Synagogue Visit

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For my visit I decided to go to a Jewish House of Worship, the class as a whole has given me an insight to how my own religion (Roman Catholic) greatly differs to some religions yet connects in many ways with others. Due to the sharing of the Roman Catholic Old Testament or Hebrew Bible and great similarities regarding our history, I decided to attend the Washington Hebrew Congregation in 3935 Macomb Street NW, Washington, DC. The Hebrew Congregation I visited is characterized for being a reform synagogue, which means they are progressive and liberal. My experience was very fulfilling; I enjoyed learning from different traditions and managed to build a greater respect for many of their beliefs. The visit was very smooth and easy going, I attended …show more content…

One of them is called the Magen David also known as the Star of David. This is a symbol most commonly associated with the Judaism religion today and it represents the shape of the king David’s shield. Furthermore, another symbol that I saw was the Menorah, one of the oldest ones of the Jewish faith. It’s a seven-branched candelabrum used in the temple that represents “a light into the nations” (Isaiah 42:6). Another thing that I saw was the arc, the place where Toras are saved, it is supposed to represent the Holy Arc in which the original Tora was saved in the holly temple. Regarding the surroundings of the worship I could describe the place as a theater-like room divided into two floors. Inside at the front of the place, there was a little stage called Bimah, in here I could see a podium where Rabbi led the service and where most of the Tora rituals are held. At the back of this stage I could see the Israel flag and ten chairs divided by tablets that had a description in Hebrew. According to the people that attended the service, they express the Ten Commandments and are of great importance for their religion. No images of god are shown since for the Jews, god has no image and is one of the Ten Commandments to never make a representation of god. Also, the name they have for god is Elohim or

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