Synagogue Worship Space

The synagogue space in which Jews worshiped was treated as sacred space. Worshipers gathered around the symbols

that spoke of God's redeeming and revealing activity among them.

Synagogue worship was organized around two foci. The first focus of the synagogue was the ark. Everyone, including the rabbi, who sat at the back, looked toward the ark. The original ark was the most holy symbol of the covenant and the only object ever admitted in the Holy of Holies of the temple. The ark, a kind of wooden casket, was understood to be a throne where God, the sole object of the worship of Israel, was present. The ark of the synagogue was an echo of the primitive ark of the tabernacle. It was linked to the ancient ark by the presence of the scrolls of the Torah, the Word of God. Before the ark was the veil, which protected it, and the m?norah, the seven-branched candlestand. In this way Israel preserved its memory of the tabernacle and of God's presence with Israel for the furniture pointed beyond itself to the ultimate site of the Holy of Holies, Jerusalem.

The second focus of the synagogue was the b?ma, the place from which the Torah was read and the prayers were said. It was a platform that was raised in the center of the synagogue space so all the people could hear. The seats were on the side of the building so that the congregation gathered around the leader and his teaching. Here then, in the very architecture of the building and in the manner in which the people assembled, was a profound symbol of the meaning of synagogue worship. God who was present in the past was made present through the symbols of his presence. And God's presence was also anticipated in the future, for every congregation faced Jerusalem in expectation of the gathering of the Jews there in the city of the Great King.