Public Acts of Worship
Religious Studies A: AQA GCSE Religions, topic 5.3.2
Branches of Judaism
There are two main branches of Judaism: Orthodox Judaism and Reform Judaism.
Orthodox Jews
- Follow the laws set out in the Torah and Talmud.
- There are clear rules for men, women and children. These rules are followed strictly.
- The Torah is the word of God and so its rules cannot be changed.
Reform Jews
- Focus on the ethical rules of Judaism.
- Kosher rules and Shabbat rules are a personal choice.
- Believe that the Torah is inspired by God but not the direct word of God, so laws can change over time.
- Do not believe that religious roles are gender-specific.
- E.g. there can be female Rabbis and chazzan (prayer leaders) and girls at bat mitzvah read from the Torah.
Reform Synagogues
- Many reform synagogues don't hold daily services and only meet on Shabbat (the Sabbath).
- Men and women sit together.
- Prayers are led facing the congregation and can be led by either a man or a woman.
- Services are in English and Hebrew and are much shorter than in Orthodox synagogues. Services have musical accompaniment.
- Most men will cover their heads and some women will too.
Daily Service
Prayer in the daily service builds a person's relationship with the Hashem (‘the Name’ – used to refer to God). The prayers are taken from Psalms and describe the greatness of God. Praying as a community strengthens the bonds of the community.
Morning and night service
- During morning prayers men over the age of bar mitzvah (13 years) wear the tefillin.
- Married men will wear a tallit (a prayer shawl) - but in some communities, all men over 13 will wear one.
- Attached to each corner is the tzitzit (tassels on the prayer shawl) which remind Jews of the Mitzvot (commandments) and their duties to God.
- The night service begins with blessings and describes God in History as a redeemer.
The tefillin
- Tefillin are black boxes which are wrapped around the arm and head containing Torah paragraphs that deal with the past, present and future purpose of the Jewish people.
- The arm piece faces the heart and the headpiece is above the brain. This suggests that Jews must have an emotional and intellectual relationship with God.
The main prayer
- The main prayer of each service is a lengthy standing prayer made up of 19 Blessings that deal with different aspects of personal and communal life.
- The blessings include requests for healing, wealth, repentance, intelligence, justice, the rebuilding of the Temple and peace.
Prayer out of the synagogue
- Jews can also pray outside of the fixed times whenever they need to.
- These prayers can be in any language.
Test yourself on Public Acts of Worship
Who do Orthodox Jews believe that the rules in the Torah apply to?
Which of the following is true of Reform Jews?
Which of the following is true of Reform synagogues?
What do most unmarried men over the age of bar mitzvah wear during morning prayers?
Which of the following is true of prayer in Judaism?