What is the bimah, and where is it placed?

The bimah is the raised platform from which the Torah is read. Orthodox synagogues usually place it in the centre, while Reform synagogues place it at the front.

Why do Orthodox synagogues seat men and women separately?

Separate seating helps worshippers concentrate on prayer without distraction. Women sit in a gallery upstairs or behind a screen called a mechitzah.

How is the layout of Reform and Liberal synagogues different from Orthodox ones?

Reform and Liberal synagogues have mixed seating for families. The Ark and bimah are usually together at the front, facing the congregation, and some have an organ.

Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies B 1RB0

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Judaism: Living the Jewish Life

The design and objects of the synagogue

3 things to know
Any of the three papers

Overview

Its three names, facing Jerusalem, the Ark and the bimah, separate seating and Reform layouts, Proverbs 14:28, the ner tamid in Exodus 27, the yad, the Torah Scroll, the menorah, and community use.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

What three names describe the purposes of a synagogue?

Key term

Why do synagogues face Jerusalem?

Key term

What is the Ark, and what does it contain?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What three names describe the purposes of a synagogue?
Model answer
A synagogue is a beit tefillah, a house of prayer, and a beit midrash, a house of study. The synagogue is also a beit knesset, a house of assembly.
2
Why do synagogues face Jerusalem?
Model answer
Jews pray towards Jerusalem, where the Temple stood. British synagogues are therefore built with the Ark on the eastern wall.
3
What is the Ark, and what does it contain?
Model answer
The Ark, the Aron Hakodesh, is a cupboard on the wall facing Jerusalem. The Ark holds the Torah scrolls behind a curtain called the parochet.
4
What is the bimah, and where is it placed?
Model answer
The bimah is the raised platform from which the Torah is read. Orthodox synagogues usually place it in the centre, while Reform synagogues place it at the front.
5
Why do Orthodox synagogues seat men and women separately?
Model answer
Separate seating helps worshippers concentrate on prayer without distraction. Women sit in a gallery upstairs or behind a screen called a mechitzah.
6
How is the layout of Reform and Liberal synagogues different from Orthodox ones?
Model answer
Reform and Liberal synagogues have mixed seating for families. The Ark and bimah are usually together at the front, facing the congregation, and some have an organ.

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