Education in Synagogue

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

This paper will explain the education in the synagogue. In what follows, it will be explain term synagogue, the synagogue functions it has, synagogue organization, its role in society, and some rituals that happen throughout the day inside her.

Throughout this paper will be explained synagogues role in education and some teachings which are applied in synagogue. It will be an analysis the Jewish model of education where we will see how many institution and which kind of institution provide the teachings inside of synagogue. At the end will be explained what role will be played by Jewish education in Christian education and how the Jewish system influence Christian system of education.

CHAPTER 2

SYNAGOGUE

2.1. What is synagogue?

The synagogue is the Jewish equivalent of a church, more or less, here Jewish people come together to worship God. It is the religious center of the Hebrew community, a place of prayer, study and education, social welfare and charity, and a social center.

 In what follows, will be presented some terms that are used for Jewish church today: the first is the Hebrew term “Beit k'nesset” ^[1] which means literally house of assembly or house of instruction, although you rarely hear this term used in a conversation in English. The second term is used by Jewish Orthodox Church, which use the word "Shul", the word is derived from a German word that means "school", emphasizes the synagogue's role as a place of study^[2]. The third term is used by Conservative Jews which usually use the word "synagogue", which is actually a Greek translation of Beit K'nesset and means "place of assembly" (it's related to the word "synod"). Fourth term reform is used by Reform Jews, they use the word "temple", because they consider every one of their meeting places to be equivalent to, or a replacement for, The Temple in Jerusalem. In New Testament the synagogue is describe by word “didaskein”^[3] which means to teach. We have the English "synagogue" by transliterating the Greek sunagoge, which Means "bringing together" (from sunago, to gather together).

                2.2. History of Synagogue.

The exact timing of the appearance of these buildings (synagogues) remains still uncertain. General opinion is that synagogues have first appeared in Babylon, during the 70 years of captivity (608-539 B.C.) as a substitute for worship at the Temple in Jerusalem. In regions of the Holy Land, they were introduced by Ezra.

Is even possible that that occurred in Judea, after Ezra and Nehemiah, that in the Hellenistic period. Others believe that synagogues are a Palestinian creation, who appeared before the Temple demolition in 586 B.C.^[4] Synagogues are therefore seen by most as a consequence of the reform of Josiah, king of Judah in the late seventh century B.C., during the prophet Jeremiah. Due spiritual rebirth of this period, Jews from rural areas, who could not reach the Temple in Jerusalem only during major holidays when offered the sacrifice, they have the habit to gather specific days over a week for a special cult centered on prayer and veneration of God.

 Uncertainty surrounding the appearance of the synagogues is supported by the absence of written evidence of ancient stating the exact time and circumstances that occurred in these buildings. In according with Lee I. Levine: “The earlies hard evidence we have for the existence of a synagogue appears in a number of inscriptions from third-century B.C.”^[5]

2.3. Function of the Synagogue.

Synagogue is a house of prayer. It is the place where Jews come together for community prayer services but the chief purpose of the synagogue was not public worship, but instruction in the Holy Scriptures. Every synagogue is a place devoted to the study of sacred writings and Holy Scripture. “This area is called the Beit Midrash, the house of learning or study. Midrash literally means investigation. Here the Jewish people would gather to investigate, study, learn and argue the meanings and proper applications of their revered texts.

 In this environment, rich spiritual opportunities for learning are given to the participants that can never be obtained alone, or by simply listening to a lecturer give his or her own opinions”^[6]. Contrary to popular belief, Jewish education does not end at the “age of bar mitzvah for boys and bat mitzvah for girls. Then: according to Jewish law, at the age of 13 for boys and 12 for girls they are no longer considered minors and they are responsible to fulfill all the Torah’s commandments.”^[7].

A synagogue normally has a well-stocked library of sacred Jewish texts for members of the community to study. It is also the place where children receive their basic religious education. Most synagogues also have a social hall for religious and non-religious activities.

CHAPTER 3

JEWISH EDUCATION

3.1. Teachings in Synagogue

Spiritual formation is the major goal in Jewish education. Education began at age 6 or 7 years, when children learned to read and write, and continue during the whole life. Torah was the subject of the study, where they taught the law of God. In our day the teaching in synagogue is changing very much. Today in synagogue the students have many options to study and many disciplines. Here we found: “the Yeshivoat Ketanot, or All-Day School. This is a full-time program combines Jewish studies and all subjects covered by the general public school. This type of school offers the most thorough Jewish education. Pupils receive about 15 hours a week of instruction in Jewish studies (in the Hebrew language), prayers, the Bible in its original Hebrew, Talmud, and Jewish laws.”^[8]. Also they have a The One-Day-A-Week- School which is a Sunday school. Children attend either Saturday or Sunday mornings and receive from one to three hours of instruction. Bible, Jewish history, and Jewish customs and ceremonies are the major subjects studied. “The synagogue school was governed by the Bet Hasseper (house of the book). Students sat on the ground oat the teacher‘s feet. Teaching included memorization and repetition.”^[9]