complete with organ.[3] More often they resemble Orthodox synagogues, but usually without a mechitza, the dividing barrier between men and women. There are approximately 750 Conservative synagogues in the US today. Reconstructionist synagoguesThe 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 traditionalist as Conservative Judaism in the design of the synagogue and do not use the mechitza. The congregation decides communally how much traditional Judaic imagery and symbols are appropriate. Reconstructionist Jews generally do not call their houses of worship "temples". Synagogue as community centerSynagogues often take on a broader role in modern Jewish communities and may include additional facilities such as a function hall, kosher kitchen, religious school, library, day care center and a smaller chapel for daily services. Synagogue offshootsA related place of worship is the shtiebel (שטיבל, pl. shtiebelekh or shtiebels, Yiddish for "little house") that is frequently used by and preferred by Hasidic and Haredi Jews. A shtiebel may sometimes be a room in the private home of a Hasidic Rebbe, or a place of business which is set aside for the express purpose of prayer. It may or may not offer the communal services of a synagogue. Another type of communal prayer group, favored by some non-Orthodox Jews, is the chavura (חבורה, pl. chavurot, חבורות), or prayer fellowship. These groups meet at a regular place and time, usually in a private home. In antiquity, the Pharisees lived near each other in chavurot and dined together to ensure that none of the food was unfit for consumption.[1] Famous synagogues
Selected images of synagogues
See also
References
External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
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