Jewish Prayer

Liturgical texts are only the external, observable part of the experience of prayer, which should lift up the soul.

The talmudic sages established brief blessings that make everyday events and perceptions into opportunities for spiritual awareness.

Jewish law may make no requirements or restrictions about architectural form, but one prominent 18th century rabbi issued a warning about copying the styles of the rich and famous.

The synagogue is a Jewish prayer center led by a rabbi.

Jews pray in order to enrich our lives and seek comfort, to connect to the past and to others, to celebrate and develop a sense of the sacred, to serve God and help make ourselves Godlike.

The clothing of Jewish prayer.

The memory of Temple sacrifice is preserved in every prayer service.

Dispersion and uncertainty discouraged Jews from investing in cathedral-like synagogues, but they found a substitute in another dimension.

Synagogues share certain functional interior furnishings, but there is no architectural design or artistic style that characterizes a synagogue.

Some interpretations of the meaning of tefillin have faded, and others have been invented to take their place.