Flashcards
Central place for community worship = SYNAGOGUE
Beth ha-tefilla (house of prayer)
Description
Plain buildings, often with no more decoration than the star of David to show it’s purpose
The entrance is on the side of the building which faces Jerusalem
The wall which faces Jerusalem from the inside is also where the ark with Torah srolls is placed. Near it are placed the tablets with the Ten commandments
Above the ark burns Ner Tamid - the everlasting light
Readers desk is in front of the ark; Torah is read form the bimah (stand which holds it)
Synagogue represents an assembly house for:
communal prayer
study
meeting place
centre of the community
Leader of the community = RABBI (my master)
THere are eight periods of prayer:
Morning
Afternoon
Evening
All prayers are said facing east, towards israel. There are also formal and spontaneous prayers
Vocabulary
Aron Ha-Kodesh = Holy Ark
Ner Tamid = Everlasting light
Bimah = Stand on which the torah is read
Yad = a pointer used to read th Torah
Menorah = Seven branched candle stick
Mikveh = ritual bath (pool of natural water in which people can bathe to be ritually pure; pots can be made pure for kosher cooking)
Siddur = book containing services and prayers in Judaisam
Beth Din = Jewsith religious court consisted of a group of Rabbis
Chazzan/ Cantor = official of the synagogue who leads the singing in services
Kippah/ skull cap → reminder that the wearer is always in the presence of G-d
Tallit = prayer shawl worn during morning services by Jewish men (only worn in the evening service on Yom Kippur)
Teffilin = boxes containing the text of Shema which are bound on the left arm and head by Jewish men during prayer (to remind them that G-d is always in their mind and heart)
Tzitzit = Fringes on prayer shawl; they make eight strands and five knots at eash corner
Mezuzah = small cylinder found on the right-hand dorpost containing the text of Shema
Minyan = Number of people required for public worship; usually ten men over the age of 13