Shalom.
Rabbi Jonathan Ginsberg. This is video number two on the 100 questions every Jew should know. Let us start with question about the synagogue.
What are the three terms for synagogue in Hebrew and how does the modern synagogue live up to them?
Well it is Beit Ha-Knesset, Beit filla, bate Midrash. Beit Knesset means the house of assembly and that is really the Greek word synagogue. Beit filla means the house of prayer and bate Midrah is the house of study. The modern synagogue combines all of these functions, a place of gathering and community, a place of prayer, and a place of study.
Next question. Describe the Tallit and Tefillin and why do we accord them so much respect?
I have a video on the prayer shawl, the Tallit. The Torah says and you should wear fringes on the corners of your garments and that you should look upon them and not go astray and remember all the commandments of the Lord. It is all Jews today do not wear square garments so we put on a special garment with the fringes attach in fulfillment of their biblical mandate. Tefillin is also, there two mitzvah actually from the second paragraph of Shema also from the Torah, that says you should bind them for a sign upon your hand and front looks between your eyes that you should again remember the commandments and Tefillin are holy, they have Torah in them and they are all three bases of mitzvah. There are three ideas in the Torah that say that there are sign to God Shabbath is the third and so when you wear Tallit Tefillin you have two of the three signs to God.
Next question, how is a Torah written? And how it is treated and why do we accord it so much respect.
Well, Torah is hand written by a sawfer or scribe. It takes a long time to do it and very exacting. It is very fascinating to watch the Torah been written and if you want to see a little bit of Torah, see my video on how to have an Aliyah, Torah owners and there I have a picture of a Torah, it is part of that video. It is the holiest thing the Jewish people have so we were treat it with tremendous respect because of that. We believe it is the word of God and the word of God will fractured through human beings and therefore the most important thing we have to do is try to understand the Torah.
The final set question on the area of synagogue is what is an Aliyah? Well, making Aliyah means moving to Israel. But the word Aliyah is going up and having an Aliyah is having a Torah honor. And if you want to see how to that, you can see the video I have on Torah owners Aliyah. And lots special occasion other than a Bar Mitzvah is one usually receive an Aliyah. Well, that would be at yore site, if you have the anniversary of the death of a loved one in offer of a bride and groom blessing before marriage, if you had a baby, a baby naming and then various other reasons but those would be the priorities.
Next section or questions about the prayer book. See if you can answer this. To find the terms Siddur and Maxor. Well Siddur is very much like a Passover sader, it means order and among most Azkanasic Jews, that is the name of the basic prayer book we use in Shabbath and holidays. The Maxor is the basic prayer book we use called for high holidays and some traditional Jews also have special Maxi Arian for the special festivals. Those are the terms use the Azkanasic Jews.
Next question, what is the importance of the Shema? And what is its three paragraph say?
Well, I have a video on the Shema. The Shema is single most important sentence in Judaism, it comes from the Deuteronomy, hear o Israel the Lord our God, and the Lord is one. And then there are three paragraphs after the Shema, all from the Torah. The first one contains many commandments including loving God, Tefillin, Mezuzah, and teaching children. The middle paragraph basically talks about the importance of observing the commandments, the rewards for doing so. The final paragraph reminds us to put fringes on the corners of our garments to observe the commandments and not go astray.
Next question, what are the names of the three prayer services of the day?
I have a video and each one of this, the morning is Shacharit, the afternoon is Minha and the evening is Ma’ariv.
What prayer is in an indispensable prayer found in all of this? Well, as much as Shema because that is done only in the morning and evening. It is not the ashray that is done only in the morning and afternoon. There are a couple, the Amida is done in all three, the 18 19 petitions, which happens on Shabbath. We also have the Aleinu at the end of each of these, there are Kaddish’s in each of this and there is the borhu called the prayer. It is in addition to some other prayers.
Last two questions, on this video of the prayer book. What is the hollow service and when is it recited? And when is Musaf recited? And how low is the collection of Psalms recited on special festivals in praising God. And Musaf is the additional service very brief it is also offered on Shabbath and holidays.
And finally, what is the meaning of Aleinu prayer?
It is always recited only at the end of the service? But the Aleinu was originally done as part of the High Holiday drama on Yom Kippur about the high priest. Consequently, in the High Holiday service, it is done more in the middle of the service. The rest of the year, it is also at the end of the High Holiday services. The rest of the year, every time we have pray three times a day, it is at the end of the service. It adds success to bend our knee and acknowledge God and it looks forward to a day when all the world will know it is God’s presence.
That is the end of the section on synagogue and prayer. The next session will be on Jewish Home and Shabbath and holidays.
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