I wanted to share a little bit about my Jewish synagogue experience. 2 weeks ago I visited a Reform Jewish synagogue as part of an assignment for my World Religions class. As the awesome husband that he is, Tim accompanied me in this experience. I was so nervous, I did not know what to wear, what to expect; I was a bit anxious in not knowing how I was going to be received or how awkward it was going to be. I finally know what non-Christians feel like when they visit a Christian service.
The synagogue was really nice and big; the decor of the room where we met was really significant, for example the ceiling lights represented the Israelite constellation. There were also many ritual items around the room, such as a ram's horn, a menorah and Torah scrolls. When I first walked in, I was handed a Torah book and a prayer book. The service consisted of worship songs and prayer readings; the songs were all in Hebrew and the readings were in English. I had such a hard time following along because not only did I not understand Hebrew, but there were many times when the rabbi did not announce the page number. Everyone else knew where we were at. The service was definitely not visitor-sensitive, but catered towards the members. After lots of singing, the rabbi read a prayer and asked the members to share their insights. One lady shared how the prayer made her hopeful for the coming of the Messiah :(
More singing followed and then the Torah scrolls were taken out, the rabbi read from Exodus. This was followed by family members going up and reading, while the congregation responded. Then the Torah scrolls were carried around the room, people touched the scrolls with their prayer books and proceeded to kiss their books. Afterwards, there was a time to remember those who had passed away. Members rose and shouted out names of their deceased loved ones.
I had the opportunity to chat with one of the members afterwards, she was a really nice and friendly lady. She told me about the differences between Orthodox and Reform Judaism. First of all, I did not even know that there was a Reform denomination for Judaism, so it was interesting to learn more about it. One of the main differences between Orthodox and Reform is that the Reform Jews pick which laws to follow. Also, women are more participative and active in the Reform services. When I asked her what Reform Jews think about Jesus, she replied that they believe Jesus was a prophet but nothing more. They clearly reject Jesus. This particular lady has visited many Christian churches and liked the "worship and production." She is still waiting for the Messiah to come and for the temple to be rebuilt. I could not help but feel sad during the service and during my conversation with this lady.
*If you want to read more about my experience, let me know and I'll send you a copy of my complete observation paper.
