Global learning site visit experiences and outcomes

global Visit -- Impressions of Judaism From a Synagogue Visit

Introduction to Modern Judaism and Worshipping Practice

This project consisted of a visit to the house of worship of an alternate religious group; in my case, I selected a Jewish synagogue because my own heritage is Roman Catholicism. The site visit consisted of a Friday night "erev Shabbat" service at the Bet Briera or Olom synagogue. "Erev" is the Hebrew word for "night" and "Shabbat" means the Sabbath. I learned that when used as a prefix before a holiday (or Sabbath), "erev" means the night before, much the same way Christians regard the evening of December 24th as Christmas Eve. The first part of synagogue's name, "Bet Breira" translates to "house of choice" and the second part, "Or Olom" in Hebrew translates literally into "light" (or) for the "world" (olom).

The synagogue caters to two types of Jews: Conservative Jews and Reform Jews. Among modern Jews, there are three styles of religious worship and practice: Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform. They correspond (respectively) to degrees of strictness and adherence to the literal teachings of the religion. Generally, all Jews celebrate the same major holidays and share the same underlying beliefs and philosophies. However, there is a wide range of adherence (and non-adherence) to the worshiping aspects of the religion. Among Jews, the Orthodox communities adhere very strictly to the ancient biblical rules without any modern interpretation to accommodate contemporary life.

The Bet Briera or Olom synagogue maintains both Conservative and Reform services but no Orthodox services. Generally, Orthodox Jews view both Conservatives and (especially) Reform Jews as non-observant Jews and they do not worship in synagogues that also cater to Conservatives and Reform Jews. Orthodox Jews worship amongst themselves and maintain extremely strict dietary laws; they also conduct traditional "brit milah" (covenant of circumcision) in the home and performed by a "mohel." In addition to strictly observing the rules of "kashrus" according to which many foods are considered "un-kosher," Orthodox Jews typically maintain entirely separate kitchen counters, utensils, and sinks to separate milk-based foods from meat-based foods. I am told that their synagogues are much less social in nature and very focused on intense worship. I learned that this practice originated from the teachings of ancient Rabbis and passed down through the Talmud (a sacred text of Jewish law and Biblical interpretations) against ever eating the "meat of the mother" together with the "milk of the lamb."

Both Conservative Jews and orthodox Jews conduct their ceremonies entirely in Hebrew but Conservative and Reform synagogues also provide Hebrew/English versions of prayer books as well as those that also feature Hebrew spelled out phonetically in English for worshippers who do not read Hebrew but wish to participate in the shared prayers. I found that feature very helpful in appreciating the joint prayers and the English translation supplied historical context for some of them.

The prayers made many references to the nature of God and the debts owed to God by worshippers; they also made numerous references to Abraham, who is considered the first Jew because he was told by God to make the trip from Mesopotamia to Israel. His twelve sons established the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Other prayers referred to Moses, who is believed by Jews to have lead the Jewish People into the desert from enslavement in Egypt and, eventually, to Israel. The other recognizable references were those in relation to the destruction of the ancient Jewish Temple at whose ruins modern-day Jews worship in Jerusalem. The primary source of Jewish religious beliefs is the Old Testament; it consists of five separate books of the Jewish Bible or Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Naturally, this is a major difference compared to Christianity and Catholicism which regard the New Testament as a more authoritative biblical text.

Conservative Jews also observe kashrus, but many of them distinguish between keeping kosher in the home and eating kosher outside the home. Whereas Orthodox Jews are extremely careful never to eat (or even touch) any un-kosher food (including otherwise kosher types of food not prepared in conjunction with certification by an Orthodox Rabbi), most Conservative Jews only "keep kosher" in the home. They adhere to the same requirement of never consuming milk products in the same meal as meat products, but they generally use the same kitchen appliances for both foods and may not necessarily keep two separate sets of dishes for milk and meat.

Reform Jews would be the approximate equivalent of what some more orthodox Catholics call "A&P" Catholics (for "Ashes & Palm"), meaning those worshippers who only appear in church for funeral services and Palm Sunday. Reform Jews do not usually worry about "keeping kosher" at all; on the other hand, I am told that there are Reform Jews who eat un-kosher food but not pig products; others eat all kinds of meat but avoid mixing milk and meat, such as would be in a cheeseburger or cheese-dog. I noticed that the women in the Conservative services did not carry handbags or purses whereas the women entering the Reform services all had their pocket books. It was explained to me that in the traditional practice of Judaism, Jews are prohibited from doing any kind of "work" or touching money, or carrying anything on the Sabbath, out of respect for the fact that God rested on the Seventh Day of Creation. Among orthodox Jews, the definition of "work" and "carrying" are much stricter and often extend to not tearing toilet paper (which is considered "work") or carrying house keys. They often pre-tear toilet paper before the Sabbath and employ non-Jews to lock and unlock their homes or hold onto their keys while they are at synagogue.

Like the orthodox, Conservatives also do not ride in cars or elevators on the Sabbath, and they do not use telephones or light candles or turn any electric appliances on or off, because touching anything electrical is considered "work" too. However, Conservatives often use "Shabbat clocks" which are preset timers that turn lights on and off at preset times; they may also employ non-Jews to perform those functions on Saturday that they cannot do themselves, and they may ride in elevators without touching any of the buttons. They carry house keys in their pockets but not handbags and identification in their wallets but no cash.