OBJECTS OF RELIGIOUS CEREMONIAL O 



The several collections are supplemented by a series of photo- 

 graphs and prints. There is in addition a collection of Bibles, includ- 

 ing facsimiles of manuscripts and old and rare editions of the original 

 texts, as well as copies of the most important ancient and modern 

 translations of the Scriptures. As the interest attached to this 

 collection is more archeological, or paleographic, than religious, it 

 comes under the head of archeology. The collection has been, more- 

 over, described in the above mentioned Bulletin which appeared in the 

 Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1922, pages 475-485. 



As in the previous bulletins, the objects are treated as religious 

 groups and not in their geographical relation. The professors of 

 each creed have received full faith and their own explanations and 

 interpretations of the ideas underlying a given rite or ceremony 

 have been adopted. 



II 



OBJECTS OF JEWISH RELIGIOUS CEREMONIALS 



1. OBJECTS USED IN PUBLIC WORSHIP 



Synagogue. — Jewish public worship finds its expression in the 

 services of the synagogue. There is no fixed style of architecture. 

 Generally the synagogue is a rectangular building with the entrance 

 on the west side, so that the worshipers in the western world face 

 east, the direction of Jerusalem, while praying. The general arrange- 

 ment inside the synagogue is that the Ark of the Law, or Holy Ark 

 {aron Jia-Jcodesh) , that is, the closet or chest, which holds the Torah 

 scrolls, is placed against the center of the east wall. It is raised "a 

 few feet above the floor and is reached by steps. To the right of the 

 ark and removed a few feet from the east wall is the praying desk 

 {amud, properly column or pillar), from which the precentor leads 

 the congregation in prayer. In the center is the bimah or ahnemar 

 (Arabic al-minbar, pulpit), an elevated platform, usually surrounded 

 by a railing on which stands the desk for reciting the lessons from 

 the Scriptures. The remainder of the interior is occupied with 

 benches for the worshipers. In most modern synagogues, however, 

 both the prayers and the lessons are read from the himah or reading 

 desk, which is combined with the platform on which the ark rests, 

 in order to secure a larger area for seats. 



The Ark of the Law, holding the Torah, the most sacred and 

 precious possession of the Jew, is the important architectural feature 

 of the synagogue. It is called "Holy Ark" {aron lia-lcodesh) , after 

 the Ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle and Temple, whose 

 place it has taken. The Holy Ark is set in or against that wall of 

 the synagogue toward which the worshipers turn in the more solemn 

 parts of the liturgy, the wall which is in the direction of Jerusalem. 

 Whenever the Holy Ark is opened the congregation rises in reverence 



