Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/891

* SYNAGOGUE. 777 SYNAGOGUE. I SYNAGOGUE (Gk. 'd7fii', synagein, to bring together, from avv, syn, together + iytiv, agein, to lead; translation of Heb. hcth-hak- keneseth, the house of assembly). The name applied to the place of assembly used by Jewish communities primarily for public worship. The origin of this institution is probably to be traced to the period of the Babylonian captivity, when religious needs in the absence of an otlicial cult could only be satisfied by private assemblies for religious communion. The example set during the Babylonian Exile led to the establishment of synagogues in Palestine after the days of Ezra, and with the impetus then given to the study of the law a further factor was intro- duced which encouraged the institution of assem- bly-houses for prayer and study. Although ex- press notices of the synagogues are not found in the literature till the last century B.C., all indica- tions point to their existence in the towns and even villages of Palestine at the time of the Maccabees. Synagogues were erected from the common funds or free gifts of the community and sup- ported by taxes and donations. Regarding their architecture it would appear that in Palestine the Gr.Teco-Eoman model of public buildings was fol- lowed, though with some essential modifications. Abimdant ornamentation was a feature both of the exterior and interior. The larger synagogues were divided by rows of pillars into several aisles and some had porticoes in front. In later times in Europe the Romanesque style was adopted, and in more modern times Jloorish architecture is frequently chosen as a model. Little is known of any special law respecting the construction of these buildings, save that the faces of the wor- shipers should be directed toward Jerusalem; that, in accordance with the verse in the Psalms, there should be a slight descent of a step or two on entering the edifice ; that the building should stand, if feasible, on a slightly elevated ground, or be somehow or other made visible from afar. Within at the extreme eastern end was the holy ark, or chest (iebfih) containing several copies of the Pentateuch, from which the periodical read- ings were chanted. In front of this was the stand of the public reader of the prayers, not far from which was suspended the everlasting lamp. On a raised platform in the middle of the syna- gogue was the place of the reader or preacher. The women, who were not counted as members of the congregation, sat separated from the men. The affairs of the synagogue were administered by a board of 'ancients' or 'elders.' at whose head stood a chief or principal {Rosh hakkene- seth, archisynagofios) . The 'chief was not a scribe, though taking rank immediately after the scribes. The ofiiciating minister, whose office it was to recite the prayers aloud, was called shellach.?ihbur, messenger of the connnunity. The chazzan had general charge of the sacred place and its books and implements. He had to present the scroll to the reader, received it back after the reading was finished, rolled up the scroll and deposited it in the chest, and it was he who announced the advent of the Sabbath or of a holy day from the roof of the synagogue with a thrice repeated trumpet-blast. During the week-days he had to teach the children of the town or vil- lage. He had to be initiated by a solemn im- position of hands. The name of chazziin, how- ever, at a later period, came to designate the officiating minister, and it has retained that meaning until this day. Almoners or deacons, who collected or distributed tlie alms, possibly the same as the bdllaium or 'idle men.' whose office in relation to the synagogue cannot be ex- actly determined now, but who had always to be ready for the purpose of making up the requisite number of ten worshipers, were further attached to the general body of officials. The third, sixth, and ninth hours of the day were the times ap- pointed for daily worship; the more special days were Monday and Thursday, when the judges sat, and the villagers came to town, and Saturday, on which the forms of some of the prayers were altered according to the occasion. The reading from the Scriptures, though in Hebrew, was coupled in the synagogues of Pales- tine and Babylonia with a translation or para- phrase in the current Aramaic idiom, and pre- sumably in the synagogues of Egypt a Greek translation was employed, but the chief prayers were always pronounced in Hebrew, though the Talmud admits the use of other languages in worship. Besides the prayers and the readings, a feature of early synagogue worship was the ex- position of the law or of the lesson of the day hy a competent person. In course of time a more elaborate liturgy developed. The oldest complete ritual, known as siddur ('arrange- ment' ), dates from the year a.d. 880, and was compiled by a Rabbi Aniram. In the liturgy as finally evolved two distinct elements are dis- cernible: the Shcma' ('Hear, O Israel,' etc.), be- ing a collection of the three passages, Deuteron- omy vi. 4-9, xi. 13-21, and Xumbers xv. 37-41, expressive of the unity of God and of His govern- ment over Israel, put together without any ex- traneous addition; and the TcphiUilh or prayer, consisting of a certain number of supplications, with a hymnal introduction and conclusion, fol- lowed by the priestly blessing. The single por- tions of this prayer gradually increased to eight- een and the prayer itself received the name of SlhfmOiMih 'esheh (eighteen). For a long time the prayers were recited only by the reader, the peo- ple joining in silent responses and aniens. These readers by degrees — chiefly from the tenth cen- tury — introduced occasional prayers of their own, and ultimately religious doctrine, history, saga, angelology, and mysticism, interspersed with biblical verses, are foimd put together in a mosaic of the most original and fantastic, often grand and brilliant, often obscure and feeble kind. The ritual diflfercd in different countries. At the beginning of the nineteenth century a movement began in Germany for the reform of the ritual and gradually spread to other coun- tries. At first the changes consisted in the shortening of certain prayers, the omission of others and the introduction of German, English, or French by the side of the Hebrew. The synagogues contributed more than any- thing else to the steadfast adherence of the peo- ple to their religion and liberty as long as there was any possibility of keeping both intact. At the same time they gradually undermined the priestly and aristocratic element that gathered arovind the temple, its gorgeous worsliip and kingly revenues. Their importance as a place of