Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer and study. The Hebrew term for synagogue is Beit Knesset (House of Assembly) or Beit Tefila (House of Prayer). There are usually separate rooms for prayer (the main sanctuary) and smaller rooms for study. Rooms set aside for study are referred to as "Beth midrash" (Hebrew, House of study.)
Synagogues are not only used for prayer, but also for communal activities, adult education and Hebrew schools for school-age children.
Orthodox and most Conservative Jews refer to their houses of worship as synagogues; a few use the Hebrew term Beit Knesset, the Yiddish term shul (meaning "school"), or, amongst some Sephardim, the Spanish and Portuguese term esnoga. Most Reform and some Conservative Jews use the term "Temple" to describe their house of worship, but most traditional Jews find this term inaccurate, as Judaism has historically only had one Temple, the Temple in Jerusalem.
Most Conservative and Orthodox synagogues have prayer services every day; usually one morning service, and two evening services. There are special services on Shabbat (the Sabbath) and on the Jewish holidays. Many Reform Temples only have prayer services once or twice a week.
Many Jews have a regular place of worship that is not a synagogue by the usual definition of the term. Many ultra-Orthodox Jews worship in shteibels (Yiddish: "little booths"), rooms in private houses or places of business set aside for the express purpose of prayer. Shteibels do not offer the communal services of a synagogue, and are for prayer services alone. Many non-Orthodox Jews have formed chavurot (prayer fellowships) which meet at a regular place and time, usually in someone's house or apartment.
Synagogue construction over the last two thousand years has followed the outlines of the original Tabernacle, which was of course also the outline for the temples in Jerusalem until they were destroyed. Every synagogue has at its front an ark, aron, containing the Torah scrolls comparable to the Ark of the Covenant which contained the tablets with Ten Commandments. This is the holiest spot in a synagogue equivalent to the Holy of Holies.
There is also usually a constantly lighted lamp, ner tamid, or a candelabrum lighted during services, near this spot similar to the original Menorah. At the center of the synagogue is a large elevated area, known as the bimah where the Torah is read. This is equivalent to the Tabernacle's altars upon which incense and animal sacrifices were offered. On the main holidays the priests, kohanim, gather at the front of the synagogue to bless the congregation as did their priestly ancestors in the Tabernacle from Aaron onwards.Varieties
Blueprint for synagogues