#shul

[nesyanast]

Early morning light in the synagogue.

Photo: Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation stained glass windows by me

[koshercosplay]

it's time to attend jumblr shul!

[newyorkthegoldenage]

D-Day services at Congregation Emunath Israel on West 23rd Street, June 6, 1944.

Photo: Howard Hollem et al. for the Office of War Information via Shorpy

[girlactionfigure]

Templo Libertad Buenos Aires, Argentina

The Jew in You

[jidysz]

Drawing by Klaudia Kiercz-Długołęcka 

Sztetł

Yiddish - שטעטל

English transcription - Shtetl

Meaning - a town

Sztibł

Yiddish - שטיבל‎

English transcription - Shtibl

Meaning - a house or a room used for communal Jewish prayer

Jesziwa

Yiddish - ישיבֿה

English transcription - Yeshiva

Meaning - a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of the Talmud

Mykwa

Yiddish - מיקווה

English transcription - Mikvah

Meaning - a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion to achieve ritual purity

Synagoga (this one is in Polish)

Yiddish - שול

English transcription - shul

Meaning - synagogue

Macewa

Yiddish - מצבֿה

English transcription - Matzevah

Meaning - a headstone or tombstone marking a Jewish grave

[anonymousdandelion]

And if you feel comfortable doing do, please feel free to share more specifics in the notes about your movement/denomination/what “kind” of synagogue you attend!

(Note: For purposes of this poll we are excluding special non-weekly holiday services, such as Yom Kippur, which obviously draw bigger crowds.)

[jmmallory]

Howard was embarrassed by his mistake, but also more than a bit disappointed.

[mental-mona]

This is aimed at Reform synagogues, but 90% of the advice applies to synagogues of ALL denominations.

[judaismandsuch]

Where do Jews pray?

Aside from the "technically true" answer of 'wherever they happen to be' this is going into the words used English for the specifically chosen buildings.

You run into a few different common ones: Synagogue, Temple, and Shul.

Each have different histories, and implications that many people may not know.

So I want to break down the etymologies, implications, etc. as well as mention some less well known ones.

1)Synagogue: Linguistically arguably the most correct. It comes from from french, latin, and ultimately greek, and ultimately is from the translation of the Bible into Greek. The word be created as a translation for the word Knesset. It literally would translate (in the original greek) to 'meeting place'. overall: 10/10, cannot go wrong with using this word.

2)Temple: A fairly Common word, but one that is rife with theological implications that many are unaware of. Basically it goes like this: There was the first temple and the second, and we are waiting for the third (in theory). When the Reform movement started, one aspect was that the Temple was no longer felt to be a necessary and lamented missing aspect of Judaism, and that the places of prayer were equivalent.* So they began to call their Houses of Prayer 'Temple's. No one in the Orthodox movement would use that term, nor would people in the Conservative movement call their houses of prayer 'Temple'. (at least none that I have seen, and very much none at the begining, I am sure that there are some conservative shuls nowadays that do use the term 'temple'). Now, this means that the use of the word 'temple' to describe a Jewish house of worship is also a theological position. So hearing people use the term 'Temple' as a catch all term instead of Synagogue will annoy a lot of more religious Jews. Now there are a few disclaimers about this: 99% of people aren't aware of this. I have met many a reform and conservative individual that was unaware of the history. So like all pieces of information on a small aspect of theology, don't assume a use of a term implies full knowledge of ramifications. Of course, there is the other issue "Temple" refering to loads of other religions' houses of worship, so it isn't really a good identifier. 2/10, find another word people.

3)Shul A loan word from Yiddish, it actually is the same linguistic root as 'School'. A place of learning. I like it, but a lot of people won't know it, so you'll need to then translate the word. 8/10, but I am biased.

Other words that you may see:

Jewish Church: The issues are obvious, but for some reason I like it.

Beit Knesset: The Hebrew word, 'House of Meeting' it's good, but y'know obv. issues of using hebrew in english.

*I am summarizing and simplifying a large religious movement, obviously this misses some nuance.

[nehardeia]

one of my favorite parts of modern Jewish prayer services is that at many of them there are parts that get sung by the congregation to very catchy tunes, and sometimes small children who are in the room will start spontaneously dancing. This is generally encouraged, and often their grown-ups will start dancing with them. Rabbis think it's great. I saw this happen at one of the most intense parts of Yom Kippur services this year and it was magical

[ta-chazei]

Lions Rampant and Ten Commandments from Holy Blossom Temple Sanctuary, Toronto | Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Mississaguas of the Credit Land

[nesyanast]

The Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation Orthodox Synagogue houses six stained windows by the distinguished Scottish stained glass artist William Wilson, RSA. These richly coloured works combine Jewish religious symbols with abstract and floral motifs with one depicting the act of Creation.

Photos by me

[shtetlcore]

Shtetl Swag Competition Round 2

Round 1 | Masterpost

ROUND 2:

1. The Golem of Prague vs. The Little Goat WINNER: GOLEM

2. Leah (The Dybbuk) vs. The Rabbi WINNER: THE RABBI

3. Manke (God of Vengeance) vs. Tevye (Fiddler) WINNER: TEVYE

4. The Wooden Shul vs. The Klezmer WINNER: THE KLEZMER

5. Yentl/Anshl vs. Dybbukim WINNER: YENTL/ANSHL

6. The Feldsher vs. The Zogerke WINNER: THE FELDSHER

7. Hershel of Ostropol vs. Anon’s Great-Grandmother Babushka Riva WINNER: BABUSHKA RIVA

8. The Wise Men of Chelm vs. And They Were Chevrusas WINNER: CHEVRUSAS

Polls are tagged as "shtetl swag competion"

[hindahoney]

[storravoid]

I hope the guy that broke windows and spraypainted swastikas on the walls of my shul trips today.

Anyways, hope yall have an amazing day <3

[errorid-mt7lt7k7unfr9ttfua5]

the rabbi said something beautiful during Kabbalat Shabbat services tonight.

the rabbis were arguing about whether, when meeting at a crossroads, a funeral procession or a wedding procession should cross first. the rabbis debated, and came to the conclusion that the wedding should go first.