Editing Synagogue (section)

{{Short description|Place of worship for Jews and Samaritans}}
{{for|the 1919 allegorical mural|Synagogue (John Singer Sargent){{!}}''Synagogue'' (John Singer Sargent)}}
{{redirect|Shul}}
{{distinguish|Synagoga (genus)}}
[[File:Eldridge_Street_Synagogue_(42773).jpg|thumb|[[Eldridge Street Synagogue]] in [[New York City]], United States]]
{{Judaism|expanded=hide}}
[[File:Princes_Road_Synagogue_Nave.jpg|thumb|[[Princes Road Synagogue]] in [[Liverpool]], England]]
[[File:Helsinki Helsingfors Synagogue 04.png|thumb|Exterior of [[Helsinki Synagogue]] in [[Helsinki]], Finland]]
[[File:YusefAbad synagogue Tehran.jpg|thumb|[[Yusef Abad Synagogue]] in [[Tehran]], Iran]]

A '''synagogue''',{{efn|Pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɪ|n|ə|ɡ|ɒ|ɡ}} {{respell|SIN|ə|gog}}. From {{langx|grc-x-koine|συναγωγή|synagogē|assembly}}; {{langx|he|בית כנסת|bēṯ kənesseṯ|house of assembly}}, or {{langx|he|בית תפילה|bēṯ təfilā|house of prayer|link=no}}; {{langx|yi|שול|shul}}, {{langx|lad|אשנוגה}} or {{lang|lad|אסנוגה}} ''{{transliteration|lad|esnoga}}'' (from "synagogue"); or {{lang|lad|קהל}} ''{{transliteration|lad|kahal}}'', "community".}} also called a '''shul'''{{efn|Pronounced {{IPAc-en|ʃ|uː|l}} {{respell|SHOOL}}.}} or a '''temple''',{{efn|This is a fairly modern term mostly used in [[Reform Judaism]], but is still rare.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/synagogue|title=Synagogue &#124; Definition, History, & Facts &#124; Britannica|date=June 2023 }}</ref>}} is a place of worship for [[Jews]] and [[Samaritans]]. It has a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as [[Jewish wedding|weddings]], [[bar and bat mitzvah]]s, choir performances, and children's plays. They also have [[Beth midrash|rooms for study]], social halls, administrative and charitable offices, classrooms for religious and [[Hebrew school|Hebrew studies]], and many places to sit and congregate. They often display commemorative, historic, or modern artwork alongside items of Jewish historical significance or history about the synagogue itself.

Synagogues are [[consecration|consecrated]] spaces used for [[Jewish prayer]], study, assembly, and reading of the [[Torah]] (read in its entirety once a year, or in some synagogues on a triennial cycle, in weekly Torah portions during religious services). However, a synagogue is not always necessary for Jewish worship, due to adaptations during times of Jewish persecution in countries and regions that banned Judaism, frequently destroying and/or reappropriating synagogues into churches or even government buildings. ''[[Halakha]]'' (Jewish law from the [[Mishnah]] – the "Oral Torah") states that communal Jewish worship can be carried out wherever a ''[[minyan]]'', a group of at least 10 Jewish adults, is assembled, often (but not necessarily) led by a [[rabbi]]. Worship can also happen alone or with fewer than ten people, but certain prayers are considered by ''halakha'' as solely communal; these can be recited only by a ''minyan''. In terms of its specific ritual and liturgical functions, the synagogue does not replace the symbol of the long-destroyed [[Temple in Jerusalem]].

Any Jew or group of Jews can build a synagogue. Synagogues have been constructed by ancient Jewish leaders, wealthy patrons, and as part of a wide range of human institutions, including secular educational institutions, governments, and hotels. They have been built by the entire Jewish community living in a particular village or region, or by sub-groups of Jewish people organized by occupation, tradition/background (e.g., the [[Sephardic Jews|Sephardic]], [[Yemenite Jews|Yemenite]], [[Romaniote Jews|Romaniote]] or [[Persian Jews]] of a town), style of religious observance (e.g., [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] or [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] synagogues), or by the followers of a particular rabbi, such as the [[shtiebel]]ekh ({{langx|yi|שטיבעלעך|shtibelekh}}, singular {{lang|yi|שטיבל}} ''shtibl'') of [[Hasidic Judaism]].