Synagogue Observation Paper

For my field trip to another religion’s worship service, I chose to visit the Beth El Congregation Synagogue in Baltimore, Maryland. I have family members that are a part of the Jewish community, but I had never attended service with them until this experience. The Bel El Congregation is a progressive synagogue that is affiliated with United Synagogue. I arrived early to see if I could find someone to show me around so I felt more acquainted with the happenings around me. Lucky for me, there was a kind woman who acted as the synagogue’s receptionist for this particular Friday. She was nice enough to to give me a short tour as well as a little information on synagogues before the service started.

She began by explaining there are three major things every synagogue needs in order to be considered one. The first is the Holy Arc, which is the cabinet that enshrines the Torah scrolls. In the Beth El Congregation Synagogue there are four scrolls
Eventually when he forgave the Jewish people and gave them back, he clustered them all within the month of Tishrei. To find the answer of why God bundled all the holidays together, she turned to Kabbalah, which explained that the Sukkah, which is built during Sukkot actually represents the Hoopah, or the wedding canopy. Just as it hovers over the bride and groom during their wedding day, so does the Sukkot hovers over all of the Jews so that when the Jewish people enter into the Sukkah they are in actuality entering into a union with God. The promises made to God during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are made into a reality. Sukkot is simply a holiday packed full of rituals and actions showing God they are paying attention to his messages and the Jewish people are doing something to keep the promises made during other