Inside an Orthodox Jewish Synagogue | Tour of a Jewish Synagogue with an Orthodox Woman

foreign [Music] Today i am so excited   because I will bring you on a full tour inside an  Orthodox Jewish synagogue and more specifically   Sephardic Orthodox Jewish synagogue and I will  share with you five things you did not know   you could find in an orthodox synagogue and if  you're new here hi my name is Sara Malka and on   my channel I share all facets of my Orthodox  Sephardic Jewish Life as a full-time working   mom with small kiddos so please don't forget to  leave this video a big Thumbs Up And subscribe   to our Channel let me put on a pretty Tichel  and let's jump into it [Music] when you see   this Sephardic synagogue from the outside you  can notice that the architecture is already   more Middle Eastern inspired with these very  recognizable arches compared to the traditional   Ashkenazi synagogues that are more European  in their architectural design like this one when you come in the synagogue on the right door  post of every door in the synagogue you will   be greeted by a mezuzah and it is customary  to kiss the Mezuzah when you're passing one   because this synagogue is a Sephardic  synagogue the mezuzah will be secured   with a slight slant toward the entrance  compared to our Ashkenazi brothers who   will have a more pronounced slant when they  affixed their mezuzah on their doorposts   as soon as we come in the Foyer of the  synagogue on the left side we have the   etz hayim (or Etz Chaim) or Tree of Life when  we look more closely we can see at the base of   the roots there are individual plaque and when  we look up we see individual plaque shaped like   leaves each plaque whether at the root of the tree  or as a leaf represents a life event whether to   celebrate a birth a wedding or other life events  and some are General good wishes like this one   where it wishes Refuah Shelayma or a complete  healing and recovery for the sick people of the   community all these commemorative plaques serve  as an ongoing reminder that all life events are   part of the tree of life or etz hayim (or Etz  Chaim) and should be experienced as a community   another item you might notice in the Sephardic  synagogue are these Middle Eastern details whether   on the floor windows and more and we will see  them throughout our visit in this synagogue on   the right side of the foyer when you come into  synagogue you have the talit gadol stands the   tallit gadol is the prayer shawl Orthodox Jewish  men wear for their morning prayer from Sunday to   shabbat [Music] you can see you have different  styles of talit some are white with black lines   some are completely white and some are white and  blue albeit the vast majority of Sephardic men   will wear a white talit but some have the  tradition to wear black and white or white   and blue tallit gadol some will use their own  delete some will use the one from the synagogue   but in a nutshell whether you are a regular at a  synagogue a newcomer or a visitor you will always   find a tallit Gadol waiting for you next you have  a stand where you can find all kind of information   including the candle lighting time for the city  you are in for the present and future weeks as   every week the time of the candle lighting changes  as the time of the sunset varies from week to week   and we light 18 minutes before Sunset to welcome  the Shabbat on Friday night and Shabbat ends with   the coming out of three stars in the night sky  on Saturday night which also varies every week   in the stand you also find commentaries on the  parasha Hashavua or the section of the Torah that   is read on that week there are also information  about the activities in the shul or synagogue   next to the Etz Chaim we have the main sanctuary  it is customary in an orthodox synagogue to have   a box of kippa or head covering for men men wear  a kippah (or yarmulke) all the time not only in   synagogue as a constant reminder reminder that  G.od is everywhere and as a sign of reverence   for G.od another thing that is particular to  an orthodox synagogue is that it is separated   in a men's section and a women's section we  will see the women's section in a few minutes   but first let's start with the back of the men's  section where you can see a very large board with   lights it is called the Ohr HaChayim (Ohr Hachaim)  remembrance board and means the light of life each   light is associated to a plaque with a name and a  date these plaque are to remember a family member   who passed away they serve as a reminder that even  though a person is not with us physically they are   Forever part of our life spiritually and we should  include The Departed in our life especially during   our communion with G.od through prayers as well  as in our different life events as you previously   saw in our Orthodox Sephardic Jewish wedding  video our respective parents carried a candle   to commemorate the people who were not with  us physically but we wanted to include them   in our simcha to make sure they never forget we  love them so much and we will never forget them when you look at the layout of the men's section  you have three sections of chairs one on each   side of the synagogue and one in the back of  the synagogue and together they are forming a   "U" with the opening of the "U" facing eastwards  towards Jerusalem where you can find the most holy   area of the synagogue which is called the Aron  Hakodesh or Holy Ark which we will look into in   more depth in just a moment section of seats is  equipped with at least two Sefarim or holy books   one will be the "Chumash" which contains the five  books of the Torah we read a section every week   on Shabbat as well as Monday and Thursday morning  the other sefer is our sidur or prayer book with   the weekday as well as Shabbat and some of the  holiday prayers another thing you may notice is   the name on each seat that is because people who  pray almost exclusively in one synagogue like to   pray in the same area and seat which makes sense  and also aligns with the recommendations of our   sages stating that we should try to pray in the  same place or see it every day whether in the   synagogue or at home to facilitate our focus  and also by doing so it will create a more   sacred place where we know we can pray and connect  with G.od in every Orthodox Jewish synagogue you   will see extensive libraries like this one where  you can see Chumashim ( plural of Chumash aka 5   Books of the Torah) with regular prayer books or  Siddurim (plural for Siddur prayer book) in the   next bookcase you have special siddurim or prayer  books for our Jewish holidays as you can see on   the spine of the books there is a shofar for a  Jewish New Year an Etrog ( special citrus fruit)   for the holiday of Sukkot and a tallit for our Yom  Kippur there are many copies of the same sidurim   to make sure every person in shul or synagogue  has a copy as the prayers vary from holidays to   holidays at the center of the synagogue you have  the bimah or prayer Pulpit it provides a focus   point from which the hazan or person leading the  prayer stands and also where the Ba'al Koré will   read the Torah because we are talking about the  Sefer Torah let me show you the holiest place   of the synagogue the Aron HaKodesh or Holy Ark  where the Sefer Torah (Torah Scroll) are kept the first thing you notice are the steps leading  to the Aron Hakodesh where the Sefer Torah or   Torah scrolls are kept the Aron Hakodesh is  elevated to show proper reverence to the holy   writings contained in the Sefer Torah there are  two layers of protection in the Aron: the wooden   doors and then the paroket or curtains there are  many Torah Scrolls in the Aron Hakodesh and as   you can see most of the Sephardic Torah scrolls  are encased in beautifully decorated wooden boxes   the scroll cannot be spread like an Ashkenazi  scroll for the Hagba or the showing of the Torah   you can see there is a name plate on the Sefer  Torah called Sefer Rishon or first book it   means that it is the scroll that should be read  first when the Sefer Torah is taken out of the   Aron Hakodesh sometimes two or even three Sefer  Torah can be taken out of the Aron Hakodesh and   sometimes even more for some holidays like Simchat  Torah where we celebrate the completion of the   yearly reading of the Torah and we take out all  the Sefer Torah from the Aron and we dance with   them The Sefer Torah is taken out of the Aron  ( On Shabbat, Mondays and Thursdays for the   morning prayer) and it is an honor to carry the  Torah to the bima and to remove the decorations   that are there to beautify the sefer Torah as  well as the internal robe of the Sefer Torah   on a side note we cannot take out a Sefer Torah  and open it just to look at it this is why this   was filmed by a lovely man when the Sefer Torah  was taken out to be read on a weekday the last   element to be removed is a belt around the Sefer  Torah to keep it closed and it is called a mappa   The Sefer Torah is open then shown through the  Hagba to the congregation once everybody has   seen the inside of this Sefer Torah through the  Hagba (some call it Gelilah) the Ba'al Koré can   start reading the Torah the Ba'al Koré is a man  who specializes in the reading of the Torah as   the parchment does not have nekudot or vowels nor  the ta'amim or cantillation or tune making it very   hard to read directly from Sefer Torah unless it  was studied for hours to be able to read fluently   the weekly parasha or weekly part of the Torah on  a side note whether in a Sephardic or Ashkenazi   synagogue the Sefer Torah will never touch the  bima itself and will always be put on a secondary   surface in Ashkenazi synagogues they will use an  embroidered cloth or sometimes a tallit like here   and in our Sephardic synagogues the bima will  be covered with a hard material like this one   to stabilize the large Circle wooden box where the  Sefer Torah is kept when we go out of the shul or   synagogue we will take the stairs and go upstairs  because in Orthodox synagogue the women do not   sit with men as the synagogue is a place to focus  on our relation with G.od and not to socialize or   Mingle between men and women the woman is called  Ezrat Nashim or women's Courtyard of course it   has a mezuzah on the doorpost and also a very  important sign greets us on the door no telephones   are allowed in the Ezrat Nashim especially during  the week and more importantly during Shabbat I love the Ezrat Nashim because it is  high up and open so you can hear and   see everything without being seen unless of  course we go in the front of the balcony and   stand on our tippy toes and even if we do  that only the row of men next to the Aron   would see us and of course we avoid doing  this the organization of the seats with   the name plates as well as the decor  are the same as in the men's section We have a chumash and a siddur for each  seat and one other thing you might have   noticed is the height of the steps that is smaller   this is to avoid for women to take large steps  forcing them to bend over or perhaps uncovering   the upper part of their legs while climbing  up the stairs especially if the skirt is a   bit too short and this is why we have smaller  steps to stay modest at all time in the house   of G.od like in the men's section we have  a library in it you can see a tzedakah box   or charity box as it is customary for men and  women to give charity even a few coins before   praying of course this box will be removed during  Shabbat and the holidays as we do not handle money   on Shabbat nor the holidays you can see in this  bookcase Chumashim as well as different Sephardic   siddurim or prayer books because Moroccan  Jews will have different Traditions or minagim   in their prayers compared to Algerian Jews or  middle eastern Sephardic Jews therefore we have   different siddurim to represent the different  traditions amongst Orthodox Sephardic Jews   another thing you can see in more details because  you are in the women's section is the gorgeous   overview of the Shul or synagogue and the beauty  of the synagogue with its stunning stained glass when we go back down pass the lobby we have  something you most probably did not know we had   in a synagogue and that is a very large reception  hall we have such Hall because a lot of time there   will be a simcha celebration or a party on Shabbat  whether for a bar mitzvah during the seven days of   celebration after the wedding and this is why  a hall integrated in the synagogue is a must   as we could not drive on Shabbat to go somewhere  else therefore reception halls are often part of   large synagogues like in this synagogue where you  have one enormous reception hall fully equipped   and beautifully decorated in this synagogue you  can find in the basement a secondary reception   hall that is used more routinely for the Kiddush  or small brunch served after the Shabbat prayer   at the end of the room you can see these large  decorated wood panels they are called meritza   or separators because men and women do not mingle  in Orthodox events so we are separated by these   Maritza if you have been here for a while  you already know we use meritzah as you saw   them in our Sephardic Orthodox Jewish wedding  video and are how we throw a party as Orthodox   Jews video and once again just to reiterate my  feelings about the meritza I absolutely love   being all women together without the men it is  like a major girls night out and it is amazing   if you're curious to know here is  how the hall in the synagogue looks   like when it is fully decorated for an  event [Music] foreign [Music] Since food   will be served in the reception halls the other  thing you will find in an orthodox synagogue that   might surprise you is a full on kosher kitchen  with the meat and a milk side of course because   as Orthodox Jews we do not mix meat and milk  together the kosher caterer has meat and milk   dishes here you can see the piles and piles of  meat dishes and perhaps you are seeing these   piles of plates and you're asking yourself why  do we need so many dishes well it is because   usually in a simcha or Jewish party there are  often more than 100 people that are attending the other thing you will find in an orthodox  synagogue are Kosher bathrooms what I mean by   that is that the bathroom will have two sections a  seating section area usually with a changing table   and another area with the sinks and stalls when  you go in the stall you will not find the regular   rolls of toilet paper but you will find detachable  squares of toilet paper because we cannot rip or   destroy on Shabbat after washing our hands with  soap and water we go outside the bathroom and   find a basin with our famous double handled cup or  Netilat Yadayim to wash our hands ritualistically   and finally the last thing you will find that  might surprise you in an orthodox synagogue is   that usually there will be a smaller synagogue  in the larger synagogue the reason for that is   because often there will be more than one minyan  which means 10 men over the age of 13 years old   praying in the same synagogue at different  time for example there will be one prayer at   Netz or Dawn and another at 9am so they will use  different sanctuaries in the synagogue they are   all equipped with exactly the same elements  the u-shaped room the Bima The Aron HaKodesh and something to notice is the Ner Tamid  or Eternal Light situated above the Aron   this light is there to give honor to the Divine  Presence that rests wherever a quorum or Minyan   of Jews gathered to pray finally the last item  you may notice is this very special calendar it   is a calendar that tells us today's date but it  will also tell you according to the code of your   city what is the earliest and latest time you  can recite Shema as well as what Hebrew date it   is because we follow the lunar calendar and  finally it will tell us when the candles of   Shabbat should be lit and at what time we  should conclude Shabbat with our Havdalah   ceremony I would love to know what was the  thing or element that surprised you the most   in this orthodox Sephardic Jewish synagogue  please let me know in the comments below thank you so much for being here it means the  world to me and know that in my book you are   part of my inner Sanctuary you bring me  peace and joy if you're here until the   end please write in the comments I LOVE TO  CONNECT WITH YOU so I know I was not alone   and as a gentle reminder if nobody told you today  know that YOU ARE LOVED and YOU ARE ENOUGH Just   the Way You Are until next time stay safe stay  blessed and don't forget to frum it up [Music] I love you

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Keywords: inside an orthodox Jewish synagogue, orthodox jewish synagogue, jewish synagogue, inside jewish synagogue, tour orthodox Jewish synagogue, tour jewish synagogue, inside an orthodox Sephardic Jewish synagogue, inside a jewish synagogue, synagogue tour, sephardic synagogue, orthodox jewish women, orthodox jewish party, orthodox jewish synagogue service, jewish community, orthodox judaism, jewish culture

Id: _-0xeF3HZQg

Length: 20min 1sec (1201 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 25 2023