Synagogue Tour

When I thought of a synagogue, visions of the "over the top" Basilica came into mind. I guess I figured since it had a fancy name, it must be a fancy place. I was a little taken back at the atmosphere and the look of the synagogue. I found it interesting at the simplicity of the place. The decorations were modest and served their purposes. I guess I am just to Christian celebrations and the fancy alters and such.

I also was taken back by the Torah and the place in which the Torah is kept. I knew it was a scroll but I was unaware of the size of it. It was big! The way in which they keep the Torah behind the curtain and treat with such respect reminds me of the way we as Christians treat the Eucharist. We keep it in a fancy place atop a fancy alter. I was glad that Beth had allowed us to come to the front and vew the Torah. Although I had no idea what any of it said, it amazed me at how devoted these followers of the Judaism religion are in taking all that time to learn the Hebrew language and look to the Torah as their way into God's Word.

The kitchen was unbelievable! I thought not eating meat on Friday's was bad in the Christian World. The dedication that these people have in following what they read in the Torah to keep food kosher is incrediable. I was completely blown away by all the seperate dishes and the seperated cabinets for the meat and the dairy products.

One thing I found interesting was the way that they interact with their youth and their children. They just take so much pride into their faith and their beliefs and it shows through their dedication to keep the youth involved. This even shows when they present the name of their child to the people. The religion seems to be very family oriented.

The ways in which they pray and the times they pray a day really set them apart in my mind when looking at my own spirituality. They at least have to pray 3 times a day. The one day that Beth was talking about was Shebot (spelling??) This day they completely drop everything they need to do for that particular day and spend it with their families and take the day to turn to their spiritual side. I was just blown away by the amount of time they devote to their religion.