Dynagogue Visit

The rabbi began the service fairly casually, greeting the congregation in English. After the English greeting came a more traditional greeting in Hebrew, and then a song to greet the Sabbath, or Shabbat, which is the word that was used at the synagogue. The Hebrew might have been strange to me, but there were English translations for just about everything in the prayer book, along with the prayers and songs written out in Hebrew. My personal favorite part of the service was the singing. There were two singers, one male and one female. All of the songs were beautiful, and caused me to consider the fact that many religions use songs and music in order to convey their messages. I believe that this is a good practice, because music is a common language, one that everybody can understand regardless of whether they speak Hebrew, or any other tongue. Although I’m

At the front, there were three Rabbis; two male and one female. This was the first evident sign that this temple was reformed, on the grounds that in Orthodox and some Conservative Judaism, leadership by a female is not permitted. Each of the three rabbis wore the talit, and one of them was the Cantor. He played a guitar and sang a song and the style reminded me of the praise and worship songs we sing at my church. He continued singing as people found seats. The service started with some singing in Hebrew. The lighting of the candles for Shabbat occurred next along with the reading of a blessing. Some more readings and songs followed that. A decent amount of the service was in Hebrew, particularly the singing, however there were also times that English was also spoken. Since the books were in Hebrew, which reads from right to left, the books opened in reverse. This took some getting used to; however, there were English translations. The following segment of the service is what I describe as a parade of the Torah. The Torah,

The people there were very welcoming and kind. The shook every single person hand and greeted them genially when they walked in. As I sat down, there was a countdown till when it begins. There were seats all around and in the center they had a stage, where there were people preparing to sing. They began their ceremony exactly at 8:30 with singing 3 songs. When we sang, everyone stood up for respect. Followed by that, the pastor recited a prayer with everyone to make this week better than the last. He welcomed everyone, including the people who are new, and told them more about what they do at Kennedy Road Tabernacle Church. The priest then talked about the Provision of Vision from the bible. There was a sheet that was handed out so as you listen you fill in the blanks. ( I attached the sheet I completed) I thought this was very convenient because it makes you pay attention and have something to do other than sitting down. He was reading about the Provision of the Vision and relating it to financial difficulties and how God is always there for you. After, I talked to one priest to get a better background of Christianity. I related what he said to the reading of ‘Christianity’ we did earlier in September. When he spoke to me, he said that they believe in one god, but that includes the father, son, holy spirit, He said Jesus died for us on a cross for the sins of the

The service itself was very interesting, the priest would speak words that some I wouldn't understand, but some I could. He would say things like thank the lord for this beautiful day and this great opportunity for us all to be together here. He would ask the people to stand then sit and stand again and sit, then stand for a really long time that I actually got tired from standing it was funny, but I didn't sit down just to show signs of respect. As he would speak he would stop and everyone would respond to the priest at the exact same time saying the same words, it was really cool how everyone's words together sounded it created a very powerful voice amongst everyone. Then people would all do that one thing where they make a cross by putting their thumb, to their

While being home for Thanksgiving break, I had the opportunity of visiting the Adas Israel Congregation in Washington D.C.. The congregation is a form of Reform Judaism. An old high school friend invited me to the morning Shabbat service, which was a delight. I attended the Shabbat service on November 28th and it was a wonderful experience because the synagogue reached capacity. This was due to the high volume of Jewish students who returned home from college for Thanksgiving break. The congregation welcomed be with open arms, as if I had been a part of the congregation since the beginning of my life.

The two cantors and the two rabbis stood at the front of the temple. The two rabbis had cloths draped around their shoulders. Around them, there were flowers. Most of the people in the temple were staring at the front of the temple as Rabbi Jason quieted them down. The man sitting in front of me was on his phone. Rabbi Jason began the Hashkiveinu portion of the service by speaking about what is happening to Jewish people all over the world. “The very last line of the blessing we say every night, the blessing for protection is basically asking for protection very specifically for Jews and Jewish places. And in reform Judaism, we are often uncomfortable and often like to remind ourselves that we actually care about everyone. And that is a great,

A calm and kind man at the front desk by the main entrance of the synagogue nodded and brightly said “Shabbat Shalom”. I was hesitant and confused on how to answer, but I certainly continued my salutation response in English and further explained the reason for my visit. After introducing myself and indicating the reason of my visit, Warren Snaider, a friendly and very knowledgeable lay leader and one of the synagogue ushers warmly welcomed everyone into the service immediately after passing the main desk person. Mr. Snaider also repeated the same words “Shabbat Shalom,” each time he did this, out of curiosity I inquired about the meaning of “Shabbat Shalom,” which he merely said; it translates as happy or peaceful Shabbat. Mr. Snaider, as I preferred to call him that day, offered everyone a prayer book called “siddur” to be used by all worshippers during the service. This book contained most of the prayers that were used in service. A lay leader, Morris Paula, conducted the proceeding and she was in charge of the service, while several leaders participated performing different roles throughout the service. After everyone was accompanied to their seats, commencing the service, Paula ordered the congregation to stand and sing a song from the hymnbook called “Shalom Aleichem” (Peace Be upon You), which she said was to welcome and bless the Shabbat angels into the service.

"The Restored House Chapel strives to bring individuals of all ages, nations, and educational backgrounds to the Lord God Almighty and strengthen those who are broken-hearted, weak, and sick. When coming together, we strive to help people know God the

The Synagogue or Beit Knesset, the Jewish house of worship, is a very intriguing and complex institution, and when conducting a tour, it requires a great amount of knowledge for the tourist who have never visited a Synagogue, to have an adequate understanding of the institution. Being enrolled in Religious Studies 217, I have gained a lot of knowledge that allow me to believe that I would be a very informative and enlightening tour guide. When conducting a tour of a Synagogue, I would inform my tourist of the religious rituals that take place in the temple and important religious figures, objects, clothing and ceremonies, so that they could have an adequate understanding of the Synagogue and learn of the important rituals that happen inside

On October 29, 2016, I visited the Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple which offers services regarding the religion of Judaism. Although I don’t identify as religious, I was originally raised as Roman Catholic, even going to a private catholic elementary school. I’ve always had somewhat of an interest in Judaism as it’s believed to be among one of the oldest existing religions in the world along with Hinduism. The service I visited is referred to as the “Shabbat Morning Service”, which took place from 11:00 AM-12:15 PM.

There was one question I was asked at the table that stood out to me; it was “What kind of Jew are you?”. I did not know what they meant by that question and answered reform. They meant was I Sephardic or Ashkenazi. They had to explain to me that Sephardic meant the Jews from Spain and Ashkenazi was basically everywhere else. At home nobody ever talks about this so I found it interesting that it was brought up in a dinner conversation on the first night. Another conversation that stuck with me was about the Holocaust. Abi, the girl from Israel, told us how her grandfather walked from Germany to Israel to escape the Holocaust and then proceeded to ask the guy from Germany why his family stayed there during the Holocaust instead of leavening. At the end of the night Rabbi Rav Gav, the chaplaincy rabbi, came around with bottles of hard liquor and asked people if they wanted to l'chaim and this is when I noticed people get drunk at Friday Night Dinners frequently. Side note, the wine served is Kosher wine from Israel which i did not like the taste of because I am used to Manischewitz wine which tastes like

Read loud in the synagogue, Shabbat Morning prayer is the Torah portion for the week. There can be several variations within Conservative synagogues. Some are unrecognizable from Reform Judaism, with the exception that more Hebrew is used. Other synagogues are practically Orthodox. Men and women sitting together is the exception. Some are very traditional in the reading of the Torah and prayers, but not in form, while others are more traditional in the form of the service, but not in the substance contain within it. Both sects of Judaism are very accepting of visitors, in fact, they encourage it. If a non-Jew were to visit, they should dress as if they were going to their own church with modesty and proper attire. Also, even though the synagogue may differ from your current house of worship, you should refrain from criticizing the décor. You would not walk into a stranger’s house and criticizes there home, would you?

When the service started it began with prayer, during the service there were moments of prayer, and the service ended with prayer. Something that I found very entertaining was the form of worship that they used which was singing. They sang a lot of different songs that worshiped God. You could tell who went to church a lot because they knew all the songs by heart. For those like me that didn’t know the songs, the words were projected on to the wall so you could sing along with everyone else. There was also a live band that played the music to sing to. This part of the service was really entertaining to me and I really enjoyed it.

I got there early and had a chance to sit and ponder while I looked at the enormous crucifix in the front and center as well as the beautiful images all along the sides. Because it was not the first mass of the morning, the candle of the container for the sacrament was already lit, my friend Kayla explained to me that the lit candle signifies the presence of Christ, since it has already been transubstantiated into His flesh and blood. The mass began with the procession of the priest and alter-boys with others dressed in Sunday best. Announcements were given and the priest spoke briefly to the congregation about how we are free to ask God for anything. Even if He

I honestly enjoyed the attendance at the Messianic Alliance of Metro Atlanta in Stone Mountain Georgia on the 28th of October 2017. During this experience I was very scared and nervous also very anxious to sit in a church for the first time in over 7 years. I met a few of the elder women who said that they enjoy their times at the synagogue. A few of my little self-esteem issues clearly showed as we started singing praise, I was reading the board and trying to connect on a spiritual side. While seeing many other I was shocked, to see them dressed so formally with their long hair and nothing to tie it up or to see them in long skirts. I adapted towards the service after 30 minutes, of dancing and praising, I would say. The most important scariest