This document provides an overview of the key elements and structure of a typical Shabbat morning service at a synagogue. It describes some of the rituals and prayers that are part of the service, including wearing a tallit (prayer shawl) and tefillin, reading from the Torah scroll, and reciting communal prayers like the Shema and the Shemoneh Esreh (Eighteen Benedictions). The service is led by a rabbi or cantor and involves calling congregants to the bimah for aliyot (blessings) before and after readings from the Torah.

1. The Virtual Synagogue
The Shabbat Service

2. This is a representation of a Shabbat morning service,
intended to introduce the non-Jew to the worship
experiences of Judaism. It is not exactly like any
actual Shabbat service – for one thing, no observant
Jew should be computing on Shabbat! There are
several audio portions available to help you
experience as much of an actual service as possible.
Or, in English, Shabbat Shalom.

3. The origin of the synagogue is an academic puzzle, but
it is clear that by the time the Temple was destroyed in
70 C.E., the synagogue was already an established
reality for Jews, both in Judea and in the Galilee.
Evidence from the Mishnah and the New
Testament indicates
that prayer was part
of the role of the
synagogue, at least
by the end of the
first century.
Synagogue from Capernaum, 1st
century C.E.

4. Over the next 1900 years, the synagogue has been a
fixture of Jewish life, a center of worship, learning, and
social connection – and a public reminder of the
presence of the Jews.
Model of Warsaw synagogue,
destroyed in 1943.

5. Each synagogue is
distinct, as the two
American synagogues
on this page
demonstrate.
Synagogue in Rhode Island, 1760
Synagogue in New Orleans, 19th
century

6. A Jewish gathering will
typically look like a
cross-section of the
wider society: old,
young, dark, light,
wealthy and not – and a
visitor could easily be
surprised to find a co-
worker or teacher they
never knew was Jewish.
Jews of Kaifeng, China
“In the Shul”, painting by Stephan Zanger
Ethiopian Jew

7. Traditionally, Jews gather three times daily for prayer.
The Torah is read three times during the week at those
prayer services – Tuesday, Thursday, and Shabbat
(Saturday) morning.

8. In all branches of
Judaism, the
congregational prayer is
standardized and
published in the Siddur
(“Order” of worship).
Hamilton Siddur, published
in Spain, 13th
century

9. There are six major sections in a Shabbat Torah service:
• The Blessings
• Verses of Praise
• The Shema: The statement of God’s
oneness
• The Amidah: The standing prayer
• The Torah Reading
• The Conclusion
Mah tovu (“How good are your tents, O people of Jacob”)
is the song the commonly opens the blessings section. A
wide variety of songs are used in the praise section of the
service, such as Shochen ad (“The one who abides
forever”).

10. In preparation for the Saturday morning Shabbat service,
the men will put on their prayer shawls, wrap themselves
with tefillin, and wear a kipah (also known as a yarmulke).
Putting the tefillin on
the forehead – the
bands on the man’s left
arm are the tefillin for
the hand.

11. The tallith is the prayer shawl, and following the
commandment of Deuteronomy, it has affixed the
tzitzit (fringes).
Tallith with kipah. There are
613 knots tied in the fringes,
representing the 613
commandments in Torah.
(PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION
TO THIS DETAIL!)

12. The typical prayer service is
led by a rabbi, often with a
cantor leading the singing.
However, any male who has
become a bar Mitzvah (that
is, responsible for the
commandments), may lead
the prayers. In Reform and
Conservative traditions, there
is an increasing number of
female rabbis as well.

13. One familiar symbol in the
synagogue is the menorah.
Menorahs were used in the
Temple, and are a symbol of
Judaism itself. Note that the
menorah has seven lights –
the Chanukiah is a special
menorah used only at
Chanukah, with nine lights
instead of seven.
4th
century menorah
Seal from ancient
Palestine (date uncertain)

14. There are three daily services in the synagogue: Shacharit
(or Morning Prayer); Minchah (Afternoon Prayer); and
Ma’ariv (Evening Prayer). The most basic element of each
is the Shema. The Shema is composed of three passages
from the Torah: Deuteronomy 6:4-9, and 11:13-21; and
Numbers 15:37-41. In the first passage, God commands
the Israelites to hold these words constantly before them.

15. Hear O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is one.
from http://artmuz.com/Jewish_Art_4_MAIN.htm

16. The synagogue’s Torah
is still written on scrolls,
not in a book. The
scrolls are kept in the
ark, a cabinet at the
front of the
congregation. This ark
brings the Temple of
Jerusalem together with
the beyt hakeneset
(house of the gathering).
The Ark of the Torah in
an Anaheim synagogue

17. When removed from the ark,
the Torah scroll is
processed by the rabbi
through the congregation.
The Torah is the Word of
God – an incarnation of God
himself. The procession is
not symbolic, but actual:
God is moving in the midst
of the people of Israel.
People will touch the scroll
with their prayer books or
tzitzit as it passes, joining
their prayers with the
presence of God.
Golders Green Beth HaMedresh in
London

18. Members of the congregation are called up to the table to
say blessings over and read portions of the Torah.
While not every member of the congregation can
understand Hebrew, each person who is bar or bat Mitzvah
has learned how to vocalize it.
The Torah scroll is read
using a yad – the text
itself is not touched with
the hands.

19. The Torah is read on Tuesday, Thursday and
Saturday mornings. A different series of readings is
appointed for each of the days, so that by year’s end
(Rosh Hashanah in the Fall), the complete Torah has
been read.

20. Seven readings are
included in the
Shabbat service. For
each, a member or
family is called to
the reading table to
say a blessing
(called an “aliyah” or
“ascension”) before
and after the
reading.

21. Following the Torah readings
is the Shemoneh Esreh – the
Eighteen Petitions. This is an
individual prayer, but spoken
within the community. By the
time the Mishnah was
compiled ca. 200 C.E., this
prayer was already in place. It
is actually 19 petitions – the
additional petition added in
the face of Christian denial of
the Law, calling for God’s
vindication over the heretics.
Jewish woman praying at the
Western Wall

22. Other petitions include a desire for repentance, the
rebuilding of the Temple, the return of the exiles and the
restoration of the Davidic kingdom.
But, fitting the spirit of Shabbat joy, only the first three
petitions (praising God) and the last three petitions
(thanking
The temple’s western wall, with Islam’s Dome of the
Rock on the Temple mount above
and departing from
God) are spoken.
Also called Amidah
(“Standing” prayer) or
simply Tefillah (“the
Prayer”) this is
traditionally spoken
facing the Temple
mount of Jerusalem.

23. The service closes with the Aleinu (“It is encumbent upon
us…”), a prayer that traditionally was attributed to Joshua.