Words to Know

The great stone building in Jerusalem where Jewish prayers were offered long ago. Jewish tradition tells that the First Temple was built around 3,000 years ago; the Second Temple was later destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, an event recorded by historians. The Temple has not been rebuilt since.

A building where Jewish people meet to pray, read the Torah, and gather. The word means "gathering" or "assembly" in Greek. The Hebrew word for the same thing is beit knesset ("house of meeting").

The first five books of the Hebrew Bible. A Torah is always handwritten by a trained scribe on a long parchment scroll. It takes about a year to write one.

The city in present-day Israel where the First and Second Temples stood. Jerusalem is the holiest city in Judaism. Every synagogue in the world faces Jerusalem.

The cabinet that holds the Torah scrolls inside a synagogue. The ark is always built into the wall facing Jerusalem.

The raised platform inside a synagogue where the Torah is read aloud. In some synagogues the bimah is in the middle of the room; in others it is at the front near the ark.

A lamp above the ark in every synagogue, kept lit day and night so it is never dark. The name means "eternal light," and it is kept burning as a constant reminder of a presence that never goes out.

A small case on the doorway of a Jewish home and synagogue, holding a tiny scroll. It marks the entrance as a Jewish home and is touched as a reminder when passing through the door.