Impressions of Judaism: Reflections from a Synagogue Visit

Introduction to the Synagogue Visit

This project consisted of a visit to the house of worship of an alternate religious group. Coming from a Roman Catholic heritage, I selected a Jewish synagogue for my site visit. The visit consisted of a Friday night Erev Shabbat service at the Bet Breira 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 the Sabbath, "erev" means the night before — much the same way Christians regard the evening of December 24th as Christmas Eve. The first part of the synagogue's name, "Bet Breira," translates to "house of choice," and the second part, "Or Olom," translates literally to "light" (or) for the "world" (olom).

Both Conservative and Reform Jewish prayer services are offered at this synagogue. Both Conservative and Reform prayer books are provided in Hebrew and English, and some editions also present 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 translations supplied useful historical context for many of them.

Overview of Jewish Denominational Divisions

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 instructed by God to make the journey 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 led the Jewish people out of enslavement in Egypt and, eventually, to Israel. Additional references concerned the destruction of the ancient Jewish Temple, at whose ruins modern-day Jews worship in Jerusalem. The primary source of Jewish religious belief is the Old Testament, which consists of five separate books of the Jewish Bible, or Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. This is a significant difference compared to Christianity and Catholicism, which regard the New Testament as the more authoritative biblical text.

Orthodox Jewish Practice and Tradition

The Bet Breira Or Olom 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. These 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 worshipping aspects of the religion. Among Jews, Orthodox communities adhere very strictly to ancient biblical rules without any modern interpretation to accommodate contemporary life.

The Bet Breira Or Olom synagogue maintains both Conservative and Reform services but no Orthodox services. Generally, Orthodox Jews view both Conservative and, especially, Reform Jews as non-observant, and they do not worship in synagogues that also cater to Conservative and Reform congregants. Orthodox Jews worship among themselves and maintain extremely strict dietary laws. They also conduct the traditional brit milah (covenant of circumcision) in the home, 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 keep milk-based foods apart from meat-based foods. I was told that their synagogues are much less social in nature and are very focused on intense worship. I learned that this practice originated from teachings passed down through the Talmud, a sacred text of Jewish law and biblical interpretation, specifically the prohibition against eating the "meat of the mother" together with the "milk of the lamb."