Day 62: A Synagogue in the West End

The most beautiful synagogue probably ever to grace the UK was a mere two blocks away, across from a Greek laundromat and Eastern Orthodox church. We huddled down a cobbled row while Brother Shuler knocked on a rundown door, wondering what he was doing. But apparently they don't use the front door at all--bit two dangerous in these modern times. Our experience was spent sitting and being lectured to by a beedle, staring and trying to read the sacred space. Here's my interpretation.



Judaism's Good, Better, Best

We slid into the pews (men newly adorned with skullcaps), and looked quickly around the room,

eager to use our newfound powers of reading sacred space. I was no different; I noticed at once that there are no people portrayed in the stained glass, the bookshelves of the Talmud, the Hebrew inscriptions above the pulpit. Everything looked so different from a parish church—and yet, I learned that here too is a sacred journey, and a way to discover what the Jews hold in high respect. These were made manifest through the separate levels in the room: the pulpit, the lectern, and the city Jerusalem.

The lowest level is the pulpit from which the rabbi and others speak from. The Jewish-equivalent of sermons centralizes here. Those lessons take the majority of a worship service, focusing on just sections of that day’s reading, perhaps ranging from a word or phrase to an entire chapter. The interpretation of the Torah is considered only one opinion of many branching from the same word or phrase or chapter. Part of Jewish culture involves arguing over points of scripture in order to arrive at a feasible, spiritual conclusion. It is at this pulpit that a girl fulfils her role in bat mitzvah, teaching the congregation about a scripture she found particularly meaningful before joining the women in the upper level seating (as she is now able to interpret the Torah for herself). Because sermons are merely man’s commentary on the word of God, this pulpit remains the lowest level.

The next level is a stage or platform across the way, facing east toward Jerusalem. This is where the sacred scrolls of Torah are read aloud during worship. This lectern stood in the relative center of the room, clearly in view of everyone attending. I would not be surprised if it were a sweet spot for acoustics. Reading the Torah is much more important than reading commentary, for it is the root of all comments, and Orthodox Jews regard it as the word of God, recorded by Moses. This lectern is where a boy fulfils his role in bar mitzvah, reading the Torah in the original Hebrew before joining the ranks of men on each side (as he is now able to read the Torah for himself). If we consider the Torah to be the Word then it appropriately is superior to any interpretation.

The highest level is a gorgeous facade of Jerusalem, haloed by creeds of Judaism and drawing every eye eastward to the temple. Above the dome is an inscription which reads, Hear O Israel, the One and Only God. Jews are monotheists, more so than Christians—this is the first belief that set them apart, before the temple and the Law. The temple to God was centered in the Holy City and was where His Law was obeyed and carried out. The Jews are promised that this temple will be restored to them, along with all the land in the covenant with Israel. It was this Law, temple, and priests that guaranteed the Hebrew culture surviving the Babylonian and Roman conquests, the only people to do so, living on to build a synagogue in the West End of London.

It is rather fascinating to see the ascension from interpretation to the Word to the Law. Whether it is a sacred journey or not, we can certainly see what the Jews hold sacred. All of these elements made an identity quite unique, as the beadle proudly stated. Whatever the opinions of the pulpit speakers below, or however a rabbi pronounces his vowels reading the Torah, every Jew has the promised land and the promise of God to keep him holding to his religion. What a beautiful and unifying principle, illustrated so simply in the space.