QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Who Invented the Synagogue?

B"H

Adar II 4, 5771 * March 10, 2011

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Q U E S T I O N O F T H E W E E K
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Who Invented the Synagogue?
By Shlomo Yaffe
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Question:

I've heard it said that there's no mention of the synagogue in the Torah. So where and when did it originate? It's hard to imagine "Judaism" (at least as we know it today) without synagogues!

Answer:

Indeed, there is no mention of the Synagogue in the "Written Torah" (i.e., the Five Books of Moses). The institution of the synagogue is of later, Rabbinic origin.[1]

The purpose of the synagogue is to provide a venue to facilitate and enhance the Biblical obligation of prayer [ http://link.Chabad.org/go.asp?li=9450A9F631A42C6AD8081956CEAA6782&ui=F8C16ABBBCDB72AD0024EE2F647D78D2 ] by adding a communal element.

From Moses' times until the restoration of the Second Temple, we fulfilled the obligation to pray daily by composing our own prayers, and praying privately.

We also made pilgrimages to Jerusalem to experience the public services that were conducted in the Holy Temple [ http://link.Chabad.org/go.asp?li=3BDA1CF5A6E04DACFB276C2CA4264FD1&ui=F8C16ABBBCDB72AD0024EE2F647D78D2 ].

After the restoration of the Second Temple (352 BCE), the Great Assembly[2], led by Ezra, instituted the Kaddish, Kedushah, Barechu, and the rest of the standardized communal service (requiring the participation of a minyan or quorum of ten) as well as the obligation for individuals to participate in these services.

There arose both in Israel and the Diaspora[3] places set aside to pray communally. Thus was born the "Place of Gathering"-Beit Kenesset in Hebrew, and synagogos in Greek.

The primary public worship experience remained the journey to Jerusalem to participate in and be inspired by the Temple service.

When the Romans destroyed the Second Temple in 69 CE, the only place for public worship remained the synagogue, which then acquired increased importance as the center of Jewish communal life.

The primary focus of Judaism, however, has always been the life of each individual and their home and family, lived in a strong and mutually responsible community. In fact, when a Jewish community starts from scratch, building a synagogue is not the first item on its "to do" list. As set by Jewish law, the priorities as far as setting up communal institutions should be:

1) A mikvah [ http://link.Chabad.org/go.asp?li=F3EB9A51052319547053BF9A02AD6E24&ui=F8C16ABBBCDB72AD0024EE2F647D78D2 ]

2) Jewish schooling [ http://link.Chabad.org/go.asp?li=35524ED4C05C2E827BD060A86BD5A073&ui=F8C16ABBBCDB72AD0024EE2F647D78D2 ] for children

3) A charity [ http://link.Chabad.org/go.asp?li=E9B4E89899FA559BAD3EE6A44F592746&ui=F8C16ABBBCDB72AD0024EE2F647D78D2 ] fund

4) A synagogue

Of course, people can-and do-get together anywhere to pray communally.

FOOTNOTES
1.The Torah (Deuteronomy 17:11; see Maimonides' introduction to the Mishnah) mandates that we follow properly constituted rabbinic decrees accepted by the community at the time the decree was made; so, in the final analysis, the synagogue is a Torah-mandated institution.
2.The then high court and legislature of Judaism.
3.The Diaspora (the Jewish community residing outside of the Land of Israel) remained large even after the Second Temple was restored.

- Rabbi Shlomo Yaffe [ mailto:sdyaffe@gmail.com ], a frequent contributor of articles and media to chabad.org, is Permanent Scholar-in-Residence to Chabad at Harvard, and Dean of the Institute of American and Talmudic Law in New York, NY. Rabbi Yaffe has lectured and led seminars throughout North America, as well as in Europe and South Africa.

- To view this article on the Web, or to post a comment, please click here: http://link.Chabad.org/go.asp?li=7D48F621C152CA9751CB776CE790D94B&ui=F8C16ABBBCDB72AD0024EE2F647D78D2

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