house of Jewish prayer
4
votes
3answers
136 views
3
votes
2answers
706 views
Can a gentile go to Synagogue on Shabbat and what is forbidden on Shabbat for a gentile?
Is a gentile allowed to participate in Shabbat prayers in a Synagogue (of course he/she will not count for a minyan) if they do so in order to gain knowledge of Jewish customs for the purpose of ...
10
votes
1answer
77 views
If a mourner comes to services late, in the middle of the kaddish, has he missed that kaddish?
I'm saying kaddish for my mother-in-law. Occassionally, I walk into shul and the congregation is already in the middle of the Rabbi's Kaddish (say at Y'he sh'may raba"). Can I join in that kaddish at ...
7
votes
1answer
65 views
Source for shuls flying in yemos hamoshiach?
My son mentioned to me that he learned in school that when Moshiach comes all the shuls (and schools?) will miraculously fly to Eretz Yisroel. What is the source of this idea?
1
vote
2answers
73 views
Standing for MiSheBerachs and certain other communal Tefilloth
In many congregations (especially the YU/OU/Young Israel affiliated) it is customary - sometimes even announced from the podium - to stand for the prayer for the State of Israel and the Israeli armed ...
10
votes
1answer
118 views
Do men on the women's side count toward a minyan?
If men are on the women's side of the shul during davening when there are no women there, do they count toward the minyan, or are they considered separate? Does it matter if the women's area is right ...
1
vote
2answers
80 views
Does a synagogue have the right to dispose of objects abandoned there?
A particular synagogue has large numbers of abandoned tallesim and tefilin in the drawers in the chapel.
Does the synagogue have the right to dispose of objects abandoned there?
Does the law change ...
2
votes
2answers
110 views
Can you daven with minyan when you have the flu?
Are you allowed to go daven with a minyan when you have the flu or other highly contagious illness? Is it considered potentially damaging someone else's health, or are the chances of someone else ...
8
votes
1answer
172 views
In a city with many shuls, how much loyalty do I owe to the shul of which I am a member?
In a city with many shuls, in what way should we think about the individual shuls?
a) They are “service” (no pun intended) providers and I will take the services as they suit me best. Even if I take ...
0
votes
0answers
43 views
How should the items on the noticeboard in the synagogue be arranged?
On a board where the name of the week’s parsha and the relevant additions in the prayers are displayed as shown here for example, is there an order of placing the items accepted by halacha or minhag?
...
4
votes
2answers
71 views
Men davening in the women's section while they catch up
A seemingly knowledgeable guy who davens with me early each morning is sometimes found in the women's section (which is usually empty during that service). He says that he learned that from a ...
5
votes
7answers
379 views
Digital Synagogue displays?
Why do Synagogues use or not use them?
Bonus:
What are some of the companies that make these digital wall displays for synagogues?
How much do they cost?
Does anyone know where I can find info ...
8
votes
1answer
354 views
What is the origin of hazak u'baruch?
Hazak u'barukh is a phrase commonly said after one does something in the synagogue (e.g., after an aliyah). What is its origin?
9
votes
4answers
145 views
Online tool for minyan management?
If I'm running a small minyan that sometimes has a quorum and sometimes doesn't, and I'd like to only hold the minyan when I know we'll have ten, is there an online tool to help me manage this?
1
vote
0answers
22 views
Using someone's mother/father's disliked name for ritual purposes
Closely related to this question, what happens if someone's mother or father doesn't/didn't like her or his name, and the child now either needs a MiSheBerach or is called to the Torah? What name ...
5
votes
0answers
46 views
Can a synagogue appropriate the contents of charity boxes not removed before a specified time?
There are lots of charity boxes from different organisations put out on a table in the foyer of our synagogue on Purim.
The wardens have attached a note that says that boxes not taken away by the end ...
3
votes
2answers
84 views
Why do some synagogues offer kidush and others not?
Some (orthodox) synagogues in the United States offer kidush after Shabas-morning services every week; others do not.
Is this division roughly along 'type' of synagogue? For example, do most Young ...
3
votes
1answer
65 views
Can you use the bimah as a shortcut?
I read online that one cannot take a shortcut from one area of the shul to another if it cuts through the area of the bimah. The pertinent line is:
Just as the Mizbeiach was elevated, our Bimah, ...
1
vote
2answers
134 views
Is there a source for the custom of a Baal Teshuva not to sit in shul but rather to stand?
I have observed a number of people who have completely changed their lifestyle from irreligious to observant (whom we now call “baalei teshuvah”) standing for all the davenning and even for the ...
5
votes
1answer
73 views
Definition of Beit Hakneset area [with respect to tachanun]
Shulchan Aruch O"CH 131:4 says that we don't say Tachanun where there is a Chatan in the syagogue: (see also this related question) (Note: I mention here Chatan because it's clearly mentioned, but ...
0
votes
1answer
132 views
Is there Moses Seat in Synagogue?
Is there a Moses seat in Synagogue ? I know about the Chair of Elijah but I came to know there is also Moses Seat please confirm.
0
votes
1answer
128 views
Should we use a picture of the Western Wall as a “mizrach”?
Shulchan Oruch Horav 90 (22) advises against davenning in front of decorations on the wall of the shul. Is it, therefore, a good thing to use a picture of the Western Wall as a “mizrach” ("mizrach" ...
10
votes
2answers
97 views
Did Shuls in Europe display their countries' flags prior to the holocaust?
Prior to the holocaust, did Shuls in Europe display their countries' respective flags? Do Shuls currently display their countries' flags? When did it start and why?
2
votes
3answers
312 views
Please explain the idea of the Chair of Elijah in synagogue
What is the purpose and meaning of the Chair of Elijah? I understand that (some?) synagogues have a chair called the Chair of Elijah. Does this mean that it is a special chair that is set aside for ...
1
vote
1answer
62 views
Are Shiurim (Classes) for Women common in Orthodox Synagogues?
Is it quite common at most Orthodox shuls for there to be a women's shiur presented by a female? What topics would generally be discussed?
1
vote
1answer
58 views
Is mundane speech allowed in shul?
Does anyone know the halacha regarding if one is allowed to talk in shul (divrei chulin)
I'm not referring to times of prayer, but general even after prayer.
Seems that mundane speech is forbidden ...
4
votes
2answers
179 views
Ostrich eggs in Shul?
Kinyan L'Shabbos (published weekly by Hamodia) - July 18, 2012, page 11 has a fascinating article by Rabbi Avraham Y. Heschel regarding an ancient custom of displaying ostrich eggs in a Beis Knesses. ...
4
votes
3answers
224 views
What is the origin for Reform to call their synagogues a “Temple”?
Why does Reform typically call it a Temple, vs a Beit Knesset, a Beit Sefer, or a shul? I imagine the Hebrew would have been the obvious go to, if they chose to ignore the yiddush.
Not that I know ...
5
votes
2answers
190 views
Can a convert become a synagogue president? Why or why not?
I understand that the National Council of Young Israel has a rule that women and converts may not be elected president of a Young Israel synagogue. I think I saw a gemara -- or a comment to a gemara ...
5
votes
1answer
61 views
If no-one went to synagogue on Friday night, do the people at home sing “Sholom Aleichem”?
The Ashkenazi custom is to sing “Sholom Aleichem” when returning home on Friday night from the synagogue. The reason is related to the ministering angels who accompany a person home on Friday night ...
13
votes
3answers
334 views
Orthodox Visits to Other Denomination Sanctuaries
Why is it that some people won't set foot in another's sanctuary, even if it was for a non-prayer function? Can an orthodox person be in a reform style temple sanctuary for a lecture or concert? I ...
2
votes
1answer
68 views
How is the menora lit in the synagogue?
The menora in the synagogue is normally situated on the south side of the synagogue (O Ch 671 (7)).
On which side of the menora is it lit:
The person lighting faces south and the first candle is as ...
4
votes
2answers
194 views
My hands are cold in synagogue. May I put them in my pockets? May I wear gloves?
If my hands are cold when praying in synagogue:
1) may I put them in my pockets? Is it just disrespectful, as I was brought up to think, or are there more important issues?
2) may I wear gloves? ...
2
votes
1answer
60 views
A good translation of “bimah”
What is a good translation of the word "bimah" (as in both the "stage" generally and the "table" specifically in a synagogue whence the Torah is read) to use with a non-Jew? Altar and stage both seem ...
0
votes
1answer
52 views
Beit Kneset and Torah study - desecration?
By late antiquity, the "beth midrash" had developed along with the
synagogue into a distinct though somewhat related institution. The
main difference between the "beth midrash" and "beth ...
4
votes
1answer
106 views
Moving close to the Shul
How close to the shul would a Rabbi generally require congregants or a prospective convert to move (in kilometers please!)?
5
votes
1answer
190 views
First trip to the synagogue! Tips and advice please!
I am preparing for my first trip to a synagogue after the High Holy Days.
My first visit will be to a Modern Orthodox Synagogue. I have interacted with the Rabbi by email and we will be meeting ...
5
votes
3answers
125 views
In an average shul, how long before sunset does a combined weekday Mincha/Maariv service start?
Many shuls worldwide run combined weekday Mincha/Maariv services. How long before sunset do these services tend to start? Please specify a range, measured in "number of minutes". Also, please cite ...
7
votes
0answers
85 views
Do not separate yourself from the community: what exactly is the community?
Hillel teaches in Pirke Avot (2:4): do not separate yourself from the community. I'm not a historian, but I have the impression that at the time he was writing, towns tended to have one (Jewish) ...
4
votes
2answers
289 views
Black Hats During Mussaf
Lately, I have noticed that many people who wear a tallis during davening will deliberately put on the black hat, which they wore on the way to shul, while still wearing their tallis near the end of ...
6
votes
2answers
245 views
Can you turn your back to the Aron HaKodesh?
I'm quite certain that it is mentioned in the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch that one should not turn one's back to the Aron HaKodesh (ark which holds the Torah Scrolls).
Can anyone tell me where this is ...
15
votes
2answers
241 views
Halachot of Shul Mechitzas
What are some good books, articles, websites, or seforim for learning about the Halachot of constructing and maintaining a Shul Mechitza (the barrier between the men and women sections)?
Issues ...
5
votes
0answers
45 views
Going into Reform Synagogues [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Orthodox Visits to Other Denomination Sanctuaries
I have noticed that in the two years that I have spent in the Jewish community, that Orthodox Jews say that they would ...
4
votes
1answer
113 views
Modim DeRabanan - UThHonnenu or UThKayemeinu?
There is a very common poster that I've seen in virtually every Shul I've been in over the past 10-15 years. Unfortunately, I cannot find a photo at the moment. It is a (generally laminated,) white ...
4
votes
1answer
90 views
Is it Halachically wrong to avoid the rabbi's sermon?
At some point in our history, the rabbi's Derashah, or sermon, went from being taboo to so integral to the service that some Shuls have ushers to keep the doors closed at that time, so that no one may ...
3
votes
3answers
153 views
13
votes
2answers
283 views
Shape of the Luchot
According to the Talmud in Bava Batra 14a, the Luchot HabBerit were square. Where did the common "tablet" shape come from, with rectangles and a rounded top? Besides in pictures, I see it in ...
2
votes
4answers
256 views
Yotzros and Musaf for the 4 Parshios
Are there any Nusach Ashkenaz Shuls that say Yotzros or Musaf on the weeks of the Four Parshios?
2
votes
1answer
280 views
Bringing a gun into a synagogue
Can you bring a gun into a synagogue? (The question is in reference to Israel.)
4
votes
1answer
88 views
Community/Synagogue Honorifics
I visited the Rare Books section of the JTS in New York in Dec. 2009, to view an old manuscript from Kezmarok, Slovakia. I selected certain pages that I was interested in translating, on behalf of ...
