Ask the
Clergy
What is Synagogue About (Really)?
by
Senior Rabbi, Alan Green
Published in the Jewish Post on
Wednesday,
April 2, 2008
There
are many ways to describe a synagogue in Hebrew. A synagogue is
first of all, a Beit Knesset—a house of assembly. Synagogue is also
sometimes referred to as Beit Tefillah—a house of prayer. It is
also called Beit Midrash—a house of study. And sometimes, a
synagogue will even be called Beit El—a house of God.
These
four designations correspond to the four worlds of Kabbalah—Beit
Knesset, “house of assembly,” corresponding to the world of action (Asiyah);
Beit Tefillah, “house of prayer,” to the world of feeling (Y’tzirah);
Beit Midrash, “house of study,” to the world of thinking (B’riah);
and Beit El, “house of God,” to the world of being (Atzilut).
Similarly, each of the Kabbalistic worlds corresponds to a letter of
the Tetragrammaton—the four letter name of God in Hebrew: the lower
Heh, corresponding to the world of Asiyah; the Vav, corresponding to
the world of Y’tzirah; the upper Heh, corresponding to world of
B’riah; and the Yud, corresponding to world of Atzilut. In fact, if
we imagine this Divine name written vertically, we can see it as a
kind of ladder—not unlike Jacob’s ladder—which was “set on the
ground, and its top reached to the sky, with angels of God going up
and down on it” (Genesis 28:12).
Thus can
we understand the various functions of a synagogue as a kind of
hierarchy. As a Beit Knesset--a house of assembly--synagogue
performs its most basic, earthly function—as a place where Jews
meet. However, as a Beit Tefillah--a house of prayer--we move
several rungs up the heavenly ladder, as we attempt to engage God on
the feeling level. Again, as a Beit Midrash--a house of study--we
climb higher, as we “God-wrestle” on the level of intellect.
However, the most heavenly rung of this ladder—where “its top
reaches to the sky”—is Beit El—that is, when synagogue functions as
a house of God.
Most
synagogues today do fairly well as a Beit Knesset, a Beit Tefillah,
and a Beit Midrash. However, there is a critical, missing
piece—that being the crucial fourth element of Beit El. The top of
the heavenly ladder (the Yud of the Divine name) is missing in most
modern synagogues. Because of this, the Jewish spiritual ladder is
shaky. We Jews meet together—but why are we really meeting? We
pray together—but to Whom are we really praying? We study
together—but for Whom are we really studying?
To
fulfill its true purpose, a synagogue must also be a Beit El—a house
of God. In fact, it is this heavenly quality—the quality of
God-connection--that gives real meaning, purpose, and depth to the
other three functions of a synagogue. With the fulfillment of this
highest synagogue function, may we some day be able to join our
ancestor Jacob in saying, “Surely, the Lord is present in this
place, and I didn’t know it...This is none other than the abode of
God, and the gateway to heaven” (Genesis 28:16-17).
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