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SYNAGOGUE

The synagogue is  around the world, where there is a Jewish population, there is also a synagogue.Synagogue is a Jewish community  an important center of worship and teaching.  The word synagogue means a congregation that comes together.

The construction of synagogues became necessary after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in the 5th century BC, when the Jews were deported to Babylon. Attempts were made to imitate in joint church meetings  the pattern of temple worship.

The Romans destroyed  in the 70's  rebuilt by King Herod  temple. Since then, it has not been rebuilt since  for there is a Mosque of Rocks built by Muslims.

There is no actual synagogue architecture. The appearance of synagogues has varied from country to country  according to style trends and the wealth of the congregations.

Helsinki Synagogue

Common to all the synagogues are the cult objects in their interior: the Torah scroll, the ark, the reading desk, the eternal light, the tablets of the Ten Commandments, and the seven-pronged candlestick, the menorah, and the Star of David.

Its a synagogue  belongs to the Orthodox Jewish Congregation, the women sit on the balcony.

 

The sheet is on the wall facing the temple in Jerusalem.

The curtain in front of the sheet  reminiscent of the veil of the temple in Jerusalem, which isolated the most holy.

Worship

Orthodox Synagogue Worship  can only be held when 10 men are assembled. Boys over the age of 13 who have attended a bar mitsva ceremony are counted as men. The presence of a rabbi is not necessary.

Men put a prayer cloak (stables) on their shoulders and a prayer strap (tefill) is wrapped around the left wrist of a small hat (kipa) (Not in Sabbath services)

Services are held in the mornings, noon and evening.

At the beginning of the service, the scroll is taken out of the sheet and passed from hand to hand. People show respect for it by getting up. The honor is to get the doors of the sheet open or closed.

Every service includes reading the Torah and teaching it   in a sermon usually given by a rabbi.

The order of worship is determined by the book of prayer from which the cantor or a parishioner reads passages, psalms, and proverbs of the Torah. Worship ends with closing prayers and   prayer for the mourning (kaddis)

The Mikve pool is for ritual cleansing. Married women are cleaned up there some time after their period ends  and before the wedding.

Men are cleansed on their wedding day and some young fathers before their son is circumcised.

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