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Synagogue

 

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Directions: Click the Stars of David to learn more about the model synagogue.

 

A Model Synagogue

 

Built in 1876, Wilmington’s Temple of Israel is North Carolinas oldest synagogue and one of the oldest Reform temples in America.

For more information about the Temple of Israel visit: http://www.temple-of-israel.org/about-us/our-history.

Elements of a Synagogue

1) Stained Glass is featured in some synagogues.

2) A memorial plaque records the names in Hebrew and English of synagogue members who have died. Lights next to their names are lit annually to commemorate the anniversary or yahrzeit (“year’s time” in Yiddish) of their death.

3) The Holy Ark (Aron HaKodesh in Hebrew) is the focal point of the synagogue. It houses the Torah scrolls, just as the ancient Jerusalem temple’s Holy of Holies once held the Ark of the Covenant.

4) The Bimah (“high place”) is a raised platform at the front of the synagogue where prayer leaders and Torah readers go up (aliyah in Hebrew) to offer prayers to God.

5) Pews in Reform and Conservative congregations seat men and women together. In Orthodox synagogues, men and women have their own sections.

6) The Torah reader’s desk serves as a pulpit for the prayer leader and a table for the reading from the open scroll, the climax of Sabbath worship.

7) The Ner Tamid (“eternal lamp”) above the ark honors the commandment to keep a light forever burning before the Ark of the Covenant.

 
 

Stained Glass Ner Tamid

 

        

 

Synagogue Slideshow

Temple of Israel, Wilmington, 1895, Courtesy of New Hanover Public Library
Temple of Israel, Wilmington, c. 2010, Photo by Chuck Samuel.
Bimah, Temple of Israel, Wilmington, Photo by Chuck Samuel.
Holy Ark, Temple of Israel, Wilmington, Photo by Chuck Samuel.
Holy Ark with Torah Scrolls, Temple of Israel, Wilmington, Photo by Chuck Samuel.
Eternal Lamp, Temple of Israel, Wilmington, Photo by Chuck Samuel.
Reader's Desk, Temple of Israel, Wilmington, Photo by Chuck Samuel.
Reader's Desk, Temple of Israel, Wilmington, Photo by Chuck Samuel.
Scroll on Reader's Desk, Temple of Israel, Wilmington, Photo by Chuck Samuel.
Pews, Temple of Israel, Wilmington, Photo by Chuck Samuel.
Pews, Temple of Israel, Wilmington, Photo by Chuck Samuel.
Stained Glass Windows, Temple of Israel, Wilmington, Photo by Chuck Samuel.
Stained Glass Windows, Temple of Israel, Wilmington, Photo by Chuck Samuel.
Prayer Shawls, Temple of Israel, Wilmington, Photo by Chuck Samuel.
Chandelier, Temple of Israel, Wilmington, Photo by Chuck Samuel.
Chandelier, Temple of Israel, Wilmington, Photo by Chuck Samuel.
Organ, Temple of Israel, Wilmington, Photo by Chuck Samuel.
Plaques, Temple of Israel, Wilmington, Photo by Chuck Samuel.