The Synagogue and the Minyan

Overview

Recall questions on the synagogue's names, the aron hakodesh and the minyan, Orthodox and Reform worship, its origins after the destruction of the Temples, and its roles and pressures today.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Give the three Hebrew names for the synagogue and say what each stresses.

   Model answer

   Beit tefillah, a house of prayer; beit knesset, a house of assembly; and beit midrash, a house of study.

2. 2

   Define the aron hakodesh.

   Model answer

   The ark in which the Torah scrolls are kept, set in the wall that faces Jerusalem.

3. 3

   Define the term minyan.

   Model answer

   The quorum of ten adults required for communal prayer.

4. 4

   How do communities differ over who counts in a minyan?

   Model answer

   Orthodox communities count ten men, while progressive and most Masorti communities count women equally.

5. 5

   Define the term mechitzah.

   Model answer

   The partition separating men and women in an Orthodox synagogue.

6. 6

   Give three ways a Reform service typically differs from an Orthodox one.

   Model answer

   Men and women sit together, more of the service is in the vernacular, and instrumental music may be used.

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Six ways to work the same material.