Modern synagogue leadership In individual religious congregations or synagogues, the spiritual leader is generally the rabbi. Rabbis are expected to be taught in both the Talmud and the Shulkhan Arukh (Code of Jewish Law) as well as many other classical texts of Jewish scholarship.
What is the top of a synagogue called?
All synagogues require an amud (Hebrew for “post” or “column”), a desk facing the Ark from which the Hazzan (reader, or prayer leader) leads the prayers.
Who leads worship in a synagogue?
rabbi
Services are often led by a rabbi , although in some synagogues anyone can lead the service. There may also be prayers, which might be sung. If they are able to, Jews stand to say these prayers as a sign of respect for the presence of God.
What are the parts of a synagogue?
There is no standard synagogue architecture. A typical synagogue contains an ark (where the scrolls of the Law are kept), an “eternal light” burning before the ark, two candelabra, pews, and a raised platform (bimah), from which scriptural passages are read and from which, often, services are conducted.
Who is a cantor?
Also Called. Hazzan, Precentor. In Judaism, a cantor is a trained vocalist and member of the clergy who leads the congregation in song and prayer, teaches music to both children and adults, and officiates major life cycle events.
What is the pulpit in a synagogue?
A bema was an elevated platform used as an orator’s podium in ancient Athens. The term can refer to the raised area in a sanctuary. In Jewish synagogues, where it is used for Torah reading during services, the term used is bima or bimah.
What is the ark in a synagogue?
ark, also called Ark Of The Law, Hebrew Aron, orAron Ha-qodesh, (“holy ark”), in Jewish synagogues, an ornate cabinet that enshrines the sacred Torah scrolls used for public worship.
Where is the ark in a synagogue?
The Ark. The Ark is a central element of the synagogue as it contains the Torah scrolls. It is located on the wall that faces Jerusalem. It symbolises the ark that held the tablets that God gave to Moses .
Is a synagogue a temple?
A synagogue, also called a shul or temple, is a Jewish house of worship. The term “synagogue” is also occasionally used to describe a Samaritan house of worship. Synagogues have a place for prayer (the main sanctuary) and may also have rooms for study, a social hall, offices, and classrooms.
What do you call people who worship Judaism?
Jews are an ethnoreligious group including those born Jewish (or “ethnic Jews”), in addition to converts to Judaism.
What are the seats called in a synagogue?
Worshippers sit in long rows of seats called pews. In the past, most synagogues had separate places for men and women to sit. In the branch of Judaism called Orthodox, men and women still sit separately in the synagogue. The main part of synagogue worship is the reading of the Torah.
What is the most important part of a synagogue?
The Aron Hakodesh, often known as the ark, is the most important place inside all synagogues. The Aron Hakodesh is where the Torah scroll is kept.
What is a Torah pointer?
A yad (Hebrew: יד, literally “hand”; Yiddish: האַנט hant, “hand”) is a Jewish ritual pointer, popularly known as a Torah pointer, used by the reader to follow the text during the Torah reading from the parchment Torah scrolls.
What is another name for cantor?
In this page you can discover 12 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for cantor, like: chanter, hazan, leader, precentor, singer, soloist, vocalist, choirmaster, kraus, wagner and bohm.
What is a female cantor called?
A chazante is a woman performing cantoral music outside the synagogue. The word is a Yiddish declension of chazan (Hebrew and Yiddish for cantor), to the feminine.
Is a cantor a rabbi?
In Judaism, a cantor is one who sings and leads people in prayer in a Jewish religious service and may be called hazzan. A cantor in Reform and Conservative Judaism is an ordained person similar to that of a rabbi if the cantor has gone through seminary training or been certified as a cantor from an endorsed seminary.
What is the difference between a pulpit and a podium?
At its most basic, a lectern is something one stands behind, usually to read something or speak about something while a pulpit is the same thing but exclusive to religion. A podium is something one stands on, a raised platform, like a conductor or for a performance. It can also be architectural.
Does a synagogue have an altar?
The bimah is often placed in the centre of an Orthodox Jewish synagogue, whereas Reform Jewish synagogues often have the bimah close to the aron hakodesh. The bimah represents the altar in the Temple .
What is a tallit gadol?
This is the prayer shawl that is worn during the morning services in synagogue by all male participants, and in many communities by the leader of the afternoon and evening prayers as well. The tallit gadol is usually woven of wool — especially among Ashkenazim.
What is a hechal?
Similarly, Hekhál, also written hechal, echal or heichal — and sometimes also Echal Kodesh (mainly among Balkan Sephardim) comes from Hebrew הֵיכָל hēkhāl (palace), was used in the same time period to refer to the inner sanctuary. The hekhal contained the Menorah, Altar of Incense, and Table of the Showbread.
What term refers to the place in a synagogue where the Torah scrolls are kept?
Judahites. The term _____ refers to the place in a synagogue where the Torah scrolls are kept. ark.
