Jewish Synagogue

Today we traveled over into Wisconsin to Madison to see the Jewish synagogue and the first thing I knew would happen is when I typed out a blog for today's trip I would most likely mispell quite a bit of the terms, so just a forewarning!

The tour of the synagogue building itself was nice because some of the features reminded me of my church at home. I go to a Lutheran church and it consists of a medium sized chapel, dining area, and rooms for sunday school in the basement. So overall, it was nice to see kind of a universal design in that way. Yamakas are required inside the synagogue.

It was interesting to learn what it took to become a rabbi, because I know what it takes to become a pastor and a priest but I never really thought about the rabbi. Rabbi Ben Gideon explained his journey and how he got his undergraduate degree and then studied for eight years at the seminary. Which I thought was very intriguing because he said anywhere between 4-6 years were required and he decided to stay longer to strengthen his knowledge of all of the Jewish readings.

The rabbi went on to explain the synagogue itself explaining that the scrolls of the Torah are held in the arc behind the altar, and all of the copies of the Torah are handwritten on parchment by scribes, and are worth about $30,000 each. Which led to a really interesting discussion about the "Torah black market" as Gideon went onto explain that there are people trying to buy copies of the Torah for less money. And with such valuable items in their church, the synagogue even has tracking microchips in their scrolls so if they ever get stolen they will be able to locate them.

The next portion of the sanctuary I thought was very touching and interesting were the plaques that could be purchased on the walls displaying loved ones who had died in the past. And when the time was approaching for the anniversery of that death, the light next to the plaque would be lit. I thought that was very powerful, and also a good way to raise money for the church in a respectful way.

Finally, I thought the description of the Shabbat, Sabbath day. They believe that since God rested on the seventh day of creation, they also should rest on the 7th day of the week. This means they don't ignite a flame, cook, turn on light or elecricity, or do work. Simply spend the entire day with their family enjoying each others company and meditating on God.

Overall, I really enjoyed our time at the synagogue and thought they were very friendly and inviting people. Also wearing the Yamaka was definitely an experience!