Report on a visit to the Jewish museum on Friday, 20^th January, 2007

On my visit to the Jewish Museum, I have learned a lot about the Jewish community and religion through the tour of the museum and by asking questions of the Curator.  In my opinion, the visit was a marvellous experience and was most interesting.

When we arrived at the museum, we were greeted by the Curator.  The term ‘Rabbi’ means ‘teacher’.  He showed us around the main room and we sat down and listened.  He answered many questions and told us some interesting facts.

In the year 1900, the synagogue was opened, but closed in 1970.  This was due to the fact that members of the community moved to the suburbs in Dublin from 1950 onwards.  Many years previously, the dividing walls were demolished, in order to form a prayer room, providing adequate space for seats.  These seats faced the land of Israel and all prayers are directed towards Jerusalem.

The Rabbi would deliver sermons in the pulpateer and the seats at the front of the congregation were reserved for other rabbis.  In the centre of the room there was a raised area, called the Bimah.  The prayers were read aloud during the ceremony.  Before the invention of the printing press, the sacred books were written by scribes.

The functions of a Synagogue were very important.  They were, as follows:

1. they were used as a place of prayer and communicating.  Everyone was obliged to pray three times during the day.  The morning prayer lasted 40 minutes, while those in the afternoon and at night were each of 10 minutes duration.  Thus, one hour of each day was devoted to prayer.
2. Secondly, a Synagogue was employed for study purposes.  This involved learning about the religion, the bible, the laws, practices and customs which were taught by the Rabbi.  Youth groups would also attend the Synagogue.
3. Wedding ceremonies are held in the Synagogue.  These are conducted beneath a canopy and glass is stepped on and broken at the conclusion, symbolising how easy marriage can be broken.

The Synagogue has been in existence as a meeting place for prayer for over 2500 years.  Jesus preached and prayed in the area surrounding the Sea of Galilee, a rural area in the North of Israel.

Festivals are a very important part of Jewish culture.  The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week and is a day of rest.  In the Book of Genesis, it states that God rested on the seventh day.  This was later adapted by Christianity.  Friday is the holy day for Muslims.