Essay on "Global Learning Site Visit"

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[EXCERPT] . . . .

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… READ MORE

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