Religious Experience

Religious Experience Paper

Being born and raised in small towns I have not had much interaction with religions other than Christianity. I was not able to attend a worship service of another religion, however I was able to get in touch with a friend of a friend that is Jewish and I was able to take some time to hear some of the traditions of the religion.

Judaism is a long held religion with many sacred practices that date back more than 3200 years ago. The Jewish followers attend worship in a synagogue, which is the Jewish term for church. Conservative Jews refer to the worship center of a synagogue while the reform Jews use the term Temple. Most synagogues are set up the same way wherever you go. There is much history in the way things run and the way things are set up inside of the synagogue.

Like Christianity, the portion of a synagogue where prayer services are held is called the sanctuary. This is usually found at the front of the building on the side that is facing towards Jerusalem because this is the direction that Jews are supposed to face when they are doing their prayers. Inside this sanctuary portion of the synagogue is the Ark. The Ark is basically a cabinet that holds the Torah scrolls that are used during prayer and worship. The Ark, too, is facing toward Jerusalem. Usually the center of the sanctuary you will find a pedestal that is called the bimah. This is where the Torah Scrolls are put while they are being read.

There are some synagogues that are considered Orthodox, or traditionally more strict and conservative. Inside of these synagogues you will find all of the same things, however you will also see that women are not allowed to sit with the men. The women are usually seated in the back of the room, or preferably in a balcony. Men in the Orthodox Jewish synagogue are not allowed to pray in the presence of women because the presence of women has the chance to take the man’s mind off of the prayers and on the women in the building....