Recently, I have visited a synagogue. It is the main institution of the Jewish religion, the room that serves as a place of public worship and a religious center of the community. I chose the synagogue because it has been always interesting for me to learn about the service of church and lifestyles of people who belong to another church that differs from the one I belong to. Thinking long about what church me to go, I chose the Judaic, because it has not any similarity with Christianity, so due to it I was more interested in going to synagogue.
There was a sink at the entrance where people were able to wash their hands before a prayer. Crossing the threshold of the synagogue, it was necessary to touch the fortified mezuzah (a case where a parchment with a passage from the Torah was) on the doorjamb. In the high pathetic synagogue, with solemn domes, I immediately felt reverent atmosphere. The design of the Temple is the basis of the internal structure of the synagogue. There were a lot of people of all ages except small children in the building, because they could disturb the worshipers. The women were neatly dressed in long skirts and dresses and men were in ordinary clothes, but according to tradition, both men and women must wear a headdress. In synagogue men and women were sitting separately from each other, because of the requirement of the Talmud about that the men should not be distracted from prayer. There should be two mandatory things in the synagogue: the ark (as a cabinet) for the Torah’s scrolls and the table at which the Torah is read. The "bimah" (a ground) is a binding room of synagogue.
People read the Torah there. This ground is usually in the center. In the synagogue people keep themselves restrained and noble, no one was interrupted, they patiently listened to the interlocutors. After talking with some people in the synagogue, I concluded that the Jews are educated, intelligent and polite people. Most of all I liked the architecture of the building, so the architect deserves a great respect. However, I did not like the fact that people are allowed to have a smoke in the synagogue due to their Holy book which say people can feel themselves like at home in a synagogue. Because of the fact that a lot of people smoke in the building, there was an unpleasant smell of smoke in the air, that is why I have become a passive smoker.
During the service, all presents got together on the ground to read the prayer, people were reading them in their own language. It should be noted that people did this with a reverence. Everything which is connected with the scroll of the Torah is perceived solemnly and with a deep sense of love. However, not all people were praying. The functions of the synagogue are enough wide. The synagogue has a huge library in which parishioners can read books or study there.
My own experience cardinally differs from that one I got in the synagogue, because I have compared the very different world religions - Christianity (Catholicism) and Judaism. For example, the service of the Catholic Church includes the Bible reading, while the Tora is read in the synagogues. Traditionally in the Catholic churches hymns are sung in Latin, while in the synagogues they are sung in Hebrew. What is more, the temple is a building for worship and the Catholic Church is for the community of coreligionists. Nevertheless, both in the synagogue and in the churches people have the same goal. It is achieving a peace between each other, mutual edification and following the commandments of Christ (liberation from sin, temptation and righteous life based on love for God).
