Learning about Judaism caught my interest the most, so I decided to visit a Synagogue that was in my area named Congregation Beth Tephilath Moses; where I attended a Shabbat service on a Saturday morning. Shabbat means a day of rest. On my way to this event, I was a little nervous because I was unaware of what exactly to expect because I am from the Christian religion. This was a different atmosphere for me, but everyone was very welcoming. The place was beautifully decorated with many glass murals and Hebrew writings on the walls. The set up when walking into the room where the service was held was with the podium at the front and many rows of seats reminded me of what my church looks like. Before walking into the room where the service was held a lot of different things stood out to me. First off is the kippa. There was a table that was set up that had kippas in a basket for people. This was located in the lobby because the kippa is wore out of a sign of respect in this religion, so before entering they should want to show respect towards their religion is what one of the service ladies told me. The Congregation Beth Tephilath Moses is a reform …show more content…
When the Torah was brought out, everyone had stood up. The Torah was wrapped up; everyone had stood until the Torah was completely unwrapped. The reading from the Torah was called Parashah. Each week a different Parashah is read to represent key events and messages that happened in the Jewish world (Geffen 2012, p.1). According to Beth David Messianic congregation 2014, Parashah means portion. One portion of the Torah is read each week during the Shabbat service and takes one year to read the whole Torah. The Torah is read each Saturday and the whole process of unwrapping it is because it is suppose to reenact the history of Israel from giving of the Torah at Sinai to the worship in the Temple of Jerusalem (Kohn 2013,
Shabbat is the Jewish Sabbath day; their day of rest. It begins on Friday and concludes Saturday evening. Shabbat allows time for members to focus on what it is important and that is: worshiping, reflecting on the week, and growing together. Depending on the day (Friday or Saturday) and week (1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th), the service may vary, including the content of worship, it’s timing and style (Molloy, 2013). The Shabbat service we attend took place on the second Friday of the month; it involved music, prayer and a sermon. As we entered Shir Takvih, we felt very welcomed; everyone was polite and answered any questions we had. After we received a copy of their translated prayer book (machzorim) we were directed to the designated place, where we were told that we could sit anywhere we like. The white painted room which was surrounded by big round windows had several roles of wooden fold up chairs. Not wanting to be a disturbance we sat in the back row. At the front of the room there was a bimah with an assortment of musical instruments on one side and a podium directly in the center. Behind the podium, stood a wood frame window that stored unidentifiable items in its
I have attended a Christian church my whole life. While I have attended various denominations, I have always considered myself to be non-denominational, not favoring one over the other. The only other churches I have ever attended were Catholic; I have had other family members practice this faith and so have always been a guest with them if I have gone and had the services feel fairly familiar. When we were given the project to go and attend a different religion’s church I wasn’t sure what to expect. I decided to attend a Jewish church since Judaism and Christianity believe some of the same fundamentals but are still separated, I thought it would be a good way to learn more about the church as well as be able to relate better to anyone I know who practices Judaism. Also this taught me what it feels like for someone who does not have any experience in church.
In my paper I will talk about my visit to The Community Church at Murphy's Landing (CCML). I have chosen this particular Church because it is a family church type and my neighbor goes there and she encouraged me to go with her. I went there with my neighbor on April 6, 2014.This church is an appropriate for this assignment because the people there are welcoming me with an open heart and they are willing to help and provide me with information. When I visit the Church’s site I read these words “We know visiting a new church can be intimidating. But, we want to help you to be as comfortable as possible when and if you join us”. The people gather in the church weekly to glorify God in joyful worship. The expressions of worship on CCML take many forms a prayer, a hymn of reverent awe, a guitar ringing with a chorus of praise, or a warm handshake and a welcoming smile. Their weekly services begin at 9:30 each Sunday at church. Also, they have weekly podcast if anyone wants to listen online. They have many types of services for parents, kids and students. People at CCML were so friendly; they gather around me and start welcoming me, one by one. People there introducing themselves to me, one after another and provide me with their contact information and help. Then we start talking about the church services and Christianity in particular. The mission of CCML was knowing, growing and loving. They seek to live out our mission by worshipping together as a local community of believers, growing in spiritual maturity through discipleship, education, and small groups, caring for one another within the context of the larger church body and small groups, and Communicating the love of Christ to our world, both through local outreach and global mis...
The preservation of the Sabbath is one of the most important aspects of the Jewish Culture and religion. By abiding by the Sabbath, the Jewish people have a distinctive way of connecting with God. The Jewish religion is unique to other religions; in other religions, temples and churches are built as holy space, but Judaism builds a church to God in t...
Under Jewish tradition, boys are given Bar Mitzvahs upon reaching the age of thirteen (the female variety is a Bat Mitzvah). Typically, Bar Mitzvahs are hosted in synagogues and require substantial interaction with a rabbi. For my Bar Mitzvah, however, my family found an alternate route. Instead of at our synagogue, my Bar Mitzvah would be at an excavated archaeological site in Israel. I quickly felt guilty for agreeing to this arrangement. I had long been dreading the arduous preparation that my synagogue required for Bar Mitzvahs, but now it seemed that extensive Talmudic study would not accompany my transition to adulthood. Most of the work associated with my Bar Mitzvah would consist of learning to read my parsha (a Torah portion,
One day in grade five, I decided to find myself. Most people are not "lost" when they are eleven years old, but in my own naïve, inexperienced world, I needed a change. My teacher was the indirect cause of this awakening. She was Jewish and opened our closed WASP-y minds to a whole new world of Judaism. We explored the Jewish holidays, learned about the Holocaust, and watched Fiddler on the Roof. This brief yet fascinating view into the world of another religion captured my attention and compelled me to investigate further. I hungrily searched for books on Judaism and bombarded my teacher and my two classmates who were half-Jewish with questions. I decided, after careful (or so I thought) deliberations, that I wanted to convert to Judaism. I did not (and still do not) know why Judaism intrigued me so. Perhaps their high degree of suffering as a people seemed romantic to me. On the other hand, maybe it had to do with the fact that my religion (as my more Roman friends are quick to point out) does not seem to have any clear and decisive beliefs. It could have been the fact that Jews do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God and are still waiting for the Messiah to appear, which seemed to be a good reason as to why there was so much wrong with the world. Whatever it was, it drew me in and launched me into a world of discovery and discouragement.
Overall, my visit to the Center for Jewish Life in Marlboro, N.J. was an enlightening experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. Ultimately, I thought it was delightful to see that whether you are at a Church or Synagogue, the main purpose of the establishment is to bring people together to pray for health, happiness and love for another.
...t also with acceptance as one of their own, although I never wore a Tallit or Kippah. This was a very peculiar position since I have never been so accustomed to this sort of kindness. By the end of the Jewish service, not only did I respect and appreciate their faith much more, but, in a way, I began to grow a love for it as well. While I felt no negative feelings towards the service, the most positive aspect would, most definitely, be the warmth I felt from everyone inside the Synagogue and from the presentation of the building itself. At first glance, I was not able to fully appreciate the decorations in the room, but the longer I observed I began to realize each decoration represented something significant. Overall, if I learned anything important this day it is that one thing holds true: I can still appreciate ideas and concepts even if I do not agree with them.
When I think of Hanukkah I mostly think of three things Family, the Maccabees and all the games that you get to play. During my Hanukkah dinner with my family we always have so much fun and it is always a great memory. When I hear stories over and over again they usually get boring but not the story about the Maccabees. The story about the Maccabees is probably the best story that I have ever heard. When I first started learning about Hanukkah I was very little, and what gets the attention of little kids better than games. My teacher first taught us about all the games that you play on Hanukkah and I was so amazed that during this holladay we get to play so many amazing games, we get to spin the dreidel and not
...eligious week for Jews. As one of the most important rituals, it is observed throughout the three major variants of Orthodox, Progressive and Conservative. The dual commandments focus on remembering God as a presence, creator, provider and liberator from slavery for the chosen people of Israel. By observing this twenty-five hour ritual, the importance and relevance of the sacred texts of the Torah and Talmud are recognised. The Moral law and Mitzvot are complied with to form a link between the creation and the Exodus of Egypt, to use rituals of blessings as gratitude to God for these events and the possibility of a day of spiritual enrichment. A day of rest and worship, the Shabbat is a sacred time of each week to truly connect to God and one’s family, for a sense of belonging, remembrance, observance and recognise one God’s and religions impact on one’s life.
... curated community called, ArtSetters, that is focused on encouraging and promoting the artwork of local emerging artists to a global audience. For me, this lecture was in many ways very interesting. This type of lecture would for one never happen in a Catholic mass, but as well was very nice to see a congregation welcome back a member. Allowing Wyner to speak about her passion for art was inspiring as well an informative. It was refreshing to see a community supporting each other as the congregation welcomed Wyner and applauded her accomplishments. The service was let out after the finish of Wyner’s lecture. While some of the lay lefts shortly after, I noticed a good majority of the congregation stayed behind and talked with each other. The service at Temple Israel was an unlikely comforting and fascinating service that gave me a greater appreciation for Judaism.
In my lifetime I have never had the opportunity to go out and see a culture such as the Mennonite community. I have, for the most part, stayed within my own culture and associated with people that share the same believes as me. The day I got to go and see the Mennonites was a very intriguing time for me. The fact is, I knew some about how the Mennonites and Amish lived, but for the most part I had no idea ‘why’. I think my assumptions were ‘they are just stuck in the past’.
I learned that the people at the Shabbat service are very passionate about their faith as much as I am about mine. I learned that this way of worship is normal to them just as my way of worship is normal to me. I learned that they read their texts with love and passion and they are eager to share this with their guests. I learned that they read their texts in Hebrew because that is what they believe God wanted them to do. I learned that at least ten Jewish people are needed in order for there to be a specific Jewish worship.
The people there were all extremely nice and would try to help me understand. They understood and accepted the fact that I wasn’t religious, but was showing interest in their faith. There were not as much people there as I had expected, but that might have been because it was a smaller church. It also wasn’t as racially diverse as I had expected. I thought that because it is the world’s biggest religion, that it
The purpose of this paper is to discuss a service that I got to attend that was different from my own religious tradition. I decided to go with my chosen topic because to be honest I had never experienced or thought to experience a different type of church service other than the one I grew up in. I grew up in a Christian home and attended a non-denominational Christian church on a regular basis. I just never felt the need to experience something that was different. So I decided to attend a mass at a Catholic church. I had been to weddings in a Catholic church and even funerals with a Catholic involvement but not an actual mass.