Worship and its Architectural Setting

Worshipand its Architectural Setting 1. Worship in Judaism: Temple and Synagogue

The Temple Mount today. The Muslim “Dome of the Rock” stands where the hekal , the Sanctuaryitself, once stood. The entire enclosure visible in this picture is the one created for the Temple of Herod.

We look into the Court of the Women, also called “the Treasury.” The tall building in the back-center is the hekal, the Sanctuary, containing the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. The red arrow points to where the great Altar was located.

This is a conjectural portrayal of the entire Temple complex. Such artist’s reconstructions are always guesses, but this one gives a sense of the relationships between the courts.

We see the origins of Christian Worship in Judaism. In the time of Christ the Temple was the heart of Jewish life and devotion. Worship in the Temple was organized around • Holy Days and festivals: e.g., Rosh Hashanah (New Year), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar), *Sukkot (Booths), Hanukkah (Dedication), *Pesach (Passover), *Shavuot (Weeks or “Pentecost”). *Pilgrim Festivals • Daily and Sabbath prayers and sacrifices conducted by the hereditary Priests and Levites.

Every morning there was an offering of incense in the Holy Place, where stood the Menorah and the Table of the Showbread. This incense offering was part of the solemn, daily morning ritual. Here, a priest is about to offer the incense. Priests were chosen by lot for this ministry, and each could only do this once in his life. It was a very special and holy privilege.

The leading parts in Temple worship were taken by Priests and Levites. A great number were in the Temple at all times. • They were divided into 24 courses according to their assignment. E.g., there were more than 1,300 Levites in the Temple at any given time, although not all of them the same day. • Ordinary Jewish males were also assigned a time to come from their villages to attend in the Temple and participate in the worship as the congregation, though anyone could come and worship at any time.

The Altar of Burnt Offerings was the place where the animal sacrifices were offered the Priests , including the regular morning and afternoon offerings and special offerings stipulated for the Sabbath and for holy days. Here priests are placing portions of sacrifices on the Altar of Burnt Offerings. Note that there was more than a single hearth.

Five different kinds of burnt offerings Whole burnt offerings - This offering symbolized complete surrender to God. Grain offerings - A way of asking God to 'remember' the worshiper for good. The priests ate what was not burned. Peace or “Communion” offerings - Only the entrails and fatty portions of the animal were burnt on the altar. The meat was then cooked and shared by the worshiper and his family in a meal, eaten in the Temple. Sin Offerings - This symbolized general redemption., making atonement for the whole life of the offender. Trespass offerings - The trespass offering was to atone for specific transgressions where restitution was possible, such as sins of ignorance.

Levites assisted priests with the sacrifices and recited Psalms at appropriate moments during the offerings, including the Psalm of the Day, special psalms for the new month, and other occasions, the Hallel (Psalms 113-118) during major holidays, and psalms for special sacrifices such as the “Psalm for the Thanksgiving Offering” (Psalm 100). Here Levite musicians are blowing trumpets beside the Altar of Burnt Offerings at the “placing of the willows” during the Sukkot festival.

As part of the daily morning offering, a prayer service was performed in the Temple – and echoed in the village synagogues – which became the basis of the traditional Jewish morning service recited to this day, including well-known prayers such as the Berachu (“Bless ye the Lord …”), the Shema (“Hear, O Israel…” DEUT. 6:4-9), and the Priestly Blessing (“May the Lord bless you and keep you…”NUM. 6:23-27) The High Priest (left) and other Priests who have participated in the daily morning service pronounce the Priestly Blessing in the Sanctuary at its end. When the Priestly Blessing was given all priests on duty participated in pronouncing it.

There were Levite musicians who blew trumpets and played lyres and two Levitical choirs, who sang the Psalms in the Daily Services. All the psalms that were sung and all the prayers that were recited in the Temple liturgy were from memory. No written texts were used.

The Royal Portico, sometimes called “Solomon’s Porch” was vast. The gospels tell us that Jesus walked and taught in the Royal Portico (Jn. 10:23) and Peter preached there (Acts 3:11).

This picture shows a very large mikveh, or Jewish ritual bath, excavated near the south entrance to the Temple of Herod in Jerusalem. More than 1,000 mikvaoth have been excavated outside the entrances to the Temple. Worshipers needed to be ritually clean before entering the courts of the Lord’s House. Mikvaoth are found adjacent to synagogues as well, for much the same reason. They would also have been used for proselyte baptisms.

The Synagogue service derived from the liturgy used in the Temple. Ruins of what some people believe may be the oldest excavated synagogue in Israel, dated ca. 75-50 B.C., located in Jericho. main hall

Synagogēis a Greek translation of the Hebrew name for these places, beitk’nesset, which means “house of assembly.” It was also called beittefilah, “house of prayer.” • Jews in exile in Babylonia after the destruction of Solomon’s Temple (ca. 586-537 BC) organized the first synagogues as local assemblies where Jews could study Torah and hold services of prayer that did not depend on the continued functioning of the Temple. • After the destruction of Herod’s Temple in AD 70, the synagogue remained as the focus of Jewish worship.

BENCHES FOR WORSHIPERS Ruins of the synagogue at Gamla, in the Golan, overlooking the Sea of Galilee. It dates to the time of Christ and is in the “Galilean” pattern.

Ruins of the synagogue at Chorazin, not far from Capernaum. This building dates from the 3d c. AD, but was still built of basalt, which was the common building stone in the area in the time of Christ. The original synagogue in Capernaum, the town of Jesus, was also built of basalt. It was replaced in the 4th c. AD by the white stone synagogue shown in the next slide.

WORSHIP HALL COURTYARD or ATRIUM Aerial view of the 4th c. synagogue in Capernaum, built over the black basalt synagogue from the time of Jesus, the foundations of which can still be seen along the N. side of this building.

Arrow points to foundations of the black basalt synagogue of Jesus’ time still visible beneath the foundations of the 4th-6th c. Capernaum synagogue.

Imaginative reconstruction of the 4th c. synagogue in Capernaum, no doubt loftier and more elaborate than the synagogue from Jesus’ time, but probably similar in layout.

This is an imaginative reconstruction of a typical synagogue plan from the time of Christ. There was no fixed form; therefore, floor plans would vary from one place to another. Typically the walls were lined with benches, but not necessarily so. The Ark was a veiled cabinet containing the scrolls. The menorah was a 7-branched candlestand like the one in the Temple Sanctuary. The bema was the platform where the local elders sat, sermons were delivered, etc. Sometimes the bema was located at the Jerusalem-facing end of the room, and the elders sat there facing the congregation.

The Christian “Liturgy of the Word” was based on the synagogue service: The Berachuand Shema. Prayers blessing God for his love toward mankind followed by recitation of the “Jewish Creed,” the Shema (“Hear, O Israel…) The Benedictions, the tefillin. A series of short prayers of praise to God, to which the congregation might respond, as in a litany. Intercessory Prayers. Prayers of intercession appropriate for the occasion and needs of the community. Scripture Readings. Multiple readings from the Law and the Prophets. There were set readings for special days and seasons of the Jewish year, but not a completely fixed lectionary. Preaching. A sermon which expanded upon a reading and clarified its application to daily life. More than one person might speak. The Priestly blessing. All priests (kohanim) present would proclaim the Priestly Blessing, Num 6:24-26: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.”

Worship and its Architectural Setting