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THE SYNAGOGUE Two Important Institutions Characterize Judaism, the Jerusalem Temple and the Synagogue. Throughoutjewish History

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THE SYNAGOGUE Two Important Institutions Characterize Judaism, the Jerusalem Temple and the Synagogue. Throughoutjewish History CHAPTERONE THE SYNAGOGUE A THE TEMPLE AND THE SYNAGOGlJE Two important institutions characterize Judaism, the Jerusalem Temple and the synagogue. ThroughoutJewish history both have been dominant in Jewish religious, social and cultural life. The Jerusalem Temple was the focal point for the Jewish nation, the center far worship and the place where political, economic and spiritual affairs ofworldJewry could be discussed and determined. The Temple of the Second Temple period resembled the Temple of biblical Israel in its main religious and architectural features. During the first century, the Temple in Jerusalem was still the center of worship and ritual of the entire Jewish community in Judea and the diaspora. Here Jews could participate in ceremonies and in the teaching of the Law conducted in the Temple courtyards, and could settle administrative questions in the Temple courts. In 70 CE with the destruction ofJerusalem and the Temple, the Jews were forced to look for new ways to worship to replace the Temple and the sacrificial cult. The synagogue with the elevation by the rabbis of Torah reading, study and prayer as supplements to the sacrificial cult was the answer to the catastrophe. This new, important and unique Jewish institution was invented during the Second Temple period (Schürer et al. 1979,11:427-428; Cohen 1984:151-174; Safrai 1987:31-51;). The synagogue institution was a revolutionary concept in terms of worship and faith: first, as a place of worship, not only far the privileged few, that is the priests, but rather for a large, participating community fulfilling the need for individual self-expression; second, as a structure to house the Torah shrine, the central place of worship built onto the Jerusalem ariented wall; and third, as an assembly house used for communal as weH as for religious occasions. Differences between the Temple and the synagogue as religious institutions can be seen in cult, location and participation. Cult. The Temple was the sole center for religious activity in the form of sacred animal sacrifice. By contrast, the synagogue was a center for Torah study, probably conducted only on feast days and Sabbaths, and prayer, for ritual and for lawgiving. 14 CHAPTER ONE No textual evidence exists that Torah study in any way replaced the sacrificial cult (Cohen 1984:160). Scripture reading was not a substitute for Temple sacrifices or liturgy: it simply supplemented Temple worship (Safrai 1976b:912). Temple ritual was conducted by the priests who were politically and socially the predominant class. They were assisted by the Levites and the Israelites. The priests provided communal and individual offerings and sacrifices, burned incense, tended to the Menorah in the sanctuary, participated in rites with the Levites, and sounded two trumpets at the start and conclusion of the daily singing. They were the only ones who had access to the altar and to the sanctuary. The main elements of Temple worship-offerings and sacrifices-were not transferred to the synagogue, not even symbolically, nor was the priestly role. Location. The Temple was located in Jerusalem, on Mount Moriah, the sacred site where the saga of the Sacrifice of Isaac took place. This was one temple for the one God (Josephus, Ant 4, 201; Against Apion 2, 193). On the other hand, synagogues were built throughout the Land of Israel and the diaspora, and even private houses could be used as synagogues (Cohen 1984: 171). Participation. A smalI, exclusive group of priests practiced in the Temple. Entry into the Holy of Holies was allowed only to the High Priest himself. Ordinary worshippers were relegated to the outer courtyards of the Temple precincts. Cult was performed by a small group on behalf of the masses. In the synagogue, by comparison, all the participants were involved in the performance and conduct of the ceremonies. Worshippers took turns in reciting prayers and reading the Torah. Cult was conducted by the individualJew (Cohen 1984:161). The relationship between Temple and synagogue is further strengthened by the use of related iconography and symbols of the Temple in the architecture and decoration of synagogues (Chapters 11, VII; see also Branham 1994). The Jewish communities in the Land of Israel and the diaspora were anxious to preserve and remember the sanctity of the Temple, its sacred vessels, its cult and ceremonies, and thus used them in the synagogue decoration as weIl as in the religious services. B ORIGINS OF THE SYNAGOGUE The origins of the synagogue is today one of the crucial issues in the study ofJewish history (Hachlili 1997; Levine 1996). Various theories have been promoted con­ cerning the period, the form, function and the location of the first synagogues. .
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