house of Jewish prayer
2
votes
1answer
281 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
89 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 ...
6
votes
2answers
108 views
Pirkei Avos on shabbos during mincha?
It seems clear from the Rama, MB, and other sources (as well as from most printed siddurim) that Pirkei Avos is said in the synagogue at Shabbos Mincha as part of the tefillah in the summer months, ...
10
votes
4answers
360 views
What's a good technique for a not-so-strong person to do [Ashkenazi] Hagbaha?
I've seen many people shy away when asked to do Hagbaha (הגבהה), thinking themselves too weak. I know for a fact that it doesn't take that much strength to do it correctly, so I'd love to ...
4
votes
6answers
434 views
What do I need to know in order to properly have an aliya?
What things should I know in advance in case I get called up for an aliya during a Torah-reading service?
12
votes
2answers
612 views
What are “universal minimum” standards of tznius for halachic purposes?
What are the minimum standards of tznius for halachic purposes? By "halachic purposes" I mean Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 75, which forbids praying in the presence of ervah. I am raising the question ...
16
votes
3answers
490 views
Why do we bow down in the direction of the ark?
This is a question I've had for many years, to which I've never received a satisfactory answer:
In Hebrew school, we were taught that idolaters bowed to a idol of their god. They would claim that ...
4
votes
1answer
68 views
Must a publicly owned building be cleaned for Passover?
Is the community responsible to have publicly owned buildings (such as synagogues, batei midrashot and libraries) cleaned for pesach? Does it matter if it will be used or not over the holiday?
If ...
7
votes
1answer
77 views
Sale of kibbudim on shabbat / chag
Many shuls have the practice of selling kibbudim (i.e. aliyot, hafotrah, opening the aron, etc.) on major holidays, usually via auction. I've been to some shuls where this is done every shabbat.
A ...
9
votes
1answer
85 views
Why Are These Double Parshiyos?
During a regular (non-leap) Jewish year, there are four instances where two of the weekly Torah portions are read together in the same week. This is because there are not enough weeks to read all of ...
4
votes
1answer
67 views
Why do we have a Ner Tomid in Shul and on what are modern designs based?
It is customary for synagogues to have a Ner Tomid, a light burning always near the front of the synagogue.
1) Why do we have a Ner Tomid?
2) If it is a reminder of the “ner maarovi” which was one ...
5
votes
2answers
187 views
Saying Baruch HaShem L'Olam without a minyan
Should one say Baruch HaShem L'Olam when davening without a minyan? What if one is davening not in a synagogue but in a home? What if one is davening alone?
Practically speaking, the prayer was ...
23
votes
3answers
2k views
Should one ask a non-Jew attending synagogue to wear a yarmulke?
It says in Divrei HaRav (by R. Hershel Schachter, p143) that when they asked R. Aharon Kotler whether a non-Jewish secular studies teacher in a yeshiva should be asked to wear a yarmulke, he said he ...
8
votes
3answers
205 views
Pre-1948, what flags were found in American synagogues?
Certainly throughout the 1970s and 1980s, it was not at all uncommon to see an American synagogue where the Aron Kodesh was flanked by American and Israeli flags.
Pre-1948, was there just an American ...
4
votes
1answer
50 views
Why do Shuls put up notices saying משנכנס אדר מרבים בשמחה?
Why do Shuls put up notices saying משנכנס אדר מרבים בשמחה ?
Do we think that a notice will change our mood? And if so, why not put up a notice in Elul saying that the Yom HaDin is coming?
3
votes
1answer
162 views
What kind of Mechitza is required when the women daven on the second floor?
Many times I have seen Shuls where women pray on a balcony on the second floor.
What kind of Mechitza do they need?
Is it enough if one can't see them (for example, if the angle is such that they ...
0
votes
1answer
198 views
Entering a place where Gentiles and Jews Daven together from a Siddur
Would it be permitted to pray in a place where there are services that are mixed with Jews and gentiles? Meaning, a synagogue that also invites gentiles to pray with the Jews (but they all pray from a ...
8
votes
1answer
195 views
How is a Chabad-Lubavitch synagogue typically owned/governed/directed?
I'm used to an Orthodox Union-type synagogue that has a board, a president, and a rabbi as an employee.
How does it work with a Lubavitch shul?
6
votes
3answers
247 views
Bringing little girls into the men's section in Shul
It has become the norm in mosts shuls I've been to, that fathers bring little girls into the men's section of synagogues on Shabbos and Yom Tov.
Until what age should girls still be allowed to ...
8
votes
3answers
125 views
Proper age to take a child to Shul
What is the proper age for children to begin being taken to Shul?
4
votes
0answers
76 views
Prayer in a chapel (bes midrash room) vs. in the main synagogue
Some synagogues have a room for prayers that's used on a regular basis: weekdays, Shabasos, holidays. If there are two simultaneous minyanim, then one will be elsewhere, of course, but otherwise the ...
6
votes
3answers
90 views
2
votes
3answers
175 views
12
votes
1answer
135 views
Out-of-order minyan participation
Some shuls have several minyanim back to back. If one arrives before the Torah reading of the 8:30 minyan and has finished davening before the Torah reading of the 9:30 minyan (to whose Kedusha one ...
11
votes
1answer
234 views
Shul Ravs: What is job outlook like and how much do they make
How much do Shul Rabbis get paid? Are there opportunities in smaller out of town communities for people looking to go into the Rabbinate?
8
votes
2answers
102 views
Haftara reading customs
There seems to be a wide range of customs with regard to reading the haftara. In some shuls (mostly Chassidic) the one who is called up recites the berachah, and everyone then says the haftara quietly ...
5
votes
1answer
59 views
Can a congregant who has been asked to open the Ark, walk in front of the Ark to get to the other side of the 'bimah'?
Can a congregant who opened the Aron Hakodesh walk in front of the open ark and walk to the other side of the platform where the Aron is situated?
12
votes
1answer
131 views
Why do non-orphans leave during Yizkor?
In all the Shuls (Synagogues) I've Davened in over the years, I noticed that all those whose parents are alive leave the shul during Yizkor. Why is this so?
6
votes
1answer
178 views
Do Orthodox synagogues have audio induction loops? Can they use them on Shabbat?
Let's assume we follow Rabbi Moshe Feinstein's ruling that hearing aids are permitted on Shabbat, but microphones are not.
What about installing an audio induction loop in the synagogue? It would ...
6
votes
2answers
156 views
What do I do when asked to “open the Aron” or “take out the Torah”?
If I'm in synagogue and someone asks me if I can "open the Aron" or "take out the Sefer Torah," what will I be expected to do, and when?
2
votes
1answer
82 views
Do you make a Shehechiyanu?
Suppose Chanuka started on Friday night. Everyone lights their Menorah prior to coming to Shul. When the person lights the Menora in Shul he already said Shehechiyanu in his house. Should he say it ...
5
votes
1answer
267 views
Rules for Selichot when the minyan isn't complete at start time
If the shul doesn't have a full minyan at the time when Selichot is supposed to start, and waiting for a minyan to gather before starting is not an option, what are the rules for what you say or don't ...
6
votes
2answers
99 views
Priority rules for abridging Selichot
If the minyan doesn't have enough time allotted for Selichot to finish everything listed in the Selichot book for today, so you need to cut some parts out, what are the rules of priority for what ...
9
votes
4answers
201 views
Finding the quiet section of the synagogue
When you enter an unfamiliar synagogue, how do you find a seat in a section that's likely to have the least talking?
10
votes
2answers
156 views
What is the origin of giving “Pesicho” to the expectant husband?
What is the origin of the practice of giving “pesicho” (the honor of opening the Ark) to the husband whose wife is expecting a baby?
6
votes
1answer
104 views
What does one do when one needs to bentch gomel?
One who has recovered from a serious illness or accident is supposed to bentch gomel during the torah service. What do you need to know to do this? Specifically:
When is the right time -- the ...
4
votes
1answer
114 views
Bowing at Modim D'Rabbanan
When the chazan reaches "Modim" during his repetition, the congregation recites "Modim D'Rabbanan." Do members of the congregation bow here? If so, in what manner should they bow?
7
votes
1answer
79 views
forgot birkas hachodesh
If a congregation forgot to say birkas hachodesh on the Shabas before rosh chodesh, should it say it another time? When? (Does it, perhaps, depend on what day(s) of the week rosh chodesh is?)
Note: ...
2
votes
2answers
121 views
Congregational official pronunciation scheme
Is it proper/preferred for a congregation to have an official Hebrew pronunciation scheme, such that they request or demand that people use it for public prayers?
Does this concept apply differently ...
2
votes
1answer
78 views
Kibbudim on Shabbat/Yom Tov
Are there any halachot governing who can and who can not get a kibbud (i.e. opening the Aron , not an aliyah) on Shabbat, Yom Tov, Rosh Hashannah or Yom Kippur? I ask because in our shul we have two ...
2
votes
2answers
219 views
What are the Hebrew titles for synagogue functionaries in various communities?
In every Ashkenazic synagogue I've seen, the fellow calling up people to the Bima is called a "gabbai." (Which was originally a Hebrew word for "collector", as in Tzedaka collector; I can see how the ...
5
votes
1answer
178 views
How does “shabbat speech-reinforcement” work?
How does the technology for shabas-compliant voice amplification referred to on this architecture firm's website work? Is it different technically from a regular microphone setup or is the distinction ...
14
votes
2answers
183 views
Making the Kohen's Gesture
Is it forbidden for a non-Kohen to form the hand formation that Kohanim use during their priestly blessings?
4
votes
1answer
42 views
Child Lighting Menorah in Shul
May a Child light the Menorah in Shul being that it is not the real lighting?
4
votes
2answers
81 views
Does the rebbetzin (rabbi's wife) have a special seat in the ezras nashim (women's side of the synagogue)?
Usually the rabbi gets a special seat. I'd seen the Pnei Yehoshua's contract in Berlin 200+ years ago specify a special seat for his wife as well, but is anyone aware of shuls today that do that?
6
votes
2answers
152 views
Which rabbi was it who checked a person's identity by asking where he sat in shul?
The story goes something like ...
A few days after his wedding, a man disappeared without a trace. Many years later, a mysterious man showed up back in town, claiming to be him. He looked ...
2
votes
2answers
92 views
Is Shabbat prayer more special than Shabbat or prayer individually?
Is there any basis in Jewish law or practice for dressing nicer for Shabbat prayer/synagogue than one does for either Shabbat or for prayer/synagogue?
For example, I'm not generally particular about ...
2
votes
1answer
183 views
Is getting an aliyah and Bar-Mitzvah laining needed
Is it needed to get called up to the bimah and,
also is it needed for you to lain from the torah on your Bar-Mitzvah?
0
votes
1answer
83 views
Secular Concerts in a Shul?
Here's a softball. :)
Does the Seridei Eish, HaRav Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg zt"l permit the performance of a secular concert in a synagogue?
